In honor of March being Women’s History Month, our crew decided to create an article about all of the amazing women who inspire us. They serve as a reminder of the incredible things women have accomplished in the past as well as a source of hope for women in the future. Whether in school, in our personal lives, or our future lives, these women hold a special place in our minds and hearts. Enjoy!

Scientist and Nobel Prize Recipient 

Barbara McClintock

|  By Alexa Solomon, Editor-In-Chief

Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) was a scientist from New England, just like me. Her work focused on the cytogenetics of corn which she studied at Cornell University whilst earning her PhD. She produced the first genetic map for corn, discovered transposition, and confirmed mechanisms of genetic change and protein expression demonstrated in her previous research. McClintock was widely recognized as one of the best in her field, receiving plenty of prestigious scholarships and earning herself a place in the National Academy of Sciences. Her extensive biological research was very unique and innovative at the time and she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her discovery of genetic transposition. 

To this day, she remains the only woman in this Nobel Prize category. McClintock inspires me because of her fearless work and success in multiple fields of science. I intend to study biochemistry at university and hope to go on to receive my PhD, just like her. She often surpassed men in her research and she was the only woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. For my seniaor quote, I chose inspiring words by McClintock which I think about every time that life gets tough. They read:

“If you know you are on the right track, if you have this inner knowledge, then nobody can turn you off… no matter what they say.”

WWII Resistance Leader

Nancy Wake

|  By Ella Stern

Nancy Wake (1912-2011) was a journalist, wife, lover of Parisian nightlife, smuggler, spy, and fighter. In the mid-1930s, when she traveled to Vienna for a journalism job, she saw Nazis commit horrific and public acts of violence against innocent Jews. She decided then and there that “if ever the opportunity arose, [she] would do everything [she] could” to fight against the Nazis. When World War II broke out, Wake didn’t listen when people told her that women had no place in the war. She began to help local French Resistance groups, first by delivering packages, and then by transporting Allied soldiers and refugees out of the country. She used her gender to her advantage; people assumed that she, a woman, could not cause any trouble. In 1943, occupation authorities found out that Wake had been helping the Allies, and she had to leave France and her husband behind. However, she did not let despair or loneliness get the best of her. She was accepted to train with the British Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.), and in April 1944, Wake was one of only thirty-nine women on an S.O.E. mission to parachute into France and prepare for D-Day. Once she got there, she was constantly working and constantly in danger. 

She spent many nights receiving weapons and ammunition dropped by Allied parachutes, sorting them, and hiding them in order to arm the Resistance fighters. She also kept in contact with headquarters in England and was rumored to request items such as lipstick to be slipped in for her among the weapons. Nancy Wake was such a high-ranking leader, and made life so difficult for the Nazis and Axis powers that she had a price on her head and earned many nicknames. For example, she was called la souris blanche (“the white mouse”) because she repeatedly avoided capture. Wake has been given numerous awards for the work she did and the lives she saved. Additionally, as her life sounds like the stuff of fiction, many books and movies have been written about her. One such book is Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon, from which I learned about the incredible life and work of Nancy Wake. Nancy Wake inspires me because of her bravery, persistence, and conviction that she needed to fight for what she believed in. Even though she wasn’t personally targeted by the Nazis, even though she was one of the only women in the resistance, even though everyone told her she couldn’t or shouldn’t, Wake persevered in fighting against the Nazis’ hatred. Out of sheer will and determination, she became one of the most powerful resistance leaders of any gender. Today, we still see many instances where people assume that women can’t be important or make a difference in the world. Not only did Nancy Wake wholly prove that false, she serves as a reminder of the importance of helping anyone at any time simply because it is the right thing to do. 

Professional Tennis Player

Serena Williams

|  By Anthony Bilis-Gruson

Serena Williams, born in 1981 and raised in Compton, California is undeniably the best female tennis player of all time. Growing up, Serena’s father was very tough on her and her sister Venus. From the age of 3 her father would make her withstand daily two-hour practices. Her father actually moved them from Louisiana, where Serena was born, to Compton, wanting to expose his daughters to the harder side of life. On courts that were riddled with potholes and sometimes missing nets, Serena had to work hard for everything she got. In 1995, at only the age of 15, Serena turned pro. Two years later, she was already No. 99 in the world rankings and a year after that she graduated high school and almost immediately signed a $12 million shoe deal with Puma. In 2002, Serena won her first Grand Slams, the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, when she defeated her sister Venus in the finals of each tournament. She captured her first Australian Open in 2003, making her one of only six women in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam. Jumping forward to more recent times, in 2017 Serena won her 7th Australian Open, passing Steffi Graph for the most female Grand Slam titles with 23 total.

