Autumn Langemeier, a UNK graduate, returned to campus to revive the stories of some of Nebraska’s most influential women. She presented a case study of five women that included Ella Eager, Mari Sandoz, Kay Orr, Clara Colby and Mildred Brown.
Being able to host events at UNK is a full-circle moment for Langemeier.
“I love sharing information about parts of history that people maybe aren’t quite as in touch with,” Langemeier said. “Doing things like this at UNK with the Kearney community is really wonderful for me because when I was a student here, some of these sorts of activities were the most impactful for me.”
Sandra Loughrin, a professor in the sociology department, taught Autumn during her time at UNK and was grateful to have a former student back on campus.
“It’s wonderful to feel how empowering it is for students who have done so well for themselves to come back, provide their knowledge and teach our students that we currently have,” Loughrin said.
Langemeier provided a small summary for each woman in her presentation and how they made their mark locally, nationally and internationally.
Suzanne Spencer, the chair of the sociology department, said this presentation was done through cross-department collaboration. She also said it’s meant to build awareness for the No Limits Conference, which is an interdisciplinary event that deals with women, gender and sexuality.
“This event is a collaboration between sociology and women and gender studies, but also a collaboration with history too,” Spencer said. “This is sort of a lead-up to the No Limits Conference. We just want to have some small, but important events on campus like this to bring people’s focus onto what’s coming up and to keep their minds on these sorts of topics.”
The conference rotates between the UNL, UNO and UNK campuses, and will be hosted at UNK in March.
Loughrin said the history department played a significant role in setting this presentation up.
“I do want to give a special thank you to Nathan Tye, who is the historian on all things women in Nebraska,” Loughrin said. “He was very helpful in thinking (about) how to solidify this project.”
Langemeier’s presentation was open not only to UNK students, but to community members as well.
Spencer said this presentation highlights the ability of the Kearney community and UNK to work together.
“This is a way to bring the community and the University together and be able to collaborate with the community,” Spencer said. “They can bring us the skills that they have, and we can also collaborate with them to show that we can be a stronger community together. We all really care about the same things.”
For Langemeier, her event gave her the opportunity to relive positive memories.
“I really enjoyed getting a chance to come back to UNK,” Langemeier said. “I still have a lot of really wonderful friends and colleagues here. I love seeing my old mentors, getting to see what the students are up to, seeing how the campus has changed and getting frustrated with the parking situation just as much as I used to when I lived here on campus. It’s a lot of really positive nostalgia.”
Langemeier was grateful for the support and the chance to bring women to the forefront of everyone’s mind.
“I really appreciated everybody coming out to listen,” Langemeier said. “I hope that this gives people an opportunity to really think about the way that women have impacted their lives, and the way that their experiences with women historically or in the present continue to shape the people that they are.”
