Graphic by Eva Marriott-Fabre. Photo 1 used with permission from Eva Rinaldi/Flickr. Photo 2 courtesy of Jenny Wexler. Photo 3 used with permission from Tekniska museet/Flickr. Photo 4 courtesy of Becky Mason.
Every March, Women’s History Month is celebrated worldwide to commemorate the achievements of women throughout history in the push for gender equality. To honor Women’s History Month, community members reflect on women who have left an impact on them and others throughout the world.
Lydia Lisanti (’22)
Lydia Lisanti (’22) said she admires singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for standing up against sexual assault and recently “taking back control of” her albums "Fearless" and "Red" by re-recording them. Lisanti said Swift is an inspiration for women as she often advocates for women's rights and gender equality.
“She inspires a lot of women to basically, like, stand up for themselves and, you know like I guess, stand up to men who try to like take advantage of them,” she said. “She talks about, you know, being confident in yourself and standing up for yourself. I guess, like, growing up, that helped me.”
Eleanor Ilyas (’24)
Ishaan Sareen (’24)
Ishaan Sareen (’24) said he is inspired by Jane Goodall, a woman in the science, technology, engineering and math fields who revolutionized many aspects of biology, primarily understanding of chimpanzees. Sareen said it is impressive that she excelled in a field that is predominantly male and hopes that the STEM world becomes more inclusive.
“It is extremely inspiring that she is able to pursue her passions to the fullest extent, regardless of society's expectations,” he said. “And especially because I am interested in pursuing science, seeing someone who defies social expectations in that field is inspiring to me.”
Tyler Ketchum (’24)
Jemma Granite (’25)
Jemma Granite (’25) said she is inspired by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her ability to stand up for herself and voice her opinions, despite the fact that she works in a male-dominated environment. Granite said this inspires her to be brave and stand up for what she thinks is right.
“She is very fearless,” Granite said. “She is not afraid whatsoever to get her opinion across even though she is often challenged and berated by other men which really inspires me to be brave and stand up for what I believe in.”
Social Studies Teacher Becky Mason
Priya Shah (’22)
Priya Shah (’22) said she looks up to scientist Marie Curie, who discovered the elements of polonium and radium with her husband and contributed to the development of X-rays during World War I. As someone who wants to pursue medicine, Shah said she admires Curie for all her contributions to the field and how she broke stereotypes about the careers women could pursue.
“This discovery that Marie Curie made that X-rays can just be portable and you can just assess the patient right there, especially during World War I, was incredible,” she said. “As a woman in STEM, honestly, breaking the old stereotypes that women should not be in the STEM career, that really inspired me … I’m, like, in awe whenever, like, a woman in STEM does something that can change the face of a whole field, like how she did.”
Michael Quintin (’25)
Math Teacher Jenny Wexler
Math Teacher Jenny Wexler said she is inspired by her paternal grandmother Augusta ‘Gussy’ Wexler. Wexler said she is especially motivated by her grandmother’s philosophy about college and described her as a “feminist before her time.”
At the time, Wexler was at an expensive liberal arts college studying to be a teacher, and some of her friends were stunned that her parents would financially support that education. Her grandmother offered comfort which she still finds uplifting today.
“What she said was, ‘Well you’re not going to college to become a teacher, you’re going to college to become a person’,” Wexler said. “I just think that philosophy of hers – that we are all people and we’re all just working to learn and be our best selves – I always found really inspiring.”
Annesley Potchatek (’24)
Giulia Scolari and Annika Skorski contributed to reporting.