Trailblazing student makes University of Richmond history

Many Spiders know senior Emma McCauley as the first woman to serve as a senator in the student government of Richmond College, the University of Richmond’s historically male college. What they may not know is that she drew much of her barrier-breaking inspiration from her gender research.

This past fall, with Dr. Crystal Hoyt serving as her faculty advisor, McCauley began researching her Jepson School of Leadership Studies honors thesis on the impact of gender beliefs and stereotypes on career choice. Simultaneously, the senior found herself reflecting on the University of Richmond’s gender-based two-college system. Both raised questions for her.

“We should focus on our interests and abilities rather than on what we’re told to do,” she said. “Everyone should do what they love.”

But many people don’t, the leadership studies and psychology major learned from her thesis research.

“I explored how gender essentialist beliefs, which hold that men and women have biologically different traits and abilities, affect people’s career choices,” McCauley said. “These beliefs drive stereotypes that discourage men from going into female-dominated HEED [healthcare, early education, and domestic work] fields and discourage women from going into male-dominated STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] fields.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in women working in STEM fields, but not a corresponding rise in men working in HEED fields. Status stress concerns — worries about what their friends and families will think — discourage men from entering female-dominated fields. In elementary school, we’re told boys are good in math, girls are good in English. People act on these beliefs, not on reality. If we’re told we can’t do something, we believe it. We don’t try.”

But McCauley wanted to try. What if, she thought, she pushed her campus’ gender boundaries by applying to transfer her affiliation from the University’s historically female Westhampton College to its historically male Richmond College?

She met with Joe Boehman, dean of Richmond College, to make her case. He agreed to her proposal. In mid-September of 2025, she became one of only a handful of women who have opted to join Richmond College over the years. Next, she ran for an open senate seat in the Richmond College Student Government Association (RCSGA).

On Sept. 24, 2025, she made her campaign pitch to an assembly of RCSGA officers. “It was scary to walk into a room of 35 guys,” McCauley said. “But I knew some of them and thought they would speak highly of me.”

Later that night, she learned she had made Richmond history by becoming the first woman elected to the RCSGA. “My goal was never just to hold a position, but to broaden perspectives and challenge assumptions, reinforcing that leadership is defined by impact, not tradition,” she said.

As a student government senator, McCauley spearheaded the RCSGA’s Pathways of Gratitude, an initiative that recognized University staff who worked tirelessly to keep the campus open and accessible during multiple snow days. In March, she was recognized for her own contributions when Richmond College awarded her and four other seniors the Richmond College Medal for academic excellence and campus leadership.

McCauley will celebrate another first this Sunday when she becomes the first in her family to graduate from college. “I knew I could get into college,” she said, “but how would I pay for it?”

The answer came when the University offered her a generous financial aid package, which included the William and Tamra Leary Scholarship. “Both Mr. and Mrs. Leary graduated from Richmond, and Mr. Leary, like me, was a first-generation student,” McCauley said. “Their generosity made it possible for me to attend Richmond.”

Soon she will move to New York City to start a full-time job as an associate with AlphaSights, the consultancy where she completed her Jepson School internship last summer. She will carry with her a valuable lesson she has learned well: “If you want to do something, find a way to make it happen!”