A passion for making a difference and Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) credentials link three of the six winners of the 2023 Louise Troxell Award and Edna Kernwood Glicksman Award. These awards, created to honor early campus and community women leaders and to recognize a new generation of inspirational women, acknowledge the accomplishments of UW-Madison juniors and seniors with strong academic records, plans for further education, and deep engagement with campus and community activities. GWS certificate students Mildred Chome and Maggie Konig and GWS major Madison Mormino were honored, along with three other impressive students, for their academic success and their extracurricular commitments. We spoke with these students to learn more about their community involvement, their advice for other students, and their future plans.
Mildred Chome, a Mechanical Engineering major with a certificate in GWS, received her Troxell Award in large part due to a STEM and Mentorship project in Kenya, which she participated in as one of the mentors. This project was started with the goal of sparking an interest in STEM careers in young girls in the Coast region of Kenya. The project aimed to “introduce them to STEM concepts and create a supportive environment for their learning.” It was Mildred’s passion for and dedication to this project that earned her a nomination for this award.
Mildred advises other students “to be passionate about the impact you want to make. Passion will serve as your driving force, helping you navigate challenges and opening doors to new opportunities.” Additionally, she urges other students that “collaborating with professors, advisors, and mentors can provide valuable guidance and support for your projects.”
Mildred plans to graduate in May 2024 with her Master’s in Modeling and Simulation in Mechanical Engineering, and hopes to pursue a career in the field. She aims to “apply the knowledge and skills [she’s] gained during [her] academic journey to contribute to real-world engineering projects, research, or industry initiatives.”
Glicksman Award winner Maggie Konig is getting her bachelor’s degree in Community and Nonprofit Leadership, with certificates in GWS and Asian American Studies. As a student who began their UW-Madison career during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, Maggie wanted very much to build community. That chance came the following year when in-person events resumed at the Multicultural Student Center. “I forced myself to step out of my comfort zone and go to as many events as possible,” she said. “In the words of one of my professors, ‘we must do hard things!’ Yes it can be scary to go to events alone or try something new, but you might find a new friend, mentor, community, or passion.”
Maggie found her passion as the Programming Intern with the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Student Center. There she worked on the Hyphen-Nation book club where she selected books that spanned a variety of topics including “an exploration of the generational effects of Asian immigration to the United States, navigating the intersection of one’s queer and Asian identities, and subverting stereotypes of Asian American immigrants through the use of historical fiction.” This allowed Maggie and other students to “think critically about APIDA representation, reclaiming our narratives, and what it means to be Asian in America.”
After graduation, Maggie hopes to work for a nonprofit organization doing fundraising or event planning. She is especially interested in organizations that are committed to, “fighting obstetric racism and addressing maternal mortality rates among birthing people of color, or for an organization working to provide community and resources to women and LGBTQ+ veterans,” something which her certificate in GWS certainly prepared her for.
Madison Mormino, a Troxell Award winner majoring in French, Gender & Women’s Studies, Psychology, and Global Health with a certificate in Biocore Curriculum Honors, has very simple advice for other students: “Ask questions!”
“I learned about all the service-learning opportunities that I am currently engaged in by just asking questions of the people around me,” she said. Those service-learning opportunities include the Rape Crisis Center, and Madison Street Medicine, both of which Madison has been actively engaged in as a volunteer. With Madison Street Medicine – an organization dedicated to providing medical care to people who are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity – she acted as a volunteer CNA, helped run clinics and street rounds, and learned about healthcare accessibility and inequity issues. Volunteering for the Rape Crisis center was a natural fit, as “this opportunity called to my empathy, interest in psychology and gender studies, and passion for empowerment and advocacy,” Madison said.
Both of these service-learning experiences have inspired Madison to pursue nursing as part of her post UW-Madison plans. “I have a passion for direct patient care as well as health and wellbeing on a national and international scale, in the form of global and community health,” she said. She also hopes to work internationally through a nonprofit humanitarian aid and global health organization as a nurse practitioner.
These students pursued majors in three different schools and colleges on campus, the College of Engineering, the School of Human Ecology, and the College of Letters and Science, and they plan to practice their considerable talents in very different fields. And yet, these remarkable students gained valuable insights from their time spent in GWS classrooms.
We offer our congratulations to these three exemplary students, and we look forward to hearing about their respective journeys!