Blog
Our unique setting and expertise make the Women’s Center an especially good fit for many students seeking to improve their well-being. Our approach focuses on helping students identify the issues they want to address in their own lives. Our counselors are known for their extensive experience supporting college students with concerns ranging from the stresses of young adulthood to traumatic events in their lives or within their families or communities.
"It's a hit and batter Dottie Schroeder, blonde pigtails and all, start[s] running for first. These girls really hit...and are lightning when running." (April 22, 1948) Dorothy "Dottie" Schroeder became the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's youngest player at age 15 and was the only girl who played all 12 seasons for the AAGPBL.
The past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about questions of representation. Spring is in full bloom, so I find myself wanting to quote baseball movies. “If you build it, they will come…” in my mind immediately segues into “There’s no crying in baseball!” Nostalgia aside, the juxtaposition of Field of Dreams and A League of their Own reminds us of the power of seeing people like yourself moving through spaces designed with you in mind – and the discouragement that can follow when you realize a space maybe wasn’t created for you.
Name: Komal Kamdar
Year: 2nd
Major: Leadership & Public Policy and Spanish
Hometown: Virginia Beach
1. What brought you to the Women's Center?
Cathy Erickson, Trauma Counselor, Janie Williams, Trauma Counselor, Uriel Santiago, Counselor, Margaret Edwards, Program Director for Counseling and Wellness Services, Poe, Psychiatric Service Dog, Latoria White, Counselor in Residence & Case Manager, Amelia Walton, Counselor in Residence & Body Project Coordinator
The Women’s Center has long been known as an approachable place for students and others in the UVA community to seek counseling. Over the past year, our Counseling and Wellness Services Team has grown to include new staff members and has extended the resources offered to better serve the variety of needs at the University. The team’s newest member, Uriel Santiago, joined the Center’s staff this spring to bring special expertise and experience in the role of cultural, racial, gender, and sexual identity in mental health.
Editor's note: Respect and appreciation for Jane Miller abound among her colleagues. The student athletes of the Cyrus Society also made sure that their gratitude for Jane was part of our National Girls & Women in Sports Day events honoring Jane on February 10, 2019. Athletics Director Carla Williams' introduction of Jane included a letter that the Cyrus Society asked her to read thanking Jane for the great care she has taken in ensuring the quality of the experience that student athletes have at UVA. Jane's wisdom and humility were as clear and steady that day as they've been throughout her 35 year career with UVA Athletics and we wanted to share her thoughtful words here.
Remarks from our 2019 National Girls & Women in Sports Honoree, Jane Miller
It seems like just yesterday that I told someone retirement wasn’t even on my radar. So much for that.
I want to thank Abby and her staff at the Women’s Center, not only for hosting this reception, but for the wonderful work you do at the University for women and men, alike. You change lives.
I also want to thank the NGWS Day Committee for selecting me to represent girls and women in sport today. I am honored.
Academia operates in the shadow of the ivory tower, a perception that studying can (should? does?) occur at a remove. Our students, however, are not content to withdraw from the world for four years while they pursue a degree (if such a withdrawal would even be possible). I have a front row seat for the multiple ways they deeply integrate learning and action. Learning about the detrimental impact of unhealthy cultural gender norms on our social interactions and other ways that gender influences our lived realities is not enough for them.
Name: Diana Sanchez
Year: Fourth Year
Major: Spanish and French double major
Hometown: Danville, Va
1. What brought you to the Women's Center?
I was a Big Sister for YWLP last year and fell in love with the program. I decided to become an intern because I wanted to continue to be a part of the program but also was interested to learn how YWLP functions behind the scenes.
2. What other organizations are you involved with at UVA?
Our series on alumni who served as Big Brothers in the earliest years of our Men's Leadership Project continues this week with Miles Leviste. Miles graduated from the College with an Anthropology major in 2009. Today, Miles is a third year Pediatric resident physician at the University of North Carolina.
1. Tell us about the path you’ve taken to where you are now in your career. Has it been planned? Organic? Some of both?
Isela Melendez-Carpio: Masters candidate (‘19) in Higher Education Student Affairs
In the wake of the shooting at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, remember that the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center is here year-round for members of the University community who are grieving or need support in coping with news of violence aimed at members of their faith or any other community that is important to their identity. We stand, as always, with all of our students, alums and colleagues working to create a respectful culture on Grounds and across the world.