Student Voices

Barrier-breaking women and how they inspire the next generation of young leaders

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” — TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1972

BY AUBREY MORAN, CLASS OF 2026

At Harpeth Hall, we are constantly learning about influential women who paved the way for many young girls. We also learn how women all over the world have for generations been viewed as inferior to men and less important. For example, in history we learn about how people believed that women only could cook, clean, and take care of children.

Today, women still do not have the same opportunities as men and have to fight harder to achieve their goals. The girls and women in my generation look for someone to inspire and encourage them to make their own difference in the world.

A woman who has taught me and young girls to chase their dreams is Amanda Gorman. Amanda is an activist and the youngest poet in U.S. history to read at a presidential Inauguration Day. She is a talented, independent, and strong woman. She was raised by her single mother, Joan Wicks, who was a 6th grade English teacher.

As a child, Amanda loved to read and write and was encouraged by her mother. Throughout her life, Amanda struggled with a speech impediment. She experienced difficulty learning certain sounds, such as “sh” or “r” — both ones that her peers had already mastered. She went to speech therapy most of her childhood.

“I’m really grateful for that experience because it informs my poetry,” she told Oprah Winfrey in an episode of “The Oprah Conversation” that aired in March 2021. “I think it made me all that much stronger of a writer when you have to teach yourself how to say words from scratch. When you are learning through poetry how to speak English, it lends to a great understanding of sound, of pitch, of pronunciation, so I think of my speech impediment not as a weakness or a disability, but as one of my greatest strengths.”

Amanda embraces her differences and is a stronger poet, writer, and speaker because of them. She persevered through her hardships and became the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate.

The inauguration was an amazing opportunity for Amanda. Her poem “The Hill We Climb” will be remembered for its place in history. The poem reflected her view for the future of our country.

For young girls to see Amanda stand in front of the entire country and share her voice shows them that they, too, can amplify their own thoughts and opinions.

One line from her poem that made an impact on me is the very last line which is, “For there is light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.” I watched the inauguration in Ms. O’Brien’s history class, and I will always remember hearing this line. The words changed the way I view the world, and it has shown me that we have to step out of our comfort zone and be confident in who we are.

BY KATE MAREE BREWER, CLASS OF 2023

The passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments in 1972 was groundbreaking for women in the United States. Fifty years ago, women were underrepresented in colleges and universities. As a result of Title IX, women began to outperform men in both enrollment and success in higher education institutions. Equal opportunity opened a door for women, and women excelled.

While Title IX is often misunderstood to be exclusively related to sports, the original intent of the legislation covered all academic areas and was later expanded to include athletics. As a Harpeth Hall student who values hard work and admires those motivated by ethical virtue and academic integrity, I am grateful this legislation granted women who work hard equal opportunity in sports and academics.

A trailblazing woman whom I particularly admire is Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Sharing a birth year with Title IX, Amy Coney Barrett grew up in an American society that was reframed by this groundbreaking law. Through hard work and intense focus on her academics, Justice Barrett graduated from Rhodes College magna cum laude with a degree in English literature. She then graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School where she earned the Hoynes Prize as the top student in her class and served as executive editor of the Notre Dame Law Review. In addition to these academic achievements and her professional roles as Notre Dame law professor and judge, Justice Barrett consistently maintained a positive, ethical reputation among classmates, professors, colleagues, and students. Her law professor, Judge Patrick Schiltz, recalled, “I never heard a bad word or a snide word about Amy from any of her classmates. She was just such an obviously gracious, kind, decent person that...you couldn’t dislike her if you wanted to.”

Despite the combative election season and political debates surrounding her appointment in October 2020, Justice Barrett remained dignified and refrained from social media banter. She became the 103rd associate justice of the Supreme Court and only the fifth female justice after Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. With her appointment, Justice Barrett broke new barriers, serving as the first female justice who is also a mother of school-age children. Along with her legal duties, Justice Barrett shares the enormous responsibility of parenting seven children, including two adopted and one child with Down Syndrome, with her husband.

I admire not only her academic drive but also her commitment to family and faith as well as her firm belief in the United States Constitution. Just as I look to role models like Amy Coney Barrett to inspire me to do my best, I look to my teachers whose knowledge and encouragement also motivate me to work hard. Title IX helps us all!