aaron richter top 10 college women competition meet ... · the u.s., her mother divorced her...

187glamour.com

10College Women

P H O T O G R A P H S B Y Aaron Richter

Fantastic, funny, fearless, hardworking, heartwarming, kick-ass, incredible—

there are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe

the winners of our 57th annual college-achievement competition.

Get to know them here, then go pursue whatever you’re

passionate about. By Katie Sanders

Meet Glamour’s

FR

AN

K H

OR

VA

T/C

ON

DE

NA

ST

AR

CH

IVE

all about you

Top 10 College Women Competition

A look back at our 1962 winners!

188glamour.com

all about you


“I want to show my five younger siblings and my community that it’s possible

to live their dreams.” —Jude Schimmel, above right, who grew up on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

S U S A N N A H B E N J A M I N

M A R I E L L A H A U B S

J U D E S C H I M M E L

D O N Y A N A S S E R

189glamour.com

CE

NT

ER

: AA

RO

N R

ICH

TE

R; F

AS

HIO

N E

DIT

OR

: EM

ILY

HO

LL

AN

D; H

AIR

: JIL

LIA

N H

AL

OU

SK

A F

OR

BR

YA

N B

AN

TR

Y A

GE

NC

Y; M

AK

EU

P: M

AR

I SH

TE

N F

OR

AR

TIS

TS

BY

TIM

OT

HY

PR

IAN

O.C

OM

; SE

T D

ES

IGN

: RO

B S

TR

AU

SS

; HA

IR A

ND

MA

KE

UP

: M

EL

PA

LD

INO

FO

R E

NN

IS IN

C. (

SC

HIM

ME

L).

ON

HA

UB

S: R

EB

EC

CA

TA

YL

OR

TO

P, P

AN

TS

; TS

E T

UR

TL

EN

EC

K; S

TU

AR

T W

EIT

ZM

AN

LO

AF

ER

S. O

N B

EN

JAM

IN: T

IMO

WE

ILA

ND

TO

P, S

KIR

T; C

YN

TH

IA R

OW

LE

Y S

WE

AT

ER

. ON

NA

SS

ER

: R

EB

EC

CA

TA

YL

OR

DR

ES

S; J

ES

SIC

A L

ON

DO

N B

ELT

. ON

SC

HIM

ME

L: C

LA

UD

IE P

IER

LO

T B

LO

US

E; D

L19

61

PR

EM

IUM

DE

NIM

JE

AN

S. G

O T

O G

LA

MO

UR

.CO

M/M

AG

AZ

INE

FO

R M

OR

E S

HO

PP

ING

INF

OR

MA

TIO

N. S

CH

IMM

EL

: TIM

OT

HY

D.

EA

SL

EY

/AP

PH

OT

O. G

RIF

FIT

HS

: MA

RK

TH

IES

SE

N. W

AR

RE

N: G

RE

TC

HE

N E

RT

L/R

EU

TE

RS

/CO

RB

IS. G

RIN

EV

A: J

EN

NIF

ER

TA

YL

OR

. LE

SL

IE: A

ND

RE

W D

. BE

RN

ST

EIN

/NB

AE

VIA

GE

TT

Y IM

AG

ES

. AL

L O

TH

ER

S: C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F S

UB

JE

CT

S

THE PHOTO GENIUS (BEYONCE

HIRED HER!)Susannah Benjamin, 20

Yale UniversityE N G L I S H L I T E R AT U R E & F R E N C H

L I T E R AT U R E D O U B L E M A J O R

It was the perfect gift in retrospect, but when Benjamin’s mother gave her a Kodak point-and-shoot as a Christmas present, “I just shrugged,” she says. A few years later, as a student at an all-girls’ school, she was inspired to use a camera to tackle issues she saw classmates struggling with—bullying, body image, and peer pressure. She landed an internship with a top agent, who signed on to represent her professionally after being wowed by her portfolio; when Beyoncé herself saw Benjamin’s work, she hired her to shoot part of her 2011 world tour. Today this phenom has over 3 million views on her Flickr photo stream (flickr.com/ireland1324), and her images have appeared on book covers and won top honors in a major competition. In photography “you’re not just recording reality,” Benjamin says. “You can change it.”

