Oral History Program Markéta Havlová Interviewed by Lorrie Rands 28 January 2025 Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Markéta Havlová Interviewed by Lorrie Rands 28 January 2025 Copyright © 2025 by Weber State University, Stewart Library Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description Connecting Weber: History of the Cultural Centers oral history project documents the memories and history of the various cultural centers that were open at Weber State University. These centers included the Multicultural Center (later called the Center for Belonging & Cultural Engagement), Women's Center, Native American Cultural Center, Asian American and Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Pan-Asian Cultural Center, Black Cultural Center, and the LGBTQ Resource Center. The centers were closed in July 2024 due to state legislation. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Havlová, Markéta an oral history by Lorrie Rands, 28 January 2025, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, Special Collections and University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview conducted on January 28, 2025 with Markéta Havlová over Zoom with Lorrie Rands. Markéta shares her experiences growing up in the Czech Republic and what it was like coming to Weber State as an international student. She also talks about her time in student government and her feelings surrounding the closing of the cultural centers. Also on the call is Raegan Baird. Note: Active listening, transitions in dialogue (such as “um,” “so,” “you know,” etc.), and false starts in conversations are not included in transcription for ease of reading. All additions to transcript noted with brackets. LR: Today is January 28, 2025. We are in a Zoom meeting for an oral history interview with Markéta Havlová for our… I just blanked. Connecting Weber, the Cultural Center Oral History Project. My name is Lorrie Rands conducting, and Raegan Baird is on the call as well, and she can ask questions as she wants. I'm just throwing that out there, Raegan. Okay. Thank you, Markéta, for your willingness to share your stories. Let's just start with when and where you were born? MH: Okay. I was born on August 27, 1999, and I was born in Cheb [pronounced like Hep]. It's spelled C-H-E-B. It's a little town in Czech Republic in Central Europe. LR: Okay, and it's Czech Republic, right? MH: Yes. Yes. LR: Born in Cheb [pronounced Cheb]. In 1999 was it the Czech Republic? MH: Yes, it already was. We became Czech Republic in 1993, so six years after. LR: All right. Did you grow up in in in Cheb? 1 MH: Yes, I did grow up. Yeah, and it's fine, I know it's a really foreign one, but it's called Cheb [pronounced Hep]. It's like [makes the first sound of the word], the throat one. But it's okay if you can’t say. LR: Cheb [pronounced Hep]? MH: Yes. LR: Okay. It's almost like an H sound. MH: Yes. LR: Okay. Then I will spell it the way it sounds, not the way it— MH: That's okay. It's not like I'm being picky or anything. LR: No, no, it's important. I mean, I want it to be spelled right, but I also want to say it right. So, I have to spell it for me the way it sounds or I'm going to say it Cheb [pronounced Cheb] the whole time. MH: That's okay. LR: All right. Growing up in in Cheb, what are some of your memories? MH: I have only good ones, I would say. I don't really have bad ones. I just loved the castle, because it's a very old town there. It was established in 13th century, so I remember always going to the castle. The whole city is built around the castle, so is very historic one, even the downtown. I really remember going there with my friends. Always I love learning about history, so I guess that was a good place to grow up for me. I remember also the beautiful forest that's surrounding the historical core. We would always go there. It's very popular to also collect mushrooms in September. We would always do that with family and friends, and 2 it's a big activity actually for fall. I remember all of these beautiful nature and historical memories that I have with my friends and family. LR: Awesome. What was school like for you? MH: I really liked it. I did my—it's not the high school. You call it… What's before high school? You have a certain name for it. LR: Junior high? MH: Yeah, junior high. So, I did my junior high there. I went there to kindergarten until I was like 15, 16. Then I actually went for high school to a different town that's like 30 minutes away from us. Not a big difference, but a little. But I remember that the school used to be great. We do not have our schools like you guys have, like the football team and all of it. We do not really have time for it. We just sit there from 8 to 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. straight, just, you know, in the chair and learning and studying all the time. I remember a lot of heavy books carrying around and always reading about something. LR: Okay. Just for curiosity, when you're in that, like the elementary part of it, was there any recess time to go out and play, or was it all just sitting and schoolwork? MH: It would be maybe two hours a day. That was it. I remember my parents always saying, “You first have to do your homework, then you can go out,” because after all those are sitting at home. You have another three hours homework. Maybe between 5 to 7 p.m. you have time to play, and then go out. LR: During the school day, did you ever have breaks where you could play or do what you wanted during school hours? 