Interview with Mallory Janquart, 12/06/2016 (Transcript Only)

HH: Alright, it is December 6, 2016 at 2pm in Halsey. My name is Hannah Hyames and I am interviewing Mallory Janquart today. Alright, so we are just going to start with some background, so where did you grow up?

MJ: I grew up in Lake Villa Illinois. Um, I lived there until I was about seven years old and then moved to Menomonee Michigan, which is in Michigan's upper peninsula, where I went through middle school and graduated from high school.

HH: Oh, okay so you were there um, a lot of years.

MJ: Yes.

HH: Um, do you want to just describe your communities? Both I guess because you spent a lot of time… do you remember what it was like in Illinois?

MJ: Not much in Illinois. I think it was a little bit of a smaller community. It was definitely a further out suburb of Chicago so it wasn't very city like. Menominee Michigan is very rural and secluded. Um, the next closest town of any decent size is about forty-five minutes away. Um, so very small, not culturally 00:01:00diverse, you know only one high school. Um, very close minded.

HH: Very close minded, okay. What was like your neighborhood and the people in it like?

MJ: Um, I lived on kind of a busy street so we didn't really have a very close knit community. Had a lot of older, elderly people in it. We actually lived next door to a um, kinda like a, it wasn't an assisted living but it was like an apartment complex for elderly people that could live on their own that didn't need any kind of medical help. So it was not very child friendly, there weren't a whole lot of little kids in the neighborhood when we were living there.

HH: Okay, so you didn't do like um, like neighborhood games or like play in the streets or anything…

MJ: No! (laughs)

HH: How did you spend most of your time then?

MJ: Um, I spent a lot of time um, babysitting my brother while my parents worked over the summer. Um, as a kid I was involved in different school activities and that kind of thing, that kind of kept my time pretty occupied.

HH: Okay, um, what types of jobs did the people in your community have?

MJ: A lot of them worked in factories, particularly paper mills. There were three within the city and kind of surrounding area that I lived, so foundry work was very typical of what most people did in that area.

HH: So lots of factories then?

MJ: Yes.

HH: Alright, um did the people you grew up with typically go to college?

MJ: I would say probably a third to maybe half of my graduating class went to college if I had to guess.

HH: Okay so not like a ton.

MJ: No, it wasn't, not everybody left and went to college. A lot of people stayed in the community and just started to work or attempted to go to a local college but then it never amounted to much.

HH: Okay, was it kinda like expected or did people like talk about college a lot or was it just not really expected of anyone?

MJ: It was talked about a lot in school but I just don't think because like I 00:03:00said the community was very industry driven that a lot of people had jobs already because their dads or uncles or aunts worked in different foundries so it was very easy to get into a fairly good paying job right out of high school, so I think there was kind of an expectation but not a lot of people actually went to college.

HH: Okay. Um, what did you do for fun um, throughout high school and um, growing up?

MJ: I was on our gymnastics team in high school, so I did that for four years. I have also been dancing since the age of three, so I've taken everything from ballet to tap, jazz, modern, um so I've um, I still continue to do that, so that was a big part of my life while I was in high school. I was also on National Honor Society um, did some Business Professionals of America activities um and those kinds of things.

HH: Okay, so you were involved in… so dance, was that important when you 00:04:00wanted to like leave too? Was it something that you wanted to continue?

MJ: Um, gymnastics wasn't, I was, since we only, I had only started it in high school and we did not practice year-round it was not like I was ready to compete at a collegiate level, so that was definitely not something that I ever looked at.

HH: Okay.

MJ: And dance was never something that I wanted to do professionally. Um, It has just never been on my mind to do so I liked to do it as a hobby, so as I was looking at going away to school I did kind of check out like do I have an option in the community to find somewhere to dance or do I not, but it wasn't gonna be a deciding factor.

HH: Okay, and then what values or lessons did you learn from growing up in your community?

MJ: Hard work pays off. Um, definitely if you put your mind to it things will happen. I knew I did not want to live in that small community forever so, making sure that I got good grades and worked hard, and picked a good college and a 00:05:00good career was important to me to make sure that I could succeed in that way and not kind of fall into a rut that I didn't want to be in.

HH: Okay, um so tell me a little bit about your family.

MJ: Um, I've been married to my husband Jason for ten years. We have three cats. Um, my parents still live in Menominee Michigan. Um, they still pretty much work at the same job as when I was in high school. Um, and then I have a younger brother that works as a grocery manager in De Pere at a Festival Foods.

HH: In De Pere?

MJ: Mhm.

HH: Okay, um so what were your family routines growing up?

MJ: Um, we usually ate dinner together as a family. Um, or at least attempted to.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: Um, but other that that, we, that was pretty much the only routine. My parents both worked jobs where they never necessarily worked the same hours each day, so it's not like we would all depart the house at the same time and come home at the same time each day.

HH: Okay.

MJ: Um, but we always used to try and eat some form of dinner together as a routine and then my parents didn't work weekends, um, so we would kind of do family things on the weekends whether that was going to see a movie together or baking at home or whatever, but as for a week it wasn't always the same kind of set schedule.

HH: Okay. Was your family pretty close then?

MJ: Um, I would say relatively close, I mean we each, I was involved in different things than my brother and my parents attended different, you know, events of ours but I mean they weren't by my side all the time. (Laughing)

HH: Yeah. Um, you mentioned that you knew that you wanted to like leave your town, didn't want to stay there, was family ever a factor? Like you wanted to stay kind of close to them or were you ready to just move where ever?

