(Portrait of Judith Kennedy Murray)
I had the great pleasure of meeting some very nice people at Simmons College, Graduate Program in Gender/Cultural Studies
First I was greeted by the lovely Ms. Jennie Avelor, who I believe is an executive Assistant to Director of the Graduate Program, Ms. Alison Whitehead. Jennie was very charming and had a very friendly attitude, she presented me with some materials to read before my meeting with Alison.
The college itself is expanding with new construction of a new Masters Business Administration (MBA) program completely designed for women, I was impressed by the color patterns and construction of the facility. It houses a fully functionally library, PC and MAC access in every classroom, computer video screens to present Power Point presentations to your classmates with a laptop computer, and a full Olympic size pool and exercise area a few blocks down the Fenway. Large modern classrooms with “chairs with wheels” so the instructor can easily position her students in any formation.
Next, I met with Alison and she was very charming, confident and very easy to converse with. Our meeting could not have been any better, I explained what I wanted to do as far as my feminism and future career moves. I told her that I wanted to work for a non-profit after graduating with a Master’s in the GCS Program because I believe my journey and path is being lead down this way, to help others, volunteering and supporting women’s groups and other groups that need leadership but, now I am lacking the education and knowledge to fully function as a working cog on their social justice machine of life. (I didn’t actually say these words, I thought of them afterwards.)
Nevertheless, the requirements of the GCS program do not require a GMAT, MAT, or GRE that some colleges require going into a Master’s program. Government Student loans are available within the school and the location is quite easily accessible to the “T.” Simmons emphasize writing, theories, and focusing on what the mind can do, I was impressed.
My visit also included a private tour with second year GCS student Ethan Kennedy who took me to lunch and we discussed the classes, instructors and lifestyle of the college itself. Ethan told me that one reason he choose Simmons over the other schools was because Simmons has a “Gender” and Cultural Studies program over other schools that have a “Women’s cultural studies program. I really do not know the difference between the two however, I find it interesting that Simmons has chosen Gender over Women’s to reach a more broader audience and include feminist men in their program, which is exceptional.
After the tour I had a chance to sit in a actual class “History 560 Seminar” in the “History of Women and Gender” with Professor Laurie Crumpacker. Today they had a wonderful guest speaker and former Simmons Graduate Ms. Bonnie Hurd Smith, who is considered one of the leading experts in her field. She gave a delightful presentation on the letters and writings of “Judith Sargent Murray.” 
(To learn more about Judith Sargent Murray her web site is Hurdsmith.com ;Bonnie has been researching Judith Sargent Murray for some ten years now, I believe.) The remarkable way she presented Judith Murray was that she lived a tough life, was one of the first “feminist” trailblazers who believed that equality of both genders should exist and that’s how she wanted to live. She wrote under different “pen names” to hide her identity and then revealed herself to the world as a woman.
Further, what was so amazing of Judith was she kept a collection of some five thousand letters and writings which described her lifestyle, her family, her business ventures, even such details as the weather as her journal which would she must of known would be preserved some day and serve as a historical record of times past. My only regret was not obtaining a copy of Bonnie’s book and having her sign it after she was gave the presentation. I was thrilled to be there and witness this quality of education from such fine speakers as Bonnie Smith.
Finally, I wish to thank all the fellow students, professors, Directors and anyone else I missed for the wonderful experience I had the pleasure of meeting at Simmons College, it was a great day, including the nice weather in Boston. Kudos!
