March 1 marked the start of Women’s History Month, a time designated for honoring women’s contributions and efforts throughout American history. In celebration, Keene State’s 36th annual Outstanding Women in New Hampshire Awards ceremony will take place on March 26 at 6:30 p.m..
This year, the theme for the event will be “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future,” according to the Office of Community and Belonging’s Coordinator of Student Support Nina Zienkiewicz
Nominees will be honored in four categories: Keene State Student, Keene State Faculty or Staff, Greater Monadnock Region and State of New Hampshire. While the nominees have not yet been publicly announced, the individuals themselves will be honored at the ceremony, with their names later published on the Keene State website.
Zienkiewicz said Associate Vice President for Community and Belonging Dottie Morris, Professor of English Brinda Charry and her decided on “some amazing and inspiring women who fall into the theme’s category.”
When asked about the event’s connection to Women’s History Month, Zienkiewicz said, “Women have contributed a lot to technological advances and scientific advances and we need to recognize that. We’ve made the Women of New Hampshire awards an annual event to contribute to doing so.”
Women’s History Month, formerly marked as International Women’s Day on March 8, 1911, later developed into “Women’s History Week” in 1978. Over the next few years, various women’s groups and historians, including the National Women’s History Alliance, called for politicians to nationally recognize the week. This led to the passing of Public Law 100-9, which designated March as “Women’s History Month” in 1987.
Keene State students expressed their support for the month and the different aspects of it.
Junior Haley Hagler said, “I’m personally excited. There’s been a lot of hatred towards women lately and I feel like it’s nice to be appreciated, especially in my major, which is Sports Management,” she said. “There’s been a lot of issues lately, like the gold medal situation with the women and men’s team at the Olympics. I feel like we just need some positivity in celebrating women’s sports, in addition to International Women In Sports day [in February].”
Junior Ava Moore said, “I’m excited. The month highlights different things that women have accomplished or big things going on, and that’s always interesting to learn about.”
Both Hagler and Moore are part of Phi Sigma Sigma, one of KSC’s sororities, and said being part of their sisterhood has helped them feel supported as women on campus.
“We all have each other’s backs. Knowing we have all these people in our orbit, in our community, we’re all just really supportive,” Moore said. “As someone who doesn’t have a sister, it’s nice to have a lot of them, you know? It’s a good feeling.”
Hagler added, “I’ve met some of my greatest friends through Greek life and being a part of this [Phi Sigma Sigma]. It’s nice knowing you have girls and people with different experiences, you don’t feel as alone when something occurs with your physical or mental health, and you just always have someone to talk to.”
Junior Liam Slattery said that he feels Women’s History Month is important.
“Making sure minority groups get a place in the spotlight is great, I think underrepresented groups [like women] deserve a month,” he said. “It makes people say, ‘Hey, it’s Women’s History Month, let’s talk about this and what it means.’ Kids, like K-12, can learn about this stuff and take it with them growing up.”
Zienkiewicz said that she works alongside Feminist Collective and praised the work they do to support women on campus, including upcoming events and social media campaigns that students can expect to see from them in the final months of the academic year.
When asked why Women’s History Month is important for the Keene State community, Zienkiewicz said, “When we’re recognizing women at any level, it shows that support is widespread. It’s good for students to recognize the work women do here, and the energy put into everything.” She continued, “We support each other, and when women reach the point of doing something worth celebrating, we’ll [the Keene State community] be here to do that.”
Samantha Menard can be contacted at