MJ: It, I was ready to move where ever I needed to to get done what I had kind of goals I could kind of set for myself.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: Um, so whether that ended up being close to them or not close to them wasn't 00:07:00really a big factor, yeah.

HH: Alright, um can you describe the home you grew up in?

MJ: Uh, old house, built in the late 1800's um, it was in the city, as a rural city can be. Um, two story house on a fairly large lot so we had lots of room to run around, play outside. Um, but still on a busy street. (Laughing) So…

HH: A little bit of everything.

MJ: Yes, Yes.

HH: Alright um, what did your parents and other families do um, for work?

MJ: Um, my dad worked, he's done a lot of different things, when I was a younger child he was a restaurant manager. Um so we would often times, if he got called in on a weekend, you know due to some kind of issue would have to go sit in the restaurant while he worked and amused ourselves. Um, then most recently he was a, worked at a salvage yard dismantling cars. Now he works for a company that 00:08:00makes um, brake roaders for racecars, like NASCAR racecars, um in their shipping and receiving department. My mom has had a dozen jobs throughout my childhood, anything from being a real-estate agent to a legal secretary to working at a grocery store as a cashier and now she works um for a county um as their property listing secretary.

HH: Okay so a lot of different, little bit of everything?

MJ: Yes. (Laughing)

HH: Did you ever want to do anything that they did or…

MJ: No! No. No.

HH: Not at all?

MJ: No. (Laughing)

HH: Alright, um did your parents or other siblings go to college?

MJ: Neither one of my parents went to college. My brother started to attend college but realized it wasn't the best fit for him and was only there about a year. So I am a first generation college student.

HH: Okay, um did your parents think going to college was important?

MJ: Uh, not to them. They knew it was important to me and therefore supported me in that decision but had I told them I didn't want to go to college and wanted to go start working at you know a local business they would have supported that just as much. So I don't think it was an expectation of theirs but they knew it was important to me.

HH: Okay, so they didn't like push it…

MJ: No.

HH: But they supported whatever you wanted to do.

MJ: Yup.

HH: Okay, um what schools did you attend growing up? Like high schools and middle school?

MJ: Um, there was only one middle school in town, so it was Menominee Middle School, so that was grades four through sixth and then, nope that was grades six through eight.

HH: Okay.

MJ: Yes. And then Menominee High School was eight through or nine through twelve. Uh, again the only high school in town.

HH: Okay. Small town.

MJ: (Laughing)

HH: Um, what were they like?

MJ: Uh, very small, non-culturally diverse, um everyone knew everyone and everyone's business cause the town was small. My graduating class was about a 00:10:00hundred and twenty people. Our total high school had maybe seven hundred kids in it, maybe.

HH: Okay.

MJ: Um, so you definitely knew people in different grades and it was very community like. It wasn't like you graduated with people that you didn't even know. Cause I know, by meeting people that your high school class can be so big that you read about somebody graduating from the same year you did and the same school and you have no idea who they are.

HH: Yeah, that's how mine was.

MJ: That was not the case. (Laughing)

HH: Um, what were the classes like then? Like what did they offer for classes?

MJ: Um, they didn't offer a whole lot of elective choices I mean they obviously had your standard like English, history, math, science, that kind of thing but as far as, we didn't have any AP classes. Um that just wasn't an offering. Um, we only had two foreign languages, either Spanish or French. Um, and they had like a home-ec class. We had a whole shop building. So between working on cars, cabinetry, that kind of thing because those trades are really big in the area. 00:11:00They had a lot of, uh facilities dedicated to that. They did have a small business center where you could take like finance and um business, law and like those types of classes. But uh if you talked to people as to what high schools offer today it was definitely nothing in comparison.

HH: Okay. Alright, I'm just going to make sure this is still working. Yup, alright um, did you like your teachers there?

MJ: Yes. Yup, a lot of them had been there for a very long time. There wasn't a lot of turnover so I mean they were very well established.

HH: Alright so what subjects interested you?

MJ: Math and science a lot. I also really liked debate and speech. Um, those were only semester classes and you could only take them once, um so I didn't have a lot of exposure to those but when I did take them I liked them but definitely math and science were my areas of interest.

HH: Alright, um how important was like high school, um to your family and community?

MJ: Um, my family I think just considered it an expectation, not that it was important but that's just something that you did and didn't have an option not to do.

HH: Did they want you to do well? Like did they stress getting A's?

MJ: Um, well definitely not getting A's. I mean they wanted me to always put my best foot forward and do the best that I could but I honestly put more pressure on myself than my parents would have placed on me.

HH: Okay.

MJ: The community was much more concerned with the football team than they were with academics. (Laughing)

HH: Alright, small town, yeah football.

MJ: Yes, yes.

HH: Um, what were your goals then growing up?

MJ: Uh my goal was to find a job that I liked, sorry about that.

HH: That's alright.

MJ: Um, and getting into a good college where I could pursue that. Um, making sure that I was successful by my own definition not necessarily someone else's.

HH: Okay. Um, when did you begin to think about college?

MJ: Probably when I was a sophomore in high school, kind of trying to narrow down what I wanted to do, how far away from home did I want to go do it. What colleges offered what I had in mind, how was I going to get there? The guidance counselor that I had was really good at talking about options and I did a couple summer programs at colleges to kind of figure out what I wanted to do.

HH: Okay, so did you look into, it sounds like you did kind of a lot of prep work.

MJ: Yes.

HH: In looking at those. Um, how did your family influence your decisions?

MJ: They didn't.

HH: They didn't at all?

