{"id":57256,"date":"2024-02-28T16:17:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=57256"},"modified":"2025-10-20T13:42:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:42:57","slug":"utc-to-celebrate-womens-history-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/02\/utc-to-celebrate-womens-history-month\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC to celebrate Women\u2019s History Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

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March is Women\u2019s History Month, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s Center for Women and Gender Equity will honor and celebrate women\u2019s contributions to history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just a great time to talk and highlight the historical context of what does it mean to be where we are today as women and how did we get here?\u201d said Lauren Ouwerkerk, associate director of WaGE and the Prism Center.<\/p>\n

WaGE aims to help students find community, she said, and the center is partnering with departments around campus to promote Women\u2019s History Month events.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think sometimes it is very easy to forget the journeys that we\u2019ve been on to get these rights,\u201d Ouwerkerk said.<\/p>\n

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Click here for a list of Women\u2019s History Month events<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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WaGE\u2019s biggest event of the month is their Women\u2019s Leadership Academy, taking place the weekend of March 22-24. Ouwerkerk said the center takes 20 to 25 participants to the Ocoee (Tennessee) Retreat Center to discuss what it means to be a woman leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is one of the most impactful events we do every year because it\u2019s three days at a retreat center where we\u2019re really talking and getting into deep discussions around what does it mean to be a woman in leadership,\u201d she said, \u201cand what does that experience look like, why is it different, and how can we use that and learn from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

The application for the retreat<\/strong><\/a> closes on Wednesday, March 6.<\/p>\n

In addition to Women\u2019s History Month programming in March, Ouwerkerk said the center always works to connect people academically and professionally. They strive to help students find internships and opportunities within Chattanooga by utilizing their community partners, she said.<\/p>\n

One of Ouwerkerk\u2019s favorite ways to connect students with the professional world is through the center\u2019s yearly Coalition Advocating for Student Empowerment board, which provides five students with paid positions.<\/p>\n

Those students also get experience coordinating various WaGE programs throughout the year, such as the Coming Out Cookout or Take Back the Night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot of work with those five students around what it actually means to be coordinating programs around a community in a targeted area and start from the ground up,\u201d Ouwerkerk said.<\/p>\n

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Women\u2019s History Month calendar of events<\/h4>\n