Townsend Harris High School

Margherita Miecnikowski Wischerth, Lead Teacher

Flushing, NY | 11th Grade

"This project was a great asset to the curriculum by allowing students to research and look deeply at the women who have made a difference and impact throughout the world. But, what made this project even more exciting is the fact that students had to sit down and interview their own family members leading the students to find how their own puzzle pieces, as small as they might think they are, fit into the larger picture making it the magnificent masterpiece that contributes to life. "

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FEATURED WORK

Yessica Torres

Yessica Torres

By Rova Raveloson & Yasmin Hasan Torres

Learning about how Matilde Bajer founded the oldest women's rights organization in the world and speaking to my mom about how she had to go through the citizenship process in order to vote in the U.S. made me realize that I have been taking the fact that I can vote once I turn eighteen for granted.   READ MORE +
My Grandmother: Voting for Change in the Communist Regime

My Grandmother: Voting for Change in the Communist Regime

By Victoria Kuzma, Darius Fratila, Tamanna Uddin & Nylah Odom

Despite the challenges, her parents warned her about the dangers of speaking out, reciting stories of those punished for criticizing the regime.   READ MORE +
My Mother

My Mother

By Miao Xia, Shirley Wong, Stephanie Seetoo & Mariam Mahgoub

Emancipated from the oppression she experienced in her native country, my mother will one day advocate for greater gender equality by voting vicariously through me.   READ MORE +
My Grandmother

My Grandmother

By Hallel Redner, Olivia Jablonski & Sandy Cai

This project has cultivated an even deeper appreciation in me for my grandmother's emotional strength, and her ability to overcome unimaginable difficulties, yet still retain a strong desire to be politically active.   READ MORE +
Esther's Grandmother

Esther's Grandmother

By Esther Chai, Cathy Chen & Ruby Wang

Being born and raised in an environment where women are increasingly participating in politics and working, the situation faced by women just a hundred years ago seems unbelievable.   READ MORE +
My Mother

My Mother

By Nafisah Chowdhury, Jasmine Fleming & Nishat Ahmed

Not only has my mother been impacted by and directly connected with the Suffragist movement, but I, a teenager in the modern day, am able to understand and relate to the struggles of being a woman in a society that views me as less because of my gender.   READ MORE +
My Mom, From Japan to Home

My Mom, From Japan to Home

By Jason Bacalla, Isabelle Guillaume, James Hopkins & Nile Johnson

Her story shows the importance of believing in yourself and embracing challenges and failures because you will get up.   READ MORE +
My Grandmother

My Grandmother

By Serena Shibu

As stated by John Locke, government is in place to protect individual liberties. Based on this philosophy, the government should be given power needed to protect and help, not rule and exploit.   READ MORE +

STUDENT WORK

My Mother

My Mother

By Aisha Nawal, Efaz Ahmed & Aaron Brijlall

However, these advocates weren't only fighting for the improvement of conditions for women, they fought for the improvement of the political, social, and economic health of the nation itself.
My Grandmother

My Grandmother

By Lori Eng, Ava Nabatkhoran, Christine Schmitt & Tabassum Sami

For much of history, women have been oppressed by a patriarchal society and their voices have been limited in politics, history, and daily life.
My Mother

My Mother

By Alicia Garcia Barrios, Ruth Rajcoomar, Savannah Scalfina & Noushin Maleeha

Talking with my mother about voting and her experience voting for the first time in the United States; It brought us a little closer because now we can talk with each other about more personal things and be more open with each other.
My Grandmother

My Grandmother

By Lindsay Kim & Danielle King

As an individual who grew up with the “normal” American life of going to school, playing with friends, and living in a fairly safe environment, it is difficult to imagine the true impacts that wars have on innocent families.
Eva, My Paternal Grandma

Eva, My Paternal Grandma

By Amanda Renzi & Catherine Carpio

By having the opportunity to research Hubertine Auclert and learn about her motivations, I was able to make the connection of how the desire for change may be driven by one’s personal and youthful experiences.
Jung Cheng Ma, my Grandmother

Jung Cheng Ma, my Grandmother

By Annabella Li, Samantha Wong & Rachel Sage Zhang

Women are so strong, much more than society makes them out to be. I've come to realize this through my research process.
My Sister

