Congresswoman Duckworth visits Addison Trail

On March 28, U.S. Representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district Tammy Duckworth visited Addison Trail to speak with students.

Congresswoman Duckworth spoke about how she became involved in politics, legislation and projects she’s working on and her military experience.

Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs. She attended college at the University of Hawaii and then went to The George Washington University, where she earned her Master of Arts degree in international affairs. After graduation, Duckworth, who is fluent in Thai and Indonesian, moved to Illinois, where she began pursuing a Ph.D. in political science at Northern Illinois University (NIU). While at NIU, she worked in the School of Nursing researching public health and environmental causes of cancer. Duckworth later worked for Rotary International as a manager for administration of Rotary's clubs in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2004, Duckworth was deployed to Iraq as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois Army National Guard. She was one of the first army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, until her helicopter was hit by an RPG on Nov. 12, 2004. Duckworth lost her legs and partial use of her right arm in the explosion and was awarded a Purple Heart for her combat injuries.

After her speech, Duckworth answered questions from students.