3 MH: Our class was 45 minutes, then we had 15 minutes that was a small break, and then we had only one more break, and that was a 30-minute lunch break. That was it. LR: Okay. Was it like that from kindergarten through high school? MH: Kindergarten was a bit different. We would play more. There were games that would teach you, right, the numbers and weather and all of it. So, kindergarten was fine, we would just play by learning. But then from junior high to high school, yeah, that's how it is always. LR: That's interesting. So, more learning, less play. MH: Yes, because we are always taught since we are small you have to work hard, otherwise you will never achieve anything in life. I guess that's why it also reflects in the education. Also, what's the big part is that 30 years ago we used to be under the Soviet Union, so they kind of invaded us, and that was their also perception of seeing life. Even though they are not there now, we have a democracy, you can still feel it very heavily because the schools, even the design of the schools, they haven't reconstructed anything. It looks the same as my parents were going to school. So, that's pretty interesting. LR: Okay. You mentioned that there is still that feel of the Soviet Union within the Czech Republic. Has that feeling changed throughout your time? MH: No, I think is still the same. I have younger brother, and he still has the same education, the same buildings and everything. So, nothing is really being changed. LR: Okay. That's interesting. 4 MH: Maybe what changed is that we got some projectors [laughs]. So, now we also have like online boards and everything, you know, the interactive ones. But besides that, the learning system is [Markéta’s video/audio cuts out]. LR: Uh-oh. MH: —And you always have to write down. Can you hear me? LR: Yeah, you broke up while your phone transferred from the Wi-Fi. You just broke up a little bit. MH: Oh, yeah, that’s true. Sorry. I was just speaking about like, the books, because you don't buy your books; you get them from school. Everyone who had the book before you had to like, sign up. There is like a list of people owning it before you. It was so funny. I got once a book that my mom, she would have, a couple of years ago, so that was just interesting. LR: That is interesting. Besides visiting the castle and the surrounding forest, what are some other things that you would do for fun growing up? MH: I would play floorball a lot. LR: Floorball? MH: Floorball, yeah. I don't know if you know that, it's kind of like a hockey, but in like a sport hall with a ball, so that's what I used to play. I would be very active. I would love to also run around and travel, because it's 10 minutes from Germany, so we would travel to Germany a lot as well. It's pretty much close to anywhere, so we would drive around to different cities. So, a lot of traveling, a lot of outdoor activities. If I had time for it besides school, then I would always be outside. 5 LR: Okay. When you went to the high school that was 30 minutes away, were you still living at home and then you would just commute there? MH: Yes. I would just take the train, like I'm doing now. LR: Okay. As you were going through your high school experience, what did you call it in the Czech Republic? Is it high school? MH: Yeah, it is like a high school. If I translate it, it would be gymnázium. Kind of like a gym. It sounds like a gym, but we would call it gymnázium. LR: Okay. Gymnasium. That's interesting. As you're going through your high school experience, were you encouraged to receive a higher education, to keep going? MH: Yes. But it's also with like, not just bachelor, but also master, because nowadays bachelor, even in my country, is not really enough. They would always push me to do more. I guess that's why it's also projected that I'm going to pursue master and maybe even Ph.D., because we are being taught just take as much as you can in education. Also, it's free for us. The education there is a little bit different. We don't really pay for it. Until you are 26, you receive a free education, which then again there is a little bit pressure, because you don't have the time to take like a break year or anything because, you know, you kind of finish your master when you are 26. LR: You have to have your master's done by the time you're 26? MH: Yes, otherwise you have to pay for the school. LR: Okay. That's an incentive to get it done I guess. 6 MH: The way this government build it and the education system is being built, it kind of pushes you to do more because you don't want to pay for school. You just take a year after another year and you just go right after. LR: That makes sense. Did you always want to come to the United States to pursue your higher education? MH: So, I'll be honest, no. I actually have a bachelor from Denmark, and I was pretty okay with it. But then I met my husband, now to be husband, and he kind of didn't want to live in Europe. I actually came for him, and I was initially applying for my master's since I already have a bachelor. But they said that my European credits are not the same, like in the US, so I am redoing a year and a half of my bachelor now, then applying for my master finally. LR: Okay. I don't know what it's like in Europe when you were looking for a school to go to. What made you decide to go to Denmark to get your bachelor’s? MH: I always wanted to do something more than my peers. I was not satisfied with just staying at home all the time. I wanted to do something more thrilling, exciting, and I remember one of my friends, she went to Denmark as well. It was with—it was like, not a really company, but we can call it a company, who like helps students to get to Denmark or Sweden or Norway. You just pay them like $50 and they will do all the paperwork for you. They will help you with the translation and all of it, so that's what I did. I felt like it was a pretty great opportunity for me to go. Also, my friend went, so we kind