The news this week that author and activist Gloria Steinem had died at the age of 92 recalled a couple of visits she made to Wellesley as well as a special meeting she had with a Wellesley sixth grader in 2013.

The women’s movement leader unsurprisingly was a popular choice as commencement speaker at Wellesley College: She spoke both in 1988 and 1993.

In 1988, Steinem urged graduates to push for equality in all aspects of life. In 1993, she called attention to the diversity of the graduating class, and encouraged grads to become lifelong learners and support one another.

Separately, in 2013, a Hunnewell Elementary School 5th grader named Emily Willrich wrote a letter that appeared in The Wellesley Townsman (you may only be able to read part of it due to a paywall) about inequality between the town’s baseball and softball fields. Her advocacy eventually helped lead to big improvements in girls’ fields, but in the fall of 2013 it also scored the student an invite to meet with Steinem and other women leaders at a Simmons College (now University) event.

The Boston Globe reported on the event at the time, and quoted Willrich as saying about Steinem: “She asked me to give a copy of my Townsman letter to her. She also said that it’s good that I stuck up for myself, and said that no one else is the boss of me. I really liked that — I love that motto.”

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