Many collegiettes have a cause they are passionate about. However, finding the time and motivation to really stand up for it can be difficult. Because we have to take care of the responsibilities that come with being a student, daughter, employee, etc., time is of the essence. Things like charity work for your favorite organization, writing letters to legislators, and supporting your ethnicity, religion, or aspirations generally get pushed to the wayside.
For those who have found themselves caught up in the responsibilities of college life, a little inspiration may be all that is needed to reconnect with those long-lost passions. Here is a list of 15 American women throughout history who collegiettes can look to for that motivation.
1. Elizabeth Bayley Seton (1774 – 1821) – This woman’s work hits close to home for collegiettes at St. Ambrose, as her work was focused on Catholicism, which was largely condemned during her time. After her husband died, Seton converted in 1805, which made it very difficult to support her family. She did not let her struggles stop her work. In 1809, she began a school for Catholic girls in Baltimore, Maryland; however, it was closed shortly after. Seton took her vows that same year and started a new order, the Sisters of Charity. This was the first American Catholic sisterhood. The success of this order led to the beginning of another school, which provided free education to disadvantaged girls from the parish in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Seton is now recognized as the founder of the parochial school system in America. In 1963, Pope John XXIII referred to her as “the flower of sanctity which the United States of America offers to the world.” Seton was canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975.
2. Sojourner Truth (1797 – 1883) – Truth was born in New York as a slave named Isabella. As a Protestant, Isabella did missionary work throughout New York City and eventually became a traveling preacher. During this time, she claimed that God had given her a new name, which we now know her by: Sojourner Truth. She spoke out against slavery, and she fought for women’s rights, even though she was illiterate all her life. After the Civil War, Truth worked as a counselor for newly freed slaves. Concerning women’s rights, Truth encouraged action: “If women want any rights more than they’s got, why don’t they just take them, and not be talking about it.”
3. Dorothea Dix (1802 – 1887) – Working as a school teacher, Dix worked to connect with society’s outcasts. Her work began when she volunteered to teach Sunday school in a jail. She found the inmates shivering in an unheated room, and many were mentally ill. Jail officials told her that “lunatics” couldn’t feel the cold, and if they were provided with a warm stove, they would only burn themselves or the building. After that, she began touring correctional facilities throughout Massachusetts. With her findings, she presented a report to state Legislature to ask for funds to start an institution for treating the mentally ill. She continued this work throughout the nation. Because of the status of women at the time, Dix rarely spoke publicly, but played a prominent role behind the scenes as a lobbyist. She worked throughout her life as an advocate for human treatment for the mentally ill. Dix encouraged all people to aim for happiness. “There isn’t a single human being who hasn’t plenty to cry over, and the trick is to make the laughs outweigh the tears.”
4. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815 – 1902) & Susan B. Anthony (1820 – 1906) – These two women worked together as some of the biggest advocates for women’s rights. Stanton was the daughter of a judge and was well educated. When she was married, the word “obey” was omitted from the ceremony, and her honeymoon was to the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in London. After this, she decided that women should hold a convention for their own rights, stating, “the prolonged slavery of woman is the darkest page in human history.” Soon, she met Anthony and they began a lifelong partnership devoted to women’s rights. Anthony was a teacher who was outraged that male teachers were paid several times her salary. She believed that rights had to be won through the ballot, so she attempted to vote. As a consequence she was convicted and fined for voting illegally. Anthony realized that women’s suffrage would not be achieved in her lifetime, yet she continually encouraged women, telling them that “failure is impossible.” Together Anthony and Stanton targeted laws that discriminated against married women, denying them the right to hold property, or wages, or guardianship of their children.