MJ: Because neither one of my parents went to college, they had no idea what I was getting in to. So they had no recommendation on a college or how financial aid worked or anything so it was more I did my leg work and told them this is what I was gonna do.

HH: Okay, um what interested you about college? Just like getting out or?

MJ: Um more being able to further my education like being able to become more of an expert in a subject. In high school you get a lot of information about a lot of things and it's not necessarily a very deep knowledge but I really wanted to become very knowledgeable and expert like in a subject and I feel that's what college can kind of do for you, hone in and help you learn more and become more fluent in a subject.

HH: Yeah. Did you know that you wanted to pursue science then?

MJ: Yes. I just didn't really know in what direction.

HH: Okay. Um, where did you consider going to college? Like what were your options?

MJ: Um, I did not apply to very many schools. Um, I did mostly apply to schools in Wisconsin and Illinois, um to kind of stay close enough to home but not too far away from home. Um living in a small community we didn't have a college 00:15:00there so staying in town necessarily wasn't an option. Um but actually the college that I got accepted to and accepted their invitation to go to I did not end up going to anyway so.

HH: Oh, which school was that?

MJ: Carol College, Carol University now.

HH: Why didn't you end up going there?

MJ: Um, it just, a lot of anxiety in going and they were a private school so the cost was way too much for my family to take on um, so I ended up staying actually in town, there was a two year UW school there, um not in Menominee but in Marinette which is right across the border. Um, so I ended up going there for my first two years.

HH: Okay, so you had like um, accepted the offer and then just decided um to stay for a little bit.

MJ: Yes. Yup.

HH: Okay so you said you knew you wanted to study um science but you didn't know what, did you get any help in high school deciding like options that you could go into?

MJ: I more ruled things out in high school. So I initially thought I wanted to 00:16:00be a chemical engineer. I was dead set on that and thought that was going to be the greatest career ever but I went to a, they called it a women and engineering camp the summer of my junior year I think. Um and the premise of the camp was that they spent like a half a day going through different types of engineering. So you got like a hands on activity and learned about what it would be like to work as that type of engineer and I remember half way through that camp I was like this is awful, I don't want to do any of these things. So I went from being dead set on that to learning that that wasn't the way I wanted to apply science so then it was kind of back to the drawing board. More like okay I don't want to do that so now what do I want to do.

HH: Okay so when you came um to college did you just take like generals right away at your two-year school?

MJ: Yup they, you can't pick a major really at a two-year school so it was just a matter of getting um, kind of gen eds done um and then I knew I would need a 00:17:00background in science so I was able to take like some of those classes there. They weren't like specific courses they were more just getting my general chemistry and biology and that kind of stuff done.

HH: Yeah. So did you decide there what you wanted to go into or?

MJ: Yes.

HH: Okay.

MJ: Yes.

HH: Um, so then why did you pick UW Oshkosh to come to?

MJ: Because they had the major that I wanted.

HH: Okay, um what was your major?

MJ: Medical Technology.

HH: Medical Technology?

MJ: Mhm.

HH: What does that consist of?

MJ: So Medical Technology is a degree where you work in a hospital or clinic based laboratory doing testing on blood and body fluids.

HH: Oh okay.

MJ: So if you've ever gone to the doctor and given blood or they have taken a urine specimen or swabbed your throat or a wound of some kind and that goes quote on quote to the lab and then you get your results back from your physician as to whether or not you have a urinary tract infection or strep throat or high cholesterol, it's Medical Technologists that perform all that testing and give 00:18:00that information to the physician.

HH: Oh okay, that's interesting.

MJ: Mmhm.

HH: Was there anything else that you like about, like did you tour it and like the campus or was it strictly just the major?

MJ: I think the first time that I stepped foot on campus was when I came for my transfer day so the day I was registering for classes, so I didn't really tour ahead of time. Um, I just, it was the school that had my major. So I was kind of coming here regardless of how campus felt and because I had two years in already like, it wasn't, I didn't need to know as much I guess about the campus as far as dorms were concerned and what kind of freshman activities are offered and those kinds of things. I was really just coming here to finish a degree.

HH: Okay. Um, what were your first impressions when you arrived?

MJ: I liked that the campus was very compact. That there wasn't a whole lot of space between buildings and the space that was between buildings was campus space and not like you had to walk through, I don't know like you know, like 00:19:00normal city blocks to get to different buildings. Um, the campus was very clean. I felt like it was organized cause a lot of the academic buildings are on one side of campus and the dorm buildings are kind of on the other. So I didn't feel like you were walking in between buildings that didn't make any sense to each other. Um, so those were the thing I liked most I'd say.

HH: Yeah, Okay um what were your, or no, um what do you remember about your first few weeks?

MJ: Um, the first few weeks were a little nerve racking, um just getting into a routine as with any semester, finding your way around, where do I eat, when do I eat, what you know, how do I get from one point to another. Um I didn't have a job right away so I felt like I had a whole lot of extra time cause when I was at my other school, the two-year university, I was not only going to school but working two jobs and so my pace changed a little bit so I felt like I had a lot of free time, which probably wasn't good for me.

HH: Was the schooling a lot different between the two schools or no?

MJ: No.

HH: That was pretty standard?

MJ: Yeah. Class were pretty similar that part wasn't, different…

HH: A big shock or anything…

MJ: No, no.

HH: Alright. Um, what made you choose your major?

MJ: Um I really liked science and determined that the best way in my opinion to apply science was through health care. Um research was never really a big appeal to me. I didn't want to be tucked away in some lab working on something that may or may not come to fruition or have an end result. Um, so once I determined that the health care field was for me and that I liked the science and hands on part I found that Medical Technology was a profession um, and then looked for colleges with that degree. I never really wanted to be a nurse. It's way too much patient contact.

