March is Women’s History Month, and it celebrates contributions women have made in US history. Women’s History Month started to be observed in 1981 when Congress passed a law to mark March 7 as the beginning of Women’s History Week in 1982. After being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, the week turned into Women’s History Month after Congress passed another law in 1987. Subsequently, Congress passed additional proposals to make March Women’s History Month an annual event.
On March 11, Mallory Wishard spoke for the Center for Student Diversity’s Women’s History Month Talk Series. Wishard spoke of how she only cared for athletics as a young girl, and nothing more. When she attended community college and received her Associate’s Degree, she questioned what she would do next because she no longer had athletics. This question allowed Wishard to ask herself, “What am I outside of athletics?” This sequence of questioning brought Wishard to where she is now, an Assistant Dean/Director of New Student Programs.
According to Wishard, “Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the work of all women around the world who are leading us to a better future.” To her, gender does not have to limit one’s ability to do or not do anything. College of Liberal Arts Dean Dr. Peter Dorsey agrees. “Ms. Wishard experienced discrimination as a young woman and an athlete to the point that she struggled to accept her full self,” he stated.
However, Women’s History Month has allowed many women to celebrate their successes, especially at the Mount where we are, “celebrating and honoring the work of the wonderful women on our campus,” asserted Shahanaaz Soumah (C’22).
Wishard embraces being a woman, and even calls it her “superpower.” Wishard finds inspiration in every woman she meets. She sees Women’s History Month as, “a month where we can sincerely believe in our own worth, while passionately supporting each one another. It’s a month to be fierce. It’s a month to be confident. It’s a month to be unapologetically you and let go of self-doubt.”
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