5. Jane Addams (1860 – 1935) – Addams was a part of the first generation of American women who were able to attend college. Following graduation and struggling with finding her purpose in life, she found her calling in London: the settlement house. She moved to Chicago and started the Hull House, where immigrants came to receive education about how to survive and live in America. This was the beginning of a nationwide movement to help the poor immigrants. Addams also spoke out for Americans to address issues of the Industrial Revolution, including child labor, urban crowding, unsafe workplaces, and poverty wages. In 1931, she was recognized for her work when she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Throughout her life, she worked for equality for all people, stating “the good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.”
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6. Margaret Sanger (1879 – 1966) – The daughter of a nonconformist, Sanger was taught from a young age to rebel and reject prejudice. With her husband and three children, she moved to New York City and was introduced to the issue of birth control. After a poor woman named Sadie Sachs died after trying to end an unwanted pregnancy, Sanger decided to take up the fight for a woman’s right to choose. She published “The Women Rebel” which was a newspaper advocating birth control. This caused extreme controversy, so she fled to Europe to gather more information. In 1916, she returned and opened a clinic in Brooklyn. This led to her arrest, and she served thirty days for distributing information about contraceptives. After her release, she took up leadership in the fight for free access to birth control. Throughout the fight she took on the medical establishment, churches, legislatures, and courts. She was an influential advocate for one of the most important rights that collegiettes and women have today: “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.”
7. Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) – Not all people recognize the fact that Helen Keller achieved great things in her life, and any disadvantaged collegiettes should look to her for inspiration. Left deaf, blind, and mute at 19 months due to an illness, it seemed that Keller would have a future of dependence on caregivers. However, she showed many signs of intelligence, so her mother hired a special teacher who was able to find a communication system with the girl. Keller was able to learn to read, write, and speak. She earned a bachelor’s degree, wrote poetry, and published an autobiography. Keller supported many controversial groups, standing up for the disadvantaged of America. These organizations included: the Industrial Workers of the World, the American Civil Liberties Union, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Margaret Sanger’s birth control crusade. She was asked by the American Foundation for the Blind to help them raise funds. Keller was a living testimony to the potential that the “disabled” possessed. She spent most of her life dedicated to advocating for the needs and rights of the handicapped.
8. Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) – For the artistic collegiettes, not many American women could be more influential than O’Keeffe. She married Alfred Stieglitz in 1924, making them one of the most creative couples in history. She was his muse and he always encouraged her art. O’Keeffe didn’t follow the trends of the time; instead, she painted what she wanted and how she felt. Her art is “uniquely American,” characterized by modernism. O’Keeffe’s artwork is very unique and her life revolved around it. Art was her: “Art is a wicked thing. It is what we are.”
9. Grace Hopper (1906 – 1992) – Hopper is a spectacular role model for those collegiettes who are more interested in math and computers, along with everyone reading this article, because of her contributions to technology. Her work forever changed the way information is transmitted and laid the groundwork for modern data processing. In 1934, Hopper received her Ph.D. from Yale and began teaching math at Vassar College. Eventually she joined the Navy, where she began programming computers. This was a precursor to electronic computers. Hopper wanted computers to be more usable for all people, and she was able to work on the first commercial computer. When she retired from the Navy, Hopper was a Rear Admiral. She was the first woman to hold that rank. Hopper received her first computer sciences award in 1969: the Man of the Year Award. She was also the first person from the U.S. and the first woman to be recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society. She was a computer pioneer, and it is only because of her work that anyone with access to a computer can read this article.
10. Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964) – Any collegiette who is concerned with the environment can be motivated by Carson to stick with this passion. Trained as a zoologist, Carson worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington state. In 1951, she published The Sea Around Us, and it topped the best-seller list for 86 weeks. This prose provided scientific knowledge about the oceans to all people. For her next book, The Edge of the Sea, Carson worked for hours in icy tidal pools until she had to be carried out. She began investigating the effects of pesticides when aerial spraying of DDT killed the birds in a friend’s bird sanctuary. The fact that “environment” and “ecology” are commonly used terms is only due to Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962. During this time, she wrote of reckless pesticide poisoning of rivers and soils throughout America. Her most powerful argument was that the world may soon face a spring when no birds could be heard. She faced much controversy over this issue, but she did not live to see the banning of DDT. Yet, it is clear that her legacy lives on through the work of environmentalists everywhere.