HH: Okay.

MJ: I never really wanted to take care of people in that aspect. I wanted to help but in much more of an indirect way which is what Medical Technology allows 00:21:00me to do. Um, but I still have all the scientific skills that any quote on quote scientist would have. Um, I'm just applying them in health care field as opposed to a research field.

HH: Did you have any other things that you were thinking about? Or were you pretty set on that?

MJ: I really wanted to get into forensic science. Um, but as I did more research on that it is an extremely hard field to get in to. Um, one because it's, it's a field that is still relatively new and starting to develop and the other reason is because a lot of states, um, don't even have their own crime lab, they use whether a national crime lab or a neighboring states so the jobs are very few and far between. So to actually get into that particular field I determined would be very difficult so this was really the next closest thing. Cause the testing in both fields is done in the exact same way. In forensic science you just deal with the chain a custody because it's being linked to a criminal case 00:22:00of some kind. As a medical technologist I'm helping diagnose someone's infection and then instead, so.

HH: Okay. Um, so what were your classes like when you got here? Like what kind of classes did you take?

MJ: Um, because I had graduated with my associate's degree from a two year UW school I didn't really have any general education classes to take here so I was very much thrown into classes that pertain to my major from the get go. Um, so I had a lot of chemistry, a lot of biology classes um and then actually I have a pretty close to a minor in criminal justice so I would take some classes in that department also but I spent a lot of time in Halsey Science Center. There are buildings on campus that I have never stepped foot in.

HH: Were they challenging classes then?

MJ: Um, challenging yes but because they were on a subject matter that I enjoyed it wasn't painful.

HH: Yeah that makes it nicer. Um were there any professors that you had that really stood out either good or bad?

MJ: Um, I would say most of the professors that I had were very good I did end 00:23:00up doing research with two different professors on campus so I would obviously, they stood out in a way that I wanted to pursue research for them in those were Dr. [Kleinheinz?] and Dr. [Benevanga?]. Um, they did two very different types of research but I ended up working um, in their labs while I was a student here on campus.

HH: Okay. Um, what kind of student were you?

MJ: I was a very good student, um I could have been a better student, there's always room for improvement right. Um, I was a mostly A, B student. Um I did work while I went to school um, so that always takes away from your academia a little bit when you do that. Um, but I was, never struggled much in school.

HH: What job did you do then part time?

MJ: Um I worked anywhere from Menards morning stock crew to, I worked on campus as a PAL, a peer advising liaison. Um, I worked in both of those research labs that I mentioned. I worked for Mr. [Strause?], who was the medical technology 00:24:00program director doing some lab prep for him. I worked on the Door County beach project here on campus, that was a summer thing. So I had a lot of different jobs.

HH: Yeah, sounds like it. Um, I know you mentioned when we emailed earlier that you weren't involved in any clubs or organizations um…

MJ: I was not.

HH: Was it, you were I mean obviously in a lot of other things, is that why?

MJ: Um, I would say a bigger reason why was that I did not come to campus as a freshman. I feel like when you come as a transfer student you come to a campus for different reasons. Um, and being social is not usually the reason.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: You're finishing out a degree a lot of our, if you even look at our transfer student population a lot of them are commuters. So you really, I was coming to school to get my degree and that was my purpose for being here. Um I didn't really seek out any activities. There were no clubs or anything associated with my major so there wasn't anything for me to join in that aspect. Um, but as far 00:25:00as finding something else to be a part of, it wasn't on my radar.

HH: Okay. Um did you make a lot of friends here then? Or were you just strictly school?

MJ: Um I probably, not like lifelong friends but definitely a lot of acquaintances, people that were in a lot of my classes because I did take a lot of science based classes, you kind of do see the same faces over and over again. So definitely formed some study partners and people that I did hang out with outside of class but.

HH: Okay so where did you spend most of your time then on campus?

MJ: In Halsey Science Center.

HH: In Halsey yeah.

MJ: Yes.

HH: Um did you, so you didn't live in dorms then?

MJ: I did my first year here. I lived in the Stewart community which is the upper classman dorm. Um, so you had to have above sixty credits to live in the dorm. They were all single rooms. Um, so I did because I was a transfer and didn't really know anybody and didn't want to get my own apartment when I didn't know the area. I did live on campus my first semester.

HH: So then what was your experience like in the dorms?

MJ: Never want to do it again. (Laughing) I didn't mind the small living space but sharing bathrooms with other people should be outlawed.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: It's terrible. Um, I didn't like the fact that you had to have a food plan on campus just because you lived on campus. Um so I didn't really utilize that I think as much as the money that I put into it. Um, it's definitely not something that I would ever want to repeat.

HH: Yeah sounds about right.

MJ: And I didn't even have a roommate so I have no complaints there but yeah.

HH: Um did you go home often then or?

MJ: Every weekend.

HH: Every weekend?

MJ: Yes. On my first year while I was a student and living on campus I did. Um I did actually spend four years on campus even though I was a transfer student. Um so the other three years I lived off campus with my now husband. Um so that was easier but no my first, and then I didn't go home nearly as much. But my first 00:27:00year I was home every weekend. I didn't spend a weekend on campus.

HH: How far of a commute is that then?

MJ: It's about an hour and forty minutes.

HH: Wow, so that's not too bad.

MJ: No.

HH: Um, so what are some memories you have with your college friends?

