Honored Role: A weekly series about role models – Donna McAleer

Between 1980 and 2008, 3,245 women graduated from West Point and have served selflessly in the Nation’s armed forces. Most of them, whether or not they still wear the uniform, are ordinary women with extraordinary stories of perseverance and integrity. They are soldiers and wives, mothers and daughters. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, clergy and entrepreneurs. They are athletes and artists, cancer survivors and coaches. And they are all volunteers.

This inaugural weekly series, “Honored Role” of West Point women graduates introduces a group of role models who are ordinary women, not celebrities, who have extraordinary stories to share of their journeys of perseverance and integrity. While the women portrayed in the Porcelain on Steel blog and in the book Porcelain on Steel: Women of West Point’s Long Gray Line share a common education and developmental experience at West Point and as Army officers, they have chosen varied paths in and out of the Army.

Research by psychologist Dr. Penelope Lockwood concluded that women need role models more than men, and women also benefit more than men from having same-gender examples of success.[1] Imagining one’s own potential is more difficult for young women who lack role models. For many young people of both genders, the journey of developing one’s potential often begins with an understanding of what is possible. Possibilities are revealed by meaningful role models, both in and out of military uniform.

For most of these women, West Point and their experiences in the Army have served as a launching pad that allowed them to make significant contributions to their communities.

Series pieces:

[1] Lockwood, Penelope. (2006). “Someone like me can be successful”: Do college students need same-gender role models? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 36-46.