. >> meet yesenia sanchez, misty carausu and mckenzie whitten. serving their communities is not just a job. >> it just like called to me and it was just being surrounded by people who were doing good work. i just wanted to be a part of that. >> as the first woman ever elected as alameda county sheriff, sanchez says she never let anything hold her back. >> it doesn't matter how tall or short you are, because i'm not even five feet tall. you could totally do it. you got to challenge yourself and never, never tell yourself that you can't. >> thursday night, the city of alameda honored many female firefighters, police officers, and paramedics for their service. many of them say their colleagues are mostly men, but they believe there is a vital role for women. >> they do a lot of work. they put their heart, their compassion, they can lead with every like with love. so to get there, i mean, we have to just support our girls from all the way up. >> the women we spoke with tonight say they want to send a message to any young girl out there. they too can