Throughout her career, Janet Way (BA ’48/MA ’51) touched lives everywhere from Australia to Pennsylvania. She continues to give her talent and energy to causes she believes in as a retiree.

Way said attending The University of Iowa during World War II, when women made up the majority of students and took on leadership roles vacated by men away at war, taught her that she could make a difference.

“We got the message that we can do anything we want,” Way said. “Attending The University of Iowa opened the doors of the world to us.”

Way’s first job after earning her undergraduate degree was taking case histories at the Elgin State Mental Hospital in Illinois.

“I realized how much mental illness started in early childhood and adolescence and that there were no resources, no social services or psychiatrists available in the schools at that time,” she said.

So, Way earned a counseling degree and began work at the UI, succeeding in a wide variety of areas. First, she worked in the Office of Student Affairs, then with Dr. Wendell Johnson in his famous stuttering study. Then she worked as the assistant to the dean and counselor in the newly established College of Nursing, giving her the background to identify needed improvements in nursing schools in Western Australia where she spent two years. Next, she developed an alternative school program for at-risk students as a high school counselor in suburban Philadelphia that lasted for 20 years, saving many students from dropping out, helping them recover deficiencies, and progress to regular classes and graduation. It became a model for other high schools.

Way taught counseling at Villanova University, where she said she “enjoyed helping counselor education students realize counseling was more than administering tests and getting students into college.” She also became part of an award-winning program called Parents and Children Together in Learning that trained parents to become literacy tutors in the poorest elementary schools in Philadelphia.

“I’ve kind of roamed from one thing to another over my lifetime, but all the challenges are connected in some way or another,” she said.

In her retirement, Way has been a vital supporter of Colorado Public Radio and the Colorado Symphony Guild. A recent project she spearheaded brought UI graduate and opera star Simon Estes to Colorado for a week’s residency and benefit concert. The event raised some $12,650 for the Colorado Symphony Education Program.

Another influence from her UI days that continues to be a positive force in Way’s life is a group of women she first got to know in the Currier Hall dorms. The women began having annual reunions in the 1980s to encourage each other to give back to their communities.

“We are all enthusiasts for doing our part while we’re here, and we reinforce that whenever we’re together,” Way said.

Group member Elizabeth Johnson said Way’s achievements are exceptional.

“Janet is the best example I know of someone succeeding with her education,” Johnson said. “She’s a fantastic, dynamic individual who doesn’t shy away from what she feels to be her responsibilities and has made a tremendous difference in a great many people’s lives.”