Students and Alumni

 

Fall 2012 Undergraduate Scholarship Winner: Rachel Pauli!

 

Each fall, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program offers an undergraduate scholarship to a student engaged in activism as well as course work. This fall the scholarship was awarded to Women’s and Gender Studies minor Rachel Pauli.

Rachel was born and raised in the small town of Big Timber, Montana. She first learned of the Women’s and Gender Studies program while searching for courses to fulfill general education requirements. She found the course (WGS 119H Philosophical Perspectives on Women) to be thoughtful and helpful in teaching valuable critical thinking skills. Rachel found that she needed that sort of intellectual stimulation in future courses as well.

While working towards a Psychology degree with a minor in Women’s and Gender studies, Rachel is employed at Planned Parenthood of Montana where she is able to learn about reproductive and sexual health. In addition, Rachel volunteers for the Open Aid Alliance, formerly known as the Missoula AIDS Council, administering rapid HIV tests and conducting risk assessments.

Rachel cites her involvement with Open Aid Alliance and Planned Parenthood as an opportunity to work with passionate, intelligent people. The people she has met in the process are helping shape her academic experience and are bettering her life and passion for activism.

Rachel hopes to be studying Clinical Psychology and Human Sexuality Education at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania next year. She plans to educate people about human sexuality and hopes to develop a comprehensive sex education program for public schools. She also intends to work as a clinical sexologist.

Outside of work, Rachel enjoys cooking meals for her roommates and hiking with her roommates’ dogs. She also plays on three basketball teams; two for intramurals at UM and one for City League. Congratulations Rachel and best of luck in all your future endeavors!

 

 

 Fall 2012 Graduate Scholarship Winner: Virginia Summey!

 

The Women’s and Gender Studies Program implemented a Graduate Certificate Program in 2010. Student interest has surpassed the Program’s expectations. This year we were able to offer the first ever Women’s and Gender Studies Graduate Scholarship. Our esteemed winner, Virginia Summey, has been an excellent example of what the WGS Program had hoped the Graduate Certificate would offer and the type of students it would attract.

Virginia hails  from North Carolina and received a B.A. in Political Science and History from Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.  Seven years ago Virginia moved to Montana to work as an  AmeriCorps Vista and fell in love with the “last best place”. She does visit home when time allows and enjoys  partaking in the delights of southern food.

  Virginia’s graduate studies began at the University of Montana in the History Department. She was encouraged by her advisor, Anya Jabour, to apply for the WGS Graduate Certificate. Virginia cites Professor Jabour as instrumental in the success she has had in her graduate studies here at UM.  Her research focuses heavily on African Americans and women in the twentieth-century South.  The  classes Virginia has taken as a part of the WGS requirements so far, including the seminar in U.S. Women's History, Writing Women's Lives, and Problems in African-American History, have been extremely beneficial to her current and future research and have contributed overall to her knowledge in the women's and gender studies area.

Virginia’s goal is to achieve a Ph.D. after graduating from UM with an M.A. in May.  She will continue her current work on Elreta Melton Alexander, who was a pioneering African-American lawyer from North Carolina.  Virginia’s future research will build directly on the work and knowledge she has gained from being a part of the WGS program.

Virginia’s main hobby outside of academia is spending time with her beloved Boxer, Grits, and her fiancé, Steve.  They love living in Montana and all the outdoor activities within reach. They travel as often as possible and enjoy cooking and home repair projects.  If academia doesn't work out, Virginia would love to go into historical preservation and start a lifestyle website where she would share recipes and teach people how to make fun things out of wine corks. 

Congratulations Virginia and best of luck in all endeavors—wine cork projects and all!

  The Graduate Scholarship is offered every Fall. For more information about the WGS Graduate Certificate Program, please contact us at 406-243-6245 or visit us on the web.

 

Spring Scholarship Winner: Emilie Loran

 

Emilie Loran is quite an active student, and you’ve probably seen her running across campus at some point or another. A double major in Women’s and Gender Studies and Political Science, she finds herself busy most of the time, but she enjoys this and wouldn’t have it any other way. She is a Missoula girl and attended Loyola Sacred Heart High School. Emilie discovered the WGS program in the midst of her first year here at the U. She started volunteering at the Women’s Resource Center on campus, discovered she was destined to be a professional feminist, and became a WGS major. It’s been one of the best decisions she’s made thus far in her life. She is still quite active with the WRC and plans to be for the rest of her time in college. She loves the WGS program not only because the curriculum is challenging, thought provoking, inspiring, and rewarding, but also because of all the people who are a part of the program. Through the program, she has become much more aware of the world and hopes to continue this throughout the rest of her studies. She considers herself lucky to have always been surrounded by amazing women--from her mom to many of her teachers, she's had many great examples of what a feminist looks like.When not doing homework, she enjoys spending time in the sun (if it’s there), reading, and doing yoga.