Serena has had an amazing career, and is an icon not just in tennis, but in the sports world. And she is still going today at the age of 39! Serena Williams inspires me for many reasons. Her absolute dominance on the tennis court is inspiring, to say the least. She is the greatest of all time in her field of work, and she has worked hard for everything she has won. She has an elite mentality to never settle and to always want to improve and win more and more. She is a fierce competitor and inspires me to be as ruthless and as demanding of myself as she is, not just when playing sports, but in all aspects of life. Her role in fighting for racial equality and in the Black Lives Matter movement also inspires me to do the same in my community, and I am always impressed at how Serena uses her platform and her influence for positive change. Also, the fact that she has gone through countless injuries, and always found a way to come back stronger and just as determined as before inspires me to try to embody that kind of mentality. Perhaps most notably, Serena won the Australian Open while pregnant which emphasizes that being pregnant won’t stop a woman from achieving her goals but also, let’s be honest, is amazing because of the athleticism that required. It should remind us that the greatest challenges can be achieved with determination and hard work, and that female bodies should not be seen as weak or inferior. Lastly, the fact that she is a Black woman in sports, especially a sport with a history of being reserved to a wealthy white elite, and that she faced adversity in all corners of her life, but still made it to the peak, inspires me to never make excuses and to always carry on. 

San Antonio Spurs Coach

Becky Hammon

|  By Sam Shuster, Editor-In-Chief

Becky Hammon is a professional Basketball Coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. Becky Hammon went to Colorado State University where she played Basketball. Hammon was born in the United States but became a Russian citizen in 2008 and joined the Russian National team. In 2014 Hammon was hired in 2014 as an assistant coach and became the first woman to ever be a full time assistant coach in the NBA. In 2015 Hammon was the Spurs summer league head coach, the first woman ever to do so. On December 30th 2020 Spurs head coach Greg Poppovich was ejected from a game so Becky Hammon was the acting head coach, the first woman ever to do so. Basketball is something that can open up opportunities that many don’t think possible. Becky Hammon’s story proves this time and time again. Women in the NBA is not something that is very common.

Becky Hammon is serving as an example for all women basketball staff that they are entitled to be a part of the NBA just as much as their male counterparts. Another thing that stands out is that Becky Hammon didn’t get to where she is today just because she is a woman. Hammon won WAC Mountain division player of the year in college and led Colorado state to the sweet sixteen in March Madness. Hammon signed with the New York Liberty out of college and had a good rookie season. That next season she became the starting point guard and Co-Captain. In 2005 she was named to the 2nd team all WNBA. She played on team Russia for the 2008 and 2012 olympics. As all this shows Hammon is a true hooper. She knows the game has played the game and now is teaching the game as a coach. This goes to show that if a woman wants to be part of the NBA they can do it by putting hard work into the game and it will reward you.

Surrealist Painter

Frida Kahlo

|  By Alyssa Santos

Frida Kahlo was a painter from Mexico, who became famous for her portraits, both of herself and of others, and pieces inspired by the rich nature and artifacts of Mexico. She was born on July 6th, 1907, and passed away from a pulmonary embolism on July 13th, 1954. She was born in Coyoacan, Mexico City, July 13th, 1954. She was born in Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico and was one of eight children. When Frida was just six years old, she contracted polio and became very self conscious about her thinner, shorter leg; this eventually made her synonymous with her long-colorful skirts she would use to hide said leg. She didn’t grow up wanting to be an artist, but after a major accident when she was 18, that left her bed ridden for a very long time, she picked up the hobby and continued it. She began painting by having an easel on top of her in bed, and looking into a mirror from across the room and she would paint herself. This ultimately led to her style of painting being a little gruesome and beautiful simultaneously, much like what she was seeing in her mirror. 

She utilized bright colors, melancholy subjects, and her turbulent emotions to create beautiful masterpieces that provoke new thoughts and emotions. Her life was not easy, through many injuries, countless miscarriages from a damaged uterus caused by the injuries, a tricky marriage with her art teacher and famous painter Diego Rivera, drug and alcohol dependency, and many affairs. But all that transpired into her becoming a very successful artist, feminist, and LGBTQ+ icon for many, all sadly after her passing in 1954 at the age of 47. She passed away from a pulmonary embolism, and was sick a few days before her death, so it wasn’t too out of the blue. Frida became very popular for her art a few years after her death and captured people’s attention in the 70’s because of her use of color. She was very outspoken and vulnerable about her life in her paintings, showcasing her famous unibrow, body hair, gender-neutral style, and about being bisexual which wasn’t bery accepted then. She was a strong, artist, woman, and activist which explains why people are still fascinated by her today! I fell in love with Frida’s work when I was in third grade, and had a project in school to do on an artist. I was captivated by how different her art was to anything I had seen before. Her art was bright, dramatic, grotesque, gorgeous and really spoke volumes to me (even as a third grader). I remembered being eerily comfortable looking at such heavy subjects painted out so wonderfully, and she really inspired me to know that I can overcome any adversities thrown at me, and be my best self. Even though she had a very painful life, she never threw that pain onto anyone but instead was sometimes reclusive, but to work on herself and her art. A few days before her death, she wrote: “I hope the exit is joyful--and I hope to never come back,” in her diary. It’s upsetting that she could see that her end was near, and would never be able to see her art grow to its fullest potential and popularity, but a few days before her death she was able to go to her first gallery and spoke at a demonstration against the CIA invasion of Guatemala. She did that all while having been bedridden with bronchopneumonia, which really proves you can do anything you put your mind to. She is very inspirational to me and I hope that I can be as strong as Frida in my life, and through the issues I will encounter!

