Academic program
History (PhD) with a Women's and Gender Studies specialization; Applied: Law
Degrees you currently have
BA History-Rice University; JD with honors-University of Texas
Hometown
Bellevue, Nebraska
Why did you select your program?
My work concerning the 1952 and 1956 Olympics allows me to interview athletes at the end of their lives about their competitions in their prime. While my first book focused on male track and field athletes in the 1952 Olympics, my dissertation will concern women field athletes. They faced intersectional opposition based on their gender, race, class, and sexuality.
What has been your best experience as a graduate student at Nebraska?
Interacting with the other students has been fantastic. Each person brings a unique perspective to our discussions. Everyone challenges me to be better than my best. Honestly, classes are the highlight of my week.
Who have been some of your strongest mentors or role models here?
All of my professors provided excellent role models. While I have found their curriculums challenging, I have learned a great deal. As a non-traditional student, I am enjoying every minute of my time at the University of Nebraska.
Research and/or creative activity experience
- Running in Borrowed Shoes: Thane Baker and the 1952 Summer Games (TCU Press, 2024): I spent five years researching, writing, and editing an academic biography.
- Clerk: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge- From 1989-1990: Researched the issues behind the cases before the court.
- Attorney-From 1985-1986: Practiced law and researched my cases.
- Consumer Bankruptcy Project-From 1984-1985 and 1989-1992: I worked as a law student supervisor, then as an attorney supervisor, training and overseeing others, who coded data about bankruptcy cases for a National Science Foundation funded quantitative study to determine who filed for personal bankruptcy and why. I worked directly for Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator MA, Teresa Sullivan, President Emerita University of Virginia, and Jay Westbrook, Benno C. Schmidt Chair of Business Law, University of Texas School of Law. My supervisors published the results of this study in As We Forgive Our Debtors: Bankruptcy and Consumer Credit in America (Oxford University Press, 1989) and The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt (Yale University Press, 2000). They kindly thanked me for my work in the "Prefaces" of both books.
- Research Assistant 1984-1985: Elizabeth Warren. I provided research for a textbook she and Jay Westbrook published, The Law of Debtors and Creditors, Text, Cases, and Problems (Little, Brown, and Co. 1986).
What are your plans once you have earned the degree?
I plan to write and publish my work on women Olympic athletes during the 1950s. I may work as an adjunct professor and have ideas for historical fiction, as well.
