We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2007-2008 Gerda Lerner scholarship, Bergita Nokaj. We recently asked her about her experience at Sarah Lawrence, and she shared these reflections...

I am interested in women’s history because it has been the vanguard of the discipline (history) itself and continues to be so. I was initially attracted to history because it lays bare social processes revealing how the past is inherently tied to the present. Women’s history, however, brings to question many of historians’ conventional practices; it revolutionizes the way we think about the past, present, and future. I was coming from a strictly patriarchal culture, and studying women’s history became almost urgent. I knew that current hierarchies have roots in the past and wanted to explore those ties further. I wanted to dig through the past and see how men and women were constructed at different times throughout varying cultures, hoping to find in the past traces of the present and guidance for positive change in the future.

I chose the women’s history program at SLC because I knew that Sarah Lawrence would offer a unique educational experience. I also felt at ease, knowing that the program was flexible and would allow me to explore topics I was interested in. I knew that Sarah Lawrence nourishes individuality and that the women’s history program would change the way I think about myself and the world.

My hope is that I can use my degree to get involved in social justice causes. I’d like to eventually start an organization that helps women coming from “underdeveloped” countries adjust to life in the U.S. In the midst of saving the world, I plan on getting my Ph.D. I’ve been inspired by countless teachers and would love to pass on a love for education to others.