A little girl named Mary lived with her brother, her dog, and her parents that loved her very much. Mary’s mommy and daddy worked for the local veterinarian office. Mary’s mommy was a vet and her dad was the receptionist.

One magical day, Mary’s parents took her to work; it was Take-Your-Child-To-Work Day! Mary wanted to be a vet when she grew up just like her mom and help care for animals. She got to see where her parents worked every day and was very excited. She even got to feed puppies!

While Mary was at the vet office, she noticed there were more male veterinarians than females. When Mary asked her mommy why, all her mommy said was…

“Because.”

Mary wanted to know why there were more male veterinarians than female veterinarians, she thought it was unfair. Mary believed that boys and girls should get equal chances to be whatever they wanted to be when they grew up.

  As Mary grew up, her love for taking care of animals grew as well, and she finally became a vet. However, she still noticed there were a lot more male than female veterinarians. She also noticed that the men were being paid more than the women, even though they had the same job. For every $1 that a man was paid, Mary was paid $0.77. So Mary and some of her veterinarian friends talked to their boss and told him that it was unfair the men were being paid more than them. He agreed to pay them equal from there on out. Mary still works to give women the same pay and opportunities as men, because she wants everyone to be treated equally and fairly.

Ella's Soccer Goal

Ella dreamed of becoming a soccer player when she grew up. One day in second grade Ella saw all the boys playing soccer so she asked if she could play with them. The boys were very mean to Ella. Alex said, “No. We don't want a girl to play with us. Go play dolls or dance with the other girls.” Ella was very sad and ran away.

That afternoon Ella told her teacher and parents, and they all told her to keep trying. They wanted her to know that she could do anything she put her mind to if she worked hard. Ella made a goal that by the end of the year she would be the best player on the field at recess. Every day, Ella asked the boys if she could play soccer and when they said no she would go practice on her own.

One day the boys actually let Ella play! She met her goal and her team won 10-0. Instead of trying to get rid of her the teams now fought over who could have her as a player.

Ella continued to practice soccer skills. About fifteen years later Ella became a professional soccer player on the US Women's soccer team. When they won the World Cup they got $2 million! The US team was so happy with their win, but the men's team lost their World Cup and took home $9 million. Even as an adult Ella faced problems being treated unfairly as a woman

Ella wanted to do something about the unequal rights of men and women. She wanted girls to be confident and try out for sports. Ella wanted girls to have the same athletic opportunities as boys. Ella established an organization to support girls sports teams through donation collection and representation in front of congress to fight for equal rights for female athletes.

Elizabeth's Presidential Dream

One day, Elizabeth’s third grade teacher asked her class what they wanted to be when they grew up. Elizabeth raised her hands and said that she wanted to be the President of the United States. She was very surprised when a boy in her class named Jack said “but only boys can be president.” Jack laughed at her and that made Elizabeth feel sad.

Her teacher replied, “Actually, a woman could be President, there just hasn’t been one yet.” Elizabeth was very confused and wanted to ask her teacher about it, but the bell rang for recess and she went outside to play with her friends.

Later, when she was at home, she heard her Mom and Dad talking about the Presidential election. She remembered what had happened in class earlier and asked them, “Can I be president one day?” Her Dad said “You can be whatever you want to be when you grow up.” Elizabeth told her parents about what had happened at school, and wondered “why hasn’t there ever been a woman president?”

Her Mom told her that a long time ago, girls weren’t allowed to vote or even go to school, and because of that, they couldn’t become a politician like the president. Her Dad said that because of the way girls were treated in the past, there are mostly boys in positions of political power, like the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Elizabeth decided that even though there weren’t many girls in politics, she wasn't going to give up, and would work hard to achieve her dream. It is important to pursue your dreams, no matter how impossible

they seem.

Elizabeth went to college and studied law, and became a Senator. She worked very hard and eventually became the President. Through her perseverance, Elizabeth reached her goal and helped other women interested in politics. She wrote a book about her journey and gave lectures, inspiring other women to enter into careers in law as well.