Women’s History Month has its humble origins in 1981 when Congress moved to celebrate “Women’s History Week”. Since 1995, presidents have set aside the whole month of March and issued proclamations to celebrate the contributions that women have made to the United States of America. Shout out to all the women out there who are overcoming obstacles, breaking stereotypes, chasing dreams, raising families, and doing what needs to be done. Let’s take a look at some amazing women to gain inspiration from for this year’s Women’s History Month:
Travel + Exploration
Captain Kate McCue: First American cruise ship captain.
After going on her first cruise at the age of 12, Kate McCue desired to become a cruise director. Her father supported her and told her to dream even bigger, that she could be a ship captain one day. In a male dominated industry, Kate achieved her dream in 2015 by becoming the first female commanding officer for the ship Celebrity Summit. As captain, Kate’s duties are to oversee operations, navigation, safety, and passenger service. (Information from cruiseblog.com)
Ellen Ochoa: First Hispanic woman to go into space.
Ellen Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on the nine-day STS-56 mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. She has flown in space four times, including STS-66, STS-96 and STS-110, logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit. Ochoa has been recognized with NASA’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award for senior executives in the federal government. She has received many other awards and is especially honored to have six schools named for her. (Information from Nasa.gov).
Sports
Sarah Thomas: First female football official to referee at a Super Bowl.
Love of sports began early with Sarah Thomas when she excelled in high school softball and attended college on a basketball scholarship. Her officiating career began in 1996, and in 2015 she made history by becoming the first female official to referee at a Super Bowl, and she was even featured in a prominent Super Bowl Advertisement. (Information from operations.nfl.com)
Simone Biles: Most decorated gymnast in history
Simone Arianne Biles Owens is the most decorated American gymnast in history and considered by many as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. Her seven Olympic gymnastics medals are ninth-most of all time and tied with Shannon Miller for the most by a U.S. gymnast. Biles first tried gymnastics at age 6 during a day-care field trip where the instructors saw potential and suggested she continue with gymnastics. (information from wikipedia.org)
Music
Selena: One of the most influential Latin artists of all time
Born Selena Quintanilla on April 16, 1971, in Texas, the artist known as ‘Selena’ was a pop superstar who brought Mexican Tejano music to the masses. She’s one of the most influential Latin artists of all time, winning a Grammy award in 1993 and a gold record in 1994 with Amor Prohibido. Selena, along with Rita Moreno and Gloria Estefan, was one of the few Latin pop stars who crossed over into the mainstream. She was tipped to be the next Madonna, but tragically her career was cut short when she was shot by the president of her fan club over a dispute over the latter’s embezzlement of Selena’s company money. On the posthumous release of her last album, a nation mourned the death of this lost talent. (Information taken from artsandculture.google.com)
Taylor Swift: One of the most influential artists in contemporary music.
Taylor Swift is a multitalented singer-songwriter and global superstar who has captivated audiences with her heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies, solidifying herself as one of the most influential artists in contemporary music. In 2024 she made history when she won the Grammy Award for album of the year for Midnights (2022), becoming the first artist to win in that category four times. (information taken from britannica.com)
Art
Frida Kahlo: Famous artist and feminist icon
After she was severely injured in an accident int 1925, she began to paint the self-portaraits that would gain popularity lasting into modern times. In 1953, Kahlo received her first solo exhibition in Mexico. While bedridden at the time, Kahlo did not miss out on the exhibition’s opening. Arriving by ambulance, Kahlo spent the evening talking and celebrating with the event’s attendees from the comfort of a four-poster bed set up in the gallery just for her. Later in her career, she became politically active and married fellow artist, Diego Rivera. (Information taken form biography.com)
Amanda Gorman: Influential Poet
The first National Youth Poet Laureate, Gorman has been making career moves in 2021 and 2022. She spoke words of inspiration at the Inauguration of President Biden and then went on to perform before the National Anthem at Super Bowl LV. Gorman kicked off 2022 with a new poem called “New Day’s Lyric.” Gorman had already graduated cum laude from Harvard University, written for the New York Times, and started work on three books. As impressive as her accomplishments are, we’re most taken by her choice to channel her talents toward affecting positive societal change. (Information from Variety.com)
What do all these women have in common? They worked hard to develop their natural talents into opportunities as they chased they made their dreams a reality. You don’t need to be famous to be an expectational woman and we celebrate you this month as your labors and sacrifices make a difference in this world.
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