By Shannon Gao ‘20
Women of Canterbury (WOC) was founded in 1991 by science chair Sandy Behan, who retired last June after 35 years at Canterbury. It is an active group dedicated to creating a comfortable and inclusive environment for female students of Canterbury School to form close relationships, to develop their potential as strong leaders of the community, and to raise awareness of current gender-related issues within the student body. Each year, the WOC hosts an annual dinner where it honors “the Women of the Year”— an award dedicated to a past or present Canterbury woman who has made a significant contribution to the school. This year the award was given to Zelia Schimanskey, who joined the Canterbury staff as a Housekeeper in 2007.
Though she has undergone many hardships in her life, Zelia remains a positive spirit with a warm heart that she carries with her wherever she goes. Her kindness has radiated throughout the campus: everyone who gets to know her can’t forget the warmth of her smile, her genuine support for the students and her deeply empathetic words. As an extraordinary role model for the women on campus, Zelia was chosen as the 2018 women of the year for her compassion, strength, and selflessness.
The banquet began with the vocal performance of the song “Lean on me” presented by Jeaneville Quaye’18 and Avery Rikhoff ’18, and the opening remarks by Ms. Root, WOC’s faculty adviser; the keynote speech was presented by Mrs. Stone, Head of School; and last but not least, the touching remarks of Zelia, WOC’s Woman of the Year marked the highest note of the night.
Throughout the banquet, the WOC’s leadership council played substantial roles in hosting the annual dinner, including their remarks about what the WOC means to them, the introduction of the keynote speaker, and the presentation of the 2018 Woman of the Year Award.
At the end of the banquet, Mrs. Behan, founder and former faculty adviser of WOC, remarked on the positive changes of the group under the management of Ms. Root and the hard work of the leadership council. Her biggest advice for the girls on campus is to never hesitate in speaking up for themselves, or taking every possible chance to develop the power within their individual voices.
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