Illinois State University Archivist April Anderson-Zorn returns to Redbird Buzz following a semester-long sabbatical spent researching the role of women from Illinois State Normal University in World War I. In this episode, she shares the story of a handful of history-making women and their experiences on the frontlines, helping to rebuild war-torn areas of Europe following the war, and what their lives looked like once they returned home.

Tune into this episode to learn about impressive Redbird women like Ellen Babbitt, who used her education background and fundamentals of pedagogy from her time at ISNU to teach hundreds of thousands of Europeans about best health practices and how to treat their sick children in a post-war world. You’ll also hear about women like Alice Smith, who joined the Army Nurse Corps and served in mobile hospitals on the frontlines during World War I, then returned home to become a renowned landscape architect.

To learn more about these women and their stories, visit the Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield Archives online and don’t miss this fascinating episode of Redbird Buzz, also available as a video, where you’ll see archival materials from these Redbird women.

Redbird Buzz is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Transcripts of each episode are available online at Alumni.IllinoisState.edu/Podcast.