MJ: Um, I would say it's mostly, like I said because it was very, I was very academically driven, it was mostly studying and trying to figure out new skill sets and that kind of thing. I did really enjoy my time as a PAL over in the advising office. I got to meet a lot of students and connect with people that way which I really liked by helping them whether it was just a simple as how they register for a class on titan web or helping them figure their STAR or they just got dropped from a class and they don't know why or they are trying to pick an interim and there are only two left, which one best fits. I really enjoyed kind of interacting with students on that level. Um, and that really helped me get the job that I have today which is kind of cool, so.

HH: Yeah. Um were you happy and comfortable then at UW Oshkosh?

MJ: Yeah, I would say so. Um it was, like I said a welcoming environment. I was 00:28:00very focused on why I came here and what I wanted out of it so, yes.

HH: Alright, so you didn't take part in any intramurals or anything?

MJ: I did not. No.

HH: Did you ever like go to any games or anything?

MJ: Never.

HH: Never? You didn't keep up with that?

MJ: Nope. I've never been to the football stadium. I don't think I ever attended anything in Kolf besides graduation.

HH: Alright. Um, I know Oshkosh has kind of a reputation for their bars and stuff was that a big part of your experience here?

MJ: It was not at all a part of my experience here. (Laughing) I'm a very abnormal college student. Um, like I said my, the year that I lived on campus I was never here on a weekend so it wasn't like I had a lot of free time. During the week I was very focused on getting all of my homework done so that I didn't have to take any of it with me home.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: That kind of thing. Um, and then when I lived off campus I was married and 00:29:00had other responsibilities and it was never anything that I partook in.

HH: Makes sense. Um, it's also kind of been known for its riots was there anything, like any events that happened when you were here?

MJ: I was thinking about that after you had emailed me and I don't recall of anything major at the time. Um I think we've had more interesting events since I have been an employee than while I was a student. Um, with I mean the Rican incident near campus and I know there was a, a riot that broke out during an event in Reeve as I have been employed and, so I think there had been more of recent than when I was actually a student or maybe I was just oblivious to them happening. (Lauging)

HH: What were the events that um, were here when you were employed then? The ones you said in Reeve?

MJ: Yeah there was something, there was a, some kind of an event happening in 00:30:00Reeve where an off campus student I think had brought a gun to the event. This maybe just happened two years ago I think. Um, and then the student that was producing Rican near campus and asking their faculty members how to go about doing that. Uh, that just happened the last two years also so I think there has been more of that kind of thing as of late as opposed to like I said when I was an actual student here.

HH: Okay. Um, also there is kind of a stereotype about women in the science field. Did you experience anything like that?

MJ: Not on campus here at all. Um, as a Medical Technology major, this field itself is actually predominantly women.

HH: Okay.

MJ: Um, I would say probably eighty to eighty-five percent of the work force is women in this field. Um, so luckily I did not and even I would say in my classes overall, I would say it was more of a fifty-fifty split as opposed to me being you know one of four females in a class. Um, so that was really nice. And even 00:31:00in the research that I did with both of the professors on campus in their research labs I would say it was also at least still fifty-fifty as to their research staff. So I luckily did not see that in my field at all. I know it exists and it's a big issue. Um, I like to do a lot of outreach events now encouraging women to get in to science and some, usually at the middle school age. Um, but it is not something that I experienced here at all which is nice.

HH: That's, yeah that is really nice. Um, were there any major campus issues like political, cultural um kind of like protests things or things that were going on when you attended?

MJ: Again not that I can recall. I was thinking about that after you emailed me but I don't recall, nothing sticks out that was very um dramatic.

HH: Alright that makes sense. Um, so overall, what did you learn at UW Oshkosh?

MJ: Um, I learned how to apply myself. Um, college is not like high school where 00:32:00you show up to class and turn something in, they'll walk you through it until you get it right. College is very much like a, you have to put in the work in order to get out of it what you want. Um, the professor doesn't care if you show up to class or don't show up to class. They don't care if you turn in your stuff or don't turn in your stuff. They might send you an email being like, "so you didn't, you haven't turned in any of your homework" but it's not like a lot of them follow up with you on a weekly or daily basis. So it's a lot of what you put into it you're going to get out of it. Um, and knowing that with my major I had a yearlong internship ahead of me I really had to make sure that I was prepared for that. Because if I went to that internship unprepared it makes the school look bad. So I didn't want to, it was making sure that I was prepared enough to take that on.

HH: Yeah, so what was your internship then?

MJ: Um, the way the Medical Technology program here is set up is that you spend three years on campus getting your core class work done and then your senior year or your last year is spent um, away at a hospital based school of Medical 00:33:00Technology where you do a yearlong internship. So you're not on campus at all as a student um, and you are working side by side with a med tech doing real patient work in real time and getting all of your lecture material at the hospital. Um, you're virtually practicing the job for a year before you actually have to go out and do it.

HH: Did you like that experience then?

MJ: I loved that experience. Um, it really made me more confident when I was looking for a job like yes I do know how to do that and I know how to do this and I do have a true skill set I haven't just read about it in a book and done it in a controlled environment in a lab on campus, I have really done it out in the real world. I know what kind of instrumentation I know how to run. So it just gave you a little bit boosted confidence when you would go apply for a job because you knew and had confidence that you could do it, as opposed to where I feel like a lot of college graduates will graduate and go now what do I do? What am I qualified to do and how do I present the stuff that I learned in a way 00:34:00that's going to make it look like I'm qualified to this employer. Like how do I best do that? I did not have to worry about that at all. It was very much like I had skills and I knew and had the confidence that I could use them.

HH: Okay. Do you know if like other colleges also have that same kind of program?

