Dr. Nancy Hopkins Inspires the Next Generation of WISE Students
Westover School was honored to welcome Dr. Nancy Hopkins – a renowned molecular biologist, MIT professor, and gender equity advocate – to campus for a day of celebrating women in science and engineering.
While on campus, Dr. Hopkins, her husband Dinny, and Selden Illick ’58 visited the Ann S. Pollina Center for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), joining students in this semester's Engineering Design class, who recently participated in Connecticut Lieutenant Governor’s Computing for Good Challenge. This year’s Computing for Good Challenge asked students to design tools that address mental and physical well-being for young women, teenagers, and people of all ages. Engineering Design students presented their technology-based solutions for the School’s guests with a one-minute pitch.
The panel offered insightful feedback, asked thoughtful questions, and applauded Westover’s WISE students for their dedication to solving systemic issues and real-world problems.
Following the pitches, Dr. Hopkins shared reflections on her groundbreaking scientific journey. She spoke about her early days studying at Harvard, working alongside Nobel Laureates and uncovering the building blocks of life, DNA. She described how biology captured her imagination in ways she never expected and recounted stories of the scientists who shaped the field and inspired her own path.
Students in AP Biology had the opportunity to join the WISE Class as well, learning how Dr. Hopkins was part of the team that first learned how to separate DNA from proteins making real-world connections to concepts they had just studied in class.
Students gushed with enthusiasm and the special honor to meet a woman trailblazer in science. Emily M. ’26 exclaimed, “I read about this in a book yesterday! I can’t believe it – now, I am meeting her.”
Students gushed with enthusiasm and the special honor to meet a woman trailblazer in science. Emily M. ’26 exclaimed, “I read about this in a book yesterday! I can’t believe it – now, I am meeting her.”
Dr. Hopkins also spoke about the powerful connection between biology and technology, reflecting on how many of her colleagues became pioneers in the emerging field of biotechnology. Speaking candidly about the structural barriers that women in science have faced and continue to face, Dr. Hopkins shared how scientific culture was originally built for men who had wives at home, how many of her female colleagues avoided maternity leave out of fear of being seen as less committed, and how her passion for science turned into a passion for equity too. Her data and dedication were an inspiration to all of us at Westover.
She expressed genuine admiration for Westover’s WISE students, noting how inspiring it was to see young women preparing to become the engineers, entrepreneurs, and computer scientists who will help design a better, more equitable future. Westover students walked away with reminders of how science provides the tools to gather data, build a strong case, and prove a point through rigorous methodology.
In recognition of Dr. Hopkins’ impact, all students in Engineering Design received a copy of The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike, a powerful account of her career and courageous work to make science more inclusive. Dr. Hopkins signed each student’s book and congratulated them on their ongoing work in the WISE Program.
The visit was an inspiring reminder of the importance of representation in STEM and the power of student voices in shaping the future. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Hopkins, Dinny, and Selden for spending the afternoon at the WISE Center and for reminding Westover students of what is possible when curiosity, determination, data, and justice come together.
Be Boldly You
Westover School admits students of any race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, or disability to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. As a gender-diverse girls school, Westover welcomes applicants and students who are assigned female at birth and/or identify as girls. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational policies, admissions and financial aid policies, and athletic or other school-administered programs.