Oral History Program Savannah Leonard Unknown Interviewer Ca. 2007 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Savannah Leonard Interviewed by Unknown Interviewer Ca. 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: Leonard, Savannah, an oral history by Unknown Interviewer, ca. 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 Savannah Leonard. Leonard discusses her experiences as a college student both at Weber State University and at College of Eastern Utah. P: Okay my name is Penelope and I will be interviewing Savannah Leonard for my Oral History project. Savannah Please state your name. SL: Savannah Mary Leonard. P: Where are you from? SL: I’m from Sunny Side, Utah. P: Where did you go to school? SL: Well my first college experience took place at College of Eastern Utah. I was getting my Associates Degree from there. P: How long have you been here at Weber? SL: This will be my first semester. P: Are there some specific experiences fro CEU that come to mind easily? SL: I had a lot of interesting experiences at CEU for sure, I lived in the dorm on campus for both years. I went through a lot of different experiences. The thing that stands out the most in my mind is probably the religious problems that I had while living there. I was the only non-LDS person living in the entire dorm. There were about eighty-five of us boys and girls included and it was very difficult because I walked around with a neon sign. I had exorcisms performed on me because they thought I had invited Satan into the dorm. I just went through a lot of different things. It was very interesting being part of such an extreme minority. 1 P: How were you reacting to these events as they occurred? SL: With shock and awe for the most part because, I grew up in a small town that was extremely diverse, religion was never even discussed. I mean, everyone was their own religion, no one discussed it, and no one really cared. Then I went to college and it was just a slap in the face, it blew my mind that this was such a big issue outside of Sunny Side. So I dealt with it, not controversially, I am not one for confrontation or you know, defending my self, things like that. So I was just quite in shock. P: Do you feel that you lived the college experience while at CEU? SL: Oh yeah, there were certain aspects of it that I certainly would say that I lived the college experience. I lived in the sleep study, so you know, how it is, the two beds, the two closets, the two desks, the two windows. My freshman year I moved in with a girl I had never met and it was neat to see how these two worlds could collide. She came from a family of twelve kids and I came from a family of three kids with myself being the oldest. So the difference between our relationships with our parents was really funny because my mom would call me every single morning. She would talk to her Mom and Dad about once a month and when she would call she would have to say, “Hey, this is Sharon.” It was really different from that aspect, but we had the late nights, the studying the pizza. All of the experiences that you see on television I pretty much had. I really enjoyed my time there. P: What activities were you involved in? 2 SL: Well I was actually an Ambassador for the college of Eastern Utah, meaning that we were in charge of recruiting and maintaining students at the College of Easter Utah. We went around to high schools and recruited people, answered questions they may have had about CEU. We had activities on campus for the students already there. So that took up a lot of my time when I served as an Ambassador for two years at the College of Eastern Utah. P: How did you financially support your schooling? Did you get Scholarships? Work? SL: Yes, actually. My family, I am going to be honest with you, they haven’t, and I don’t expect them to, my mom and dad don’t give me any money for college. So my first two years of college were pretty much paid for by my ambassador scholarship, then I worked also during those two years, I have been saving money. My first semester at Weber was paid for by scholarships excluding my rent, which is another story. But I am also working through my Weber career. P: How would you say that your time here at Weber and CEU is different? SL: Oh, they are extremely different, extremely. My experience at CEU I was half an hour away from home. So it was very easy for me, if I was homesick I could go home on a Wednesday and come back on a Wednesday night. It was a junior college so you’re dealing with mainly eighteen-nineteen year olds, it’s kind of like an extension of high school I have heard people say. Here at Weber, it’s a whole different ball game; it’s a University. I don’t feel as chaperoned, I feel like I have a little bit more control of my life, which is pretty scary. I don’t like having as much control over my life as I do because I tend to make the wrong decisions 3 sometimes. But definitely I would say the main difference is just the atmosphere. It’s more “Adult like” here than it was a CEU. I am in a different world. P: How would you say that the