PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Jessica Lynch has come a long way from the shy teenager in her Army photo.

“Not at all 22 years ago would I have ever thought this is where I would be,” Lynch said. Now at 42 years old, the former POW is traveling the country.

On Monday, she headlined a speaker series put on by the Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement at Arizona State University.

Lynch told the story of when her unit veered off from their convoy and into enemy territory on March 23, 2003, just three days into the War in Iraq. Eleven of her fellow soldiers from the 507th maintenance company died, and six were taken as prisoners.

“It’s about telling the story about what happened to my unit and keeping those memories alive of my eleven fallen comrades and obviously Lori being one of

See Full Page