Patty Montague found something with the National Park Service that her hometown on New York’s Long Island never gave her — an opportunity.

“They wouldn’t let me be a firefighter,” said Montague, supervisory law enforcement ranger for Vicksburg National Military Park.

Growing up on Long Island, Montague’s father frequently would take her to the local fire station. It was her plan since childhood to become a firefighter after graduating high school. When it came time to apply for college, Montague told her guidance counselor not to worry about it.

“I told her I was going to be a firefighter. She said ‘They don’t take women. We checked,”’ Montague said.

Montague then set her sights on becoming a paramedic. She got the same response.

“Paramedics were part of the fire service, and they wouldn’t take women,” she said.

Montague never gave up.

In college she began taking EMT courses while earning her degree in conservation.

“I was volunteering on the ambulance corps until the director left and they made me the chief,” Montague said.

In 1982, she applied for a job with the National Park Service. They must have liked her determination. She began working at Cape Cod National Seashore and went to law enforcement academy.

Her duties over the years have included protecting world leaders who were speaking at National Park Service sites.

“Because I was a woman, they wanted to show diversity and put me on the podium a lot,” she said.

During her tenure at Buffalo National River in Arkansas, the park service also gave her the chance to fight wildfires and structure fires.

It was a dream come true that wouldn’t have been possible if Montague had just paid attention to the naysayers.

“Don’t listen to them. If that’s what you want to do and really want to, do it,” Montague said. “But don’t think you’re just going to get handed it.”

At the military park, Montague is responsible for the park’s fire prevention program, public safety, emergency services and fee collections, said Rick Martin, chief of operations for the park.

“She’s an outstanding co-worker and a tireless employee who has the ability to complete all her duties and then looks for more work,” Martin said. “She does all that as collateral duties in addition to her law enforcement duties.”

Montague is also the park’s operational leadership instructor.

“She’s looked on as a mentor by other instructors in the National Park Service,” Martin said.

Montague also finds time to volunteer with the Salvation Army, the United Way and the Local Emergency Planning Committee.

“It is important personally for me to give back to the community,” she said.