#ThisIsLeadership: Recognizing Everyday Wellesley Warriors
Since 2009, Wellesley Underground has been dedicated to highlighting alumnae stories of success and struggle to both complement and counter the pervasive and singular narrative of what is viewed as successful in the culture of Wellesley. As a group of alums stated last year in an open letter to President Paula Johnson, Wellesley alums “are activists, leaders, volunteers, educators, caregivers, storytellers, whistle-blowers, and innovators. Some of us are parents, some of us are partners, and some of us construct our lives in other ways. Despite these myriad roles, the one thread that connects us is our time at Wellesley and the principles that we carry together.”
One of the first series we started here at Wellesley Underground was the Wellesley Alum of the Month (#WAOTM) series. While the college officially gives accolades to those who garner national and international attention for politics, business, finance, or academia via the Alumnae Achievement Awards, we wanted to create a space to highlight amazingly accomplished alumnae who would not traditionally garner the attention of the College. The #WAOTM are everyday Wellesley Warriors like Shayla Adams ‘08, who started a nonprofit that helps girls of color find a path to college as first generation college students. Or Amita Rao ‘05, an HR specialist, who has served the Wellesley Community online by providing alumnae with advice on job applications and a toolkit for asking for raises. And then there are alumnae like Jenny Ross ‘00, a physics professor at UMass Amherst who is dedicated to encouraging women to enter the sciences, and Tuck Rosebrock ‘10, a transgender alum who wrote this beautiful essay on his experience at Wellesley as a transman while the College was reconsidering its gender admission policy. These alumnae represent only a fraction of Wellesley College graduates making a difference in the world today.
You can therefore imagine how THRILLED we were here at Wellesley Underground when the college reached out to collaborate on the #ThisIsLeadership campaign (and we loved the shout out in last weeks’ email from the college! Thank you, Dr. Johnson!). One of the reasons we started WU was to see the College and the Wellesley alumnae community challenge the notion that we all need to fit under a certain mode of success to be making a difference.
To that end, Wellesley Underground and the Wellesley Alumnae Association want you to nominate an alum who you think is a leader in their community, in their career, in their family, or wherever they are. By nominating an alum of your choice, you will be helping the overall Wellesley community redefine and expand the the definition of what it means to be a leader. To nominate a Wellesley alum for the #ThisIsLeadership initiative, simply go to this form and put in the name of your nominee and why you think they are a leader. While you are at it, go ahead and nominate the same alum for the #WAOTM series by using this form! At every level, there is a leader that paves and guides the way. We're excited to learn more about and share our alums!
