Susan B. Anthony Center

Award 3: The Sue S Stewart Award!

This award, made annually, recognizes a senior woman undergraduate student whose life in the University has been distinguished by a commitment to justice, equality, and community service, as these relate to diversity and inclusion, particularly in the lives of girls and women; and whose activities reflect the spirit of these principles and dedication to these qualities as expressed and inspired by the life and career of former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the University of Rochester, Sue Stewart.

Jaydee Ortez ’25

Jaydee Ortez is a senior at the University of Rochester, double majoring in Psychology and American Sign Language. A first-generation Latine woman from Chicago, Illinois, she is deeply committed to advocating for underrepresented communities, particularly Black and Latine adolescents in urban cities. Throughout her time at the University of Rochester, Jaydee has held various leadership roles within the Spanish and Latino Students’ Association. Currently, she serves as the Programming Chair for Adelante Juntos, where she fosters meaningful community engagement between UR students and the local Latine Rochester community, with a focus on supporting Latine undocumented populations. Passionate about social justice and identity development, Jaydee aspires to pursue a PhD in Human Development. Her goal is to empower minority groups and contribute to research that advances their acceptance and integration with their communities

Our 3rd award - The Fannie Bigelow Prize!

This award goes to an undergraduate upperclassman chosen on the basis of her individuality, her ability to form and express fearlessly, with conviction and sound judgment, her opinions on vital topics.

Raquel Williams ’25

Raquel Williams is a senior at the University of Rochester, double majoring in Health Policy and Black Studies with a minor in Political Science. In addition to academics, Raquel has been an integral member of the varsity basketball team while also using their platform to advocate for equity and inclusion. Recognizing the need for community and support among Black student-athletes, she founded and is the President of the Black Student Athlete Coalition, fostering community, mentorship, and systemic change on campus. This led to her being the first U of R delegate and current president of the UAA Black Letter winning Athlete Coalition (UAA BLAC), the first Division 3 cross-conference Black student athlete group.

Juliana Montes ’25

Juliana Montes is a first generation Mexican American student from Phoenix Arizona. She is an ECO scholar, Kearns Scholar, and Brady scholar who has held several positions on the Spanish and Latina Student Association (SALSA), Spanish and Latino Students In training for Awareness (SALSITA), and the Frederick Douglass Leadership House (DLH), some of those being the Vice President of SALSA, and Co-president of SALSITA. If that is not enough, she has also been working 3 campus jobs while in these roles. She is a communications assistant at the Center for Community Engagement, a community ambassador at Innovation Square through Reslife, and a speaking fellow for the Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program, where she is also currently the President of the Speaking Fellows. Juliana has been able to do all this while also creating her own interdisciplinary major in Cognitive Ethnomusicology.

On Saturday, March 8, the Susan B. Anthony Center held our annual International Women's Day Luncheon. This year's International Women's Day theme is "Accelerate Action" as we work towards gender equality. Our panelists captured this theme beautifully with their empowering words of wisdom. Although International Women's Day has passed, Women's History Month continues through the month of March. In recognition of this, we will be sharing inspiring quotes from our panelists through the end of the month to celebrate how far we have come and to continue the fight for equal rights.