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Women military veterans to share war stories in honor of Women's History Month

McHenry County College concludes its celebration of Women's History Month with "Women Military Veterans: How Women Tell a War Story" a speaker/student panel presentation from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, in Room B166-167 at the college, 8900 Route 14, Crystal Lake.

Thom Webb, oral history coordinator from the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago, will talk about his role at the museum, the importance and function of collecting oral history, and insights into the narratives of service women. Webb earned his master of arts degree in composition and rhetoric from the University of Illinois at Springfield and a master of library science from Dominican University. He is in charge of gathering the biographical data of participants of the oral history program, as well as connecting these individuals with members of the volunteer staff for scheduled interviews.

The event also will feature five MCC female student veterans who will share their "journey home" from military service. They will describe their military experience, how their experience evolved into a particular "story" and how their story is part of their post-military civilian life now.

Student veteran panelists are: Gladys Clark of McHenry, U.S. Air Force; Carrie Dinovo of Lake Barrington, U.S. Marine Corps Reserves; Whitney Morgan of Woodstock, U.S. Army and Ericka Schork of Carpentersville, U.S. Marine Corps and Jessica Gasaway of McHenry, U.S. Army.

This event is funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant for a three-year MCC project called "The Journey Home," a Learning Community course that combines literature and history.

"From the moment a recruit enters boot camp he or she is told what to say, which is mostly nothing, or at least a 'Yes, sir' to the commanders or face consequences," said Mark Waters, English instructor who teaches "The Journey Home" course. "Even less is expected from women, whose very presence in a uniform is often unwanted and precarious. So, the fact that any stories or accounts emerge from women of their time in uniform is itself remarkable. What we're doing with this event is trying to provide a forum for the female vet experience and explore how, from such inclement conditions, stories were able to take root and grow."

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Lori Keller at (815) 455-8947 or email lkeller@mchenry.edu.

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