MJ: It is very typical with the Medical Technology degree. Um, there's um, some campuses do things a little differently than the major but for the most part you are at least getting six months of clinical training in some way.

HH: Okay so you got an associate's degree at your last school, what was that then? Was that the first part of your degree or?

MJ: It was, so because I had spent time there and met their requirements, it was just easiest for me to graduate with an associate's degree. And at the time if you did that from a two year UW school and transferred to a four year UW school they waved all of your general education requirements, even if you didn't meet them one by one.

HH: Okay.

MJ: Does that make sense?

HH: Yeah.

MJ: So like here um at the time when I was a student physical education was a 00:35:00requirement to take as a class but because I came in with my associate's degree even though I didn't have that I didn't have to take that.

HH: Okay so was that part of your Medical Technology degree?

MJ: No.

HH: So you still had four years here?

MJ: I had four years here because um, I came in as a transfer student and the particular two-year school that I went to had the chemistry that I needed so I came here with the chemistry that I needed to only complete two years here on campus. Except the two-year school did not have any biology classes, zero.

HH: Okay.

MJ: So I virtually had to come here and start as a freshman if you will from the biology perspective. And because classes are prerequisite for each other it's not like I could cram them all into one semester and get caught up so.

HH: Yeah. What was that like being the, or an older student in like freshman?

MJ: Uh, it wasn't bad cause I was not the only one in my class. Um, it's very typical and now that I work here I know that of our transfer students to kind of 00:36:00get stuck that way.

HH: Okay.

MJ: Um, just because um we require a lot of upper level biology on the front end so usually you would take that in kind of your last two years but we require our students to take that in their first two years. So a lot of students don't come in with those classes because it's harder for those two-year schools to offer that level of teaching, if you will. You know that very specific class type. Um, they have a lot of general classes, general biology, general chemistry but the more specific stuff like in a cell and molecular biology class, a lot of schools don't offer that. So then the students get here and they have to kind of play catch up in that way.

HH: Yeah that makes sense. Um, so how did you feel when you finished college?

MJ: Accomplished and ready to get into the work force. Um, due to the field that I'm in we um, there is a very large job shortage so I had a job locked in the February before I graduated. Um, so I graduated knowing that I already had a 00:37:00job. I'm pretty sure I graduated on Saturday and started work on Monday.

HH: Wow.

MJ: I was very, very ready for the next step and very prepared.

HH: So, it all kinda just went, did you feel like, did Oshkosh help you get your job or did you kind of do that on your own?

MJ: It was the internship component. So it's a requirement to graduate with my degree here um, but I mean that's really a nine-month long internship from I mean, or interview from that internships perspective, it's to their benefit to keep their students because they have had them trained the way they want them. They know how to work their computer system, they know the layout of their hospital, they know all of their procedures so it's really a benefit to them to try and keep them on as employees.

HH: Yeah. Did you say where you did your internship?

MJ: St. Elizabeth's hospital in Appleton.

HH: In Appleton so you're still, did you commute then to Appleton from Oshkosh?

MJ: I did. Yup.

HH: Okay. What was your experience like in that hospital?

MJ: Um they were very welcoming. They deal with a lot of students. There were 00:38:00five of us there, five students. Um, it's not like we were their first class, so I mean they are very accustomed to teaching and making students comfortable and you know like. It was different because you were still in class and still learning things but it was not in the way that you do that on campus.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: We virtually worked forty hours a week and then had to go home and study and do all of that stuff on top. So it's a very intense time. Um, but like I said it's, it's, you're virtually doing the job so it's a really good like taste of what your day to day life is going to be like after you graduate which is nice.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: Minus all the studying.

HH: Yeah, so you kind of, did you like, you liked that kind of work though?

MJ: Yes. Yes. I like to be very busy um, so it was, I'm much better at managing my time when I have a lot to do than when I don't have a lot to do. So between the working and um, having to study and I also worked another job at the time, 00:39:00it was very…

HH: Wow you worked another job on top of your…

MJ: Yes.

HH: Wow.

MJ: It was very good for me to manage my time better that way.

HH: Oh yeah. Did you like the facility?

MJ: Yeah, I mean labs in hospitals are definitely hidden so I mean we were in the basement, no outside windows so you can't tell what time of day it is or what's happening out there whether it's ninety degrees or we are in blizzard. Um, but I mean that's the work environment we work in and I liked the work so it really didn't matter what the hospital was like.

HH: So you were happy staying there after graduation?

MJ: I did not stay there after graduation.

HH: Oh you didn't?

MJ: No. I got a job working in um, Green Bay after I graduated at a small clinic there.

HH: Was that associated with the other clinic that you worked in, no?

MJ: Nope. Nope.

HH: How was the Green Bay one then compared to Appleton?

MJ: Very slow because it was a small clinic so you go from working in a hospital that has an emergency room and a surgery center and a very large inpatient population to working in a place where there are six physicians and your 00:40:00schedule depends on how many patients they are seeing for the day. If they are gone for surgery, you're down physicians and your work load is a little lower. Um, so definitely coming from that fast paced environment to going to a slower environment was definitely a change of pace for me.

HH: Yeah, were your hours then shorter or?

MJ: I had regular day time hours so you know in health care it's 24/7. Um, I really did not want to work a second or third shift job. Um, my husband worked first shift so I didn't want to constantly be opposing him so I sought out somewhere where I could work first shift.

HH: Okay, regular hours.

MJ: Mhm.

HH: Um, did you feel like Oshkosh prepared you?

