Two people from Health and Human Sciences featured in Women Impacting ISU calendar
Honors and Awards News
Two women from the College of Health and Human Sciences have earned spots in the 2025 Women Impacting ISU calendar. Since 2007, this calendar has celebrated students, faculty, and staff whose leadership and achievements have made a significant positive impact on campus.
Christine Hradek, program manager for Health and Human Sciences Extension and outreach, and Emily Worrall, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, will be celebrated alongside 10 other honorees at a Jan. 22 reception in the Memorial Union’s Sun Room.
A committee of students, faculty, and staff—including past calendar honorees—evaluated nominations and chose 12 women based on their impacts in service, teaching, research, administration, scholarship, and involvement in campus activities.
Hradek advocates for healthy choices across Iowa
Christine Hradek has worked as a program manager in Health and Human Sciences Extension and Outreach since 2013, focusing on making healthy choices accessible for Iowans with low incomes. She supports the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program- Education (SNAP-Ed), federal initiatives aimed at improving nutrition.
Through her team’s efforts, adults and youth learn practical skills like cooking and meal-planning, while overcoming barriers to healthy eating. Hradek also creates and disseminates online tools to make these educational opportunities more widely available.
“I enjoy reading the bios of the people featured in the Women Impacting ISU calendar each year, and it is wonderful to be considered in their company,” she said. “I am proud that the work my team and I do has attracted attention like this and I hope it will bring more attention to the nutrition security challenges we have in Iowa.”
Hradek learned a great deal from Dr. Debra Sellers, who served as her manager for 10 years and is now associate dean for academic personnel in the College of Health and Human Sciences. Sellers’ calm, supportive, and encouraging leadership, combined with the freedom she gave Hradek to be creative and productive in her own way, left a lasting impact.
Now, Hradek strives to emulate that approach by supporting her team, helping them build confidence, and encouraging them to bring their unique skills to their roles. She believes collaboration is essential to creating meaningful change.
“I know my work is more impactful and more fun when I am working alongside others who are also driven to make change happen,” she said. “Whether it’s your office neighbor, a friend in another department or a colleague in another state, those people become your work community, and nurturing those relationships is important.”
Hradek also encourages others to connect their professional and personal passions.
“Align your professional pursuits with what matters to you personally. You will feel more passion toward your work and have a more sophisticated understanding of its impact if it also resonates with your personal life,” she said. “This helps your ‘why’ be very clear. Every job is going to have aspects you do not enjoy and difficult days, but if your ‘why’ is clear, it helps to balance out those challenges.”
Worrall empowers students through hands-on retail experience
Emily Worrall earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Apparel Merchandising and Design from Iowa State. She is now in the final semester of her doctoral studies in the same program.
During her time at Iowa State, Worrall has transformed Innovate 1858, the student-run store featuring products created by Iowa State students, into a retail learning lab. She also created a course that simulates real-world industry environments. Students enrolled in the course work across departments at Innovate 1858, gaining hands-on experience in areas such as merchandising, product development, public relations, and marketing.
Worrall also co-teaches the Entrepreneurship in Human Sciences course with Linda Niehm, interim chair of the Department of Apparel, Events and Hospitality Management. In addition, she collaborated with Ben Vinar from Iowa State’s Trademark Office to launch Cyclones Take New York, a campus-wide design competition that gives students the chance to have their designs sold in stores, with the top two designers winning a trip to New York Fashion Week. The inaugural competition took place last fall.
“I am most proud of the impact I’ve had on students and how much I’ve learned from them in return,” Worrall said. “Watching students grow, thrive, and succeed in the industry is the most rewarding part of my work.”
After completing her doctorate, Worrall plans to pursue a leadership role where she can continue helping others reach their full potential while learning from them in return—making a difference just as she has at Iowa State. She also offers advice for women aspiring to create positive change on campus.
“Focus on the bigger picture and always center your efforts on the impact they will have on students,” she said. “Ask yourself: What tangible skills, experiences, or portfolio items will students gain from your initiatives? How can you help set them apart in their future careers?”
She is grateful for the inspiration she has drawn from her students and the hard work, passion, and creativity they have shown. Equally inspiring have been the campus leaders who have supported, encouraged, and guided her, including Dr. Niehm and other faculty and alumni from her department, such as Dr. Rachel Eike, Dr. C. Zoe Schumm, and Audrey McMillan.
Worrall is also honored to be featured in this year’s Women Impacting ISU calendar.
“Being selected for the Women Impacting ISU calendar serves as meaningful recognition of the hard work and dedication I’ve put into my role at Iowa State University,” she said. “It’s also deeply humbling to be recognized alongside such inspiring women, from whom I continue to learn and grow.”
Calendar unveiling on Wednesday, Jan. 22
The reception honoring Hradek, Worrall, and the other 10 women featured in this year’s calendar will take place on Jan. 22 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. Free copies of the calendar will be available at the event. After Jan. 22, calendars can be picked up at the Catt Center, Sloss House, Beardshear Hall, and the Memorial Union while supplies last.