Many of you know that I attended Emma Willard High School, an all girls boarding school in upstate NY, for most of my high school years. While the first year was difficult, I learned to love being on my own and blossomed while there in many ways. Notably, this is where I was able to start metalsmithing (see: Dirigible Designs). Emma Willard founded her school, aka The Troy Female Seminary, in 1814 and lucky women like me have been benefiting from it ever since.

A leader in education and women’s issues, Emma was also a map maker and created infographics of time and history. Read about her work with maps here and her work as an educator here.