Editor’s Note: The Graphic chose to refer to Deslyn Williams by her first name only after her first reference. While the Graphic typically uses last names only after first reference, the Graphic chose to use Deslyn’s first name to remain consistent with how Deslyn was referred to in ongoing coverage of the October 2023 crash.
Every month of every year, women prove to be fearless leaders, strong mothers, inspiring athletes and so much more. The month of March, Women’s History Month, celebrates women for their beauty, strength and growth throughout history. In its 30th year of celebration in the United States, women across the Pepperdine community shared the importance of the women in their life.
Whether through sororities, campus clubs, sports teams or other groups, women at Pepperdine said they value the support they receive and give to other women on campus.
Senior Georgia Puckett said she is grateful to have grown up with her mom and older sister as role models. As she has grown into the young woman she is today, she realized the importance of having support from women present in her life, regardless of where that might come from.
“Whether it be a sports team or a sorority, they [women] impact your life so much more in ways that we might not see on a day-to-day basis, but in times where you really need it,” Puckett said. “I think that is what is so special is women understand other women in ways that no one else really will.”
A month dedicated to offering women a space to be celebrated and supported can allow them to feel healthier mentally. Female members of the Pepperdine community said they view the month as a time to focus on their female friendships and support and praise one another.
Psychology Professor Jennifer Harriger said support can be productive for one’s positive mindsets and increased mental wellbeing, especially among women friendships and support systems.
“I think one of the factors that we know from research that’s related to more positive wellbeing or mental health is support, connection, having strong relationships,” Harriger said. “And so any time that a woman or a man can foster those relationships or feel a sense of connection, that is going to be productive.”
Women in Leadership
When she first arrived at Pepperdine, Puckett said she experienced a lot of culture shock and all the other fears that come with being a first-year in college. She joined Alpha Phi her first year, where she quickly grew a sisterhood with a group of women who were more than just classmates and roommates.
“Since I had grown up with such a strong connection to my females in my life and such an amazing opportunity to grow up surrounded by loving women, I knew I wanted to continue having women support me, no matter how far away from home I was,” Puckett said.
Puckett said she remembers Deslyn Williams, a beloved member of the Alpha Phi sorority whose life was taken by the October 2023 PCH crash, as one of the first women at Pepperdine who took her “under her wing.” She served under Deslyn in helping to bring new members into the sorority, which ultimately led to her own leadership roles.
Her junior year, Puckett served as Alpha Phi’s vice president of new member education and membership experience, serving as a “mom figure” for the new women joining the sorority. Puckett said older members in the sorority inspired her to take on the role.
“When I began meeting all these new women and older women in Alpha Phi, they were the women I would look up to because they were the independent women in college and had so many goals and aspirations,” Puckett said.
As she helped new members find their home and safe space within the sorority, Puckett said she hopes she offered the younger members the same thing she was so lucky to receive her first-year. She emphasized the importance of having a space where the women could support one another to be the best versions of themselves they could be, as women are not always granted those spaces.
“When you’re able to be around similar energy and similar mindsets and perspectives, it really promotes a more equal environment for goals and dreams,” Puckett said. “When you have environments like a sorority or a sports team, where your fundamental development is as a team or as a group, it’s so important for women to share what they’re thinking or share what they’re wanting to achieve with other women to help build up that mutual support and understanding.”
Puckett has also been a member of the Pepperdine Cheer Team for the past two years. She said having a woman as a mentor to her and her teammates is something that is often overlooked in the world of sports, as she believes her cheer coaches have been some of the most amazing examples of female leadership and inspiration.
“Having the power of a female coach to really guide and really transform athletes is a beautiful thing that is such a great way to showcase leadership and learning,” Puckett said.
When she reflects upon her past four years at Pepperdine, Puckett said the unwavering support from her sorority sisters, on her good and bad days, stands out among everything else.
“After everything happened with us losing our four members last year, those women in Alpha Phi continue to support me and continue to uplift me,” Puckett said. “I think that female friendships are so much more than just, you know, surface-level sorority types and everything. I can see those girls who I’ve met the past four years of college becoming my bridesmaids and maids of honor at my wedding, and I think that’s just really beautiful and what’s special about female friendships.”
Women Break Barriers
First-year Mia Perry said she felt inspired to explore the world of gender studies and the issues women face today upon arriving to college. She sees it not only as a broad problem across the U.S., but one that hits closer to home.
“It’s something that is still an issue and an emerging issue, not only in the United States but I’d say arguably more at like small, conservative schools like Pepperdine,” Perry said.
Perry joined Pepperdine’s Feminist Club last semester and hopes to add a Women’s and Gender Studies minor upon her return from studying abroad in Switzerland during her sophomore year. As a Biology major, she said she often reflects on the role of women in the field of healthcare.
“Women in different fields, like me going into healthcare, that wasn’t a very apparent thing 50 years ago and women weren’t going to medical school,” Perry said.
Harriger said her research and experience in the field of psychology and gender is rooted in her experience as a college gymnast. While competing in college, a lot of her teammates struggled with body image and related issues, which led Harriger to explore the topic on a broader scale.
She has conducted studies about body image in children, the way men and women are treated differently in films, masculinity in animated children’s movies and more.
Harriger teaches a Psychology of Gender course at Pepperdine, allowing all students to delve into topics surrounding gender.
Beyond her role at Pepperdine, Harriger is also a mother of two daughters. As she raises them, she said she hopes she can foster an environment which will allow them to grow into strong, independent women.
“I want my daughters to grow up to be strong leaders and to feel empowered,” Harriger said. “We buy a lot of like, the bedtime stories for rebel girls, and there’s a lot of literature out there that celebrates women throughout history.”
Perry said she sees her passion for Women’s and Gender Studies present within her sorority, Pi Beta Phi. Similar to Puckett, she was grateful to have a group to offer her guidance as she has faced the uncertainty of her first year in college.
“The biggest thing you see [in Pi Beta Phi] is women supporting women, in their choices and just in every way possible,” Perry said. “We build as individuals together, and we just get to experience so many great things together.”
Women As Role Models
Harriger said her daughters have several female role models, including Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark and college students who attend their church, which she believes fosters a healthy environment for her daughters to see women who have grown up and possess the qualities she wants her daughters to have.
“Research shows that when kids have someone [they look up to], you know, representation matters,” Harriger said. “So if kids can look up to women and see, oh, it’s possible to do all of these things, then they’re more likely to want to go after something, whether it’s a career or being an advocate or whatever it is.”
A year and a half after her passing, Puckett said Deslyn is still the biggest role model in her life.
“I was so grateful that I had as many years with her [as I did], being one of her close best friends, to really get to know her and see how she changed so many people’s lives,” Puckett said. “I think Deslyn was a prime example of someone who poured so much into all of her friendships and all of her relationships. I now live my life trying to emulate her radiance and her positivity into my life, even on my darkest days.”
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Contact Amanda Monahan via email: amanda.monahan@pepperdine.edu