 

 

 

Fall Scholarship Winner: Sydney Drinkwalter

The Women’s and Gender Studies program is pleased to announce that the winner of the fall Louise Green–Elizabeth Smith Scholarship for Fall 2009 is Sydney Drinkwalter. Sydney will receive $1000 to apply to her Spring 2008 tuition. Sydney Drinkwalter is a junior with a major in Criminology and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. After a forty hour advocate training at the YWCA,in crisis counseling, domestic violence and sexual assault, Sydney has logged more than 300 hours at the Pathways program providing personal advocacy for victims, staffing the crisis line. She’s averaged 12 hours a week at the confidential safe house. She has also staffed the sexual assault clinic on overnight shifts. After graduation, Sydney plans to follow her passion and attend Law School and work to become a legal advocate for victim’s rights and representation in the criminal justice system. She says that the WGS program scholarship will allow her to continue her studies and her meaningful volunteer work. She wishes to thank Dr. John and Janet Stone for providing this invaluable scholarship.

Spring Scholarship Winner: Kelsi Steele

Hometown: Kalispell, MT

Major: Political Science
Minor: Women’s and Gender Studies/History

Featured Student, Jennifer James

Each year, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program honors the best work of its students and faculty through the administration of scholarships and awards. The 2008-2009 academic year brought several qualified applicants to our scholarship competition. The Winner of the Louise Green-Elizabeth Smith Academic Scholarship is Kelsi Steele.

Kelsi has been active in the Model UN-she recently attended the National Model United Nations Collegiate Conference (NMUN) in New York City this past April along with 11 other UM students. The Collegiate Model UN is an academic simulation of the United Nations—aiming to educate students in diplomacy and civics

Kelsi submitted Alice Paul: Suffrage Activist, Human Rights Activist for her scholarship application. Kelsi has taken a number of WGS courses such as Anya Jabours Women in America series, Women in the Western Hemisphere, and History of International Human Rights.

She says the WGS program "has given me a sense of legacy. As a result of my studies within the program, I have a better sense of how hard women have worked in this country, and that we must continue the work to ensure that all Americans have an equal opportunity. Also, as a student of international relations, I no longer view women’s oppression around the world as so inconceivable, but now understand that at one point even women in the United States were once subjected to the same denial of fundamental rights, and I feel that much more inspired to fight for women’s civil and political rights around the world."

Future plans for Kelsi include graduating in 2010. She plans to attend grad school in an International Relations Program and then apply to law school to become international human rights attorney at the US State Department.

Fall Scholarship Winner: Svein Newman

Hometown: Billings, MT

Major: Political Science
Minor: Women’s and Gender Studies

Svein Newman

Each year, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program honors the best work of its students and faculty through the administration and awards. The 2007-2008 academic year brought a change to our scholarship competition. Whereas in past years we had granted one schoarship to a Women’s and Gender Studies major or minor who excelled academically and who enacted her commitment ot feminist issues through community activism, the year we chose to give two awards, each honoring one of the two prongs of Women’s and Gender Studies work.

The Winner of the Louise Green-Elizabeth Smith Academic Scholarship is Karen Weaver. Karen is a senior majoring in Sociology and Anthropology with minors in Women’s and Gender Studies and in Human and Family Development. To qualify for this scholarship, Kraen submitted a research paper, "Women’s Suffrage: The Great Unifier," that she worte for prfessor Anya Jabour’s course, History 370: Women in America from the Civil War to the Present, during spring semester 2006. That course and other WGS courses have helped Karen "view past and current issues from a feminist perspective" and discover women’s "amazing and powerful work in all aspects of life." In addition to her full-time studies at UM and half-time employment, Karen volunteers for Students for Choice, Montana Women Vote, NARAL, the Western Montana Humane Society and the Montana Anthropology Students Association. Karen believes her minor in WGS will give her valuable skills for use in her futrure career, community and family life. Karen’s professors speak highly of her investigative mind and writing skills. They describle her as an intelligent, dedicated, and self motivated student, as well as a well-rounded leader and feminist activist. The Women’s and Gender Studies program at UM is very pleased to offer this scholarship to Kraen Weaver and has the highest confidence in her future achievements.