As I look back over the past few days, I feel compelled to thank you all for giving me a strong community of women to be a part of in my professional life. Yesterday my school, Mississippi University for Women (the W), celebrated the 140th anniversary of the charter as the first public institution for women in the nation. Most people don't know that happened in Mississippi but it did. I have a Long Blue Line of graduates from there that I can always count on. I feel the same support from this group here.
Our battle is far from over, the very same University that celebrated yesterday faced a bill in the Mississippi legislature today to merge them with Mississippi State University, one of the largest SEC schools in the state. This merger would erase our uniqueness. Just as the legislature is going after the W, I am seeing articles reporting the challenges that the DE&I movement is facing at all levels of government.
We cannot turn our backs on banding together and supporting each other. Lifting each other up is the only way we will continue to grow. This community has so much potential and I am proud to call myself a member of WIIM. Thank you all for standing beside me.
Sarah
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Sarah Lambert-Sheffield, CIP
Lead Document and Records Management Specialist
Fluor Federal Petroleum Operations
DOE- Strategic Petroleum Reserve
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