Beverly Wingard began attending Kansas University in the fall of 1960. She was 18 years old and one of the only women in her freshman class.
She chose to major in mathematics to appease her parents who didn't think women needed a college education.
At the time, many women only went to college until they landed a beau.
Beverly didn't care about getting an "MRS. degree."
She was the valedictorian of the high school class.
She received a scholarship to KU reserved for the top 10% of all Kansas high school graduates.
She was extremely intelligent and overly curious; both traits that often landed her in hot water.
She felt overwhelmingly alone and powerless.
Her beau, Jack, dove headfirst into Greek life. Beverly despised his fraternity brothers and the weekly parties she was forced to sit through.
She would make Jack take her home early so she could dump trash cans of water onto the heads of couples kissing under her window after fraternity events.
In those days, one could judge the progression of a courtship by a few specific gifts a boy gave his girlfriend.
A lavalier necklace was a big deal for any girl because it guaranteed an engagement ring would soon follow.
Despite Beverly's disdain for convention and Greek life, she was the first girl in her dormitory to receive a lavalier.
To celebrate, her dormmates dragged her out of bed and threw her in the showers one night. To Beverly, this was just rubbing salt in the wound.
Halfway through her freshman year, she hopped on a plane on a whim and left Kansas without looking back.
She landed in Washington, D.C. and fell in love with the city. This love continued throughout the time that I knew her, and links our two stories together.
