Programs

  • Royce Fellowship
O'Hara
Shipe

Concentration 

Gender Studies

Award Year 

2006
One Size Fits All? An Introspective Look at Gender Eqaulity through Gear Design

Faculty Sponsor: Barrett Hazeltine 

Since the inception of protective gear in women's ice hockey, female goaltenders have been forced to wear gear designed for their male counterparts. O'Hara worked with the world leader in custom goal equipment, Vaughn Custom Sports, to design, produce and test a prototype leg pad created specifically for women. Through the dissemination of a nation-wide online survey, she began to identify patterns of perceived gender differences between how male and female goaltenders view themselves in relation to available gear options.

After Brown O'Hara pursued a professional hockey career that took her to Canada, Sweden and Russia. While in Sweden she received her first Master's Degree in Applied Ethics from Linkoping Universitet. O'Hara is currently at home in Anchorage, Alaska serving as the Undergraduate Research and Recruiting Coordinator for the Honors College at the University of Alaska Anchorage and pursuing her second Master's at Alaska Pacific University in Gender Studies and Photography.