Owen (generally credited under her husband's name, Mrs Herbert Sumner Owen) who was also chairman of the NLWS's wireless division and founder of the Women's Radio Corps, a branch of the US Army Signal Corps. The first student to graduate was Ms Helen Campbell, shown right, with another early graduate being Elise Van R. Owen, shown in a June 1917 newspaper article testing a receiving set at the wireless school at Hunter College. Women were trained to use wireless telegraph instruments to work for the US government or private companies and to take the place of male wireless operators who had gone to war. Work abroad The work of the NLWS was often focused on Europe and the NLWS worked with the Belgian Relief and American Committee for Devastated France. One of the more interesting projects of the NLWS was the "re-chickening" of France and some branches sponsored whole chicken farms in France to aid in the food shortage there. Many of the branches worked in providing clothing for Belgian refugees, particularly children. They collaborated with the Woman’s Section of the Navy Service League in knitting, not only for American soldiers and sailors, but also for needy overseas. The women also participated in the "kid glove" project in which they donated their kid gloves which were made into vests and jackets for American servicemen. The NLWS also contributed to efforts for food conservation and provided food during the influenza epidemic in 1918. References Sources and Further reading American women in World War I Women's organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1917