1 10 7 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/files/original/2caac1a8cfc3ca29c2de994f0935e8bb.pdf 86bdb8529b42a059d7ccb366fdf0c96c PDF Text Text April 26, 2023 Transcript Suzy Karasik: Good morning. My name is Suzy Karasik. Today is November 4th and I am interviewing Carol Graham, Master Gardener, native Californian, and so much that we will learn here in part of the North County Oral History Initiative. Carol, thank you for joining me today. (coughs) Carol Graham: (nods) My pleasure. Karasik: And, um, I wanted to just say briefly how I met Carol. I’m part of the EcoFest that we had here in Encinitas a couple of weeks ago. It’s an annual event that we do to educate people to everything involved with the ecology and the environment here in the county. And Carol had an incredible display (Carol gestures with her arms to display the posterboards on a table behind her) with the Master Gardeners, which we’ve been able to set up here and hopefully make it a little bit more readable. (Carol holds up a model of a fly, with a paper flyer attached and hanging below it) And Carol, let’s just start here. As we had discussed, let’s talk a little bit about where you born and your childhood and if any of that happened to prepare you for what was to come in your most interesting life and, um, how you’ve identified yourself over the years and your relationship with the county. So, you can start there. Graham: Well, I was born in North Claremont, the city of San Diego. And my mother was a very avid fruit tree gardener. And I really benefited because when my husband and I moved up here to Encinitas over forty years ago, it’s a similar microclimate to the one I grew up in, which means the fruit trees that I enjoyed—gardening at my mother’s knees, and fell in love with certain varieties of nectarines and other delicious fruits, loquats—I could grow those same varieties here which was nice. Karasik: Yes. Graham: And it was a very pleasant community to grow up in. Karasik: If I may ask, if you don’t mind, what year were you born, or— Graham: Oh. (chuckles) 1952. Karasik: Okay. Graham: Yes. So, I just recently celebrated—not that many months ago—my 70th birthday. Karasik: Yes! So, tell us a little bit about your school and what it was like here in the North County—well, you were actually down in San Diego— Graham: Yes. Karasik: —as you were growing up. Graham: I went to elementary school and junior high in the city of San Diego. 1 �Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Now, my father was a career Marine. So, we had three years in Virginia, and I graduated from high school in Virginia. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And then we came back to San Diego because the house had been rented—not sold. So, we were able to come back to the same garden, the same microclimate, which was great for the garden— Karasik: Yes. Graham: —the same fruit trees waiting for us— Karasik: Yes. Graham: —the ones that we had planted earlier. So, it was a very pleasant experience, very supportive of the interests that I continue to enjoy today. Karasik: So–so you graduated from high school in–in–out east, and— Graham: Yes. Karasik: —then you came back out here. What were your–What was your initial work, and— Graham: Well, I went to S.D.S.U. and earned a bachelor’s degree in Zoology— Karasik: Mmm. Graham: —because animals have always fascinated me, and that’s not just the animals many people first think of are the gigantic giraffe and interesting hippopotamus, and rhinoceros. But I’m also fascinated by what some people will refer to as the–the bugs (holds up a stuffed toy puppet ladybug, and chuckles). So, um— Karasik: Let’s talk about the bugs a little bit. Graham: Yeah. Well, I am very pleased to educate people on—well, most people recognize this as one of their favorite bugs in the whole garden, the lady beetle. (has now put on the puppet on her right hand and is holding it up in front of her) People call it the ladybug, but it’s more scientific to call it the lady beetle. Because actually the word “bug” has a derogatory reference. It comes from old English, meaning something unpleasant (makes a face, and gestures with her left hand to indicate something scattering away). So, lady beetle is the more appropriate, better name. And it’s interesting in that its larval stage looks creepy! (holds up another stuffed animal, which appears to be a larval stage representation of the lady beetle). So— Karasik: I did not know that! Graham: —the larval stage, as I tell people, “Yes, it looks like a creepy, six-legged, micro alligator.” So, it’s very important that we reach out to the public, as Master Gardeners, and inform people “when you see this in the garden, don’t assume it’s something bad.” (she shakes 2 �the larval-stage, stuffed animal) For instance, (turns to her right and looks at the posterboard behind her, first to one with the header “IPM” then points to the board with the header “Identify”) one of the first steps of Integrated Pest Manager—which is what I.P.M. stands for— is identify friend or foe. Because if you assume this is bad (holds up the larval stage stuffed toy) and as many people have told me as they come by our Master Gardener exhibit, they had no idea it was a lady beetle larva. They thought it was something bad ‘cuz it looks creepy! You know what they had told me they had done? They sprayed it with pesticide, or they squished it, or they taught their kids to be afraid of it, which was so sad. Especially since this (shakes the larval stage toy) can not do any good if you squish it! (laughs) Um, but I admit, yes, it looks creepy. And we also educate people that not all lady beetles look like this. (Shakes her right hand which has the mature lady beetle puppet on it) Not all of them are red. