Oral History Program Lori Loesch Unknown Interviewer 2007 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Lori Loesch Interviewed by Unknown Interviewer 2007 Copyright © 2015 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: Loesch, Lori, an oral history Unknown Interviewer, 2007, 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 Lori Loesch. The interview was conducted in 2007, by an unknown interviewer. Loesch discusses her experience at Weber State University. UI: I am interviewing Lori Loesch, we are at Weber State University. Okay Lori, tell me about your experience at a Student at Weber State. LL: Okay, I have been a student here since, 2003. When I first got here I had no Idea what I was going to do as far as my major goes. I explored a variety of options, I took way too many classes. I was a transfer student from a school up in Oregon, which really doesn’t have preference towards this interview but I had taken a ton of music classes and I decided that’s not really what I wanted to do. So I took some general classes and tried to explore my options as far as that goes and I ran into a wonderful Professor named Dr. Larken who really kind of opened my eyes toward the world of History. From that time on I ran into a bunch of experiences with Dr.Mckay and Dr. Saddler and I really learned to love history, mostly because it has always been an interest to me and my family, but also because of the teachers that I have experienced. Then I took a class from Dr. McKay one time and she got a bunch of students involved in the History Fair, for elementary and junior high students and we got to go around and, like, I don’t know what the word is. We got to judge, yeah be the adjudicator for the students. That was really quite an experience. So then I kind of got into the aspect of teaching history. So that is kind of what I am left with. So at the same time I was like “Well I got to have a job so I can support myself going through college” so I 1 found an awesome opportunity to work here in the Scholarship Office while I have been going to school. While I have been working here at school, it’s given me a wide variety of options to work here on campus and get to know a lot of programs and departments. Being involved in school while attending classes I am also getting to know the faculty. Dealing with a lot of the problems and some of the great experiences, I guess you could say I am a full fledged college student. Doing all of that at the same time. UI: So I know that you have gone to other colleges and Universities, What were they and why did you decide to come here? LL: The interesting thing is that I started out in, I took concurrent enrollment classes or “early college” as they call it while I was in high school I went to, what they call Two Universities, because I was living in Moab at the time. I graduated from {inaudible 3:12} High School. I went to two schools, the first one was the University of Utah, it was an extension that they had down there, they started to give me like, little English classes and stuff like that then I also {inaudible 3:28}. Those schools just weren’t, you know, they were too close to home and I wanted to be far away. So I ended up in Oregon going to Music School so that was a lot of fun. Then I just thought “Well I am going to move and I am going to see what looks exciting. I am a pretty big football fan and I really liked the University of Utah so I thought “Well I will go there” my family had always gone to school there, I had relatives that work there. So they said “Why don’t you go to the University of Utah” So I got really interested in there and I learned a lot about what the University of Utah had to offer, but then it was so large and so big that I 2 thought “Well this isn’t right for me.” I was used to the small town, because I was raised pretty small town so I thought, “Well, this is too big.” There were so many students that you just couldn’t really get an opportunity to really be involved on campus relations. So my Dad actually said that he had, my Dad was an alumni of Weber State University, he graduated here with his Bachelors so he said, “Well why don’t you take a look at Weber State?” So I did and I loved it, I fell in love with campus right away with everything that they had to offer and as soon as I walked in the doors I felt that this was the best place that I could possibly be. I did and this is probably why I have been here for so long. The Professors just make you feel so good and make you feel so accomplished, that you could really take on the world. They are so helpful, especially when you are picking your Senior Seminar Project! Or being involved in so many Campus relations, they really reach out to help accomplish all that you want. UI: So I know you, like myself, are a nontraditional student. What does that mean to you? LL: Well, what I understand as a nontraditional student is anybody over the age of twenty-five, and you only have to have one criteria to be a nontraditional student; you either have to be over twenty-five; you have to be a parent, have kids; or you have to be married. Seeing as how we are over the age of twenty-five, I am not ashamed to say that because it just means that I am experienced. I just think that that means we are experienced, and we have been here for so long that we are in a position to help everybody else along the way. As we know, there are a lot of students here at Weber State University that commute, because there are so 3 many surrounding communities, that they stay close to home. We have been around so long that we know the ins and outs of campus so we are in a position to educate others and help other students who may not know. I know in a lot of experiences where we are, well students