THE FORCE FOR WOMEN IN POLITICS

Donya Nasser, 21St. John’s University

G O V E R N M E N T A N D P O L I T I C S M A J O R

Nasser’s mom was forced into an arranged marriage in her native Iran at age 18, which robbed her of a chance at education—or even access to contraception. After Nass er’s parents moved to the U.S., her mother divorced her father, losing the respect of her conservative family. “She worked 12-hour days in minimum-wage jobs to support my siblings and me,” says Nasser. But she was a powerful role model—and now Nasser hopes to give that same inspiration to other girls. In 2013 she founded Watch. Her. Lead., an initiative through which she travels around the coun-try to encourage young minority women to run for office; she is also a youth rep to the United Nations and has interned for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.). “A decade from now,” she says, “I want young girls to see strong women in politics and think, If they can do

it, I can too.”

W E T E A M E D H E R W I T H :

Glamour paired Nasser with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.), author of A Fighting Chance, whom she’s long admired. “You inspire me!” Senator Warren said. Her advice for Nasser? Ask for help. “When I decided to run for senator, I knew why, but I didn’t know how. So I called as many people as I could—I didn’t wait. I needed help, so I asked for it. And I’m glad I did.”

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAG E

THE VIOLINIST ON A MISSION

Mariella Haubs, 19The Juilliard School

V I O L I N P E R F O R M A N C E M A J O R

Few rising-star musicians can claim an industry legend as a fan. But virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman is one of Haubs’ biggest supporters—he calls her “an inspired musician bursting with talent.” Born in Germany, Haubs and her mother moved to New York when she was in high school, where she became a star student of Perlman’s. It was her longtime dream: “When I was eight,” says Haubs, “my violin teacher turned on some of Mr. Perlman’s music and told me he taught in New York. That was it. I knew I had to get good enough to get into his program.” How’d she gain entrance? By being seriously intense, skipping recess and sleepovers to practice. Now she plays an eighteenth-century violin an average of eight hours a day and has racked up more than 700 concerts across Europe and the U.S. over the course of the last 10 years. Her signature preconcert ritual? Jumping jacks.

THE BASKETBALL STAR ON (AND OFF)

THE COURTSJude Schimmel, 20University of Louisville

S O C I O L O G Y M A J O R

At age four Schimmel started shooting hoops with her big sister, Shoni, on the courts of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, where she grew up. She and Shoni remained unstoppable as teammates through high school (their mom was the coach), and this past season the sisters helped lead the University of Louisville Lady Cardinals to a 30-4 record. Last spring Schimmel was honored at the Final Four for her 3.73 GPA, the highest of all the players in the tournament; she spent the summer visiting more than 18 reservations, speak-ing to Native American kids about higher education. “I’ll never forget where I come from,” she says. “I want to show my five younger sib-lings and my community that it’s possible to live their dreams.” Kelly Ripa, who coproduced a documentary on the Schimmel family, calls her “an inspiration.”


Schimmel, a WNBA hopeful, spoke with retired league superstar and four-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie. “You have an opportunity to be a role model,” said Leslie, who acknowledged there will be setbacks. “With anything that happens in life, 10 percent is the problem, and the other 90 percent is how you interpret it. You have to have faith that problems are temporary.”


This year for the first time, Glamour introduced our winners to pros in their respective fields. Benjamin talked to Annie Griffiths, one of the first female pho-tographers for National Geographic. “Your pictures are beautiful,” Griffiths told her. “Now find a community of people passionate about the same kind of work. See what they do, how they do it. Your growth will skyrocket.”


Haubs talked to pianist Katya Grineva, who has performed 13(!) solo concerts at Carnegie Hall. “When you have a busy career, you can get lost in it. Always take the time to leave your stress behind,” Grineva counseled her. “Every morning I bring my coffee to a park in New York City to look at the East River. When I go home and play, I’m fresh.”

