MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Middle Tennessee State University is hosting a special event that celebrates National Women’s History Month in a big way.
On Tuesday, they'll be spotlighting more than a dozen women at the “Women of True Grit” Conference and Trailblazer Awards.
The free public conference and awards are happening from 1-5 p.m. at the Tucker Theatre in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building.
The keynote speaker will be Edie Hand, author of the book "Women of True Grit." Several of the women featured in Hand’s book will take part in panel discussions and share their stories of battling racism, sexism, disabilities, cancer, loss and other obstacles.
A copy of that book will be given to the first 300 attendees.
Joining Hand on stage will be NASA engineer Shelia Nash Stevenson, who was the first Black woman in Alabama to receive a Ph.D. in physics and was awarded NASA’s Modern Figure Award.
On top of the conference will be the Trailblazer awards. It will spotlight women who impact the MTSU community in positive ways. Honorees include professors, coordinators, fellows and students.

This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
- Carrie Sharp