As Sunday’s 2013 Golden Globes approach, it’s a pleasure to see so much praise for this year’s hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The Golden Globes are considered a major benchmark in predicting Oscar favorites, so it’s an exciting change to have women at the helm. There’s never been a solo female host of the Golden Globes, and Fey and Poehler will be the first female pair to lead the show.
The duo is already familiar with making history as co-hosts. In 2004, they became the first female co-anchors of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” segment. Historically, comedy may be a boys’ club, but Fey and Poehler have helped break down the club’s walls.
I’ll admit I’m biased toward their hosting stint, but with good reason. As a woman studying improvisational comedy, I admire Fey and Poehler’s brilliant work with Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade. Additionally, I spent eight years running a fan website for Poehler. I had the pleasure of meeting her on several occasions, and she was exactly as lovely as one would hope.
For a brief time, I got to know my hero in person, and she always spoke to me as though I were a friend. In actuality I was an awestruck teenager, but she never let on that she noticed.
I’m grateful to Poehler for so many things, chief among them allowing me to geek out over her on the Internet for many years. She’s the reason I studied web design, and now I manage websites for AAUW. (Coincidentally, Poehler is featured in the AAUW-sponsored Every Four Years exhibit at the Newseum.) She’s a huge part of why I do what I do. She taught me a lot about the type of person I want to be, not just as an improviser but also as a woman.
This weekend I’ll join the masses in tuning in to the Golden Globes, perched on the edge of my seat as two of comedy’s leading ladies prove that they can master the hosting gig. If their past performances are any indication, they’ll rock it like they do everything else: with precision, joy, and probably a few dirty jokes. As the saying goes, “well-behaved women rarely make history!”
This post was written by AAUW Junior Website Designer Megan Morrison.
AAUW Dialog 
Wow, Megan, who knew…what a cool story. YOU are a great example of responsiveness, courtesy, and making things simple in an otherwise-complicated world. Thank you for sharing your talents, and your story about your connection with Amy Poehler, with us!
Lovely article! I couldn’t agree more about Amy Poehler teaching people about comedy as well as the type of person they want to be. She’s a walking example of how to back up the talk with the behaviour, and I’m relieved that young girls have her as a role model to counteract the less positive ones.