By AUSTIN KOELLER
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Eve Green held many jobs before coming to the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1988. She worked for social services, an insurance agency and a manufacturing company.
But working as an office associate in the UNK Athletics Department has always been her “dream job,” said Green, who is retiring after 26 years working in Loper athletics.
“I always wanted to work here,” Green said. “The reason I didn’t apply sooner was because I knew I had to take a typing test. Then I go, ‘This is ridiculous. Even if I don’t type fast I can still retake the test.’”
Typing turned out to be only one of many job duties Green took on during her career.
Her many interactions with students included driving teams to games. Once, she even suited up as Louie the Loper and worked as UNK’s mascot during a basketball tournament.
“What doesn’t it entail?” said Green when asked about her job responsibilities.
One of Green’s jobs included work as the first programmer of the digital billboard outside the Health and Sports Center, which is used to promote athletic events and other campus activities.
“There used to be a time when they would make a change in the schedule or game. I’d have to come in from home to change the sign because we didn’t have the capability (to program it from home) back then,” she recalls.
Former UNK Athletics Director Dick Beechner, who hired Green, said she was the “glue that held the department together” for many years.
“Without Eve Green, it would have been tough to operate on a daily basis,” Beechner said. “She has a real passion for the job and university, and she always put UNK above everything. She is a special lady.”
In her 26 years at UNK, Green said the thing that has kept her going is the people she has come to know. She has developed close bonds with hundreds of student-athletes and coaches, and is known for her pleasant personality, positive outlook and strong work ethic.
“I’ve worked with a lot of people,” she said. “I like people. Most of all, I enjoy working with the students. I kind of like to tease them.”
Rich Brodersen, senior associate athletic director, has known Green since 1990 when he was a student at UNK.
“I have been with Eve full time for over 15 years, and it just wouldn’t be the same without knowing that, if I have a question, I know who can help me get the answer,” Brodersen said.
Brodersen called Green “the pipeline from the athletic department to Founder’s Hall.”
“We can’t operate without her. That’s a bold statement,” he said. “I always say that she is the nuts and bolts of the department. She knows the ins and outs of what we have to do within the campus infrastructure.”
After retiring, Green plans to visit her grandchildren in Canada, attend Loper sporting events and Kansas City Royals baseball games.
Beechner said there will be a definite void on campus once Green leaves.
“UNK is successful because of people like Eve,” Beechner said. “Everybody enjoys her, and she loves everybody right back. Eve Green is just a tremendous person who has given much of her life to the betterment of UNK. There are few like her.
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Contact: Todd Gottula, Director of Communications, 308.865.8454, gottulatm@unk.edu
Source: Eve Green, office associate UNK Athletics, 308.865.8330, greenem@unk.edu
