Oral History Program Pam Smith Interviewed by Ashley Smith 21 December 2003 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Pam Smith Interviewed by Ashley Smith 21 December 2003 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii 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. Archival copies are placed in University Archives. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Weber State College/University Student Projects have been created by students working with several different professors on the Weber State campus. The topics are varied and based on the student's interest or task for a specific assignment. These oral history assignments were created to help Weber State students learn the value and importance of recording public history and to benefit the expansion of the Weber State oral history collections. ____________________________________ 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 All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Smith, Pam, an oral history by Ashley Smith, 21 December 2003, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Pam Smith. The interview was conducted on December 21, 2003, by Ashley Smith. Pam discusses her experiences as a non-traditional Weber State student. AS: What is your name? PS: Pam Klingen Smith. AS: And where were you born? PS: Cheyenne, Wyoming. AS: Okay, and what are your parents’ names? PS: Marvin Day and, get this, Doris Day. AS: So you’re currently enrolled at Weber State? PS: For a very brief time that I have left, yes, in one class. AS: And what year are you in school, like what grade would you call yourself? PS: Well, I have like fifty-something credits, so… AS: That would make you probably a junior? PS: Somewhere around there. AS: Okay, what is your major and why did you choose it? PS: My major is Business Management, and I chose it because I wanted to go into business when I was younger because I thought it’s be really cool to work in an office. Now I’m stuck in one, and I don’t want to work in an office anymore. But I’ve got so many credits towards this major that I’m not starting over, so I’ll just finish this one and move on to something else. AS: What would you rather be doing? PS: I’d rather be working in Botany. AS: In a garden center or greenhouse or your own business? PS: Either and/or all, anything where I don’t have to sit in an office. AS: Okay, so then my next question might sound kind of funny, but how do you think this major will benefit you after you graduate. Since it’s not really what you want. PS: Well, actually, business management can benefit you, no matter if you’re going in your own business or if you’re working in an office for somebody else, or if you’re working in a government position. It doesn’t matter, it’ll still benefit you because it still gives you the basics for running a business and including the finances and the day to day operations. Also, we’ve touched on international business and such, so it’s kind of an overall. AS: So even if you decide to go into Botany later, you could use this one. PS: Yes, because it’d still be—even if it was retail—it’d be managing a business. AS: Yeah. Why did you choose Weber State? PS: Because it’s right here. It’s convenient. And I had to be in class for math, and that’s what I’m lacking right now. So I ended up in Weber State’s math department. AS: Which you don’t seem happy about. PS: No, I’m not. AS: So, the next question ties into that. How do you feel about your experience at Weber State? PS: Hmm, I feel they need to take a serious look at their math department. Not the instructors, all my instructors have been great. I’m in 1010 right now and I’m registered for 1050, which starts in January, but the department itself leaves something to be desired. I think they need to seriously look at themselves and realize that if you’re not going into a math field, then maybe they need to revamp their program. AS: Okay. So then, what’s been your favorite class at Weber State? Have you had any? PS: All I’ve had is math, and no, they’re not my favorite. AS: Okay, so then what has been your least favorite and why? PS: At Weber State? AS: Yes. PS: Math, because that’s all I’ve had. AS: Well, which math class would you say? PS: This one right now, math 1010. Because they cram so much into one semester. AS: So it’s not the instructor or the way the class is run? PS: It’s not the instructor at all. It’s the way the department set up the curriculum. AS: Okay. So how do you feel about attending night classes? PS: I hate attending night classes. AS: Would you rather attend during the day? PS: Yes, but I have to work during the day. So, get your degree while you’re at home, being supported by your parents. AS: So you’re a non-traditional student. Have you encountered many other students of the same status taking night classes there? PS: Actually, it’s been tradition for me to go ever since I graduated high school. Just kidding. Well, yeah, I encounter a lot of students in my same situation because we all go at night. We all work during the day. Most of us are non-traditional in my classes. Except I did have one math class in the morning at 9 o’clock in the morning, and it was all like high school graduates. AS: And you would prefer that to the night class? You did prefer that? PS: I prefer the— AS: The time? PS: The students at night, because they’re more my age. And I think they take it more seriously than the others do. But I’m more alert and I’m much better at math in the morning than I am at night, after I’ve been working all day and I’m tired. AS: So what made you decide to go back to school? PS: Because I just need to complete this degree. Because I have all these credits, and I just need to complete it because I don’t like to start something and not finish it. AS: And you also said earlier that it would help you later on when you graduate. So do you think you’ll continue after your Bachelor’s is done? Maybe in Botany? PS: No. AS: No? You’re done with school? PS: I’m done with school. I’m done, I’m done. AS: Why is that? PS: Because I’m tired of it, and I’m at a point in my life now where, even if a few years from now I do go on—I