![Sophomore Mason Lee encompasses the persona of his character, Enjolras, during a rehearsal of Act One. I think [rehearsals are] going well and were very on track [with the squedule]... which is good, Student Assistant Director senior Neena Tavik, who is also playing Eponine, said. (Courtesy Sasha Rotton)](https://www.wjpitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/24466917-801C-45FE-A882-D818DABBDCB8-600x451.jpg)
![Since the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge in late March, federal law enforcement has began investigating what preceded the event. In a statement to CBS News, a spokesperson for the FBI said, [The] FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court authorized law enforcement activity. There is no other public information available and we will have no further comment. (Courtesy Isaac Smay via Flickr)](https://www.wjpitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/53619368036_399400003a_b-600x400.jpg)
Photos of admirable and empowering women now decorate the halls of WJ. This is the doing of WJ’s Women’s Studies class. The project, called “Women of MoCo,” was created for the month of October in order to shine a spotlight on local women deserving of recognition. All around the school, students can read about these strong and confident Montgomery County residents, chosen by students in the class.
“The teacher had us choose women that we respected and looked up to in our lives,” class participant,senior Marlee Smith said. “I chose my soccer trainer.”
Smith said she enjoys the course because of the discussion on feminism and equality. She also mentioned the the class is entirely female.
Sophomore Nadia Lonnberg said she had never heard of the class before seeing the posters, but it got her thinking about the women who inspired her. She said if she were to choose a woman in her life who inspires her, it would be science teacher Aileen Leung.
“Mrs. Leung understands anxiety and is supportive in helping with that,” Lonnberg said of her teacher. “She’s like amazing. I have her seventh period and even though it’s the end of the day and I’m super sad, she makes me so happy.”
After many years of trying to kickstart the class, the 2018-2019 school year is the first year that it actually came into fruition. Women’s Studies is a semester-long class that focuses on the international changes in women’s political, economic and social status over time. It can be taken starting sophomore year. Students taking the course learn about advancements in the lives of women, both at home and in the workforce, and study key figures who have shaped the way women live today.
The posters are mostly located on the top floor of the school. While the students were a given an amount of freedom with the project, the teacher assigned places to hang them up and monitored the project.“I think they were pretty cool! I stopped to read some of them,” sophomore Mia Smith said.
![Senior Tiffany Gibson has dinner with her parents and her nine year old sister. Gibsons family has been her largest source of support throughout her treatment process.
[My dad] helped me through it. He was the one who’d take me to my doctor’s visits, he was trying to make me try to take my medication on time, even though he’d get angry when I didn’t take it. I had to do blood work, so he would always find out. He would always try to get me to take it and remind me, Gibson said.](https://www.wjpitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/92iA4Tg7fGWMhmk9DKWf7Q6UQQ4p0LYeBobwwvV7-900x672.jpg)
