Entry 23: Jenny Jordan Frogley (living)

Jenny Jordan Frogley began her music life at 3 years old when she sang with her family in the Jordan Family Singers.  Growing up she was very involved in music.  She played the piano, the viola, sang in choir, and performed in theater.  After high school she pursued a career in music.  She’s done commercial jingles, voice overs, singing, theater, songwriting, etc. She continues to have big music goals while raising her four children.

Entry 22: Nancy Brinker (1946-living)

Nancy Brinker has served her country as the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and Chief of Protocol of the United States.  However, she is best known for her service to the world in the fight against Breast Cancer.  Brinker’s sister died of breast cancer in the early 1980s.  Brinker promised her sister before she died that she’d do everything she could to put an end to the terrible disease. She started the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (named after her sister), which has changed the world’s understanding of breast cancer.  Rarely talked about in the 80s, Brinker has made a huge impact in awareness, research, and cures for breast cancer that have benefited so many people.  In 2009 she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given in America.

Entry 21: Michelle Wie (1989-living)

Michelle Wie is a professional Golfer from Hawaii.  At the age of 10 she became the youngest person to qualify for a USGA (United States Golf Association) Amateur Championship.  Later she became the youngest person to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and to qualify for a LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tour event. Wie went pro at age 15.  In 2014 she won the U.S. Women’s Open.

Entry 20: Michelle Bachelet (1951-living)

Michelle Bachelet was imprisoned and tortured as a young adult because her father was against the government Chile had at that time.  She was then released into exile.  Later in life, she returned to Chile and got involved in politics.  In 2006 she was elected President, and was well liked by her people.  Because of laws in Chile, she couldn’t serve two consecutive terms as president. After her term she served in the UN.  In 2014 she again ran for President and won, making her the first president of Chile to be reelected since 1932. Chile has prospered under her leadership.

Entry 19: Indra K. Nooyi (1955-living)

Indra K. Nooyi was born in India.  Growing up she had very much a mind of her own.  She graduated from Madras Christian College with a bachelor’s degree, and the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta with a Master’s.  After graduating she worked a few jobs, but felt in over her head. She then decided to move to America and attended Yale University.  She was such a skilled worker after graduating that PepsiCo pushed to get her to join their team.  She accepted and didn’t let them down.  She was a key player in merging other big companies like Tropicana and Quaker Oats.  In 2006 she became CEO of PepsiCo.

I really enjoyed learning about Nooyi while writing this summary.  I would encourage everyone to look up more on her.  There are so many other things I could include, but for the sake of keeping things brief I won’t.

Entry 18: Boudicca (circa AD 60)

Boudicca was a queen of the British Iceni tribe.  Her husband was an independent ally of Rome, and in his will he left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor.  After the king’s death however, the Romans didn’t abide by his will and took all of the kingdom for themselves.  Boudicca and her daughters experienced a lot of maltreatment by the romans, until Boudicca built up an army and drove the invading romans back.  The Romans weren’t able to again be secure on the British Isles until after Boudicca’s death.

Entry 17: Mary McAleese (1951-living)

Mary McAleese is an unapologetic Catholic.  She attended Queen’s University of Belfast and graduated in Law.  She taught Criminology and Penology at Trinity College in Dublin.  Later she returned to Queen’s University as the director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies and as Pro-Vice-Chancellor.  She was elected President of Ireland in 1997, and served two terms.  She is very popular and respected in her country.

Entry 16: Kiera Powell (2014-living)

Keira Powell was born in January 2014.  Soon after her first birthday she was diagnosed with cancer, having a tumor in her brain and her heart.  By the time they discovered it, the brain tumor was the size of a golf ball.  Almost 6 months later Keira has had many surgeries and has gone through several rounds of Chemotherapy.  Despite how hard all of this has been on her body, Keira remains excited about life, and is often playing and smiling.

Entry 15: Sarah Christensen (living)

Entry 15: Sarah Christensen (living)

Growing up in England, Sarah Christensen didn’t feel like she was very talented, and had little to offer the world.  Even though she never did well in school, she decided to extend her education, and then really bloomed.  She began to paint, write poetry and really excelled in psychology.  She moved to the United States and continued her studies as Brigham Young University.  This only added to her talents as she learned dance, singing, piano, Thai, traveled to 12 countries, studied world religions and volunteered at an orphanage.  After graduating she worked as a writer in a marketing company, but left after learning of the dishonest work her boss was doing.

