UT Celebrates Women’s History Month

By Paula Klauss

Reporting Texas TV

AUSTIN, Texas – To celebrate Women’s History Month, UT put on a campus wide event called “She Starts Here, then Changes the World.”

The Division of Campus and Community Engagement hosted a university-wide event to celebrate students, faculty and staff at the UT Tower on March 27. There were books, crafts and even Austin’s famous Tiff’s Treats.

UT celebrated Women’s History Month by welcoming dozens of women to the UT Tower to enjoy festivities, including live music.

“Basically we really wanted to put on an event to celebrate women on campus in our past, present, and future. Women who have paved the way for us,” said Daniela Pinedo, event program coordinator for the division of campus and community engagement. “We also wanted to honor the women currently working in the university as well as the future generation.”

Scientists perform an experiment to honor women in STEM during UT’s Women’s History Month Celebration outside the Main Building in Austin, Texas, on March 27, 2024. (Paula Klauss/Reporting Texas TV)

Executives such as Jessica Honegger who is the CEO of of Noonday Collection, and Sarah Seraj who is the CTO of “A Better Force,” were guest speakers at the event. Helen Getachew who is the president of the student government also spoke at the event.

“As you know, UT’s tagline is ‘what starts here changes the world’, so we wanted to really make sure that we embodied what the university was, but also how women change not just the university, but the world,” said Helen Wormington, executive director of strategic initiatives.

One of the students who stopped by was sophomore Mariyah Parks. She wasn’t having a great day and was stressed out. However, she walked by a huge canvas and painting as a way to make her day better. 

“I am actually a studio arts major so when I saw the painting, it just gravitated towards me,” Parks said.

Several students gathered to grab paint and some brushes to leave their mark. “I think it was a long time coming, but we were very fortunate to be able to do this for the first time,” Pinedo said. “We hope to have this event every year from now on, but also want to make sure that women are celebrated every day.”