Dr. Temple Grandin’s voice rang out over a packed audience in Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) Meyer Ballroom on the evening of March 5. “We have a lot to talk about today!”
Recently named among one of USA TODAY’s 2025 women of the year, Temple Grandin is most recognized for her work as an author and her animal and autism activism.
Her story is featured in HBO’s movie “Temple Grandin” that was released in 2010. She currently works as a professor at Colorado State University in the College of Agriculture Sciences, and is responsible for helping create more humane methods of livestock treatment in the world of modern agricultural practices.
Dr. Grandin held two talks. The first was focused on her experiences growing up diagnosed with autism in the 1950s and 1960s.
Grandin spent time highlighting some key points in her life from childhood to adulthood, and discussed the impacts of missing out on important classes in school.
Grandin emphasized that there are reasons why everyone, including those with autism, dyslexia and ADHD needs to experience sewing, cooking and home economics classes.
“They say special-ed kids can’t take shop classes. I’m 77 years old now, and in my generation, special-ed kids owned them,” she exclaimed to an audience responding in applause.
Autism had only become a recognized diagnosis four years before Grandin was born in 1947. Societal understandings of it and methods of handling it within education have both evolved over the following decades.
She discussed how labels help the relationships of people diagnosed like her, but the same labels also make it more difficult to find jobs and get into good classes, both in grade school and in higher education.
Grandin continued to speak about the day she sold her first designs for a serpentine ramp for cattle, and at that moment thought to herself that she was not stupid after all.
“I was incredibly surprised to see the turnout of people just wanting to know more about autism in general, it is a packed house,” said junior mass communications major Chase Hasler.
Hasler attended the event as an opportunity to to complete a journalism assignment for a class, but attending ended up giving him a chance to learn a lot more than he had anticipated.
After her first speech, Grandin spent fifteen minutes answering questions, before continuing to speak on the next topic: her experience in the industry of agriculture.
Mass communications major Jay Nelson said that they were also there to do an assignment, but had heard about Dr. Grandin before.
“I had heard about her in like movies and things like that originally,” said Nelson.
Being the first opportunity for many audience members to hear and interact with Grandin live, the event saw an unexpectedly large turnout.
Audience members who had seen Grandin speak before were also excited to see her again.
Owner of Shafer Large Animal Veterinary Associates Dr. Braden Shafer graduated from Colorado State University after taking classes with Grandin.
“This is incredible!” Shafer texted his mother, who was running late to the event. “Get here! Get here!”
Shafer appreciated that Grandin spoke about the joys of being around animals.
“The beauty of working with animals is celebrated in the room tonight,” said Shafer.