190glamour.com

all about you


CE

NT

ER

: AA

RO

N R

ICH

TE

R; F

AS

HIO

N E

DIT

OR

: EM

ILY

HO

LL

AN

D; H

AIR

: JIL

LIA

N H

AL

OU

SK

A F

OR

BR

YA

N B

AN

TR

Y A

GE

NC

Y; M

AK

EU

P: M

AR

I SH

TE

N F

OR

AR

TIS

TS

BY

TIM

OT

HY

PR

IAN

O.C

OM

; SE

T D

ES

IGN

: OB

ST

RA

US

S.

ON

ISH

AN

I PR

EM

AR

AT

NE

: TO

RY

BU

RC

H J

AC

KE

T; S

PL

EN

DID

T-S

HIR

T; M

AR

C J

AC

OB

S S

KIR

T; L

UC

CH

ES

E S

HO

ES

. ON

INE

SH

A P

RE

MA

RA

TN

E: C

HR

IST

OP

HE

R F

ISC

HE

R S

WE

AT

ER

; FR

AM

E D

EN

IM J

EA

NS

; NIN

E W

ES

T

HE

EL

S. G

O T

O G

LA

MO

UR

.CO

M/M

AG

AZ

INE

FO

R M

OR

E S

HO

PP

ING

INF

OR

MA

TIO

N. G

UP

TA

: CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

CN

N. P

OW

ER

: CL

IFF

E F

RA

SE

R/S

PL

AS

H N

EW

S/C

OR

BIS

. AL

L O

TH

ER

S: C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F S

UB

JE

CT

S

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAG E

I S H A N I P R E M A R A T N E I N E S H A P R E M A R A T N E

THE GIRL WHO HELPS WAR WIDOWS...Ishani Premaratne, 20Harvard University A N T H R O P O L O G Y M A J O R

This premed standout and her twin, Inesha, top right (yes, they’re both winners), spent their summers visiting their grand-parents’ native Sri Lanka. When they discovered that many of the 90,000 women widowed in the country’s civil war were out of work, they founded Grow Lanka, a mobile alert system that helps people job-hunt via text mes-sage. They partnered with the country’s largest employer and, in less than a year, helped con-nect 500 women in some of Sri Lanka’s most remote regions with job opportunities. “Now they can support their families, even after decades of war and being told they couldn’t,” says Ishani, who eventually hopes to work for Doctors With out Borders and host public health segments on TV.

Inesha Premaratne spent the fall of 2012 watching the presidential election unfold from the White House, where she interned in the Office of the First Lady. Yes, she got to meet President Obama and even introduced the First Lady before a speech—but the highlight? Giving a White House tour to her parents, who had recently become U.S. citizens. Last January she worked with her sister in Sri Lanka, and back on campus, Inesha founded Empower!, which helps undergrads launch socially conscious start-ups. “You can talk about problems, but there’s more power in charting out solutions,” she says. Her dream gig one day? Secretary of State.

...AND HER TWIN, THE WHITE HOUSE ALUM Inesha Premaratne, 20Harvard University G O V E R N M E N T M A J O R

If you’re a female undergrad who’ll be in her junior year during the 2014–2015 school year, apply now! You could score $20,000, a trip to New York City, and a profile in a future issue. Check out glamour.com/go/ttcw for details.*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest begins April 15, 2014, at 12:01 A.M. ET and ends September 15, 2014, at 11:59 P.M. ET, when all entries must be received. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States, District of Columbia, and Canada (void in Quebec) who are at least 18 years old and full-time juniors in 2014–2015. Visit glamour.com/go/ttcw for rules and how to enter. One grand-prize A.R.V.: $20,750; nine first-place A.R.V.: $3,750. Sponsor: Condé Nast.

Want to Be in Glamour’s Next Class of Top 10 College Women? (Or have a Top 10 – wor thy f r iend?)


Ishani Premaratne spoke with neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, M.D., whose career has inspired her for years. “Your trajectory is amazing,” Dr. Gupta told Ishani. “You’re doing exactly what I always tell young people, which is to find out what you’re truly passionate about. Think about what makes your heart skip a beat. That’s the key to an impactful career.”