want to go on to get a Master’s or something—I don’t have that many years left to work after that, that it’s going to be of a major benefit to me. So no, I have a life that I want to live and not go to school. AS: So then why did you not go to college right after high school? PS: Because I was in love and I got married, and I let being married and working take priority over going to school. And my parents never encouraged me to attend school. They didn’t even care if I graduated high school, neither one of them graduated from high school. AS: Didn’t you get a full-ride scholarship? PS: I got a scholarship to the University of Wyoming, and I turned it down. AS: How do you feel about that now? PS: I regret it. AS: You do? Okay, so you attend two colleges simultaneously: Weber State University in Ogden, and Laramie Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming, online. PS: Yes. AS: Why? PS: Because most of my credits are through L Triple C, Laramie Community College, and I almost have my Associates through them. I only need a few more credits, so, and Weber State doesn’t take some of the stuff that I’ve had through L Triple C, and I’m not starting over. So, I’m just going to finish the Associates at L Triple C and transfer the whole degree. AS: Okay, so you don’t sound very happy about going to Weber State. If you could change one thing about it, what would it be? PS: Hmm, well it’s not that I’m not happy going to Weber State, it’s just the whole math experience, it’s not a good one. AS: Do you think if you were taking other classes you would be? PS: I don’t know. I went and talked to somebody in the business department, and there’s one person in there who’s over the business administration part, and I will not get a degree through the business department. So, sciences might be okay, the health department would be cool. AS: Were you treated poorly in the business department? PS: Yes. By Dr. I think his name is Hanley, or something like that. AS: Have you heard other students complaining about the same department? PS: Oh yeah, after I brought it up I heard all kinds of stories. I wasn’t aware of it before that. AS: Maybe that’s something they should look into. So is that what you would change, just the way you’re treated on campus? PS: Do what now? AS: Is that what you would change about the school is the way you’re treated? PS: Yeah, I guess. But how are you going to change the way you’re treated? AS: Exactly. PS: You can’t change other people. So, I guess I’d just change me and brush it off, forget about it, and move on. AS: You made it sound like you wished you had gone to college right after high school. PS: Mmhmm. AS: So you do? PS: Yes. AS: And you think your life would be different because of it? PS: Well I wouldn’t be going to school at night, now, and working full-time, I can tell you that. So, yeah, it’d be different. I’d actually get to have fun now. AS: How has it been going to school, working, and raising a family all at the same time? PS: It’s hard. It’s stressful. AS: Do you have a lot of free time? PS: No free time. AS: No free time. Does your family miss you/ PS: I don’t know. I’m around the house, but I’m kind of locked in a room, doing homework, so I kind of ignore them. Maybe they think that’s a good thing. AS: I don’t think so. PS: Okay. AS: So how has going back to school changed you? For the better or… PS: I think it’s made me more irritable. AS: It tends to do that. PS: Especially right now, as we’re nearing finals week. And as for changing me, I think I’m more outgoing when I’m going to school. Because you just meet so many different people that you’re not around all the time. Of course my job requires that of me too. AS: Yeah, but this is more of a social thing than a professional. PS: Yeah. AS: What has been the largest obstacle you’ve encountered in your experience? PS: Getting through math, so I can move on to my other classes, because a lot of them have this math as a prerequisite. AS: I asked you earlier, how going back to school has changed you, but how has it changed the way you look or feel about yourself? PS: Well, let’s see, I guess I have a sense of accomplishment. Every time one semester’s over and I’m done with those classes. AS: It helps you feel proud about yourself? PS: That’s a good thing, the accomplishment. Physically, I feel worse, because I don’t have time to exercise now. AS: Yeah, that’s true, that would affect your mood. PS: Because I spend it all doing homework. AS: Have you found Weber State to be a supportive institution? PS: Supportive in what way? AS: Academically, as a student. Administratively, maybe. PS: Yeah, I usually get what I need, or answers or whatever. They’re not always the friendliest, kind of rude, but some of the staff is. But yeah, I usually get what I need. AS: Now for kind of a fun question, if you could teach any college subject, what would it be and why? PS: If I could teach any subject. Gosh, that’s a hard one, I’ve never thought of that because I’ve never thought about teaching. I guess I would like to teach some sort of a science class with a lab, because then it’s hands on. It’s easier for me to learn with hands on, if I’m doing whatever it is, that I’m being taught. AS: Like a chemistry, or a zoology? PS: Not necessarily a chemistry, no more like botany or sciences, something like that. AS: Finally, what advice would you offer to other people in your same position, or even people who have the chance now that you passed up? PS: Go now, go while you’re young, go while everything is still building on everything else, while you’re still in those math classes in high school. Just keep building on that, go onto it into college, get it over with. Don’t procrastinate, and finish what you started. AS: Do you wish someone had told you that? PS: Yes. I wish my parents would have encouraged me, because all it would have taken was a word from them to say, “Do it! You need to go get your college degree.” And I would’ve done it. AS: But at least you’re finishing it now. PS: Yeah, but I’m paying for it now too. AS: Yeah, that’s true. PS: Plus yours. AS: Yeah. Okay, thanks a lot for your time. PS: You’re welcome.