of also met together there. Yeah, I just wanted to do something more and improve my English, because at that time it was really bad. 7 LR: Okay. What did you get your bachelor's in? MH: It was international hospitality management. LR: Okay. Sorry, my brain is not—I had a question, and then it just, like, floated away. MH: No worries. That's okay. LR: Why that bachelor’s? MH: Because I always loved traveling, and it kind of fit my personality as well. I really loved meeting in [unintelligible] new people and that was something that I really wanted to pursue. LR: Okay. Did you pursue that in the thought that you would perhaps leave Europe? MH: No, I was already going to Danish school and I was already practicing the language. I was kind of centralized, I already had a job there and everything. I didn't really expect to leave. LR: Where did you have the job? Was it in Denmark, or back in…? MH: It was actually in Spain. I got sent for an internship to Spain by my Danish school. They actually offered me a job there in H.R., so I was H.R. manager. That's kind of what I'm going for here as well, but I still had to try, because it was a Danish company situated in Spain. I would still go back and forth to Spain and Denmark, so I wouldn't really lose the connection at all. LR: Okay. That makes sense. When during this time did you meet your fiancée? MH: Yes, so after seven, eight months, I started the job and graduated and everything. LR: Okay. You meet him and what…? 8 MH: We just talked a lot and, I don't know, you know when you like someone and you really fall in love, you kinda can give up a lot of things. So, that's what I did, because we can portray how it's going to be, and the way he portrayed the life here and the school and everything, it was okay for me with the hope that I'm going to go for a master. But at that time I already resigned from my job and everything, I was being told I cannot do my master, I have to receive my bachelor's. Then I was a little bit shocked, because at that time I already had everything kinda done pretty much in Europe. I kinda had to go. But in the end, it wasn't a bad choice. I'm doing really well now. LR: Why did he not want to stay in Europe? MH: He said it's just not working, that he feels like there are more opportunities for him here and for us as well. Let's be honest, I'm the one who is used to being without my family for a longer time, he's not. I don't like to say it, but I have a little bit stronger personality when it comes to these changes. LR: Okay, so it's been a little harder for him? MH: Yes. I think that he would suffer from being there than here, because also I can already speak English and understand people; he would have to learn that language again, which he really didn't want to. LR: Where is he from originally? MH: He's from Utah, here, yeah. LR: Oh, he's from Utah? MH: Yeah, he's from Utah. LR: Oh, so for him, he's coming home. 9 MH: Yes. We technically live 30 minutes away from his hometown. LR: That makes more sense now. MH: I should have said in the beginning he's from Utah. LR: It's all good. I kind of had a feeling that he might have been from the United States, but I never want to assume. MH: That's okay. I should have said that; maybe that would have brought more clarity. LR: It's all good. Moving here to Utah, had you already applied to Weber State, or were you looking at other options? MH: Yes. I was looking for either applying to Weber State or other options. But actually, it's fun story. I actually had a dream that I'm gonna graduate in purple, and then two days later, I got a first acceptance letter that was from Weber, and it just felt right. When I saw the acceptance letter, I saw the colors that I saw in my dream. I just thought, hey, even though it was doing my bachelor again and kind of starting my life from zero, which I really had to do everything from zero, it still felt right, like the right thing to do. LR: Okay. When did you start at Weber? MH: I started last year in August. LR: Okay, and when did you move to Utah? MH: It was right in August, too. I moved in and two weeks after I went to school. LR: Okay, 2023. What was that like, leaving the surroundings that you're comfortable with and coming to Utah where the culture, that's very different. What was that like for you? 10 MH: So, first of all, I didn't expect the culture to be that different, because I already did a lot of volunteering jobs in Nepal and Morocco where I expected the cultural shock. But I actually felt more distant from the culture here than I did feel in Nepal. It was really hard, and it still is to some extent. I'm trying my best every day, but it is really hard. I think that I had a big culture shock. I didn't really feel horrible leaving what I was comfortable with, because again I'm a person who always tries to push myself to do more, even uncomfortable situations. I try to feel comfortable or to learn it at least. It’s really difficult. If I imagine my life here another 20, 30 years, I don't know if I can do it. So, we will see how that goes. LR: What are some of the cultural differences that have been the most shocking for you? MH: The totally religious differences are really different, maybe even the architecture. It might seem like a small thing, but it actually makes a lot, because we are used to certain landscapes and here is a little bit different. I would even say the way, in my opinion—that might be just my opinion, maybe it's totally different—but in my opinion, people perceive friendships here a little bit different, for me, more on like a superficial level. I'm used to having just five like lifetime friends that we do everything together, we are always together. Here, it seems like the more people you have, the better, not really focusing on the quality of their relationship. That's just my perception, maybe that's wrong. LR: I don't think it is wrong, but that sounds about right to me. If you don't want to answer this, it is totally fine. Coming here, were you already—okay, I'm going to say this the right way. Is your fiancée a member of the predominant religion? 