Many people have been told “if you want something done, do it yourself.” Few people actually listen.

Kristen Tassone, senior theater major, took that advice when she directed and produced the first production of “The Vagina Monologues” at Kent State.

“It was something I wasn’t willing to let die,” she said.

Her involvement with “Monologues” at Kent State was only one reason Tassone received the Akron Women’s History Project’s 2007 Woman to Watch award.

Tassone also founded the Kent State Feminist Union and served as president for two years.

Tassone was the first woman to complete the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender studies minor at Kent State.

She is treasurer of the Honors College Mortar Board Laurels Chapter, recruitment chair for the Phi Gamma Pi sorority and a resident assistant. Tassone has also served as the vice president of PRIDE!Kent for three semesters.

She was nominated for the award by the Women’s Resource Center.

“Tassone has a very deep desire to make the world better for women,” said Hilda Pettit, coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center. “It’s not a passing interest, it’s a lifetime interest.”

Pettit, who has came to know Tassone through her involvement with the Women’s Resource Center during the past three years, said she watched her grow into a confident young woman. She said Tassone is always passionate about her beliefs.

Pettit said the Women’s Resource Center’s job is to support women and help people grow in whatever way they can. She said the award was a great opportunity.

Tassone was recognized March 1 at the University of Akron Martin Center. She said it was a very overwhelming experience.

“I was probably the youngest person there by 25 years,” she said. “There must be so many people older than me who have done so much more.”

Tassone will study in Washington, D.C., in the Washington Program in National Issues next spring.

She said she plans to go to law school or join the Peace Corps after graduation. She hopes to work for the American Civil Liberties Union or the Human Rights Campaign by supporting their goals and taking on related cases.

She said she wants others to know, “even the smallest things that they do good in their life will impact someone and someone will notice.”

Contact student life reporter Deborah Pritchard at [email protected].