For Sgt. Zane Alvarez, serving the U.S. Army has been a lifelong dream.

“I come from a long historical line of military in my father’s side of the family,” Sgt. Alvarez said over a Zoom call while he is stationed in Germany.

He is following in the footsteps of his aunts, uncles, father, and grandfather.

But his dream was threatened when the Trump Administration banned transgender people from joining the military.

“To have that taken away from me potentially or that my career was threatened after, at the time, serving a couple of years of honorable service, that that was going to just be gone, it hurt. It just hurt my soul,” said Sgt. Alvarez.

But since Joe Biden took office just over a week ago, repealing this was one of the items on the top of his list.

It’s a move applauded by the group Equality Florida.

“We’re optimistic about our future and we’re optimistic about the prospect of a Joe Biden presidency continuing and the progress we can make together,” said Michael Womack, communications manager with Equality Florida.

So far, the Biden Administration has made other changes too, including a “preferred pronoun” option on the White House contact form.

Biden also appointed the first transgender Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine.

“That representation matters. Our voice being in the room matters. We have a seat at the table again and that’s not something that we’ve had for the last four years,” said Womack.

Womack says that inclusivity at the top will hopefully have a domino effect and help set the stage for the success of the LGBTQ community moving forward.

Sgt. Alvarez says what he’s seen already is a step in the right direction.

“I can tell you personally, being transgender has never impacted how I am and who I am, not as a soldier, not as a non-commissioned officer, not as a leader and not as a medical professional in the United States army. And that goes for every transgender service member who is serving here today,” said Sgt. Alvarez.

He says it is something he will continue to fight for as he fights for our country.

Equality Florida is also calling on Senators Rubio and Scott to act on behalf of Florida to pass the Equality Act as soon as possible.