Let's Meet The First Black Woman to Lead The Corps of Cadets at West Point Cadet Simone Askew
"Coming into the Military Academy where the ratio is about 80% men to 20% women didn’t have a huge impact at first. I was blessed to have great mentors who really encouraged and empowered me. But now that I’m in this high visibility role, the impact those numbers have is clearer to me," she told @time
"I see how the imbalance affects the dynamics not only between men and women at the academy, but also between the women here. Because we’re such a small minority there is a sense of having to compensate for what people might think is an inherent weakness or deficit. Physical fitness is very important in the Army; that’s how your unit, your peers, your superiors will assess your capability to perform in a combat environment.
There is an element of women having to perform above and beyond, just to dispel any beliefs that we aren’t physically capable. I need to be on the top of my game." Askew is slated to graduate from West Point in 2018 and plans to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
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