11 MH: Yes, he is, and we're actually already married, so that was also a little bit different, because I couldn't do it in the temple and the family had a big problem with that. But I hope it's fine now. LR: Does that mean that you're not a member of the predominant religion? MH: No. LR: Okay. All right. So, that actually helps a little bit. I'm not quite sure if you'll be able to answer, were you familiar with the religion in Europe? Had you seen it in action? MH: I did. Actually, the way we met, a lot of my friends and them, they actually go to the church. I would sometimes just go with them because I did not see it as a bad thing for me, just to kind of learn about more religions, how that works. Because that's what I have been doing my whole life as well. I think with going with them, it was okay, I didn't feel very like being harassed by, or, I felt comfortable. I was okay. From me just going there as well, again, understanding how that works, I didn't really see it as a bad thing. Also, with us knowing already in the future that that's not gonna be the right thing for me, and he also knew that I would not like to convert, and he still went into the relationship with me and it's working pretty well. I feel pretty comfortable around it now. LR: Okay. When you came here, did you see a difference between the way the religion was practiced in Europe and the way it is here? MH: Yes. That was the only shock, not the religion itself. I do not have problem with any religion, but it was a little bit different for me, yeah, because there… it is just like black and white. I do not understand how it can be so different. So that was, I 12 think, the biggest cultural shock for me, to see more conservative way of thinking here than it’s in Europe. LR: Yeah. Okay, just curious. All right, you're in a place completely foreign to you and you’re starting to work on your degree at Weber State. Were you involved in anything on campus besides just schoolwork? MH: Yes, I'm doing lot of things. I have to remember everything I do. I am a engagement and belonging senator for this year, I am vice president for the Goddard School, and for the ambassador team. Then, what else am I doing? I work on campus. I work in campus recreation, but that's the online job. I'm marketing promotion specialist, so that's what I'm doing. I actually have a second job now; I work in the stress relief center as well. Last year I was doing the WSUSA again. It was the diversity and unity team before, now it's called diversity and advocacy, I think. They changed the name because of the EDI law, but I was doing that. I'm doing ballet folklórico as well, if you're familiar with that, the dances. That's what I'm kind of doing. LR: You are really busy. MH: A little, yeah. LR: Okay. When you started in August, what made you decide to join the WSUSA? What made you decide to do that? MH: You can call it the student association. I actually got approved for the position at the student association even before I ever set my foot on campus in August, because I had the interview in May and then school started in August. The way I was receiving it, I just learned how many new possibilities you have on the 13 university level that we back home don't have because we only go there and study, which is pretty boring. I was suddenly like Alice in Wonderland, you know, having all the choices. I'm very active, and I really loved it, and I wanted to just make the most out of it. Being at Weber only for two years, that's a pretty short time, so I really tried to grab the chances right in the beginning. LR: Okay. What was the original title of your position? MH: So, it changed. Last year I was the assistant to the vice president of the diversity and unity, this year I am the senator, so I am on the senate team. LR: Okay, so you've held two positions then? MH: Within the student association, yes. LR: Okay. The first position that you that you held, is that position available anymore or has it been done away with? MH: Yes, it is still, someone else is already doing it. I just felt like—before the EDI law came into play, I used to be called international senator. I actually was running for this position, so I felt like I should do the international senator a bit more, because it's closer to my heart. I felt like I can have more impact on the international community on campus, rather than just being assistant to the vice president. That's why I wanted to change the next year and focus more on international students. LR: Okay, that makes sense. I'm trying to understand the timeline that you're working with. When did you actually go into the senator position? MH: This year. So, last year, ‘23-‘24, I was the assistant to the vice president, and now ‘24-‘25, I'm the senator. 