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While at the University of Michigan, the Women’s Studies Department has been a home away from home for me. My college career has revolved around the department’s scores of events, intriguing faculty, breathtaking opportunities and advantageous resources. As a concentrator and honors student, the department provides me with continuous support, guidance and encouragement throughout my journey.

In my courses, I have been surrounded by inquisitive peers and stimulating professors. The courses that I have taken through the Women’s Studies Department have stretched my imagination, pushed my comfort level, diversified my perspective and expanded my ideological views. My honors thesis explores the perceptions of parents with children in early education programs at Great Start Collaborative, a local organization in Wayne County, in order to identify the roles of these programs in the lives of minority families and how their perceptions can influence the future of mainstream research.

Throughout my time at the university I have witnessed Women’s Studies students, faculty, and staff moved by the plight of social injustice, organizing, advocating,  and knee-deep in collaborative efforts to combat inequality. As a result, I have become aware of the difference that I can make, and have been inspired to actively work in my community. The department has granted me the opportunity to work with non-profit organizations, community leaders and congressional members. Specifically, I have worked as a research and advocacy intern with the National Head Start Association in Washington, DC, as well as with Great Start Collaborative-Wayne, where I will conduct research for my honors thesis. Through the department’s direct and indirect contributions, I have been able to dedicate my time and efforts to the investigation of gender as it influences the daily lives of individuals and to combating social injustice, on local, national and international levels.

—Katila Howard