Inesha Premaratne spoke to Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. “You’ve done big things!” Power told her. The strategy that shaped Power’s own success? “Looking back, every decision I made was by instinct. I followed my gut, even if it didn’t prove to be the best ‘career’ move. Ask, What’s the worst that can happen? If you’ll learn something, it’s worth doing.”

192glamour.com

CE

NT

ER

: AA

RO

N R

ICH

TE

R; F

AS

HIO

N E

DIT

OR

: EM

ILY

HO

LL

AN

D; H

AIR

: JIL

LIA

N H

AL

OU

SK

A F

OR

BR

YA

N B

AN

TR

Y A

GE

NC

Y; M

AK

EU

P: M

AR

I SH

TE

N F

OR

AR

TIS

TS

BY

TIM

OT

HY

PR

IAN

O.C

OM

; SE

T D

ES

IGN

: RO

B S

TR

AU

SS

. FO

R

PR

ES

CO

D: H

AIR

: ME

L P

AL

DIN

O F

OR

EN

NIS

INC

; MA

KE

UP

: MA

RI S

HT

EN

FO

R A

RT

IST

SB

YT

IMO

TH

YP

RIA

NO

.CO

M. O

N P

AD

ILL

A-R

OD

RIG

UE

Z: Z

AR

A B

LA

ZE

R, S

KIR

T; D

KN

YC

BL

OU

SE

. ON

BR

IER

E: T

OR

Y B

UR

CH

DR

ES

S; N

INA

O

RIG

INA

LS

PU

MP

S. O

N C

IES

EM

IER

: TS

E T

OP

; HA

LS

TO

N H

ER

ITA

GE

SK

IRT

; AL

ICE

+ O

LIV

IA B

Y S

TA

CE

Y B

EN

DE

T H

EE

LS

. ON

PR

ES

CO

D: M

IH J

EA

NS

JE

AN

S; G

IAN

VIT

O R

OS

SI P

UM

PS

. GO

TO

GL

AM

OU

R.C

OM

/MA

GA

ZIN

E F

OR

M

OR

E S

HO

PP

ING

INF

OR

MA

TIO

N. M

AR

TIN

EZ

: TO

M W

ILL

IAM

S/C

Q R

OL

L C

AL

L. L

ING

: MIK

E W

IND

LE

/GE

TT

Y IM

AG

ES

. SM

ITH

: JO

I IT

O. P

RE

SC

OD

: MIK

E S

EG

AR

/RE

UT

ER

S/C

OR

BIS

. AL

L O

TH

ER

S: C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F S

UB

JE

CT

S

THE TRIUMPHANT VALEDICTORIAN (SHE WAS ONCE

HOMELESS)Ivón Padilla-

Rodríguez, 20University of Nevada, Reno

H I S T O R Y & P H I L O S O P H Y D O U B L E M A J O R

Most 4.0 high school students study all night. Padilla-Rodríguez didn’t have that luxury—she and her mother were homeless part of her junior year. Padilla-Rodríguez found refuge in an after-school theater program: “Acting let me take control of something, even if it was just a role,” she says. A friend’s family eventually took her in, and her experience onstage inspired Padilla-Rodríguez to cofound a free youth theater program, where she’s spent 1,900 hours with more than 300 at-risk students. She hopes to be a Latino-rights lawyer—and then a Supreme Court justice. (After she won a major scholarship, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote to congratulate her, saying that one day “I may be rec ommend ing you” for a job on the Court.)


Padilla-Rodríguez talked to Governor Susana Martinez (R–N.M.), the first female Hispanic governor in the U.S. The governor knows about defying expectations: “When elected district attorney, I was one of the first wom en and had to prove to the men that we were all a team,” Martinez said. “But, Ivón, don’t ever let anyone tell you you cannot do certain things. Everything is possible.”

THE YOUTH MOBILIZER—

SHE RAISED NEARLY $1 MILLION!

