Alumnae Help Open Doors
The summer before her junior year, Yajaira Gallegos (BS19) taught kindergartners in Athens, Greece, about Mexican traditions and culture as part of the country’s nationwide effort to prevent xenophobia in young children.
The internship, made possible through the Council of One Hundred’s Trailblazer Award, turned out to be a transformative experience. As Gallegos immersed herself in curriculum design, event planning and creating cultural awareness, she realized she wanted to pursue a career in higher education with a focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“As a first-generation, low-income student, the award allowed me to experience things that I never imagined, like studying abroad and having this internship that impacted my undergraduate experience and my career goals,” Gallegos, who is now a graduate student in the Higher Education Administration and Policy Program at Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy, told Northwestern Magazine.
The Council of One Hundreds, which funds students who participate in unpaid internships through Northwestern’s Summer Internship Grant Program, is one of several alumnae groups that contributes to Northwestern’s impact on the community through financial support for people and programs, continuing education programs, and professional opportunities that develop the next generation of women leaders.
Soon after Northwestern opened its doors to the first woman student 150 years ago, groups of Evanston women founded the Women’s Educational Aid Association and the University Guild to support female students and share Northwestern’s intellectual resources. Northwestern alumnae joined these organizations, which still exist today, and also formed their own groups with similar missions.
Read more about these groups, which include The Alumnae of Northwestern University, the Learning for Life lecture series, the Women’s Initiative of Northwestern and The Women’s Board of Northwestern University in Northwestern Magazine.