Throughout the month of March, the NDB community celebrated Women’s History Month, featuring the people who paved the way for women today. As an all-girls school, the month was especially important in highlighting the achievements and obstacles that led to better education for women. Multiple activities and events from different school boards and departments were offered to students.
The I Am Diverse club decorated the main bulletin board, highlighting 23 different women with their images and some quick trivia about them. It included an activity for students to match the name, photo and quote of each woman on a sheet of paper, and the student with the most correct answers received a treat from Epicurean. The club has also created an art installation in the Innovation Lab, highlighting photographs, poems and short stories created by prominent women.
The club not only highlighted feminism itself, but also raised a major focus on the intersectional piece within feminism, which focuses on the idea that women can experience discrimination in ways besides sexism. The club’s celebration of Nowruz, also known as Persian New Year, highlighted three women within the school who talked about their own celebrations.
March’s community service drive was in support of CORA, an agency in San Mateo County that is dedicated to helping people who have been affected by domestic abuse. Students were asked to bring in Amazon, Target and Visa gift cards, gas cards or items from an Amazon wish list. A workshop and tabling event were set up to bring more awareness to domestic abuse and violence as well as ways that
The community service newsletter for the month of March also highlighted women-led organizations, like ALAS and Samaritan House, for students to volunteer with.
“I think that, every month when we’re celebrating, we really do need to highlight resilience and strength … I think that CORA is a great organization for that because, while we’re looking at primarily women and children, exiting abusive situations [is] where they’re really calling on their resilience and strength of actually connecting with resources available, and CORA is a phenomenal organization,” said G Imazumi-Hegarty, adviser for the I Am Diverse Club.
In other parts of NDB, the Science Department used Women’s History Month to recognize female activists and scientists and as a part of their daily reflection. They created a slide deck with notable women throughout history like Eleanor Roosevelt, Marie Curie, Mae C. Jemison and many more to acknowledge the academic and social achievements that paved the way for all women. Especially in a field like STEM, the department makes it a point to ensure students do not feel discouraged in pursuing a male-dominated career, and instead feel inspired to create change in the field.
The Spiritual Life Department utilized morning prayer as a time to highlight the prayers of female saints, including a few who are not as recognized in everyday life.
On March 8, they also organized a schoolwide presentation on the life of Dorothy Stang, a sister of Notre Dame de Namur, given by her brother, Tom Stang. This talk highlighted Sister Dorothy’s life and her work in the Amazon rainforest, inspiring the students of her bravery to stand up for what she believed in. Long after her death in 2005, students continue to honor her for her dedication to spirituality and her impact on the world.
“I see the ‘empowering women’ that NDB teaches us about and it inspires me to be more like them,” said senior Izzy Sucre, adding that NDB has allowed her to discover career paths and interests.
The NDB community provided a clear message during Women’s History Month: no woman stands alone. The abundance of activities, events and representation reminded NDB women to contribute to their community and support the sisters around them, no matter the task.
