thursday with zoom and the gals of ethel

Ethel who?

 

Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD in philosophy, was the founder of AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons.

 

Note that forward-thinking word: "persons".

 

She started that organization in 1958, when she was 74 years old, making sure its membership was open to all, regardless of gender, race, or anything else.

 

In 1958...

wow.

 

Before that, in 1947, she founded the NRTA, the National Retired Teachers Association.

It took seven years, but she finally located an insurance company that would provide health insurance at a reasonable rate to that group.

 

Knowing all retired people needed that, two years later she started AARP, and now that organization has celebrated its Route 66 birthday...

just like me.

 

So, when asked to supply one word in the ZOOM chat to describe Ethel, I knew what to write:

Pioneer.

 

After all, I know a bit about that.

 

That's when I knew I was right place, right time.

 

In fact, when we broke into ZOOM rooms to get to know some of the other attendees, I told them that I'd never heard of Ethel Andrus.

 

I'd seen "Cheers To Ethel: A Virtual Birthday Bash" on the AARP website a few days ago and signed up, as it would be "something different".

I swear I heard Mary K, the moderator, gasp from her home in Michigan.

 

That's me, in the upper right, with women from Charleston and from somewhere in Virginia.

The other two were from Colorado.

 

We were all asked where we were and to give two words to describe why we were there tonight.

 

Then, Mary asked us to describe a moment when we knew we were truly noticed by others...

and this is the first thing that came to mind.

 

That's the Wall Of Women notice, posted originally at the Health Professions building on campus at Armstrong Atlantic State University in March 2013.

 

The nursing students had been asked to nominate a professor that made them feel empowered...

and three of them named me, a chemistry professor, someone decidedly not in their major field.

 

I was the only one on that Wall of Women who was not a Health Professions teacher.

 

Wow.

 

Tonight, I told the five other women in that ZOOM Room about that, about how touched I was that the students had chosen to honor me in that way, as a woman who would "inspire, innovate, imagine, empower".

 

I also made sure to tell those in the Zoom room that I taught chemistry and always endeavored to make it personal and approachable for my students.

 

Then I added that the Wall of Women notice is still in view in my dining room.

 

Very nice.

 

"Flexible office hours, emails back in time, helps you understand the material in class, will take time and talk to you, and she learns your name, and is hands on in lab (Organic Chemistry Class)."

 

"This is my first year here at AASU and this semester I knew would prove to be a challenge for me but Dr. Smith made it so comfortable and fun in her organic chemistry class that I don't fear it anymore. She's always willing to help us anyway she can, but still pushes us. She feels like a mom away from home since I'm so far away from my mom. She's just a sweet person and I just love her. :)"

 

"She has inspired me to work harder and push myself more than I have. She is teaching me that no matter how difficult the problem may look, it's not really that difficult if you just break it down. :)"

 

Wow.

 

Proof positive that they listened to me, that they heard me and saw me.

 

Tonight, these five women heard me and saw me, too.

 

Most definitely right place, right time.

I think I'll sign up for The Ethel newsletter and see what this group is all about.