Hattie Kauffman wasn’t born successful — she grew up poor, in fact.
Originally from Grangeville, Idaho, Kauffman’s family moved to Seattle when she was young, and it wasn’t easy. However, Kauffman said everything she learned as a child helped her succeed.
“You can summon from the depths to help you,” Kauffman said. “Determination can come from the hardscrabble places.”
Kauffman will speak to University of Idaho students, current and incoming, about her experiences during this year’s convocation ceremony 8:30 a.m. Friday in the ASUI Kibbie Dome.
Kauffman, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, began her broadcast journalism career at UMN before working at a local station in Seattle. She won four Emmy awards for her work, and then became a national correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America in 1987.
“She is a great example of good work done well,” UI Professor Glenn Mosley said.
Mosley said Kauffman is a terrific speaker, writer and person. He said Kauffman is proof that hard work can accomplish a lot, which is why he nominated her for convocation speaker.
“Hattie is a warm and generous person, a terrific writer and speaker and a gifted reporter,” Mosley said. “Whenever she has visited our students over the years she has told wonderful stories and provided enormously helpful career advice. Those attending the convocation this year will enjoy her presentation very much, I am sure.”
Kauffman, a member of the Nez Perce tribe, said she never thought of herself as anything more than a reporter while she was doing her job. She said journalists are meant to be blank slates, simply witnessing history. She was “just a reporter,” and didn’t know she broke the glass ceiling as a Native American female reporter until years later when she got a call about it.
“I was just showing up and doing my job,” Kauffman said.
Kauffman said she is excited to return to Idaho to speak to the students, and she hopes that convocation will open students up to the idea that the world is there for them to take.
“Being from Idaho is not a limit,” Kauffman said. “I came from Idaho and had an incredible life.”
UI President Chuck Staben said convocation is the beginning of a new academic year, and for first-year students, it is the beginning of their college experience. He said students need to find their own voice and he hopes that people see the significance of listening to these types of speakers.
Mosley said convocation serves as a reminder to why faculty, staff and students are here, to expose and be exposed to ideas, and convocation gets the newest members off and running toward that goal.
“Our purpose here is to widen our horizons and hear what people have to say,” Mosley said. “(Kauffman) has something to say.”
Claire Whitley
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