This is part of a series of blogs from Noble campus representatives to give a deeper look at campus life.
This month, we’re celebrating Women’s History Month at ITW David Speer Academy and recognizing the many achievements that women in history have fought for and earned. We believe that shining a light on women in different fields shows other young girls that they too can achieve their dreams.
At Speer, we have two clubs that center around women empowerment and history.
G.I.R.L.S – Great Independent Responsible Ladies of STEM discusses women in STEM, inequalities in society towards women, and how to empower themselves as women to continue to be the catalyst for change in the future.
Girls Who Code helps teach girls computer and coding skills to equip them to find a job in STEM fields.
Both of these clubs have encouraged girls to learn about themselves, other women who came before them, and continue to push for equality for all women.
We had the privilege to speak with Serenity Harris, a senior and a member of the Girls Who Code club at Speer for the past four years, about her thoughts on Women’s History Month.
Check out what she had to say:
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
I think Women’s History Month means that we learn more about the women who have impacted our society and fought for the rights I have today. Women have to face daily challenges such as sexism, inequality, gender pay gap, reproductive rights, and gender-based violence, just to name a few. Despite these struggles, women have still found the strength to keep pushing and breaking barriers in fields like STEM and many others. Their contributions deserve to be seen and acknowledged.
If you could highlight one woman and her contributions in STEM or history, who would it be and why?
Katherine Johnson was a NASA Space Scientist, who helped to calculate the orbital position and landing of America’s first human spaceflight mission. With the help of Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, they were able to make sure the spaceflight landed safely. Katherine was the first woman that was ever credited for her research on the mission. This shows that it is extremely important that women get acknowledged for their contributions just as much as men do.
Another person I want to highlight is Dr. Rebecca J. Cole. She was the second African American woman to graduate with a medical degree in the United States in 1867. She became an advocate for health and hygiene for disadvantaged women and children. She fought to provide equal access to medication and care for families. This is important because, even to this day in our society, people still don’t have equal access to healthcare in the United States.
How do these contributions impact you today?
I want to go to college to be a fashion designer. My top three options are North Park University, Wheaton College, or Kansas State University.
Katherine Johnson was able to break through in a male-dominated field and advocated for more diversity, and spoke up about her ideas. I want to break through in the fashion industry and create change. I want to make a difference and speak up about body positivity, diversity, genderless clothing, and the physical and mental health of models and designers in the industry.
Rebecca J. Cole was able to use her knowledge of health and medicine to provide equal access to women and children in need. I want to be able to create my own clothing brand one day. I want to make sure that the models who represent my brand in the future are taking care of their physical and mental health. My goal is to make sure my clothing is sustainable, accessible for all different body types, and has fair pricing so that anyone, anywhere, can wear my clothes.
Read more about how folks at Noble are celebrating the diversity of our community:
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