Marquette's 'Wild Girls' recount mid-century journalism school

MILWAUKEE - A group of Marquette University alumna, calling themselves the "Wild Girls," is working to leave wisdom behind for generations to come.

Carol Hebbring and Laraine O'Brien are two of five 80-year-old women that took on a big project. 

"It was kind of a wild idea, and it turned out not being so wild because people did it," said O’Brien.

Both graduated from Marquette's journalism school in 1961.

"Not all of our friends know how old we are," she said.

The park where the women met up with FOX6 News used to be Copus Hall where they had class.  After a reunion Zoom in 2020, they decided they didn't want their legacy to disappear like their old building. 

"Sometimes, you want to leave a memory for your children, or your grandchildren, or people who have yet to come," said Hebbring.

"We got the idea of writing a book, and the book would be essays from our classmates of how their journalism education played out in their lives," said O’Brien.

The final product, Linked by Ink, features 32 essays with lessons about journalism and life. 

"We’ve been able to put this little book together about our lives, and as many times as I’ve read it, I still either tear up or start laughing sometimes or think, ‘Boy, that’s a good story,’" she said.

The project that seemed wild is proving anything is possible. 

"I think if you really feel that something’s worthwhile and you work at it, it’ll happen, and that’s sort of what happened with this," O’Brien said.

The Wild Girls only have a few books left from the first printing. They say they will print more if it seems there is demand. 

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