This is a girl who has a natural tendency to care about others, whether they’re friends or strangers. When it comes to things she strongly believes in, she takes opportunities, or creates opportunites, to work towards the things she loves and cares about. She has rebuilt an organization and put her personal time and effort into what the organization stands for: helping women!
Name: Kathryn Jaeger
Hometown: Oconomowoc, Wi
Class standing: Junior
Major/minor: Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies (major) and Sociology (minor)
Projected graduation date: Fall 2016
Where do you see yourself in ten years? I hope to be conducting research at a shelter in a big city that specializes in sexual assault prevention.
What do you like to do in your free time? I love being around people! I spend a lot of time with my friends and visiting home to see my family.
What is the Women’s Studies Student Association (WSSA) all about? WSSA is about advocating for women and women’s rights. WSSA believes in equality for all people. We meet every Wednesday night at 7 in 2313 Centennial Hall, and new members are always welcome! We talk about what’s going on in the news, share stories, and plan for our events.
How did you get involved with WSSA? I first heard about WSSA in a WGS intro class my freshman year. I became passionate about women’s studies and wanted to get involved. WSSA was not very active on campus my freshman and sophomore years, but I always went to the events they did put on. Summer of 2014 I went to Jodi Vandenberg-Daves, the facility advisor, and explained to her my vision for WSSA. I wanted to get other people involved and eventually have enough members for WSSA to have officers. I went to different events to promote WSSA and now we have a very strong group, with regular members that are passionate and play active roles in the club!
What did it feel like to be recognized for your efforts and achievements within WSSA? It is a very fulfilling feeling. It makes me feel like I’m doing my part as a feminist. It’s important to me to have an outlet for my passions and being the president of WSSA has given that to me.
What is your favorite thing about being involved with the organization? My favorite part of WSSA are the discussions we have during our meetings. The members of WSSA are strong, intelligent, and inspiring people, that I am extremely lucky to collaborate with.
What goals do you have for the organization and is there anything specific you hope to accomplish? I hope that WSSA continues to grow in membership and can continue to reach out to the community.