MJ: They prepared me very well for the internship yes. So I went into that being well prepared. And then Oshkosh doesn't, they don't have anything to do with the internship portions but I'm not on campus at all then. Um, but I did feel very well prepared going in to the internship. This program does a very good job of preparing their students for what's to come in that internship year.

HH: Okay, was the internship all five, you said there was five of you right?

MJ: Yup.

HH: Were they all Oshkosh students?

MJ: In this instance they were yes. But we do send students from this program to places where they are not one hundred percent Oshkosh students.

HH: Okay. So you didn't really get a feel for other students in the program that weren't from Oshkosh?

MJ: Nope.

HH: No. Um, so did you know that you wanted to go right in to working or did you ever think about like traveling or doing anything else right after graduation?

MJ: Traveling was never a thought. Um, the internship year is very intense so even going back to school was not really on my brain and it was kinda like let's just get finished and make some money, cause money is very scarce as a college student. And there were jobs available so it wasn't like I was unsure if I was going to find something in my field or not. I was very confident. I would even say one hundred percent confident I was going to find a job so I wasn't concerned about that. But two months in to working full time and just having that be my life I knew I wanted to go back to school. So, it didn't take very long.

HH: Yeah, was that another thing when you chose your career, just like knowing that there was jobs available?

MJ: It helped. A lot.

HH: Yeah definitely.

MJ: To not, know that I was going to have to scrounge and search and work at a job that wasn't in my field. That I could find something was nice to know.

HH: Yeah definitely. Um, so what are some things you have done since you graduated?

MJ: I've done a lot since I have graduated. I worked in a lot of different jobs and gotten a lot of job experience. I've gone back to school and gotten my master's degree. I'm looking into going back for my PhD at the moment. Um, I've been able to climb the career latter a little bit. And I've really just been able to get a lot of diverse work experience which has kind of helped me get to each next step kind of in my career which has been nice.

HH: Yeah, so where did you go for your masters?

MJ: Rutgers University in New Jersey. Um, they had an online program so I have my masters in clinical lab science um, which is the same thing as medical 00:43:00technology. They like to call things different things even though mean the same thing. Um, so I have that degree now which is nice and I'm looking at getting my PhD in health sciences from Rush University.

HH: Were you able to do that here then since it was online?

MJ: I could do it yeah, do it anywhere.

HH: Okay so you didn't have to like move across country?

MJ: No. No, no, no. I could stay here so all of my course work was done online and then I did have a master's level like cap stone project and I was able to do that with my employer at the time. You know facilitate something and present my project.

HH: Yeah so your master's you'd also do online then?

MJ: My PhD, yes, yes.

HH: Sorry, yeah your PhD, sorry.

MJ: Yes, I would also do that online. All the course work would be online and then I would just have to find a professor, hopefully on campus here or somebody that would be willing to support my, my research for that.

HH: Okay. So then what do you do here on campus?

MJ: I am the associate program director for the medical technology program. So I 00:44:00help teach classes for the medical technology students, I help advise all of the students in the major. I do a lot of program promotion both on and off campus. Um, our students have to apply to these internships which is a big process so I help with that. Um, and whatever John [Strause?] the program director tells me to do.

HH: Okay, so what made you want to come back to UW Oshkosh then?

MJ: I really wanted to get into education. Um, when I left and was getting ready to graduate the program I looked at John and asked him how, like what was the best way to have a job like his someday. How do I get into education? And he gave me a lot of great advice, things to do you know, steps that I could take after graduation. Working on getting my masters, becoming actively involved in our professional society, keeping in contact with different people and then when the job opening came up here I applied and because I had listened well I was very well prepared for the job.

HH: Okay, did you look at um, working at any other colleges or anything?

MJ: I did not cause I was still in the area here, it was a good fit. And I am 00:45:00only part time on campus so I do still work part time um, as a medical technologist. Um, so I needed them to fit together.

HH: Where do you work then…

MJ: St. Elizabeth's Hospital.

HH: St. Elizabeth's?

MJ: Yes. Where I did my internship, I have gone back to work there.

HH: Alright. Um, so then how did UWO prepare you for life after college like um, not really job wise I guess.

MJ: Um, I would say it prepared me for life after college by giving me a good well rounded global view on things. Um, but I would really say the internship with this program does a really good job at preparing you for life after college because you're a college student living real life that last year. I mean you are very much a student and very much there learn and gain knowledge but you are working in a professional environment. So you kind of get to see like, okay these people do an eight hour work day and then they go home and you know, have 00:46:00other interests and have other things that they do. So some of them may be artistic, I mean they have other interests other than work. So it's kind of nice to see, cause I feel like when you are a college student you are so involved in college. In the learning, and you do activities through campus and you do, you work on campus and you do all of these things on campus, it kind of sometimes creates a false sense of what the real world is like and kind of finding yourself. So that was kind of the nice year to be like okay all of these people have other things going on and they all, you know, live in a community somewhere and do other things. So it was kind of nice to see that before I became a professional and had to see that for the first time.

HH: Did an internship help you make a lot of connections?

MJ: Um, yeah. And the professional society that I belong to as a medical technologist also does as well and continues to do so. Um, but I mean you get to 00:47:00meet a lot of people that are out doing that job so you automatically have a reference pool when you are going to apply for things and they are people in your field, not oh I had this professor that taught this course and granted those kinds of references are valuable but I have a professional in this field that says I would make a good professional in this field. So I mean you get that all by doing that internship piece which a lot of, again a lot of students don't have when they leave college which is nice.

HH: Yeah.

MJ: You automatically kind of have job experience in the field you want to work in.

HH: Mhm. So would you say the internship was like one of the most valuable things you took away from it?

