The purpose of the Utah Women’s Walk is to recognize and show gratitude for the lives of notable women who have made significant contributions to life in the state of Utah. The intention of this project is to educate the public about the remarkable lives of Utah women and to uplift, inspire, and motivate other women to reach for their highest potential. The Utah Women’s Walk is also meant to encourage appreciation for the variety of work in which Utah women are engaged and to demonstrate the cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity in our state. Research for this project originated with the completion of a master’s thesis by Michele Welch in 2007 from Utah State University and continued through 2016 with students in an American Studies course at Utah Valley University. Currently, volunteers are interviewing Utah women who most inspire them. On completion, recordings and transcriptions of the interviews are housed in the George Sutherland Archives at Utah Valley University.

On the last day of completing my finals at Brigham Young University in April of 2001, I wanted to do something special to commemorate my completion of an undergraduate degree in Humanities. I called my niece, Hilary, to walk through the newly completed Thanksgiving Point Garden in Lehi, Utah to celebrate this special day. Hilary and I spent a very enjoyable time reminiscing about her mother, Rebecca who had passed away from cancer five years earlier, when Hilary was only eight years old. It is hard to describe the uplifting experience we had in words—it was not just a time of celebration, it was a significant experience of enjoying the beauties of nature and sharing information with Hilary about her remarkable mother. Together the walk provided us an educational, motivating, inspirational, and healing experience not long forgotten. Shortly afterwards, I read an article about a New Jersey Senator, Diane Allen, who was spearheading legislation to develop a “New Jersey’s Women’s Heritage Trail” commemorating the contributions of women to the history of their state. Since that time I have become aware of other projects such as the “Boston Women’s Heritage Trail,” and the University of Portland exhibit called “Walk of the Heroines.” Over the course of the past 20 years, the uplifting garden walk with my niece has developed into a project where we can celebrate and learn about Utah women. –Michele A. Welch

On September 16, 2017 Utah Women’s Walk opened a garden walk exhibit at Thanksgiving Point as a way of honoring the women of Utah.  The opening included a welcome by Jeanette Herbert, remarks by Utah Valley University President Matthew Holland, and the One Voice Children’s Choir. The centerpiece statue Connexion, commissioned by Utah Women’s Walk, is representative of the diversity of culture, ethnicity, racial, and age of the women of Utah.  It also depicts women lifting and supporting one another as they navigate through their personal experiences. Connexion is the only standing exhibit recognizing the collective influence of women who have powerfully shaped Utah’s unique and cherished heritage.

“I’ve learned that people forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou
Thanksgiving Point welcomes over 200,000 guests each year to their gardens.  As guests visit the exhibit they will be able to access, on a mobile device, abbreviated video interviews of Utah Women’s Walk honorees.  Guests who would like more information will be directed to the full transcript and video of the interviews accessed through the webiste www.utahwomenswalk.org.  We envision the garden walk to be a place of healing, learning, and appreciation. Tens of thousands will have the opportunity to walk the exhibit, read and hear the stories of these tremendous women.

Research for the Utah Women’s Walk is based primarily on personal interviews with honorees whenever possible and relies on secondary resources as needed, for example when the honoree is deceased. The women reflect the diversity of the state of Utah based on modern demographic studies.