Influential Women

By: BHS Features Staff

March 5, 2025

Every year, starting on the first day of March, Women’s History Month is celebrated. We all know a woman in our lives who helped shape us into who we are today.

In the 1970s, women’s history was generally unknown because it was not taught in schools or to the general public. To bring recognition, the Education Task Force of Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women initiated a week-long celebration for women’s history.

By 1986, 14 states declared March as Women’s History Month. In 1987, Congress declared that March would be Women’s History Month. Due to this, a special Presidential Proclamation is given to honor the achievements of American women.

Knowing the history and background of this important month, the Features Staff interviewed five female staff members about the influential women in their lives.

*Mrs. Holko (Grandmother): “My grandmother overcame a lot of difficulties as a young woman, and as an older woman, she dealt with a lot of physical difficulties and was in a lot of pain, but she still managed to be happy and wanted to spend time with her family.”

*Miss Field (Katherine Johnson and Pat Summitt): “Katherine Johnson was the first African woman to work for NASA and helped get a man into space. Pat Summitt was the women’s basketball coach at The University of Tennessee and showed that women could compete against men, paving the way for women to coach sports.”

*Mrs. Chrzan (Mom): “My mom has always been so strong, and whenever something happens, she always finds a solution and never lets it get her down. She looks at the best in things and has inspired me to be strong and resilient, just like her.”

*Mrs. Berg (Mother and Clarissa Pinkola Estés): “My mom taught me that when there’s a will, there’s a way and to never give up. She is an amazing force, and she relentlessly pursues what she is passionate about, and she passed that to me. Clarissa is a Mexican-American writer who wrote a book titled The Women Who Run with the Wolves and uses folklore to show that women need to listen to themselves and their ‘wildishness’ to be connected to other women and to resist.”

*Mrs. Bir (Mom and Grandmother): “Obviously, my mom raised me, and my mom and grandmother were influential to me because they were hardworking. They both had full-time jobs to help support their family. My grandmother lost her husband when she was only in her 20s and had to raise my father and uncle, solo. My grandmother had a lot of loss in her life but kept looking at the positive aspects of it.”

Judging by the statements above, women are a crucial part of many people’s lives, whether they know the person on a personal level or they know the person from the media. 

Women are loyal and will always be here whenever needed, so show them some extra love because they deserve it. ❤️

{Information for this article is sourced from National Women’s History Alliance.}