Kendall Ciesemier, 21Georgetown University

S O C I O L O G Y M A J O R

At age 11, Ciesemier—who was born with biliary atresia, a rare disease that requires a permanent tube surgically implanted in her abdomen—was awaiting a liver transplant when she saw a TV special on African AIDS orphans. It changed her life. She scrounged up $360 to pay for a year of food and schooling for a Mauritian girl through a charity she’d googled. “It was the neediest time of my life, but helping her made me feel less helpless,” says Ciesemier. Friends and well-wishers followed her lead in such force that she created Kids Caring 4 Kids in 2004. Today she’s mobilized 10,000-plus tweens and teens to raise $940,000 for schools, clinics, and housing in sub-Saharan Africa. And who escorted her to her segment on The Oprah Winfrey Show? None other than President Bill Clinton.


Ciesemier, who hopes to have her own talk show one day, spoke to Lisa Ling, host of Our America With Lisa Ling. “You’re on your way to a great career,” Ling told Ciesemier. “And Barbara Walters told me promotion is crucial. She said, ‘If nobody knows about your work, no one will watch it.’ Now I promote my stories on Twitter and Facebook; that’s how you give your work impact.”

THE SCIENCE WHIZ WHO’LL TEACH US ALL ABOUT MARS

Emily Briere, 20Duke University

M E C H A N I C A L E N G I N E E R I N G M A J O R

Briere’s father, an entrepreneur, constantly asked her, “Can you think of a better way?” to solve any problem she faced. By 15 she’d done just that, cofounding three start-ups and banking enough cash to help pay for college. From her dorm room she taught herself astro-dynamics and how to code. NASA quickly hired her, and as one of their youngest summer research associates, she developed a simulation that helps a spacecraft bypass asteroids. Then she dreamed up an idea to put a digital time capsule in outer space, and now she’s mission director of Time Capsule to Mars, a first-of-its-kind project. “People all over earth will be able to upload text, photos, and videos to it,” she says. “So everyday people and kids, not just scientists, will be able to learn and get excited about space, and maybe even connect with future settlers there.”


Glamour connected Briere with her idol, Megan Smith, vice president of Google[x], which develops technology for things like self-driving cars. “Space is your passion,” Smith said, but “whatever you want to do, being a junior per son on a senior team is in cred ible. I spent a summer in college in a machine shop, building equip ment for space shuttle ex per i ments. Experi ences like that are how you stretch.”

THE MASTER FENCER AND OLYMPIAN

Nzingha Prescod, 21Columbia University

P O L I T I C A L S C I E N C E M A J O R

Brooklyn-born Prescod started fencing at age nine, when her single mother signed her up for lessons after reading about a local program in the newspaper. “She heard they were sending a couple of athletes to the Olympics and thought, Why not?” says Prescod, who went on to be so good she competed in the 2012 London Games herself at just 19. Then, last May, as the number-one ranked women’s foil fencer in the U.S., she became the first American ever to win a Grand Prix women’s fencing title—a historic achievement. Today she captains the Columbia women’s squad and gives weekend lessons to inner-city kids. “Fencing taught me to embrace fear,” she says. “It’s a lot of in-the-moment problem solving and looking for the most direct, practical way. That’s how I try to approach any challenge in my life now.” A policy buff, she hopes to one day work as a political strategist.


Prescod talked to Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s assistant and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speech -writing, who invited her to the White House. “Seek out people you ad mire,” Rhodes said. “I dropped everything to work on Obama’s campaign because he was so inspiring. Find those people and ask for advice. That can lead to career breakthroughs.”

193glamour.com

all about you


“Fencing taught me to embrace fear. It’s a lot of in-the-moment problem solving.

That’s how I try to approach any challenge.” —Nzingha Prescod, above right, who competed in the 2012 Olympics

I V O N P A D I L L A - R O D R I G U E Z K E N D A L L C I E S E M I E R

E M I L Y B R I E R E

N Z I N G H A P R E S C O D

She’s our $20,000 winner!

Ciesemier earned Glamour ’s top prize

for her work on behalf of orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.

“I want to provide people with the

strength and knowledge to defeat

their struggles,” she says.

all about you

Top 10 College Women

aaron richter top 10 college women competition meet ... · the u.s., her mother divorced her...

Documents