Introducing P+S’s brand new sister site, MajorCrush.Org! A sleek, more streamlined way to view the inspiring women (and more) featured on Role Call and The Graduate. From college majors to career paths, you’ll find your Lady Inspiration for Life.
Browse a growing list of college majors, graduate programs and professional tracks – and keep checking back for more featured areas of focus.
Because every day is #WomanCrushWednesday.
Lauren is Pursuing an MA/PhD in Classics at UC Berkeley.
The Graduate is a new blog feature considering college majors, graduate school, and a look into career options beyond higher ed. To view a more comprehensive list of professional tracks and career paths, check out our sister site MajorCrush.org.
Name: Lauren Miller
College/ Major: Williams College ’15, Classics and Comparative Literature
Graduate School/ Program: UC Berkeley, Classics MA/PhD
From birth control to body hair, our Love Letters panel of diverse women (now in their 20’s and 30’s) share their personal experiences from high school and beyond- and the advice they wish they had received growing up. Catch up on the ‘best of’ highlights below, and click the links to view more perspectives on each topic.
On Feminism: “What does feminism mean to me now? I don’t have the tidy philosophy that I did in high school or college. But, in practice, it means making choices – sometimes hard choices, like staying at work – to keep myself economically empowered. It means not setting myself up to be screwed if something happened to us or to him. It means protecting myself against pressure to stay with him for economic reasons.” –Miss Rosebud [read more]
On Parents: “If I was required to drink a glass of milk at dinner, I wanted to know why, and if it was so healthy, why they weren’t drinking one, too. And it was my body, why did they get to dictate what went into it… I needed a logical answer to every question, and I was also keenly aware of what I felt to be “injustice.” That they had complete authority, which seemed like a grave injustice to me, and I was constantly fighting them. The more I argued for autonomy, the more my parents tried to control me, and the more I rebelled from their control.” –Miss Peony [read more]
On Dangerous Relationships: “I was seemingly in control of every aspect of my life except this one, and I didn’t want anyone to know because a.) I loved this person and thought I could help him learn how to love and trust someone, since he had been abused as a child, and b.) I was embarrassed: I was a confident, smart, funny, no-nonsense feminist. This went against everything I believed in and the life I had built for myself.” –Miss Bluebells [read more]
You, on college acceptance day…
February can be a short, but cruel, month – followed by a long, excruciating March – while you are waiting to hear back from college admissions. Trying to envision your life after senior year is nail-biting: this is the rest of your (foreseeable) life we are talking about. Unfortunately, the struggle is real – there is no telling what your April inbox holds. So take a break from checking your mail obsessively or scrolling though the ivy-speckled Instagram account of that dream alma-matter, and channel your anxiety into these 10 ways to keep it cool instead.
Did ‘Career Day’ leave you uninspired? Are you currently considering a college major, profession, or career switch later in life? Catch up on Role Call, a blog feature where young professional women share their insights on achieving success (…and their advice to teens!) You can also visit our sister site, Major Crush, for a more comprehensive view of the possible college majors and career paths walked by inspiring women.
Now take a look back at the growing list of women career role models – and importantly, what they would advise young women on pursuing their dreams.
We are always looking for more diverse and unique professional young women to profile – contact petalandsass@gmail.com to recommend yourself or a friend, or leave a suggestion in the comments section below.
‘Love Letters’ is a Petal + Sass blog feature that regularly asks a group of diverse women in their 20’s and 30’s about their experiences with health, sex, emotional wellness, body image, college, careers – and what they wish they had known themselves as teenagers. Visit the ‘Love Letters’ To My Former Self page to learn more about the contributors.
Question Posed: What does feminism mean to you? Did you think much about feminism when you were in high school, or did it become more or less important to you later in life?
Katie Coyle is the author of popular YA novel, Vivian Apple at the End of the World.
Role Call is a Petal + Sass blog section featuring interviews with professional young women occupying diverse careers – and their advice to teens.
Name: Katie Coyle
Age: 29
College & major: Marymount Manhattan College, English Literature
Graduate school & concentration: University of Pittsburgh, MFA in Creative Writing
Past jobs: I have worked at a movie theater, a boardwalk bookstore, a video store, as a personal assistant to a very wealthy woman’s personal assistant, a babysitter, a resident advisor, a writing tutor to student athletes, and as a temporary receptionist at various investment banks and non-profits.
Current occupation: Writer, Vivian Apple At the End of the World
Not Pictured: A Fistful of Cheetos.
It’s hard to avoid the word “diet” this time of year, glossing every magazine stand in neon yellow font, or uttered miserably with a deep sigh from the pouty mouths of your mother and best friend. After the holiday season splurge, feeling a little uncomfortable in your favorite jeans is par for the course. But constantly striving to simply “diet” has proven time and again to fail. Why don’t “diets” work? Because life – and the foods we have access to on a daily, livable basis – is not such an easy thing as to contain to a rigid formula.
June received her MBA from Harvard Business School.
The Graduate is a new blog feature considering college majors, graduate school, and a look into career options beyond higher ed. Are you a college or graduate student who wants to be featured next? Tweet us @PetalAndSass or email petalandsass@gmail.com for more information!
Name: June Odongo
College & Major: University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Computer Science
Graduate School & Program: Harvard University, Harvard Business School
Current Occupation: About to jump into entrepreneurship.
Half of the academic marking period is over. You put your best foot forward (at least in September…and maybe a few days in October?) and now you are starting to wonder if perhaps you’ve crashed and burned with five more months of grades to go.
Your midterm grades weren’t spectacular, but you were pretty antsy and excited for the looming holiday season…pumpkin spice lattes… eggnog lattes…and now you’re just jazzed to reunite with your basic vanilla lattes again. Who can blame you with all of the legit distractions?
Petal + Sass 