Short, Nina Verne
Person
Dates
- Existence: 1892 - ?
Biographical Information
Short came to Purdue from Hillsboro, Indiana. She graduated in 1915 with a BS and proceeded to teach at Fowler and Crawfordsville schools for two years. She was also County Supervisor of Domestic Science and acted as County Home Demonstration Agent in Wayne County, Indiana for one year. When the United States entered World War I, Short went to the Garfield Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. to gain experience in dietetics. After the war ended, Short became the resident manager for the convalescent place of the District of Columbia Red Cross. As she wrote, "The last position left me in Washington with a desire to know more of the East. Consequently, I joined the exodus of war workers to New York City." Although Short was warned by her friends that thousands of girls were unable to find jobs in New York, she was offered three upon her arrival. She eventually became executive secretary of the Otsego County Tuberculosis Association in up-state New York, through which she taught public health, instructed school children on healthy behaviors, helped with the tuberculosis program, and assisted in the establishment of a community health center. Short was effectively the connecting link between the State Association and local organizations in the counties in the eastern half of New York State. After becoming "homesick for Indiana," Short moved back to the Midwest and became the health director of the Tippecanoe County Tuberculosis Association. Eventually, Short returned to New York and became associated with the State Charities Aid Association.