14 LR: Okay. What were some of the things that you were doing with the assistant to the vice president position? MH: So, we used to provide a lot of events and I was kind of like shadowing the vice president's ideas. I would do the marketing for the team, I would kind of plan the events, contact the departments, and then try to be at the events just running it smoothly, you know, taking care of the beverages, food. Anything that would be kind of a burden for the vice president, I just tried to make it easier. LR: Okay. By the end of that of that school year, you're starting to hear the rumblings about House Bill 261 and what it means. Did that affect your position at all? MH: Yes, it did, because I used to be called the international senator. That's what I was running for. But then in the beginning of ‘24, the fall, it had to be changed to engagement and belonging senator. LR: Okay, and what were your thoughts about that, the changing of the name? MH: It was a bit confusing, because I still primary focus on international students. So, I'm still working with that, basically with that constituency, that's what I'm working with. The whole thing felt off for me. LR: Okay. Did you understand, like, the shift? I mean, did it make sense to you why they changed the name? MH: I did. We had a lot of meetings about it also with Jessica Oyler. I would actively actually go into those meetings and learn. I would read the whole thing, the decision, I would be watching the process that was happening. I did understand why, but I didn't really get a grasp of why. You know, like the inner why. I do 15 understand the external one. I know all the conditions, explanation, but I do not understand it with my heart. LR: Thank you. That's actually what I was asking, and I like the way you clarified the two, so I appreciate that. Did you have opportunities to work with any of the cultural centers when they were open? MH: Yes. We would work together with the African association. I remember working with them. I was there when they opened their new space, and they have to close it down now. So, I would work with them a lot. LR: Okay. What are some of the things that you would do with them? MH: We would help actually open the new space. We would also manage to do some funding with them. I remember they would ask me for some events if I could help them promote them. At that time last year, I was actually even a member of the Community Engaged Learning Center. So, we would do a lot of also work with them, too. I hope the noise in the background is not really disturbing too much. LR: We will make it work. MH: I'm sorry about that. LR: No, it's all good. Okay, what were your thoughts when they announced that the cultural centers would be closing and that your position would get a name change? What were some of your thoughts? MH: I just felt half broken. I didn't really see the necessity to do that, because we all are diverse in a way, but we all know how to unite the diversity. That's why I was—I feel like that law put us more into boxes, or actually created bigger diversity than it was before. 16 LR: Okay, so you think it did almost like more harm than good? MH: Yeah. In my opinion, it would. In the school setting, at Weber State, I do think it did more harm. LR: In your position as senator, did you hear from other students about their feelings about the closing of the centers? MH: Oh yeah. It was really bad. I remember everyone being scared because they didn't know what was happening, and they were just concerned because they didn't know how it's gonna work. It was not only my position that was changed. It was other I think 10 senators, their position also had to change, so we all were just confused because we all are called the senators of engagement and belonging. Senate has around 10 or 12 senators of engagement and belonging, which doesn't really make sense because each of us, we are still focusing on the certain group that we were running for. LR: Yeah, that doesn't seem to make sense at all. MH: No, no. So just the name changed, but basically our tasks are still the same. LR: Yeah, that does seem strange. How do you think the changes have impacted the students for good or bad? MH: So, I would say there might be some good thing to it where people may feel that they are more included, that there are no separate things. I also heard someone say that there are certain scholarships that they couldn't reach because they didn't fulfill those like ethnic requirements. Now they say that it feels a bit better winning some scholarship part. That's what they said, I have never observed that 17 personally. That would be maybe a good thing that some people actually said that we feel more included. But the bad part would be—it's kind of contradictory—I do not think that's how it is. It's just kind of like a matter of opinion. I do not really have good opinions of my own on that. But from what I heard, some people said that they feel more included, which I do not really feel like because it removed the community you would go to, because everyone always looks for their own community. Always. LR: Right. Interesting. MH: For me, it's more bad than good. LR: How do you think the closing of the centers have—I think I already asked that question. I just asked it in a different way. MH: Okay. That's fine. LR: You talked about, you know, we all try to find our own community wherever we are. Were you able to find a community for yourself when you moved to Utah? MH: That might be my struggle. I'm really talkative and I really love talking to people and just being with them, and I did not, actually. That's why maybe I have that also opinion on maybe people tend to have superficial relationships, because I do not fall into that. For me, if the person does not really behave like I'm used to— like friends, you know, always kind of talking to each other. I do understand that we might have families and all of that, but still, you know, the relationship just feels different—then I would just stick to that person. 