International Women’s Day: Celebrating Women Who Attended UWM
It’s no secret UWM students, faculty, staff and alumni accomplish incredible things. To honor International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women’s achievements on the field, in research, politics, arts and more. Below, learn about a few of the many impressive women who attended UWM!
Allison Pottinger
Allison Pottinger earned her MBA in Marketing from UWM. Post-graduation, Pottinger went on to compete as a World Champion Curler. In 2008 and 2012, Pottinger was named USA Curling Female Athlete of the Year and made two Olympic appearances — once at the Olympic games in 2010 and then for a second time in 2014.
Adrienne L. Kaeppler
Adrienne L. Kaeppler earned her bachelor’s degree from UWM and went on to earn her master’s and PhD from the University of Hawaii. Following her education, Kaeppler went on to teach anthropology, ethnomusicology, anthropology of dance and art history at the University of Hawaii, the University of Maryland, College Park, the Queen’s University, Johns Hopkins and UCLA. In 1978, Kaeppler was honored by the YMCA as a leading female scientist whose work increased the understanding of native cultures. She is currently a curator and anthropologist at the National Museum of National History of the Smithsonian Institution.
Naima Adedapo
Naima Adedapo earned a BFA in Dance from UWM in 2007. Adedapo later went on to compete on the 10th season of American Idol. After her Idol appearance, Adedapo performed alongside the rest of top 11 from her season on the 2011 American Idols LIVE! Tour. She later went to perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Live with Regis and Kelly.
Mary Lazich
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Mary Lazich earned her degree, graduating summa cum laude, from UWM. Lazich went on to have a successful political career serving five years in the Wisconsin State Assembly and 19 years in the State Senate. Furthermore, Lazich was President of the Senate from 2015 to 2016.
Emily Ballou
Emily Ballou is an Australian American poet, novelist and screenwriter who graduated from UWM with a BFA in Film and English with honors. Post-graduation, Ballou went on to write several books and episodes for Berlin, Australian and British Television Series. In fact, Ballou wrote episodes for an Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s television mini-series, The Slap, which was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award, a BAFTA award and an International Emmy Award.
Sarah Hagen
Sarah Hagen attended UWM and played for MKE Panthers soccer from 2008–2011. During her time at UWM, Hagen was named a first team All American in her junior and senior years. Post-graduation, Hagen went on to play for FC Bayern Munich from 2012 -2013, FC Kansas City from 2014–2015, Orlando Pride in 2016 and Houston Dash in 2017. Hagen also played for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team after attending a two-week camp for the team in California. Following her retirement from playing, Hagen has now returned to Wisconsin and joined the coaching staff of Green Bay Glory.
Golda Meir
Described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics, UWM alum Golda Meir was elected prime minister of Israel. Meir was the world’s fourth and Israel’s only woman to hold the office of prime minister and the first in any country in the Middle East. Meir was also one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel. The library on UWM’s Milwaukee campus is named “The Golda Meir Library” in her honor.
Christine Boskoff
Christine Boskoff graduated in May 1991 from UWM with an electrical engineering degree. After getting her first taste of mountaineering on a two-day climb course in 1993, Boskoff went on to become a world class mountaineer and reached more record summits than any other female in history.
Ruth Aiko Asawa
Japanese American sculptor, Ruth Aiko Asawa, graduated from UWM in 1998 with a BFA in Art Education. Her work is featured in collections at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Additionally, she was a driving force behind the creation of Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts.
We are Panther Proud of all the women who make up our UWM community. Happy International Women’s Day, Panthers! “Here’s to strong women: may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.”
