By Danica Ward
Staff Writer
Women in Learning and Leadership, otherwise known as WILL, is a program first instituted by the University of Richmond in 1980, as a response to the increase in research done on women’s colleges and feminist scholarship. The program combined coursework that centered around women’s gender, and sexuality studies, with out-of-classroom experiences.
The College brought in Cynthia Paces, a former member of WILL at the University of Richmond, in 1998 to kickstart its own institutional WILL program.
“For students, [WILL] creates a supportive space to explore intersectional identity, develop confidence and become informed leaders who are prepared to challenge inequities in their own communities,” said Maria Hourihan, a junior sociology major and president of the College’s Women in Learning and Leadership program.
Since 2007, the WILL program at the College has been directed by Cecelia Colbeth, a women’s, gender and sexuality studies professor who previously served as program coordinator for the Women’s Gender Studies Department.
The longstanding purpose of the program has been “to encourage critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and active learning opportunities that empower young women as leaders during and beyond their college tenure,” according to the program’s original mission statement.
The program aims to educate young women through a 13-credit course structure that culminates in both a certificate and minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. The first course, titled Rebel Girls, teaches new WILL members about the different waves of feminism in American society, as well as how feminist ideologies also intersect with other cultural issues.
One current Rebel Girls student, freshman music education major Mary Januszka, said she is grateful for the WILL program.
“Coming from a small conservative town where I never felt like my voice was ‘valid,’ WILL has given me a space to express my true beliefs,” she said. “This organization gives me a great outlet for my politics loving side.”
For Kena Patel, a freshman business major, WILL has connected her to “some wonderful people who I am grateful to call my best friends.” Patel said she is “incredibly grateful to be a part of this program that challenges me to think critically and have conversations about topics that may otherwise be deemed controversial.”
After Rebel Girls, members are required to take WGS 200, an introductory course for the curriculum, as well as a feminist theories course, complete an internship, and become involved in various on and off-campus events and opportunities.
Bayane Chahine, a junior biology major, said WILL courses “have shaped my understanding of the world and also made me a more knowledgeable individual.” Chahine said the program “will help me when I want to pursue my dream career because I’m able to have a different perspective than most people who don’t have a WGS minor.”
While WILL has its own event requirements for members, such as general body meetings, socials and guest speakers, the program also co-sponsors other campus events, highlighting its involvement in campus life across organizations and academic arenas.
On-campus events like Drag Bingo, vision board making and WILL monologues, formerly known as the “Vagina Monologues,” have helped enrich the experience of members involved in the program by allowing them to learn about cultural history while also making bonds with other members, as was told by Patel and Januszka.
The WILL Monologues, hosted every March, provides both students and alumni an opportunity to share their stories and experiences in a spoken-word format, and is “a meaningful opportunity to uplift voices and foster connections within our community,” said Hourihan. “Hearing others’ monologues about their intersectional experiences was one of the most meaningful and eye-opening moments I have had at TCNJ.”
Students like Hourihan have also participated in opportunities like study abroad programs and the Feminist Majority Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., which also can relate to specific educational and occupational goals.
Patel said “as a business major, the field is male-dominated, but I believe WILL can help me find opportunities for connection within my future career.”
A success story of those connections comes from Blakely Decktor ‘07, an arts in women and gender as well as international studies major, who was an active member of the program. A director for the “Vagina Monologues,” student employee in the WILL office, avid attendee of various protests and marches and part of the El Salvador Solidarity Project study abroad program, Decktor took full advantage of many of the opportunities WILL had to offer.
“I met so many people I would never have met otherwise and who I am close to 20 years later,” Decktor said. “The friends I made have also been professional contacts who I have relied on for advice and support as well as references and introductions to other professional contacts over the years as well.”
The WILL program has long been a staple organization for feminist students at the College, allowing them to become more educated, empathetic, global citizens, as well as more effective leaders and advocates for their communities.
Colbeth, the program’s director, said she hopes the program will “retain a strong presence on and off TCNJ's campus” and wants “members to realize that their knowledge, their strength, their voices, their actions are always going to be needed if we want a truly egalitarian society.”