18 But if someone always promises, “Hey, I will go hang out with you,” but they never really like tell you, and then they meet you by coincidence, “Oh, I still need to get back to you. Let me just text you sometime,” and they never do it again, then I just give it up. That might be also my mistake that I didn’t like adhere to those standards here, that's why I cannot really belong to any community in Utah itself. But at school I do, because I just hang out with the international students because we do have the same feelings, you know? That's kind of what I said. Everyone just tries to find their community, which I found among the international students on campus. LR: Was that something you found before everything was changed? Or was that something you found after? MH: I feel like it has always been like that before the law and after, within like my life experiences that I have in here so far. But with the international students, I feel like the law did—maybe that might be a good thing—it brought us more together. That's what I think. Yeah. LR: You were already connected with them before the law changed? MH: Yes. Yes, I already knew a lot of them, because we really—a lot of people that I was also working with, also with like the WSUSA and CCEL and all of it, there would be a lot of international students too. LR: Okay. If you had to find those students now, would you know where to look? MH: Yes, totally. I know. LR: That wasn't sarcasm, right? That was...? 19 MH: No, no, no, no, no. That was—I'm just trying to think, like, how to kind of sum it up, the places. So, because they work like in career services, all the departments that I already know. But if I would give an advice to someone who was, like, never be familiar with the environment on campus and would be an international student, I would totally maybe recommend them to go to the international office, because they have their own mentoring program. We also have Weber State mentoring programs. So, I think those would be the resources for someone who doesn't know where to find them to go and find their community nowadays without having the cultural centers. LR: Okay, gotcha. I was curious about that. Before I get into the last two questions, anything else you'd like to add about your experience at Weber State and the closing of the cultural centers? MH: I would just like to add that I really love Weber State. I do think that Weber State actually gave me a sense of belonging because, as I said, I really have a hard time out of Weber State to feel good. I really love going to Weber State. I live in Salt Lake and I commute almost every day by train or by car. So, that's around two hours, hour and a half, and I actually do it out of my heart. I do not really mind the distance and the commuting time because I'm always excited to just set my foot on Weber State. I don't know. I just love it, and I would recommend everyone, if they don't know what does what school to go for, I would tell them to go to Weber. LR: Okay. Raegan, do you have any questions? Okay. Why is community important? 20 MH: It is important just to—I think that community creates your happiness as well, sense of belonging, and it creates a new family. Community can turn into family, honestly it really can, and that community can give you new perspective, some networking ideas. I feel like community is just part of your life. It's part of you. The community you go for you reflect on your own values. LR: Okay. Thank you. What do you think that we as individuals can do to foster relationships and meet the needs of the underserved communities of Weber State University? MH: So, I feel like we’re doing already pretty good. I wouldn't suggest any other—I like all the resources we have. The fairs, the workshops. Also, WSUSA does a great job with having events and all of it, so I feel like we're doing really awesome as Weber State. LR: Okay. Well, I really, really appreciate your perspective and your willingness to share your views and your feelings. I really do appreciate it. Is there anything else you'd like to add before I turn off the camera? MH: No, I think no. Thank you so much for everything. I'm sorry for the noise in the background again. 21 ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW AGREEMENT 28 January 25 This Interview Agreement is made and entered into this ________________ day of _________________, 20__ by and between the Weber State University Stewart Library Oral History Program (WSUSLOHP) Marketa Havlova and_________________________________________, hereinafter called "Interviewee." 1:00pm/01-28-2025 Interviewee agrees to participate in a recorded interview, commencing on or about ___________________time/date, Lorrie Rands with_________________________________________. This Interview Agreement relates to any and all materials originating from the interview, namely the recording of the interview and any written materials, including but not limited to the transcript or other finding aids prepared from the recording. In consideration of the mutual covenants, conditions, and terms set forth below, the parties hereby agree as follows: 1. Interviewee irrevocably assigns to WSUSLOHP all his or her copyright, title and interest in and to the interview. 2. WSUSLOHP will have the right to use and disseminate the interview for research, educational, and other purposes, including print, present and future technologies, and digitization to provide internet access. 3. Interviewee acknowledges that he/she will receive no remuneration or compensation for either his/her participation in the interview or for the rights assigned hereunder. 4. WSUSLOHP agrees to honor any and all reasonable interviewee restrictions on the use of the interview, if any, for the time specified below, as follows: Interviewer and Interviewee have executed this Interview Agreement on the date first written above. INTERVIEWEE INTERVIEWER _______________________________________ _______________________________________ (Signature) (Signature) Markéta Havlová _______________________________________ Lorrie Rands ________________________________________ (Printed Name) (Printed Name)