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11. Coretta Scott King (1927 – 2006) – Wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., King played a part in the beginning of many democracy movements worldwide. She and her husband dedicated their lives to social change. After Dr. King was assassinated, his wife worked tirelessly to continue his work and not allow his death to be in vain. For over 40 years, King spoke out for racial and economic justice, women’s and children’s rights, gay and lesbian dignity, religious freedom, the needs of the poor and homeless, full employment, and nuclear disarmament. She was involved in the emergence of democracies throughout the world and working with leaders such as Nelson Mandela. King stands as a model for all collegiettes, holding to the belief that, “Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul.”
12. Sandra Day O’Connor (1930 -) – For those collegiettes who are drawn to the political state of the world, Sandra Day O’Connor is the woman to look to. She was the first woman to be named to the U.S. Supreme Court. In her appointment, the “ultimate glass ceiling” in the legal profession was smashed. Her legal beginnings were difficult, finding herself unable to find work due to her gender. Instead of giving up, she started her own law practice and eventually became the assistant attorney general in Arizona. O’Connor was appointed to the Senate for more than two, two-year terms, even serving as Senate Majority Leader in her last term. She then began moving up through the courts system. On the Supreme Court, she has been a fair and thoughtful jurist. O’Connor broke through the idea that women are not qualified to serve in some of the highest positions in America.
“I think the important thing about my appointment is not that I will decide cases as a woman, but that I am a woman who will get to decide cases.”
13. Sally Ride (1951 -) – As the first American woman in space, Ride is a fantastic role model, especially for those collegiettes interested in physics and other sciences. She received a Ph.D. in astrophysics. Shortly after, Ride applied to NASA as a scientist who could monitor complex shuttle technology. In 1978, she was chosen as one of 35 out of 9,000 (of which only 1,000 were women). Her role was a mission specialist on the Challenger. On the mission, Ride was responsible for testing a robot arm, which deployed and retrieved satellites, assisting the commander and shuttle pilot during ascent, re-entry, and landing, and acting as flight engineer. She was able to return to space again in 1984, and in 1986 she was involved in the investigation of the Challenger explosion. Ride’s legacy lives on with Sally Ride Science, a company dedicated to supporting girls and boys who are interested in science, math, and technology. She continues to serve as the organization’s president and CEO.
14. Billie Jean King (1943 -) – There are many collegiettes who enjoy playing sports, either recreationally or competitively, but females would probably not be recognized as athletes if not for Billie Jean King. She is one of the most celebrated tennis players in history. Her tennis career began at the age of 11, and after one of her first lessons, she told her mother, “I’m going to be number 1 in the world.” In fact, she held that title five times between 1966 and 1972. King dominated the world of tennis, defeating the male Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes.” This was a major breakthrough for women because it proved that athletic ability was not impacted by gender. Because of King, women’s tennis became a major professional sport, and prize money and awards became equal between the sexes. In 2009, King was awarded America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
15. Michelle Obama (1964 -) – Obama is someone all collegiettes should keep their eyes on. She began calling for social reform when her husband was elected president in 2008, and her current work will impact us all. Obama has been concerned with social happenings since her undergraduate work at Princeton, with sociology being one of her majors. She eventually completed law school and went to work for a Chicago law firm. Eventually, she decided that working with people to help them serve their neighbors and communities was her true calling. She worked with Chicago City Hall and developed community service programs in the city. In 2010, she launched her Let’s Move! Program, in an effort to combat childhood obesity by providing education to parents, teachers, and children. In 2011, she and Jill Biden began Joining Forces, which is an initiative to educate the American society of the unique needs of military families as far as employment, education, and wellness, and provide service members and families with the opportunities and support they have earned. The current issues Obama is working on include: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country.