And Then They Did

Parents and teachers often turn to storybooks to make a point with children. One of my parents leaned on — perhaps a little too often — was The Little Engine That Could, even long after I had outgrown picture books. In the classic 1930 story by Watty Piper, a small blue train engine succeeds where larger, stronger ones refuse, pulling a train over a mountain through determination alone.

Whenever something seemed difficult, my parents would repeat the familiar line: “I think I can, I think I can.” A reassuring mantra that, in fact, I could.

In many ways, that simple refrain echoes the arc of women’s history. Again and again, women have taken on challenges others said they couldn’t — or shouldn’t — attempt. Their persistence has shaped medicine, science, technology, education, business, sports, communities, and everyday life — moving society forward one determined step at a time.

Last Laugh
If perseverance had a poster child, it might be Elizabeth Blackwell. In the mid-1800s, no U.S. medical schools admitted women, but she applied anyway — only to be rejected by more than ten institutions. Even a mentor urged her to disguise herself as a man. She refused.

Eventually, she was admitted to Geneva Medical College in New York through an unusual misunderstanding. Male students were asked whether they would allow a woman to enroll and, thinking the request was a prank, voted yes. What began as a joke became history. In 1849, Blackwell graduated as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.

Houston, We Have a Problem
Persistence also helped power the space age. When Katherine Johnson, a brilliant Black mathematician, joined NASA’s predecessor agency in 1953, the workplace was still segregated by race and gender.

She calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard’s historic 1961 flight, and the following year astronaut John Glenn insisted Johnson personally verify the computer calculations for his orbital mission before launch.

Her most dramatic contribution came during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. When an oxygen tank exploded enroute to the Moon, astronauts had to abandon their original plan and loop around it to return home. Johnson’s backup calculations and emergency trajectories helped guide the damaged spacecraft safely back to Earth — proving that some of the most critical work happens behind the scenes.

Open Heart
At just 32, Nina Starr Braunwald was already breaking new ground in medicine. She became the first woman to perform open-heart surgery. She also helped develop the cardiopulmonary bypass machine that allows surgeons to operate while the heart and lungs are temporarily supported.

With the support of her mentor, Andrew G. Morrow, Braunwald’s work led to the first successful human mitral valve replacement on March 11, 1960. Though the patient later died from complications, the procedure marked a milestone in cardiac surgery — opening the door to advances that have since saved countless lives.

No Applause Needed
Recognition has not always followed achievement. Inventor Margaret E. Knight had to go to court to prove she – not a man who copied her design — created the flat-bottom paper bag machine. Scientist Rosalind Franklin produced the images that revealed DNA’s double-helix structure, yet the Nobel Prize went to others.

Women’s history is filled with moments when recognition lagged behind achievement — or never came. At its core, this story is not about applause; it is about determination.

Like the little blue engine climbing the mountain, women kept moving forward even when the path was steep and the obstacles were real. They innovated, led, discovered, and persevered — often without fanfare, but always with purpose.

And like that determined engine, they carried a quiet but powerful belief:

“I think I can.” And then they did.

Happy reading,
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.