My Sister

By Betty Jin, Annlin Su, Jonathan Tran, Aarti Patel, Manraj Singh & Harry Zhu

With recent laws going back in time rather than moving forward, the right to vote is all the more a symbol of the progress we've made against gender roles.
Faye's Mother

Faye's Mother

By Gina Chen, Junna Peng, Mia Vogel, Faye Shemper & Jia Xiao Chen

Evaluating the connections between the progress made by leading suffragettes and the experiences of second generation immigrants is of particular importance as it is necessary in order to examine the ever-growing diversity of the United States.
My Aunt Sijia from India

My Aunt Sijia from India

By Carine He, Arul Sharma, Shadman Sakib & Arrnya Samuaru

Learning about the struggles these extraordinary women went through in order to gain freedoms for women in the future has inspired us to do more for our community and appreciate suffragettes even more.
My Mother

My Mother

By Farhana Ratree, Jennifer Jiang, Pooja Reddy, Christina Ramsarran & Angelina Jimenez

American freedoms, although they were delayed for many, are now shared thanks to the work of both women and men, American and alien alike. Thanks to them, a wider array of people seeking a better life can find it in this country.
My Mother

My Mother

By Vivian Chen, Josephine Chen, Ivan Chan, Zafirah Rahman, Neeharika Reddy, Daniel Shi, Daniel Shi, Jacqueline Cho & Osiris Guerrero

By connecting these extraordinary women to our own family experiences, we are able to understand the struggle these women went through in a personal manner.
My Sister

My Sister

By Jennifer Moran, Adebola Ademola, Julia Hong, Vicki Kanellopoulos, Inga Kulma, Maimunah Virk, Deborah Molina & Kailey Van

Understanding the stories of the women before us is essential. Their accounts not only give us the chance to grasp the difficulties they were faced with, but they also inspire us to continue working on current inequalities.
An Interview With My Mom

An Interview With My Mom

By Khadiza Sultana, Amina Chowdhury, Nancy Lin & Ellen Chan

Interviewing my mother on her voting experience has opened my eyes to the struggle of women’s suffrage. I was able to connect her experiences to the oppression women faced in history. Sadly enough, this oppression still occurs today.
My Grandma

My Grandma

By Kristina Chang, Sarah Chowdhury, Bethany Leung, Letian Fang, Cathy Choo, Kelly Chan, Emily Tan, Adamary Felipe & Kenney Son

Ever since she was born, her family was on the run from something or another. Her family was already running west by the time she was born, trying to escape Imperial Japan.
My Grandmother

My Grandmother

By Awestaa Zia, Kenney Son, Jacqueline Woo, Rachel Zheng, Anastacia Sachione & Jasmine Sahai

The stories of these two strong women have helped us see the common struggles a woman faces as she is being held to societal standards and inspired us to instead defy these standards and push for change until we are treated as equals.
Tsae-Sien Hu, My Grandmother

Tsae-Sien Hu, My Grandmother

By Carly Hu, Jessica Lam, Maria Leyba, Rachel Matayev & Tri Watanasuparp

During the 1900's, women in the United Kingdom had very few rights and political rights were definitely not included.
My Mother

My Mother

By Carlos Calderon Adora Barikdar Cariece Forde , Dinesh Mulani & Caitlin Bell

Caroline chose an unconventional marriage and domestic life and a modern professional life. She wrote about topics that were considered to be topics only men should write about, such as politics and human rights.
Mother and Grandmother

Mother and Grandmother

By Ariba Khan, Nishat Ahmed & Nile Johnson

She said to me that giving birth to a daughter made her “fearless” and so she did something with that new found strength – she went to vote.
My Mother

My Mother

By Courtney Chan & Sandy Wong

This made me feel pride because the idea of a mere citizen being able to have a say in who gets power in our government felt to me like one of the principles that embodied American democracy.
My Mother

My Mother

By Kaljang Sherpa

She was not given the opportunity of higher education because of her gender but the fire of wanting to learn has not died out.
Catherine Helen Spence

Catherine Helen Spence

By Elizabeth Duchan, Abhinav Garg, John Pobololot, Daniel Cohen & Han Xin Gao

Women have also progressed in gaining power, as in the 2020 election many women such as Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris will run for president, showing how the country as progressed in terms of women's rights and their fight for them.

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