I retired from the University of Illinois Springfield in 2006 and am currently a professor emerita. There, I served as a faculty member in the School of Innovative and Experiential Learning, receiving three major faculty awards during that time – the 2006 Naomi B. Lynn Award for Outstanding Contributions to Women, 2005 Robert Spencer Award for Service and the 1994 Distinguished University Service Award for Teaching.

After retiring from UIS, I accepted a position with the Peace Corps as an assistant director of Training and Programming in Albania and Uganda, where I supervised host country staff.  In recognition of my service I was honored by the Peace Corps and the U.S. Embassy in Uganda with an Exemplary Service Award. I then retired a second time! I left Peace Corps in 2012.

I own a house in Florida and am next door neighbors to Bob Miltz and Linda Abrams. I split time with Springfield, IL where I continue to do guest lectures at UIS. 

I am an active volunteer and grandmother to 3 boys. I was honored in 2016 to record my life history for the Oral History Project at Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library where I am also an interviewer.

In 2020 I received an Alumni of the Year Award from Carroll University where I did my undergraduate degree.  As part of that award I was interviewed by Linda Abrams in a video where I had a chance to reflect on my career and what had motivated me through the years. [12/21]

Email: droegkamp@me.com