MJ: Yes.

HH: Alright. So what are your thoughts about the campus now?

MJ: Campus to me has not changed much. We do have a brand new shiny building. Sage was built after I had left. Um, but I would say that for the most part it really hasn't changed. Um, I feel like it's still as safe as it was when I was here, it's still as diverse as it was when I was here. They still offer a really good mix of activities if you're interested in getting in to those things. And 00:48:00your time here is what you make of it. If you choose to be super involved on campus, there are a ton of ways to do that. If you choose to be more academically minded, there's a lot of professors that do a lot of great research on this campus. There's a lot of ways to get involved there. If you choose to go out and party Thursday through Sunday, there are options to do that as well. It's all about your choices and I feel like there are a lot of choices here. So you can make it what you want it to be.

HH: Yeah. Do you think your major and your classes for the medical technology has changed very much?

MJ: No it hasn't changed at all. Um, it is a curriculum that's very set um, because our students go off to this hospital based internship they have an expectation of what our students should come in knowing. Um, so our students don't have a lot of elective choice in what classes they take. It's a lot of things that they have to take because they need that knowledge to be ready for that internship. So because of that expectation, the program hasn't changed at all.

HH: Okay. When you get your PhD, are you going to lean more towards like um education and like staying here or do you want to go back more into your field or still do both?

MJ: I hope to stay more in education and continue my time here. Um, but as you know education is always changing as is this campus um, and what majors it offers and so I hope to be able to be here long term but I would also be very prepared to go back out in to the private sector and be able to work more directly in my field all at the same time.

HH: Yeah definitely. Um, so do you have any advice for current or future students either in your field or just attending college?

MJ: As far as attending college I would say make sure that you know what you want to get out of your time. I feel like it should always be a very personally driven choice. Don't let other people tell you you should go to college and that it's the right thing to do. Um, because if you get here and here is not where 00:50:00you want to be, it's going to be a very painful time. Um, being in the position that I'm in here I've seen a lot of students come in that, whose parents told them college was a good idea um, and then they suffer through college because they feel like they have to be here. Not because they're driven and want to get something out of it. As far as people in our major, do your research and know, make smart choices about classes you are going to take. So we have a lot of transfer students that come to this campus in general and as I mentioned before they can sometimes get hurt by transferring into our major because our classes are very specific. So if this is something that you want to do, medical technology is a field you want to get in to, make sure that you are taking classes at another place, if that's what you're doing, that are going to transfer here the way you want them to. And that will just save you time, a lot of time.

HH: Yeah. Do you have any advice for like choosing like, what would make you know if you wanted to go into the field or?

MJ: I would say if you like science and like health care and don't want to be a 00:51:00nurse. So a lot of people when you ask them like oh what careers are in the health care field? A lot of people will say oh a nurse or a doctor. Right, those are the first two things that come to mind because those are the people that you see when you go to the doctor. But there are a ton of professions that work behind the scenes. Medical technology is one of them. So if you really enjoy science and you really enjoy hands on work and still being very much a critical thinker um, and being able to think on your feet and make decisions based on what's happening right then and there, that is a really good field for you to be in. I always tell students that kind of come in, if you are not a people person medical technology is probably the place for you. We don't work with patients um, very much and we're kind of secluded usually in the hospital somewhere. Um, so a lot of our students that come in and a lot of the people that were in the field are fairly introverted.

HH: Okay, do you have a lot of co-workers that you work with or is it like secluded in that way too?

MJ: It depends on the shift. So on the day shift, because that's when more work comes in there are more people in the labs. So there's usually probably twenty people in the lab during the day. Um, but our night shift at St. Elizabeth's hospital has two people.

HH: Wow.

MJ: So you have a co-worker. Um, so I mean that's even more secluded then. Um, but it's just, you're a little bit more introverted. You want to help people but you don't necessarily want to take care of them. Cause I'm still very much helping them. They can't get diagnosed with cancer, they can't get diagnosed with a mrsa infection, they can't get diagnosed with influenza without what I do. I'm just not taking care of them or giving them that diagnosis to their face. But the work that I do, the physician takes and is able to tell them what's going on. The nurse is then able to take care of them in whatever way they need to. So the work I do is important it's just very much unnoticed.

HH: That's interesting. Um, do you have any advice for transfer students?

MJ: Know where you want to transfer early and get in contact with that program as soon as you can. So we work with a lot of transfer students that are like oh you know I want to transfer there a year from now and we work with them to make sure that they are taking smart classes. They're going to come here as something and not just as elective credit. That it's actually going to come here as speech or come here as math 104 or come here as poly-sci 105 so that when they get here that the classes they have taken at another institution are very much ready to come here and they have not wasted again, wasted time.

HH: Yeah definitely. Um, do you have any regrets or things that you'd do differently?

MJ: I sometimes wish that perhaps I was more involved on campus with different things. Um, but on the same note I got a lot out of my major and my program which I'm happy about. You can't regret things that you didn't do so I am happy with where I am now as a professional and don't feel like there was something 00:54:00that I didn't do or should have done that prevented my progress after graduation.

HH: Okay, do you know if there are any clubs or anything related to your field now that you could have joined?

MJ: There's a biology club which would be the closest but…

HH: Not much?

MJ: Nope.

HH: Um, alright so um any last thoughts or anything else you would like to say?

MJ: I don't think so. This is a very interesting project and I am very interested to see how all of it will get compiled together and kind of what will happen with all of the information but, I'm happy to have been a part of it.

HH: Alright, well thank you very much.

MJ: You're welcome.