LGBTQ+ Activist

Marsha P. Johnson

|  By Leo Margil

Marsha P. Johnson was an outspoken transgender activist, and was at the forefront of the Stonewall Uprising, a turning point for LGBTQ+ rights. While her participation in the uprising is debated, she is credited with throwing some of the first bricks. She was friends with many other activists of the time, including Sylvia Rivera, another famous transgender activist. After Stonewall, she joined many more LGBTQ+ rights movements and continued fighting for them until her death in 1992. The cause of death is still debated, and may have been a murder or suicide. The police didn’t investigate it, because they weren’t concerned with what they called a ‘gay black man’s’ death. As a transgender person, Marsha P. Johnson inspires me with her resilience and constant fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The LGBTQ+ community would not be where it is without the hard and dedicated work of our queer elders, especially the Black trans women who were at the head of the fight for liberation.

Activist for Acid Attack Victims

Laxmi Agarwal

|  By Diya Sebastian

Laxmi Agarwal is an activist for acid attack victims and is currently a TV show host. When Laxmi was 15 years old, a stalker of hers threw acid onto her face. He was a family friend whose advances she had not responded to, and out of spite, he permanently disfigured her face. Through a public interest litigation in India’s supreme court, Agarwal was able to enact restrictions on the sale of acid and many more regulations. She has gone on to lead more campaigns where she started a hunger strike to demand rehabilitation and justices for acid attack survivors like herself. She also received the International Women of Courage award and she continues her fight for more rights to protect acid attack survivors. I remember when the Bollywood movie called Chhapaak came out. Bollywood releases a lot of theatrical biopics about tragic stories that have occurred in India’s history.

"Chhapaak" itself means splash, or in this case, the splash of acid being thrown onto Agarwals’ face. I had watched the movie because one of my favorite actresses was in it, but I came out of the movie with a renewed sense of purpose. I was the same age as her when she was attacked, but she has gone and changed the world for every acid attack victim. Agarwal has inspired me to take action against the grievances I see in the world. She had the option to stay quiet and live a reclusive life, but she chose to make herself heard. I hope to do the same. 

Poet

Emily Dickinson

|  By Val Valderrama

Born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10, 1830. Emily Dicknson is called one of the greatest American Poets who redefined what could be possible through the medium. As a young girl she was outgoing, curious and deeply interested in nature and the study of plants. Due to her time she published only around 12 poems, most under unknown or others names. In her last years she was known for only wearing a white dress around town coining her the nickname “the woman in white.” However, wrote constantly throughout her lifetime. After her death, her younger sister found her poems (a little over 1,000!). These were later published and today are heavily recognized. Some of her characteristic elements were her unique take on grammar, such as capitalizing words for emphasis, run on sentences and lack of nouns allowing poems to be personalized by the reader. Yet, her true popularity is for making concepts that are abstract—such as lust, truth, and, death—tangible. As an article put it, she was “defining meaning without confining it.”

Some weeks ago I went to a local bookshop and after strolling through the aisles, I came in front of the Poetry section. I am a big music lover, and so poetry is something I’ve been interested in more and more. As I scanned the shelves of the section I felt an odd yet instinctive pull from a small soft orange colored collection of Emily Dicknson’s poems. Since then, I’ve been investigating her and her life more and more. I was surprised to find that she lived and was born here in Massachusetts! Also, there is a Series on Apple where Hailee Steinfeld plays Emily. It is a bit dramaticized, yet, it has served as a great introduction to her life. If you have Apple+ I definitely recommend watching it. As I’ve discovered more about her I can see that she was a woman that thrived in self-reflection and analysis of the common complex things around her. Things which I do and sometimes feel guilty of. She makes me see that those things are special unique traits that enhance my viewpoint and writing. Similarly, she lived almost every day of her life in Amherst and spent long periods of her life at home. This reminds me that there is beauty in staying home and observing the quiet seasons gradually change. I also really love that she wrote odd poems that expanded what was possible and how the rules worked. ”Experimentation is always allowed” she wrote once. She deeply understood how a message could be effectively transmitted, by taking the time to understand herself. I am just at the beginning of reading and understanding her work, and I am excited to learn more! One video that really helped me to see how interesting her work is was this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55kqNg88JqI&t=398s. Hope you enjoy it!