March is an important time in regard to equality, leadership, and recognition, as it marks the annual Women’s History Month. Thursday, March 14   campus helped to emphasize the importance of this yearly celebration through the Women in Leadership Recognition Ceremony.

This event was presented by the campus’ Women’s Issues Committee, and was led by Ellie Schemenauer, the leader of the committee and chairperson for the Women and Gender Studies Department.

Through this event, the campus recognized and thanked 13 individuals who made an impact; whether it be on the Whitewater campus, through the community, or even nationwide.

A welcome address was given by Mily Trevino-Sauceda, the current Vice-President and co-founder of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas , an organization whose vision is of a future where all females are free from violence and are leading the path to a better world.

Trevino-Sauceda is the recipient of several accomplishments and awards, including the “100 Heroines of the World” and the New York University (NYU) award for “Leadership for a Changing World”.

She is also noted to be a very involved community activist, being an advisory Mexican American Political Organization (MAPA), a member to the National sexual Violence Resource Center, as well as being a board member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council among many other boards.

In her address, Mily mentioned that, “As a community activist, it’s not about what you feel and think that the community needs. It’s about what it actually says and shows that it needs.”

The welcome address was followed by a presentation of certificates, handed out by Ashley Barnes-Gilbert, Erica Fischer, and Nikki Scaffidi. These certificates were awarded to 13 honorees, each of who had their own unique impact.  

Among these honorees were Jennifer Anderson, an assistant professor in the department of social work, Shannon Dozoryst, the interim associate provost and director of academic assessment, and Isabella Virrueta, graduate assistant at the PB Poorman Pride Center as well as a Higher Education Leadership graduate student.

Each individual honoree had their own great accomplishment, whether it be international recognition for scholarly work and writings, as achieved by Nayla Chehade of the languages and literatures department, or for creating an entire program from scratch for printmaking, as done by Max White, a professor in the department of art and design.

Honoring the hard work and accomplishments from the women in multiple departments through UW-Whitewater campus was the main focus of the event, and had a valuable impact about hard work paying off for female attendees.

“It’s great to see all of the hard work that these women have put so much time into finally pay off,” said Taylor Bern. “This is the example that should be set for all young adults.”