Vice President Kamala Harris made history this year as the first woman to be Vice President of the United States, inspiring women and girls all over the country by shattering the glass ceiling and disrupting the pattern of men who preceded her. As Kamala Harris steps into her new role with President Joe Biden by her side, a whole new administration is in the process of being confirmed by the Senate right now.
Less than a month into his presidency, Biden has announced almost all of his appointments, and fortunately, Harris is not the only one making history. In a country as diverse as the US, it is about time our government starts to look more like the people it represents. While we still have a long way to go, the new Biden-Harris administration takes us a step closer to the diversity we should be seeing in our government officials. Each of these nominations is exciting for numerous reasons, but below I look at the historic firsts with ties to Harvard.
We all know Mayor Pete from his campaign last year to be the Democratic nominee for president. While his bid was not successful this time around, Biden has nominated Pete Buttigieg to be the Secretary of Transportation. If confirmed by the Senate, Buttigieg, who graduated from Harvard College in 2004, will be the first openly gay cabinet member. At Harvard, Buttigieg concentrated in History and Literature, while serving as the president of the Institute of Politics. He lived in Leverett House at the same time as Saturday Night Live writer Colin Jost!
Another Harvard graduate making history this year is Cecilia Rouse. If confirmed by the Senate, Rouse will be the first Black chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. She graduated from Harvard College in 1986 with a degree in Economics. According to the Crimson, Rouse lived in Adams House and wanted to be an engineer, but she changed her mind after taking Econ10 as a freshman.
Katherine Tai unfortunately went to Yale, but she is redeemed in our eyes by the fact that she went to Harvard Law School. If she is confirmed by the Senate, Tai will make history as the first woman of color and the first Asian American to be the US Trade Representative.
Although not a graduate of the College, we can claim Janet Yellen as a Harvard affiliate because she taught as an Assistant Professor of Economics from 1971 to 1976. Yellen has already been confirmed by the Senate, so she is officially the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary. No stranger to making history, Yellen was also the first woman to be Chair of the Federal Reserve, a position she held from 2014 to 2018.
Historic moments and firsts are always exciting, but I look forward to a time when a Black woman or a gay man in a position of power is nothing new or momentous. Nevertheless, for now, I will applaud these moments and think about the younger generations who can grow up thinking a female Vice President is nothing more than the norm. I am excited to see what each of these new nominations accomplishes, especially those who went to Harvard!
Speaking of Harvard graduates making history, this weekend, Amanda Gorman will be the first poet to perform at a Super Bowl. I, for one, am looking forward to what I know will be sensational performances from both Gorman and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Eleanor Fitzgibbons ’23 (efitzgibbons@college.harvard.edu) is a big Chiefs fan.