will say, “Well where is the Union Building? Where is the bookstore? How do we get to this place? How do I get an Identification Card?” I know most of this runs into my line of work in the scholarship office, but at the same time if you just find that. As we know in the Social Science Building, it is such a mess because the Classrooms aren’t numbered properly. Whoever designed the building was kind of out of his mind. He or She was out of their mind, so they are always like “How do I get to classroom 219?” It’s just about experience, being a nontraditional student. I think it is just a title not necessarily a… yeah. UI: Can you choose a favorite class? LL: That’s like saying you have a favorite teacher. UI: Top five? LL: Top five, yes I can probably name my top five. Not going too much in depth, I would have to say I really enjoyed, I had a class that was a 20th Century class. I have had two classes that talk about Russia and the History of Russia, they have been two of my favorite classes. I had one from Dr.Mckay that was about the Roaring Twenties and it was a seminar and that was a really great one. I am also currently taking one that is about issues in global history, that one is a really great class. It teaches you a lot about {inaudible 8:26}. I have also had a lot of classes, you know, just a lot of various teachers as I have mentioned before at 4 the very beginning I took a lot of classes that talked about Earth Quakes and Volcanoes. That teaches you about the widespread problems that we see with the increase in Earthquakes and Volcanoes. They were trying to decide if it was an increase in earthquakes and volcanoes or we just had new specialized equipment to be able to trace all of this going on. I have just faced a lot of classes that I found really interesting. There is a Stress Management class, even with the Institute right across the street there is a lot of courses that you can take like, Religions of the World, is another class that I am taking now that I find very fascinating. (Interruption in the tape) UI: Do you have an Academic Advisor that is working with you? LL: I do, Dr.Sessions of the History Department is my Academic advisor. He is a great guy. When I first went in to talk to him about History being my major he was very open, he explained things so clearly and said “Here is what you need to do.” He knew the ins and outs of the History Classes first of all that I would be taking, but also pointed me in the right direction to include secondary education license in with that. He also encouraged me to complete my foreign language requirement, and so that really wasn’t quite helpful. But he was very open and was very courteous; he was very kind. He really has a passion and a love for teaching students and you could tell that as soon as you walked in the door. He was friendly, but yes I have the utmost admiration for Dr. Sessions. UI: So, you are graduating in May. LL: Yes May of 2007. 5 UI: What are you planning on doing after Graduation? LL: I have actually, through a variety of ways and amazing, fortunate events, I will be starting with an internship that will eventually turn into the job with the Church Historical Society. UI: The LDS Church? LL: Yes, the LDS Church, and I’ll be working at a museum. Mostly doing archival work, I will be working down in Salt Lake City and I am really excited for that. Eventually, probably a year from now I hope to come back and finish my secondary license. UI: Is there anything special about Weber State or about your experience here? LL: I think, as far as the school goes, I think the school is unique in itself that the teachers are perfectly chosen. They are tailored to every single student and they know the class sizes are small and they know you by name. I don’t think anywhere else in the world, well any other school along the Wasatch Front can really do that. Especially when you get into a major, it’s good that the teachers know your name. They know your situation and they do take the time to get to know you and to really learn what is best for you and how to help you in the best way that they know how. They really take the time to really tailor to you and they are out there to help you, and they really make the time to give you the assistance you need. Especially if you are really having a rough time with everything, but a lot of us go through it. Especially if you go through every single day wondering whether or not, whether we will be able to get that final paper in or whether we will be able to finish that final project. They really, it’s almost like they 6 are holding your hand all the way through the final last days of the semester. I think the faculty is really what makes the University. I hope they don’t ever run out without a fight, even if it does involve raising our tuition and fees every semester to be able to pay for the faculty. UI: You said that you worked all the way through school. LL: Yes I have. UI: How do you think, how has that experience affected you? LL: Well, I have seen a lot of students come through who haven’t worked for their education and it doesn’t mean anything to them. Not to rag on anybody, but students, they don’t go to class, they don’t, you know. They have their tuition, their fees, their housing, a stipend for books, everything paid for them. It doesn’t mean anything to them. If you have to work and save and do everything to pay for your education, you will get every single cent you can out of it. That means getting that “A” grade. It means striving for everything and trying to do your best, especially when you are going to school on your own dollar. UI: Alright, those are all of the questions I have. Is there anything else you would like to say? LL: Nope. That’s it. UI: Thank you. 7