In Donna Casella’s interview, there is a capturing of a woman’s culture and a woman’s cognition which synchronize the roles of feminism and diversity. As the feminist, there is a rejection of the historical sexual stereotypes. As the Italian American woman growing up in inner-city New York, there is an acceptance of the diversity of all ethnic cultures. These concepts collaborate to provide the essence of this Midwestern woman’s life who has been mentor, teacher, and friend to hundreds of Minnesota girls.
“Be who you are, don’t make yourself in someone else’s image” is Donna’s advice to Coming of Age girls. “You don’t have to live-up to others expectations,” she encourages. Donna had several interesting comments about growing up in the Bronx in New York City. “The sounds, the sights, the smells in my world were all ethnic . . . perhaps that’s where my love of traveling began,” Donna suggests in the interview. Several of Donna’s comments affirmed her feminist role. When asked why she chose to “walk with the Penguins” in the Antarctic? She answered, “Well I’d never been there . . . gotta be everywhere!”
We hope that you can identify with the significance of her interview and appreciate the importance of the historical ascent of feminism into the lives of women in the 21st century. Feminism is about fairness and freedom to be who we are. Donna Casella’s life serves us well as a metaphor for the possibilities Coming of Age girls have in the future.
The progression of the project was stifled by the intense technical applications as we wondered if we were going to get it done. But everyone worked well together in the end which made for a smoother group learning process.
