International Women's Day Sheds Light on Overlooked Stories
By Serena Naji, HRI David F. Prindable Intern
Throughout history, the accomplishments of women have often been erased, obscured, and overlooked. However, the International Women’s Day Celebration event, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Global Gender Equity and the Humanities Research Institute, brought eleven of those stories to light. As the current David F. Prindable Communications and Outreach intern, I was able to attend this impactful event (held on March 5, 2025) in which faculty, staff, and students highlighted the women that mean most to their fields, lives, and society.
The women described by each speaker spanned across disciplines. From psychology to nuclear engineering to business, audience members heard a multitude of stories from fields that support all aspects of life. Speakers had only five minutes to convince the audience that their chosen woman is the most impactful. Ultimately, every featured woman found unique ways to fight societal gender norms and make a profound difference in the world.
While all of these presentations resonated for different reasons, I continue to reflect on Isabella Reyna Sauer’s presentation about Dr. Sara Ahmed. Isabella is a senior undergraduate student majoring in history in the College of LAS. In the fall she took a graduate-level course on British imperial history taught by HRI Director and History professor Antoinette Burton. Through her coursework, Isabella came across Dr. Ahmed, a writer and scholar whose work in feminist, queer, and racial studies reoriented Isabella’s academic perspective in writing her senior thesis on Black protest movements in the UK. Isabella connected this encounter with Dr. Ahmed’s work with her personal experiences and identity as a Hispanic, queer woman. Isabella’s vulnerability and passion about engaging with scholarly work of this nature shined through. She drew on Dr. Ahmed’s writing in works like The Feminist Killjoy Handbook, which has informed her studies and activism. It is especially meaningful as an undergraduate student to hear Isabella’s perspective on the intersectionality between gender, racial, and sexual identity within academia and the greater university community.
Another thought-provoking speaker during this event was David Chih. Chih, the director of the Asian American Cultural Center, shared an impactful story about a woman named Helen Yuki Okinaga Hayakawa Llewellyn. Llewellyn was born in 1939 in Los Angeles, California. In her early life, Llewellyn was interned at a Japanese American internment camp following Executive Order 9066 during World War II. In 1942, a now-famous photo was taken of her as a child that has been widely circulated from this period of American history.
sent to an internment camp. Photo by Clem Albers, 1942.
Llewellyn’s experience and identity as a Japanese American influenced her later contributions to the University of Illinois and its Asian American community. Upon first being employed by the university, she worked as a secretary. She eventually worked her way up to serving as both the Director of Registered Organizations and the Assistant Dean of Students. Following her retirement, Llewellyn served on the Advisory Board of the Asian American Cultural Center. She worked for the university for 37 years, during which she consistently advocated for the needs of Japanese American, Asian American, and international students. (Note: you can view an Illinois Public Media-produced interview with Llewellyn.)
What also set Chih’s presentation apart was his introduction of Llewellyn’s granddaughter, Madison Midori, who was in the audience. Madison’s presence lent an extra sense of gravity to Chih’s words, acting as a physical manifestation of Llewellyn’s legacy. Llewellyn was a trailblazer for women and Asian Americans by working to build a community on campus where all students can feel included.
Witnessing each speaker share their uniquely personal attachments to the women in their lives and fields of study was a one-of-a-kind experience. These women broke barriers to uplift their communities while making advancements with global impacts. All eleven presentations showed the immense strength of women in the face of adversity, and how important it is to celebrate these achievements all year long.
The 2025 International Women's Day Celebration speakers included Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, W. Brooke Elliott, Traci Barkley, David Chih, Cindy Ingold, Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, Alejandro Lieras, Shari Mickey-Boggs, Zara Mohagheh, Isabella Reyna Sauer, and Bhakti Verma.