SGA
Recognizes
Women’s
History
Month
EMPOWERMENT
+
What
Claire Grady
Alfond President
empowers
YOU
to
be
a
strong
female
leader?
Ginger Brooker, Piper President
Sometimes I doubt myself as a female leader,
so I feel the need to get a man's approval of my
initiatives. However, I think that
accomplishments in face of adversity make
success all the more meaningful. I am
empowered by the belief that I can lead the
change I want to see at Colby. As a nondrinker in an environment where the drinking
culture is prevalent, I represent a marginalized
minority population. Staying motivated while
dealing with the administrative structure of a
private institution can be both frustrating and
discouraging. Sometimes it just takes an email
of appreciation from a resident or
encouragement from a professor to remind me
that yes, all my efforts have made a difference
in the lives of others.
The other empowered
women leaders on
campus who work in
many different ways
to spark change
inspire me. Almost all
major student
organizations at Colby
are lead by strong,
caring and passionate
women. When I see
so many women
taking the initiative to
improve our school, I
can’t help but want to
join them. I feel lucky
enough to call these
women my friends
and to have their
support in how I work
toward improving
Colby.
Lane McVey, SGA Treasurer
Growing up with 2 sisters, I never fully
experienced gender stereotypes at home.
After spending 4 years at Colby, I have
learned so much about women and the
amazing things we are able to
accomplish here as well as the arbitrary
limits imposed by historical norms. I am
proud to be the second female Treasurer
in the history of Colby SGA and I will
continue to be a positive resource for
men and women at Colby
Tracey Tomlinson, 2012 Class President
Seeing female faculty, friends and family marginalized on
the basis of their sex initially spurred me to become a
leader; I want to fight for those close to me to end sexism
once and for all. As a female leader, I have felt
discriminated against on numerous occasions at Colby by
men and women alike and have often been defined not
by my accomplishments but by my sex and placed into
one of the limiting categories that accompany the
stereotypes of female leaders. These misconceptions and
blatant forms of sexism only inspire me to work harder to
make Colby, and society more broadly, encouraging of
female leadership.
Monica Davis, East Quad President
My friends and my teammates inspire me to be a selfassured female leader. If I am confident, they believe
in me and there is no greater feeling than that. I think
that a strong woman is one who does not need to
validate herself as a leader. Strength and leadership
are displayed through actions, not words. Simply
stating that you are a powerful and independent
female does not suffice. So let's go ladies! Assert
yourselves as strong female figures and show people
how fabulous you all are.
Lizzy Gorence, Dana Dorm President
I ran for SGA on a whim. I really just wanted to try
something new to get more involved in the goings-on of
Colby College. Since joining I've felt increasingly
connected to the community at large, and I'm constantly
in awe of the other female members. Being involved with
SGA and feeling like I am apart of positive change in the
community is tremendously empowering, and I'm so
fortunate that I have the privilege of working with other
women who feel similarly.
Kelly Ling, Sturdevant
Marie Curie inspires me to pursue my
interest in sciences. Not only was Curie the
first person to win two nobel prizes ever,
she won them in two separate categories:
Physics and Chemistry. Curie has certainly
set a high bar for both academic as well as
scientific achievement, which I am
compelled to reach through my hard work
and dedication.
Jess Russo, SGA Secretary
The ability to inspire is a result of passion. I am
empowered as a female leader through the
knowledge that I am the most passionate and
dedicated participant of any endeavor I pursue. I am
confident that others can trust me to follow through
with whatever challenge I am given. At Colby, I am
lucky to be surrounded and inspired by other strong
women on campus who prove that female leaders are
motivated, capable individuals who can truly make a
difference in the Colby community.
Cole Yaverbaum, 2014 Class President
I love helping people. That's really all. Feeling
like my efforts make other people happy
empowers me to be a strong female leader.
Morgan Lingar
Parilamentarian and 2012-2013 President
My mom has empowered me to be a strong leader. Her
success in balancing work, motherhood, and
homeschooling has been inspirational for me. She is also
incredibly supportive and encourages me in all my
endeavors.
Laura Maloney, Co-President
Every single day, strong women inspire me. As the
President of my high school PTO and the head of
fundraising campaigns to approve tax overhauls for my
town’s school system, my mom has shown me how
important it is to fight for causes you believe in and to
fight hard for them. I am consistently impressed by the
caliber of female leaders here at Colby both inside and
outside of the classroom. We need to continue to be
ambitious, and settle for nothing less than the best. I am
especially interested in getting more women involved in
politics. Only 17% of the Congress is female, only 6
states have a female governor, and only 9 of the 100
largest cities nationwide have female mayors. We need
to change this, and realize our full potential as qualified
women to be successful, inspiring leaders.
Only 17% of the members of the 112th Congress are female, holding 73 of the
435 seats in the House of Representatives and 17 of the 100 seats in the Senate
(CAWP, 2011b). In other elected offices,