Letter from Ken Kramer

Although I cannot join you in person today, my thoughts are with you as you celebrate the birthday of Florence Rena Sabin, for whom your school is named.

Born in Central City in 1871, Florence Sabin was 14 years old and a student just like you a century ago. Like you, she had numerous questions about life and a vast number of dreams she hoped to fulfill. Unlike you, Florence was a girl reared after black slaves in the South were freed and awarded the right to vote, and before women were emancipated and given voting rights.

It is doubtful that even Florence, at your age, envisioned herself as a woman who would earn not only a medical degree, but a law degree and be named the first woman professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She grew up in an era when women who attended college were limited to studies in homemaking, education, and secretarial skills. It was a time when women were discouraged from working. Instead of reading "Ladies Home Companion," which featured fashions and creative table settings, Florence chose to read medical journals and even authored articles on brain research and tuberculosis.

Florence Sabin was blessed with a vital characteristic--determination. That determination enabled her to search for answers, pursue her dreams and to hurdle the obstacles that prevented the majority of women from passing through the halls of higher education and greater opportunities.

We need more Florence Sabins in this world. You hold the promise of a better future. Like her, I hope you will hold fast to your dreams, your desire to learn and your determination to meet the challenges today and tomorrow with courage.

Sincerely,

Ken Kramer
5th District, Colorado