The Director of the Women’s Center, Dr. Lysa Salsbury, hosted the 22nd annual Virginia Wolf Awards on Mar. 27 to spotlight some distinguished University of Idaho women.
The awards are named after Virginia Wolf, a professor at UI of Physical Education. Her active role in addressing issues affecting women on campus helped establish permanency at the Women’s Center. Her actions inspired the awards to be created in 2002 by Kay Keskinen, former database manager at UI.
Three awards were given to the nominated women. All awards emphasized different services that the Women’s Center values for gender and justice. The awards were split into three categories; students, faculty and community, to touch on all the women contributing to gender equity.
Before the awards commenced, people were given a chance to relax and get to know one another with jazz music performed by Lionel Hampton School of music’s Idaho Silver Saxophone Quartet. The four musicians were Brandt Fisher, Jackson Baldwin, Nic Caballero and Lucas Henning
The first award went to Melanie Velazco Curie, a senior Art and Design student. Her work at the Women’s Center started her freshman year at UI. She held many positions at the Women’s Center, including preventions assistant, programming assistant and office assistant. Just in her first year at UI, she partnered with Palouse Pathways to create a virtual workshop for female high school students in Moscow to help bring more women into computer science, a male-dominated field.
“She has truly thrown herself with passion and purpose into engagement on all levels of university life,” said Dr. Salsbury, “Melanie is a bold and brilliant young feminist that I have had such a joy working with.”
The second award went to Dr. Debb Thorne. Thorne is a professor in the Department of Culture, Society and Justice and was nominated by coworker Kristian Haltiner. Her nomination came from the way she stood up for people, advocating for policy and her outstanding role as a mentor to faculty and students.
Haltiner said, “When I first met Debb, I thought of her as the Meryl Streep of sociology. She’s hard-hitting, she’s elegant and just awesome.”
“It took me years to have genuine veracity about my passion for issues in equality,” Dr. Throne said. “I think I aged and credentialed into authenticity and confidence and no longer feel the need to be aggressive with my passion. I know I am enough.”
The final reward went to Iris Yanet Venegas. Venegas is a student at Washington State, but her efficient and caring movement and work ethic with Health Education for communities that make her, according to her nominator, Bekah Miller MacPhee, “a signifying hope that a younger generation can bring to a time of divisive rhetoric, repeal of human rights and heartache that cut deep.”
MacPhee also said, “Iris doesn’t have decades or years in this field which make her to me, all the more impressive.”
“I came to Pullman only two years ago and really the impact that I’ve made has been through hard work and dedication.” Venegas said, “I was always taught to service my community and fight for what is right, and this award is really a representation that I am on the right path and doing the right things.”
There are two funds connected to these awards, the James Sebald Feminist Visionaries Fund that provides support for the Women’s Center and the Betsy Thomas Gender Equity Scholarship, as it gives back to students with exceptional academic studies and volunteerism to communities.
Sophia Newell can be reached at [email protected]