INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Police Museum celebrated 50 years of women serving as state troopers Wednesday, unveiling a new exhibit to honor the women who helped shape the force, highlighting their contributions over the years.

“There are so many great women that came before me and after me,” Nila Miller-Cronk said, a retired ISP Major and a 38-year ISP veteran. “This is for them. This is for the past, the present and the future women of the ISP.

The exhibit features a video and photos of women who are both active and retired troopers. It also honors the first women to become troopers in 1976 as well as the four who’ve passed within these 50 years.

Patricia “Pat” King was among the class in 1976, becoming the first African American woman to be an ISP Trooper. While she passed in 2020, her daughters and granddaughter, Zoe Lucas, came to see the exhibit.

“I’m glad to know that something that she loved doing something that she devoted so much of her life to has honored her like this,” Lucas said.

All of Zoe’s memories of her grandmother’s time with ISP are from stories and photos. She proudly calls her grandmother a trailblazer.

“She was the first one to do something like this, and I have a lot of pride in that because the amount of strength that it takes, the amount of courage and the initiative is just, it’s wonderful,” Lucas said.

For women, or anyone looking to be part of ISP’s future, Miller-Cronk says to not hesitate.

“Put your mind to it. Work hard for it. Anything is possible,”she said.

The Indiana State Police Museum, located at 8660 East 21st Street in Indianapolis, is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and donations are appreciated.