Cassidy Jacobsen 

April 9th, 2025

Professor Heather Sadlier 

EDU-133-A

Women Changemaker Essay 

When I think of a women changemaker I audiomatty think leader. The definition of a leader is someone who inspires others and motivates them to a bigger goal (What Is a Leader?, 2025). Sarah Thomas is a person that I think is a women changemaker and leader who portrays this exact definition. 

Sarah Thomas is the first woman who officiated in NFL super-bowl 55. This is where her journey starts. She was born on September 21st, 1973 in Pascagoula Mississippi, United States, where she attended Pascagoula High School and then went to college at the University of Mobal where she studied communication and played basketball (Wecker, 2025). She graduated college in 1995 and not long after started refereeing high school football when she was 23 years old for around 9 years. When some men, after a period of time, told her she had good potential and could go far doing what she’s doing (Thomson, 2022). So that’s what she did, even though some obstacles of being downgraded because she was entering a male dominated field, she was noticed by NFL scouts in 2006, where soon after she was named the first woman to referee a major college game in 2007 (Thomson, 2022). And then in 2015, she got offered a job from the NFL. 

Throughout Sarah Thomas journey, she had many people inspire and doubt her. Her children played a big role in inspiring her to do something no woman has ever done, and ended up showing them that anything is possible, and the men at the high school football game when she was 23 years old saying that she has real talent and can go somewhere far with refereeing if she keeps going. But there are also the people who doubted her, during her entire process of getting to where she is. When she was getting scouted, the junior college secretary for football refused to hire a women, and one NFL scout told her she would never make it far in this industry because she missed an offside call during the 2014 Senior Bowl and made her have to delay her pro arrival by one year (Thomson, 2022). But she never gave up. A quote from Sarah from Yakima Herald-Republic says “The first thing I’ve learned is you do not do things to prove people wrong (Thomson, 2022).” Which proves that her hardships and her own inspirations is why she is a good leader, which has changed the way for future female athletes. 

Sarah Thomas has inspired other female athletes by her leadership, providing them with a sense of hope that one day they can achieve something this big too. From the Handshake Blog, they explained that Sarah’s story has inspired so many young women, and opened doors for others like Katie Slower and Jennefer King, two women leaders who worked in the NFL (HandShake Blog, 2024). Sarah followed her passion without anything stopping her and that’s how she was able to get to this point. And is able to show that women can do more than what the stereotype shows that they can do (Thomson, 2022). 

Overall Sarah Thomas has provided a pathway for future generations of female athletes and in general female workers who want to work in a male dominant field. She has taught females of all ages to go for what they want, not what society wants. 

References

HandShake Blog. (2024). What we learned from the first full-time woman ref on the NFL field. https://joinhandshake.com/blog/students/what-we-learned-from-the-first-full-time-woman-on-the-nfl-field/ 

Refr Sports. (2025). Sarah Thomas: Breaking Barriers in NFL Officiating. https://www.refrsports.com/blog/sarah-thomas-breaking-barriers-nfl-officiating 

Sarah Thomas. (2025). NFL Football Operations. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://operations.nfl.com/officiating/spotlights/sarah-thomas/ 

Thomson, L. (2022, April 23). Through the glass ceiling. NFL’s first female referee shares inspiration with Yakima audience. https://www.yakimaherald.com/sports/nfls-first-female-referee-shares-inspiration-with-yakima-audience/article_46f3fe4a-866d-5bee-bb9a-9eff8e9fb27f.html 

Wecker, J. (2025, March 3). 51 Famous Women in History Who Have Changed the World. Biography. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://www.biography.com/history-culture/g43336252/famous-women-in-history What Is a Leader? (2025). University College Dublin. Retrieved April 9, 2025, from https://www.ucd.ie/professionalacademy/resources/what-is-a-leader/