Women’s History Month: Rockets shout out women who inspire them

The month of March is National Women’s History Month. In honor of that, McNicholas students and faculty took the time to share with the Milestone the strong women in their life and what they mean to them.

Senior Aimee Gauger gives a shout out to her mom. “She is always on the move, working and [is] super supportive [of] all that me and my sisters do and what we want to do in the future,” Gauger said. If Gauger had to describe her mom in one word she said, “Determined. She is so strong and works super hard to be the best that she can be and encourage[s] others to be the best. She puts her all into any project that she does.” Gauger lives on a farm and said her mom always makes sure all the animals are taken care of even if she’s having a bad day. If Gauger or one of her sisters ever need help with anything, Gauger said her mom always puts her “best foot forward,” to help.

Director of Curriculum Dan Rosenbaum gives kudos to his wife, Laura. “She is a hard-working, intelligent, principled, strong woman,” Rosenbaum said. In one word, he described his wife as “Unwavering. She holds true to her values all the time. She is also a great mother!” Laura Rosenbaum is a nurse at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “I am 100% sure she is the hardest working nurse at Children’s,” Rosenbaum added. Rosenbaum met his wife when they both ran for Xavier University’s cross country team, and said he really admired her pure determination. “She never took days off,” Rosenbaum said.

Senior Gavin Duffy shouts out senior Ella Wolfram. “Ella is not only a very caring person, but she is also very independent and a very strong leader,” Duffy said. Duffy said that Wolfram is a great example for the underclassmen, especially in theater class. “Her positive attitude and energy is very encouraging to others,” Duffy said.

Senior Kristen Van Huss is inspired by her grandma, “[She is] so respectful and courteous of others. She carries herself with a grace and gentleness that I can only hope to emulate,” Van Huss said.

Junior Sammy Waterman also looks up to her grandma. “She is a sibling of 8 and she basically raised her younger siblings. I admire how strong she is and how much she has overcome in her lifetime,” Waterman said.

Director of Development John Jorden shouts out his daughters Caroline (’15) and Molly (’17.)

Caroline teaches third-grade at Immaculate Heart of Mary School, and her first two years of teaching have been in a pandemic. “She has handled it with poise, grace, and good old-fashioned hard work. ‘Caro’ loves her third-grade ‘friends,’ and has learned quickly that students learn best from people they love,” Jorden said. Jorden’s other daughter, Molly [‘Mojo’], is a fourth-year architecture student at Notre Dame. “She is an incredibly talented artist and architect, but she’s good mostly because she works so hard at it. Molly’s fiercely competitive, but you would never know it because she impeccably polite and kind,” Jorden said. Jorden described his daughter Caroline as forceful, caring, and street-smart, and his daughter Molly as driven, clever, and noble.

Photo courtesy of Director of Development John Jorden

Senior Ella Wolfram commends fellow senior Maggie Haap. “She is very mature and knows what she wants when she wants it. [She is] also very kind and just such a good friend,” Wolfram said. Wolfram added that Haap is okay with not being where everyone else is, and that “she is okay with being on her own and doing what she wants; not following the crowd.”