pPatricia always wanted to work for the federal government. After a visit to the White House when she was nine years old, she was hooked. Patricia grew up in rural Orange, Virginia, where her family owned a small farm. There, with her parents, Willis and Helen Shirley, three brothers, three sisters, and Grand and Pappy, her paternal grandparents, she was told if she worked hard she would succeed. That there was no one out there better than she, but to always remember she was no better than anyone else. She began her federal career as a file clerk working for the US Food and Drug Administration. After a year, she accepted a position with the US Navy where she worked as a draftsman and report preparer. Continuing her federal journal, she accepted a position with the US Air Force where she worked as the division secretary for the chief of the division. Seeking an increase in pay and more responsibility, she accepted a position with the Office of Secretary of Defense as a legislative assis