Soon after, Christensen found she was pregnant with her first child.  She and her husband moved to the country, and though it was difficult, she determined to be the best wife and mother she could.  This decision only proved to make her more talented as she learned photography, cooking, and baking.  She became so popular with her talents that she started a blog called Mattawa Mum, where she shares her ideas and abilities. www.mattawamum.com

Entry 14: Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)

Amelia Earhart was passionate about flying.  She set many speed and distance records in her day.  She was the first person to fly solo from Honolulu, HI to Oakland, CA, a distance of 2,408 miles!  She attempted to fly around the world in 1937, but tragically was lost in her attempt.  Despite many theories we have no proof of what happened to Earhart.  The US government spent 4 million dollars searching for her, the most costly air and sea search to that time.

Entry 13: J. K. Rowling (1965-living)

Joanne Rowling (J.K. Rowling) first came up with the idea of her popular book series “Harry Potter” while waiting for a delayed train.  About 5 years she finished the book, experiencing many difficult and life changing events in that time.  Her series soon became very popular and inspired many fans. Harry Potter is one of the Best-Selling series ever published. Rowling quickly went from very humble circumstances to one of the richest women in Britain.

Entry 12: Yoani Sánchez (1975-living)

Yoani Sánchez grew up in Cuba. Being unhappy with the government she created a blog to express the injustice in her country.  The Cuban government tries to censor it, but she publishes it by emailing it to her friends in other countries.  Her blog is called Generación Y, and is published in 17 languages. In 2008 Time Magazine said the following about Sánchez:  "under the nose of a regime that has never tolerated dissent, Sánchez has practiced what paper-bound journalists in her country cannot; freedom of speech"

Yoani Sánchez creció en Cuba.  Ella estaba descontenta con el gobierno y creó un blog para expresar la injusticia del país.  The gobierno de Cuba trata de bloquearlo, pero ella lo publica por enviándolo por email a sus amigos en otros paises.  El blog se llama Generación Y, y es publicado en 17 idiomas.  En el año 2008, la revista Time dijo lo siguiente de Sánchez, “Debajo de la nariz de un régimen que nunca ha tolerado la disidencia, Sánchez ha practicado lo que periodistas que usan papel no pueden en su país; la libertad de expresión.

Entry 11: Pat Summitt (1952-living)

Pat Summitt was a basketball coach for the University of Tennessee’s Lady Vols basketball team.  She coached basketball for 38 years and has won 8 championships.  She holds the record for all-time wins of any coach in her division for both male and female teams.  She’s achieved 1098 wins in all.  After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she started the Pat Summitt Foundation focused on finding a cure. If you're interested in her foundation visit http://www.patsummitt.org/

Entry 10: Esther (circa 490 BC)

Hadassa (later renamed Esther) was chosen by King Ahasuerus (Xerxus I) of Persia to be his wife after he disposed of his first wife.  Esther was Jewish, living as a Jewish exile in Persia; her heritage was not known to her husband.  Later the King agreed to have all of the Jews in his kingdom exterminated.  This troubled Esther greatly, and according to the King’s laws, no one, including the queen, could approach him without being summoned.  Seeing that her people were in danger, Esther bravely went to see the King anyway, revealed that she was a Jew and plead for the welfare of her people.  She found favor in the King’s eyes and her people were saved.

Entry 9: Malala Yousafzai (1997-living) ملاله یوسفزۍ

Malala Yousafzai grew up in Mingora, Pakistan, in a place where the taliban had a lot of control.  At that time the taliban were denying women the chance to become educated.  Using a blog Yousafzai spoke out and action was made so she and the other girls around her could go to school.  Taliban members attempted to kill Yousafzai, but only left her in critical condition.  She continued to promote education for everyone and in 2014 became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Malala Yousafzai creció en Mingora, Pakistan, en un lugar donde los talibanes tenían mucho poder.  En ese tiempo los talibanes negaba que las mujeres se educaran.  Usando un blog, Yousafzai protestó y se tomaron medidas para que las pudieron asistir la escuela.  Algunos miembros de los talibanes trataron de matar a Yousafzai, pero sólo la hirieron gravemente.  Ella siguió promoviendo la educación para todos y en 2014 llegó a ser la más joven persona para ganar el Premio Nobel de la Paz.