A Girl Named Hillary

Winning and Losing

Hillary was also interested in the student government at her school. After she was elected vice president of her junior class, she decided to run for class president during her senior year. She was disappointed when she lost. And she was only more frustrated when she learned that she lost simply because she was a girl.

But Hillary didn’t give up. She went off to Wellesley College, an all-female school outside of Boston. First she was chosen as a class representative. Then 3 years later, she ran for president of the student government and won!

Hillary fought for students to have more choice in the kinds of classes they could take. She supported having more African American students and professors at the school. She won these battles by talking with and standing up to the adult leaders who ran the college. But fighting for her classmates wasn’t the only way she stood up for what she believed in. In 1969, Hillary was the first student to speak at the Wellesley College graduation ceremony. Instead of using her time to praise herself or the school, she talked about the problems that continued to exist in the United States. No one expected a woman to be so outspoken.

Just like with the little girl who bullied her when she was a kid, Hillary showed courage by being bold during her speech. It was so powerful it made the news! She was talked about in newspapers and on TV throughout the country.