institution, do you feel like CEU was supporting you in what you were doing? Like in your major as far as a student? SL: Well yeah, yeah. Because that’s the neat thing about CEU, that’s where I, of course took care of my generals, and the class sizes were very small. All of the Professors know you by name. So it was a really comfortable atmosphere, I definitely felt supported there in my learning. I learned a lot there. So I would say they helped me along and they prepared me for a University level, for sure. P: How would you compare that aspect to Weber? Do you feel the same connectiveness? SL: No, I think it’s a little different. At Weber I’m definitely more a number than I am a student. But it’s expected. I have heard there are 18,000 students here. So you can’t expect every professor to know your name and the President to know you and the vice president. It’s just a different ball game. I feel that Weber is doing a good job with what they are supposed to be doing. I am getting my education here, I don’t expect them all to know my name and come up to me. I like it this way; I like being a number. I have never been able to be a number in my life; I went to a very small high school, then a small junior college. Now I am kind of enjoying my number. I enjoy being number 17,486. That works for me. P: What about your college life here at weber has that been working out like your CEU experiences? 4 SL: Not at all, at CEU I had some friends and I really felt like I never really found my niche socially at CEU. I was always just a step behind there. But here at Weber I have some friends, wonderful friendships, I mean I have met a lot of people that mean a lot to me. So the social aspect at Weber has certainly been a lot better than it was at CEU. I am definitely enjoying myself a little more. P: How, this is a very general question, how do you feel about Higher Education? SL: I think that Higher Education is wonderful. I am actually a first generation college student and none of my family, my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, I am the first person in my family to go to college. Period. So it’s kind of like I am a Pioneer, if you will, I go home and my family they just can’t believe it. I get all these questions about what is it like, so even though they weren’t educated my family always made it very clear to me that I will go to college. That’s never even been an issue, probably because of the regrets that they have with their lives. So I have always known that I was going to college, ever since I was a little girl, so I have always been prepared for it. It wasn’t much of a decision for me, but I definitely enjoy it. Because what else would I be doing? P: What is your major here? SL: Well my major at this point is Special Education. P: How did you choose that? SL: Well I have changed my major about seventy- eight times. I am very indecisive I suppose, but Special Education, the reason I chose that was because I have the chance of making a difference in someone’s life. I feel like it’s a noble field. I wouldn’t be making a lot of money in this field. But that is not the most important 5 thing, I think the most important thing is making a difference in the world and if I can do that one child at a time, then I am off to a good start. P: Did you feel pressured to pick a major? Early on at CEU? SL: No and I think that’s part of my problem, I kept thinking, “Oh, I have time, I’m a freshman, I have time. Oh I am only a sophomore, I have time. Heck, I have another semester I can think about this.” So I wish I would have felt a little more pressured to be honest with you, but no I never did. P: Are there any other experiences, or any kind of stories from CEU that reflect your idea of the college experience? There is a routine pretty early. SL: Routine is a good word, because throughout my college experiences I always found myself getting into a routine. I always take my classes early in the morning, that’s how I feel works best for me. I usually start about 8:00 in the morning will go until 11:00, 12:00 right around there and then I work in the afternoon. That has always worked really well for me, that’s why I have been doing it for the past few years. Then I come home from work and I work on homework. Then if there is any time left I will do a little socializing. But yeah, as far as routine goes, and routine is extremely important in my life. I have to have a structured life and know what I am doing from day to day. P: Okay, is there anything else you would like to add? Any reactions to your experiences or feelings? SL: As far as feelings go, I feel like I have made the right decision in coming to Weber State. The reason that I picked Weber State is because it is one of the more diverse colleges in Utah. I didn’t want to go to the U of U, because it was 6 just too big. So Weber was literally the best choice for me and where I was going. So I am just here to say that I am happy about my college experience and I am looking forward to more college experience. P: Okay thank you very much for your time. SL: Thank you. 7