Female Leaders Recognized

The Women’s Center’s held its eleventh annual Women’s Leadership Awards dinner at the Charles Hotel last night, recognizing Katherine A. Beck ’08, Elizabeth M. Grosso ’08, and Meghan Pasricha ’08.

Stephanie D. Wilson ’88, a NASA astronaut, was given the Women’s Professional Achievement Award.

“We recognize outstanding seniors at Harvard who have made contributions to the community and whose example can serve as an inspiration for other women at Harvard to excel,” said Women’s Center director Susan B. Marine.

Harvard students and faculty nominated 54 senior women, of whom 33 completed the application to receive recognition.

The nominees include leaders of student organizations, active volunteers at the Philip Brooks House Association, and participants in arts or athletics beyond Harvard, according to Marine.

“There’s no one way to define leadership,” she said.

Beck, who won the top honor, was instrumental in the creation of the Peer Advising Fellows program and organized a photo exhibit and brought guest speakers to campus after returning from an alternative spring break trip.

Beck received a $1,500 cash stipend—funded through an endowment from Terrie Fried Bloom ’75—and a jewelry box.

Grosso is the director of student internships at the Institute of Politics. Pasricha is a black-belt in martial arts who founded the Health Education Leadership Program, a non-profit dedicated to tobacco-awareness. She literally “kicks butts,” Marine said.

The event also recognized NASA astronaut Wilson, who spoke in a soft voice about how her unflagging childhood interest in astronomy led her to see the sunrise from space.

“The sky is no longer the limit,” she said. “Outer space is the limit to what you can achieve.”

—Staff writer Esther I. Yi can be reached at estheryi@fas.harvard.edu.