The Room I Was Really Looking For: Reflections on the AAUW Fellows Reception at Chief HQ

Pictured left to right: Writer/Director & 2023-24 International Fellow Raina Yang, Columbia University Research Specialist & 2012-13 International Fellow Chen Wang, Treasurer of AAUW NYC Metro & 2016-17 American Fellow Jessica Sims, CEO of AAUW Gloria Blackwell, President of AAUW NYC Metro Raegan Sealy, and PhD student & 2024-25 International Fellow Malgorzata Dwulat.

About a decade ago, I applied for a $20,000 International Fellowship from AAUW. Thinking it might garner me some kind of competitive advantage, I simultaneously reached out to the local chapter and began attending events.

It didn't help. I didn't get the scholarship.

But I found something more important; a colossal (140,000+ strong) community of female teachers and learners, advocating for themselves and for each other. Ten years later, I'm welcoming new fellows and alumnae as President of the AAUW NYC Metro Branch.

AAUW is a brilliant example of the hidden infrastructure behind women's achievement. Since its founding, it has funded over $146 million in scholarships and grants, and remains one of the largest funders of women's graduate education in the US. Many AAUW members have been in this for decades, including CEO Gloria L. Blackwell, who has been with AAUW since 2004 and has overseen more than $70 million in fellowship funding.

It's this kind of sustained, structural, systemic support that enables true social change. You may never have heard of AAUW, but their legacy is all around you.

At UCurricula, we help people get into the rooms they deserve to be in. Ten years ago, I thought the "room" was the fellowship. Now I know: it's the community. Last month, the room was a literal one — the AAUW Fellows Reception at Chief HQ. We heard from an extraordinary panel: Sandra Castro, PhD (Adelphi University), Sophia Dadas (Wells Fargo), and Anna Mitchell Mahoney, PhD (Dartmouth College). Every woman in there had been given access to education through a community that continues to hold the door open long after the check clears.

If you're not a member but you'd like to learn more about AAUW NYC Metro, join our newsletter and come to an event. You don't have to be a member to attend our events, or a woman, or in higher ed — the door is open.

Raegan Sealy,

2025-26 President, AAUW NYC Metro

See all the photos from the event below: