About a year ago, Salem made the announcement that we would have an extra week on top of spring break in precaution to the COVID-19 virus. An extra week off during a challenging semester sounded great to me at the time; but if I knew then what I know now, I definitely wouldn’t have been as excited. I packed a bag and left for home the day of the announcement since I only lived an hour away. I wasn’t very worried yet since all I had been hearing about COVID-19 was that it was like a bad flu. The next day, I met up with my friends to celebrate a 20th birthday. That turned out to be one of the last times I would see them for a year.
It didn’t take long for the two weeks off to turn into a semester spent remote learning. My organic chemistry labs became online simulations and lectures became Zoom calls. On warm sunny days, I would do my schoolwork on the front porch; and on rainy days, I’d sit with my brother and sister who were also remote learning in the living room. As COVID-19 spread and more information became available, I started to worry more for the high-risk people in my life.
My mom is immunocompromised, my grandparents were in the high-risk age group, and I worked as a home health CNA for the elderly with other health conditions. My main goal was to keep everyone away from any kind of exposure. This proved to be very challenging living in my hometown where the majority of people choose to believe COVID-19 is a hoax; masks don’t work or impede on their freedom; and overall put their community in danger by ignoring CDC precautions.
The rest of Edi’s article is available on the Salem Spirits website.
Edi Nixon
Class of 2022
According to the Minority Business Development Agency’s 2018 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, between 2007 and 2018, there was a 58% increase in women-owned businesses and a 163% increase in companies started by Black and Latina women who employed more than 2,000,000 people and generated more than $386 billion in revenue during the 11-year period. The numbers are impressive and inspiring, right?
We should take pride in the courage, brilliance, and ingenuity that has helped women to launch their businesses, and we should ask ourselves, “What drives these increases and what are the unique experiences of women-identifying business owners?”
Research shows that the reasons women start businesses include educational advancement, economic necessity, workplace climate, lack of opportunities for advancement, and the pursuit of innovative desires. While entrepreneurship is an incredible path and women of color entrepreneurs are the driving force behind business growth, racism and gender inequity continue to impact revenue generation, funding, investment, representation, and other opportunities. Here is an example: Data collected by MassChallenge shows that for every dollar of investment funding received by women-owned startups, there was an 83 cent return on investment compared to white men-owned startups, which generated a 31 cent return.
While data shows that women-owned start-ups are a better financial investment, women-owned businesses have never received more than 2.8% of overall venture capital funding. This example reminds us that implicit and unconscious bias leads us to deviate from rational choice in decision-making.
The challenges facing women-owned businesses stem from the systemic issues that impact women in classrooms and workplaces. As we study, work, lead, and innovate, let’s “mind our business” by learning about each other’s experiences, promoting and investing in each other, and noticing and challenging the inequities that exist wherever we are.
Happy Women’s History Month!
Shayla Herndon-Edmunds
Inclusion Strategist
One of the actions I took my first semester at Salem back in 2007 was to form the Interfaith Council, a group of students representing various faith traditions. We had a significant Hindu population at that time, and I learned so much about Hinduism from our students. I remember celebrating Holi with paint-filled balloons in the grassy area where the Student Center now stands. A few short years later, we formed a Muslim Student Association, and then The Circle soon followed. The Interfaith Council not only represents the wonderful spiritual diversity of our campus, it also provides important programming to help people learn about different religious traditions and how to engage across various faith traditions in interfaith dialogue.
We have three seniors serving on Interfaith Council: Claire Allen, Khadija Bangura, and Meg Sigler. Claire is the President of The Circle, President of the MAGE Guild, and Senior Class Secretary. She has offered some insights about what Interfaith Council has meant to her during her time at Salem. Claire particularly loves our annual Interfaith Dialogues, where students from a variety of faith traditions share information about their faith so others can learn more about it, and where students talk about what it’s like to live their faith on campus. She shares that it has been great to have that setting where one can be candid about one’s faith and how one practices it, and this has been her favorite Salem event each year! Claire also has been heavily involved in the Interfaith Council Food Pantries, hosted for students who are normally on campus during Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, and Spring Break.
“The pantries are a great sense of community and a rewarding experience,” Claire shared. “Interfaith Council is a welcoming place for religious engagement, whether it’s learning about something else or just having a safe place to share about one’s own faith. It’s an exciting environment that builds unity and cohesion—just a fantastic group of people to work with!”
Claire believes working with Interfaith Council has helped prepare her well for post-Salem life. “It’s given me a chance to appreciate inquiry and clear communication and accessible language in planning events. I’ve learned a lot about group dynamics and planning for a diverse group of people.” Her advice for Salem students regarding spiritual life in general: “Go to events because you can learn more about where to be part of religious communities. Participating in spiritual life builds community—you feel like you belong, and it’s a great sense of support.”
Claire’s spiritual life leadership at Salem during her four years has been significant. I have no doubt she will continue to be a spiritual life leader wherever her future takes her, and that she will continue to build community and help people make connections.
Rev. Amy Rio
Chaplain
British composer Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944) became the first historical woman composer to receive a Grammy on March 14, 2021. The award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album was awarded to Sarah Brailey, soprano, Dashon Burton, bass-baritone, and James Blachly, conductor for their recording of Smyth’s The Prison. Assistant Professor of Music Amy Zigler wrote the biographical liner notes for the CD, which was released on Chandos Records in August of 2020.
Dr. Paul Allaire, Adjunct Professor at Wake Forest University (WFU), will present a seminar entitled: “Artificial Heart Pumps—A Perspective on Technological Innovation” on April 1 at 12:30 p.m. In addition to his professorship at WFU, Allaire is a retired Chaired Professor at University of Virginia and Chief Technical Officer of Rotor Bearing Solutions International. He will discuss the development of artificial hearts using magnetic bearings, the world’s first magnetically supported artificial heart, design, animal testing, and implementation in humans. We hope you will join this Zoom presentation (Meeting ID: 973 3175 8078).
Over the next several weeks, we are continuing to profile one member of the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees 250th Subcommittee in We Are Salem.
This week we are pleased to profile Susan Lundeen Smith, C’72. For the past 49 years, Susan has worked in many capacities within the financial services industry. Today, she is Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager, Financial Advisor, and Financial Planning Specialist with Morgan Stanley. Susan lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She has also worked with many non-profit organizations such as: March of Dimes, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Junior League of Atlanta, and Rotary Club of Buckhead, to name just a few. Susan is a Trustee at Salem and was recognized as Salem College’s Alumna Volunteer of the Year in 2012.
