Mary Edwards Walker
MARY E. WALKER
By: Rebecca Tippie
MA-327 Leadership
Dr. Robyn M. King
March 2, 2013
I chose Mary Edwards Walker as my leader for this final project. I have always enjoyed reading a little bit of military history and I always look for stories about people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty or went against the grain. In my opinion, she really set the bar high for other women to follow, and I find her to be an exemplary leader and role model for other women in the business world.
Mary Walker was born on November 26, 1832 in Oswego, New York (Unknown, Women in History ). She can accredit her leadership style and personality to her father, Alvah. Her father was a farmer, abolitionist, and a self-taught doctor. During this time, most women did not attend school or work outside the home, but because Mary’s father believed that women should be well educated, he built the first schoolhouse in Oswego on their land known as the Bunker Hill Farm (Unknown, Women in History ). In addition, this farm served as a “station” in the Underground Railroad system that assisted southern slaves to freedom—mainly from western New York into Canada (D. L. Walker 29-30) . Alvah also believed that women’s clothing was too tight and because his daughters had to help on the farm, he prohibited them from wearing the traditional clothing and corsets (Unknown, Women in History ).
When Mary turned 18, she spent two years at the Falley Seminary where she was taught Mathematics, Philosophy, Grammar, and Hygiene (D. L. Walker 30). She graduated and became a teacher; however, Mary really wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor. With the money she saved while teaching, Mary enrolled into the Syracuse Medical College in 1853 (Unknown, Women in History ). This was the first medical school in the United States and one of the few that accepted both men and women. Mary graduated in June of 1855 at the age of 21 after attending three 13-week
By: Rebecca Tippie
MA-327 Leadership
Dr. Robyn M. King
March 2, 2013
I chose Mary Edwards Walker as my leader for this final project. I have always enjoyed reading a little bit of military history and I always look for stories about people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty or went against the grain. In my opinion, she really set the bar high for other women to follow, and I find her to be an exemplary leader and role model for other women in the business world.
Mary Walker was born on November 26, 1832 in Oswego, New York (Unknown, Women in History ). She can accredit her leadership style and personality to her father, Alvah. Her father was a farmer, abolitionist, and a self-taught doctor. During this time, most women did not attend school or work outside the home, but because Mary’s father believed that women should be well educated, he built the first schoolhouse in Oswego on their land known as the Bunker Hill Farm (Unknown, Women in History ). In addition, this farm served as a “station” in the Underground Railroad system that assisted southern slaves to freedom—mainly from western New York into Canada (D. L. Walker 29-30) . Alvah also believed that women’s clothing was too tight and because his daughters had to help on the farm, he prohibited them from wearing the traditional clothing and corsets (Unknown, Women in History ).
When Mary turned 18, she spent two years at the Falley Seminary where she was taught Mathematics, Philosophy, Grammar, and Hygiene (D. L. Walker 30). She graduated and became a teacher; however, Mary really wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor. With the money she saved while teaching, Mary enrolled into the Syracuse Medical College in 1853 (Unknown, Women in History ). This was the first medical school in the United States and one of the few that accepted both men and women. Mary graduated in June of 1855 at the age of 21 after attending three 13-week
Cited: Harris, Sharon M. Dr. Mary Walker: An American Radical, 1832-1919. New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London: Rutgers University Press, 2009. 1 March 2013. Mary Edwards Walker. 2004. 1 March 2013. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Mary_Edwards_Walker.aspx>. —. Mary Edwards Walker. 2010. 1 March 2013. <http://biography.yourdictionary.com/mary-edwards-walker>. —. Mary Edwards Walker Civil War Doctor. 1989. 1 March 2013. <http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/walker.htm>. —. Women in History . 2005. 1 March 2013. <http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/walk-mar.htm>. Unkown. Mary Edwards Walker. 2006. 1 March 2013. <http://www.answers.com/topic/mary-edwards-walker>. Walker, Dale L. Mary Edwards Walker: Above and Beyond. New York: Tom Doherty and Associates, 2005. 1 March 2013. Walker, Mary E. Hit: Essays on Women 's Rights. New York: Humanity Books, 2003 (original in 1871). 1 March 2013.