In March 1987, Congress officially instated Women’s History Month in the United States as a month to celebrate and remember all of the women who helped shape the U.S. During the month of March, many Berkeley High School students and different communities highlight women’s accomplishments throughout our nation’s history. The BHS Women’s Student Union (WSU) club spends the month spotlighting inspiring and innovative women on the schoolwide video bulletin.
“I think incorporating the women’s spotlights is an important way to share with the rest of the school about important women and (to) bring to light a very positive aspect of Women’s History Month,” Sophia Koshland, BHS WSU co-president, said. “It really is about celebrating all the accomplishments that women have made, (and) it’s also just a fun way for our club members to kind of get engaged,” Koshland said.
For the past few schoolwide bulletins, the WSU has encouraged its members to do research on a woman in history who inspires them and whom they want to learn more about, allowing them to educate the larger student body on important women in our nation’s history.
“I think a lot of times women get unnoticed even when they’re very important figures, and so because it’s Women’s History Month, it’s the perfect time to give spotlight to awesome women in history who don’t usually get noticed as they’re women,” Julia Warren-Boyd, WSU co-vice-president, said.
Many female-identifying BHS students have taken notice of the spotlights, appreciating their contribution to increased awareness around important women in history. The importance of highlighting women in all areas of life has allowed female-identifying students to see that any passion or interest is attainable for them to succeed in. Members of the BHS WSU strive to reaffirm recognition for foundational women who have historically been overshadowed by men, spotlighting their lives, perspectives, and accomplishments. “There’s so many accomplishments that they have that are not mentioned, men take their credit or no one tells their story. I think it’s really important to learn about them because they’re part of history too,” Lucia Genone, WSU club member, said. “They inspire me how they’ve their dreams and made change, (it) shows that as a woman you can really do anything,” Genone said.
BHS WSU introduced the spotlights to members as a way to get more involved in their own education surrounding influential women, offering them an opportunity to connect with a woman of their choosing that resonates with them or inspires them. Additionally, BHS students are able to see representation of women who are credited for their work, setting a precedent for future generations of BHS female-identifying students to be credited for their contributions to society as well.
Through the spotlights, club members are able to take pride in themselves and their club while simultaneously bringing awareness to Women’s History Month. “I think it’s very aligned with our overall mission of just kind of a combination of educating and then taking action about our education,” Koshland said.
WSU members are able to have more freedom and creativity in their own learning through their spotlighting of women in history and hopefully walk away with a successful female role model or figure to motivate and inspire them. “(It) helps them realize that they can do a lot of things if they put their mind to it … there’s always gonna be parts of history that you don’t hear about, and if you make the effort to find out about it, you can really benefit from it,” Koshland said.
Over the course of the month of March, WSU will continue to feature new spotlights of women in history that have been curated and researched by club members. Through spotlighting these inspiring women in history, BHS students are able to become further educated on past female accomplishments, honoring the women of the past and empowering future generations of women.