March is Women’s History Month, and there are a lot of women to make known in celebration of this. I am a history major, so I am a major nerd for all of this, so be prepared for a fun ride of influential women in history that I look up to personally.

One of my biggest niches when it comes to history is presidents.

My birthday falls on Inauguration Day and I got to attend Obama’s first inauguration on my 8th birthday back in 2009, so learning about them is always something I have been passionate about.

Therefore, many influential historical women that are on my list have something to do with the presidency or the government.

In terms of First Ladies, Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the first names that comes to mind. Not only was she the longest serving First Lady, but she was also one of the forces behind the founding of the United Nations. She also withdrew her membership from the Daughters of the American Revolution when they refused to allow Marian Anderson to sing at Constitution Hill due to her being Black.

Another influential First Lady is Michelle Obama, who presented an inspiring campaign to give kids healthier school lunches and overall help them with leading healthier lives.

Our current First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, is also influential in her own right, since she is the first First Lady to hold a doctorate.

Additionally, Shirley Chisholm is another individual that I look up to. She was the first Black woman to run for President, and even survived three assassination attempts over the course of her campaign. Victoria Woodhull was the very first woman to run for President, and is also very influential in my book.

Other influential women in government that I look up to include Aruna Miller, the current Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and the first South Asian woman to hold that position in the country, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, the current Vice President.

However, if I were to choose one influential woman in history, political or not, that sticks out to me the most, it would be Temple Grandin.

My freshman year, I actually had the chance to meet her over a Zoom meeting thanks to the AIM program, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Grandin is an animal behaviorist who is also very well-known for being a spokesperson for autism.

As someone who is on the autism spectrum myself, Grandin is a name that I have known for most of my life, and the work that she has done to get rid of the negative stigma associated with autism is something that makes me proud that I have been able to meet her.

Although Women’s History Month is drawing to a close soon, we should recognize all of these influential women each and every month.

While this is just a small list of important women that stand out to me, there are so many that go underrecognized every day.

They have all helped make the world a better place in one way or another.