As a 17 yo who had never seen this campus, first student from my inner city LA highschool who always wished she was a boy.... wow. My mind exploded with all that awesome intellectual awakening and I learned to love being a woman. I ultimately went to medical school and became a cardiologist, a male-dominated field of medicine. My sense of myself both as a strong and intelligent woman one allowed me to embrace any field I chose. When I became a mother, I could ask with confidence what working conditions I required. As I grew older, women continued to be a succor and a haven. The Wellesley effect is this sense of purpose and confidence in oneself and the immediate connection with other women.