My name is Aveline (she/her) and I am currently a History student at Bryn Mawr College near Philadelphia, PA. A fun fact about myself is I am actually an identical twin, so my girlhood was spent almost always with a built-in best friend! I like to hold the fact that I am older than my sister over her head, frequently telling her that she will “understand when she’s older” or that “I used to think like that when I was your age.” We grew up together as girls in Canada and continue to grow as we moved to the U.S. and make a new home in Pittsburgh with the rest of our family!
After I finish university, I hope to get my master’s in history and then go to law school! I am conversationally proficient in French but hope to continue learning more so I can study history from all around the world and not limit myself to work written in English! My dream job is working as a lawyer, though I don’t know what specialty yet, and being able to help people sort out complicated situations within their lives!
As far as hobbies go, I am an avid reader and am particularly interested in old American and European history (which feeds into my obsession with Jane Austen books), though if you put any book in front of me I will probably finish it within a week—I tend to like everything I pick up in one way or another! I’m also an avid outdoorsgirl, and love running or the occasional hike, though trail running remains a big no-no for me as I am deeply uncoordinated! The outdoor activities I engage in are usually limited to the area immediately surrounding my college campus, but I hope to one day be able to travel abroad or across the country to explore the wilderness all around!
I am excited to join the Girl Museum team because of my general love of museums and the belief that they are able to educate people in ways that are so much more personal or emotional than traditional classroom settings! My favorite is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City as I appreciate the wide variety of exhibits it offers along with the general vibe it has been located in such a cosmopolitan city!
Despite the many interesting exhibits in museums across the country, girls remain unrepresented and many of their stories remain untold. Working towards a world in which girls can see themselves as historical figures who are capable of making change is just one important step in highlighting the importance of girlhood and representation when growing up. The girls I know around me are only exposed to history about themselves through dolls that were marketed at a steep price and certainly not accessible to all. I think it is incredibly important to embrace girl culture in all aspects of life, celebrating it beyond commercialized spaces and moving conversations of girlhood into more common spaces!
–Aveline Plenter
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.