Lucy Loes

BSM hosted its third annual women’s history month panel this past Wednesday!

To celebrate Women’s History Month, three female alumni returned to BSM last Wednesday to share their history: Kerry Cooley Bruggemann ‘02, Ashley Hawks Peterson ‘03, and Dr. Molly Dillon McMahon ‘08. Moderated by Lisa Lenhart Murphy ‘86, the third annual Women’s History Month panel was held in the atrium and attended by students eager to listen to these women’s experiences and professional journeys.

As an engineer, Bruggemann works in a largely male-dominated industry. Inspired by her parents and encouraged by BSM’s early engineering program, Bruggemann followed her passion, forging a community in her workplace and refusing to be intimidated despite often finding herself as the only woman in the room. At the panel, she stressed the importance of making sure you are heard, especially in the face of stereotypes that tend to label men as assertive while women are called whiny, dramatic, or demanding. “Perception is reality, whether it’s good or bad. And there’s a perception that a man is more clear [in] what they say, more confident in what they say, and they can say it [regardless of whether it’s with] a lot of enthusiasm or even anger, and it’s taken less aggressively than a woman,” Bruggemann said.

Peterson furthered this idea of pushing past barriers. As an entrepreneur, Peterson is also a part of a fairly male-dominated industry, yet if anything, that has only pushed her to work harder. According to her, it’s hard work and confidence, paired with the strength to show up even when no one is cheering you on, that is the key to success, which is something she learned from her mother’s example. “My mom, she was an entrepreneur. She started a business in 1990; it was a bridal shop. Did you know that up until 1988 you couldn’t get a credit card as a woman without a man signing for you? Like, let’s say you are a 22-year-old girl and you want to get a credit card, like a VISA credit card, you couldn’t get one unless daddy or brother or husband signed for you… So here, this was three years later, my mom started a business, which, again, like growing up in it, it seemed normal for women to own businesses, but [it wasn’t] then… It’s hard to see that now because we’re in a world that doesn’t feel like that, but it wasn’t that long ago that things were really different,” Peterson said.

That is exactly why all three alumni said they returned to speak to current BSM students. Women’s History Month reminds us that we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, and these women came to remind students how far they’ve come in hopes that the next generation will reach even further. McMahon, an orthodontist who started her own company despite countless people questioning her ability to be both a boss and a mother, has a simple yet powerful piece of advice for young women. “Don’t build somebody else’s dream. Build your own,” McMahon said.