BY ASHLEY LUND '17

For as long as I can recall, voting in my first presidential election has been an occasion I have anticipated more than any other milestone. Nov. 8, 2016, the date of this year’s historic election, became the first time Americans would have the chance to elect a woman to our nation’s highest office. Also on Nov. 8 was the 179th anniversary of the first continuing women’s college — Mount Holyoke — opening its doors. As we gathered in celebration around Mary Lyon’s grave to honor her and the history of our revolutionary school, the significance of the moment was intensified by stickers bearing the words “I Voted”  worn proudly on those among us. Casting my first presidential ballot for the first woman candidate for president of the United States while simultaneously studying at one of the Seven Sisters instilled within me immense pride and the belief that we had reached a turning point in our society where women could truly accomplish anything.