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Phyllis Wong Event—Author and Former NMU First Lady
Room 224, Lydia M. Olson Library
Lydia M. Olson Library Elizabeth and Edgar Harden Hall Northern Michigan University 1401 Presque Isle Ave., Marquette, Mich 49855, United States
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The Phyllis Michael Wong Event will highlight Wong's research and writing process during the creation of her novel, We Kept Our Towns Going: The Gossard Girls of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Discussing the influence of the H.W. Gossard factory on female workers within the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Wong shares the stories of the Gossard Girls who fueled the local economy and challenged societal expectations throughout the 20th century.
This event will be preceded by a presentation at the Marquette Regional History Center on Apr. 13, where Wong will discuss her novel in further detail.
Copies of We Kept Our Towns Going: The Gossard Girls of Michigan's Upper Peninsula will be available for purchase at both the Lydia M. Olson Library and Marquette Regional History Center events. Audience members will also have the opportunity to engage with Wong in live discussions.
For more information on Wong's novel, please visit https://nmu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?context=PC&vid=01NOMICH_INST:NMU&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&docid=cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC29019325.
Where
Room 224, Lydia M. Olson Library
Lydia M. Olson Library Elizabeth and Edgar Harden Hall Northern Michigan University 1401 Presque Isle Ave., Marquette, Mich 49855, United States
Speakers
Phyllis Wong
Phyllis Michael Wong, Author and Former NMU First Lady
Phyllis Wong is the wife of past Northern Michigan University President Dr. Les Wong. Les and Phyllis met in high school when they were 16 but decided to go their separate ways in college - he to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and she to the Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the end of Les Wong’s junior year of college, they decided to get married. They exchanged vows the week after Wong graduated. The couple celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in 2014. They have three sons: Isaac, Nathan, and Brian.
After Les and Phyllis were married, Phyllis transferred to The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she received a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with an emphasis in literature and history. She then went on to earn a master’s degree in American history and American literature from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.
Phyllis helped develop land trusts in Washington and North Dakota, and was co-president of a garden club. Professionally, Phyllis has taught in both physical and virtual classrooms. Prior to moving to Marquette, she was the director of online learning at Valley City State University in North Dakota.
PHYLLIS MICHAEL WONG has held roles as a historian, an educator, and thirty-year member of the university level academic world, including as First Lady at Northern Michigan University (2004–12) and San Francisco State University (2012–19).
Information in this biographical note came from Northern Michigan University Marketing and Communications (http://www.nmu.edu/communicationsandmarketing)