Washburn Civics Lesson #3 Today’s lesson (and the next few lessons) is about the Who. Not the “Who we are” because that is too diverse – we are everyone – remember, we are the mill that is open to all comers. I want to highlight some of the success stories. People the entire world know and who have graced our halls. It’s not only fun to name drop, it also fills us with a sense of pride in our institution and in our community. It’s easy to say we’re great (because we soooo are!), but showing off our success stories PROVES that people not only CAN succeed, but DO succeed. The first person we will highlight makes me say whoa every time I read something about her. This person exemplifies the potential of all Millers. We can go anywhere and do anything if we want to and are willing to work for it. Her accomplishments are many (so, so many) and her contribution to the betterment of our world is undeniable. KATHRYN FINNEY Kathryn graduated from Washburn High School in 1994. She was her class president, member of National Honor Society, delegate to Girls State and Girls Nation, and received the Washburn High School Service Award. Kathryn earned her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in Womens Studies and Politics, where she was a member of the Rutgers College Student Government, a James Dickson Carr Scholar, Rutgers College Honors Program, The USA Today All Academic team, and was voted by her graduating class to receive the class of 1998 Alumni Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Community Service. During her junior year, Kathryn was a Washington Center Washington Fellow and interned at the White House as well as with the late Senator Paul Wellstone. Kathryn also has a graduate degree from Yale University, with honors, where she was a Courtland Van Creed Scholar and received the Weinerman Fellowship for her work in South Africa. After University, Kathryn worked for USAID and other non-profits in Ghana, West Africa and South Africa. Obviously multi-talented, Kathryn always had a passion for technology. She is known as one of the first lifestyle bloggers ever for her blog, The Budget Fashionista., which was named by MSN as one of the 100 most useful sites on the web. Finney started her blog in April 2003 as a hobby, and started blogging full-time in June 2004. In late 2012, Finney founded Digitalundivided (DID), a social enterprise that develops programs that increase the active participation of urban communities, especially women, in the digital space. DID hosts the annual FOCUS100 Conference, considered to be the most diverse tech conference the first weekend of Oct in New York City. Finneys work in the area of tech entrepreneurship has been recognized by several press outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Pando Daily, and New York Times. …Pick up your jaw, the mill is still running… In May 2006, her first book was published entitled, How to be a Budget Fashionista: The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less by Ballantine Books. It became an Amazon bestselling book in the Art and Photography category and is now on its 11th printing. In 2013, Kathryn received a Champion of Change Award from the White House for her work in making tech more inclusive. She was also named to the 2013 Ebony100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, as one of the Top Ten Women in Money by AOL in 2010 along with Maria Shriver, Elizabeth Warren, and Suze Orman, and an Essence Magazine Woman of Style. Finney is a trustee of The Robert Finney Foundation a foundation she started with her mother and brother (Robert Finney Jr., WHS Class of 1989) to honor her late father. The foundation provides scholarships to African-American students pursuing studies in the field of technology. Kathryn’s successes, both academic and professional, are truly amazing. Obviously, we arent all going to achieve such notoriety. I don’t think the notoriety, however, is the true success story. The true success is that Kathryn took what she had and loved, worked with it, believed in herself, and persevered. She worked hard and achieved her goals. Whether we want to change something as grand as the world or as local as our neighborhood, Millers can and Millers do – That is the message here. To the current students: You live in a unique community (you almost have to live somewhere else for a while to really see how true a statement that is, but it is true). Our community supports and builds people – good people. We are taught and raised to contribute and to a large degree contribution is not just requested, but expected. It’s not a chore, but a privilege. I am proud to be a member of this community – I love it. And whether your success is as grand as Kathryn’s or local as many others, know that you have the tools within you along with the support around you to succeed the way you want to – it’s up to you. Go Millers! thebudgetfashionista digitalundivided kathrynfinney
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 15:22:20 +0000