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: So, we have an assortment of photos that show different colors for the different species ‘cuz it–it’s great to benefit not from just one species of lady beetle (again shakes her puppeted right hand) but several. (Turns to put both of those stuffed toys down on the bench next to her, then holds up a stuffed toy that looks like a mosquito, which has a paper flyer hanging off of it.). And on the dark side, we also need to educate people about this character. Karasik: Ugh. Graham: Now, a Master Gardener friend of mine made both this educational model (again holds up the larval stage toy) and this (holds up mosquito toy). And she made them too pretty, in a way, because this looks, actually, quite attractive. And it is the creepy mosquito! And I think we’ve all been bitten by mosquitoes. And some people don’t realize but the mosquito actually has been given the horrific title of the most deadly animal we share the planet with, because the part it plays vectoring malaria, dengue, yellow fever. Even West Nile virus killed some of our residents here in San Diego County. It was about fifteen, seventeen years ago. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Now, it’s true that apparently everyone who died of West Nile virus in our county had pre-existing medical conditions or they would have survived. But it’s also true some of those people could be alive today if they hadn’t been bitten by infected mosquitoes. But unfortunately, 3the mosquito larvae are not easily identifiable for people who haven’t been introduced to them. And many of our neighbors are growing mosquito larvae in their bird baths and other watercontaining items, children’s toys, and buckets in the garden. Stagnant water is where the mother mosquito likes to lay her eggs. In a few days, those eggs hatch out to larvae. And when I have displayed larvae—‘cuz sometimes I’ll deliberately grow them to have them on exhibit, and I take the lid off the jar only after I make sure they’re just in the larval stage. No adults to fly out and bite people. And I will ask people as they come to the exhibit, “Do you know what this is?” and over half the adults have no idea it’s mosquito larvae, which is very disturbing, because they’re growing them possibly in their gardens. And when they see them, they’re not motivated to dump it out, ‘cuz they don’t know what it is. 3 �Karasik: This is so important, and so, uh, (Graham puts down the mosquito toy) so–so much of it is actually unknown to the public. I’m curious, if you wanted to just kind of go through these four stages, if you will. (Carol stands up and turns toward posterboards) And then we’ll talk more about how you even became to be a Master Gardener. But I don’t want to— Graham: Okay. Karasik: —uh, (Carol sits back down again) forget to look at a little bit more of your early days— Granham: Okay. Karasik: —so we’ll come back. Graham: (she turns toward the board that reads “IPM.”) Well, the first stage in Integrated Pest Management, as I said, is Identify—(points to the posterboard reading “Identify”) friends, and admittedly some of these friends do look creepy—(points to photographs under the subheading “Friends” on that posterboard) Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: —and foes. (points to, and circles with her right-hand finger, various photographs under the subheading “Foes”). And here, kind of the star of the show, (circles the middle of the board, which has a collage of photos) indeed, we recognize the adult lady beetle (points to the photo of the lady beetle). I hardly ever see the eggs (points to a photo of lady beetle eggs) and I have my head in the garden a lot, so I’m surprised I don’t see them more often. But, at certain times of the year, I’ll see the larval stage, (points to a photo of a larval lady beetle) and as I said, I’ll admit it looks creepy like a six-legged micro alligator. And the pupal stage (points to a photo of a pupa of a lady beetle). And if, ideally, people would get this in high school or junior high school biology, it would be so helpful for the public health of our communities. And then of course you move on (stands up and points to the posterboard with the subheading “Understand”) to understand relationships, like the sooty mold, which is this black powdery (points to a photo of leaves with black mold on it) material you frequently find on some infected leaves (reads the text above the photos, indicating it with her left hand)—“grows on the honeydew, produced by sucking insects.” So, unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to have aphids or mealybugs or whiteflies or scale. And what goes in one end to their body as food—‘cuz they puncture the tender leaves and they’re sucking the sap—comes out the other end of their body, and instead of calling it like “aphid poop” it's called “honeydew.” Karasik: (chuckles) Graham: And this honeydew is a rich source of food for the growth, unfortunately, of ants which will protect these bad guys and sooty mold to grow. And here (points to a photo of ants) we see the ants will actually chase away the good guys who would eat some of these bad guys. But the ants are kind of protecting the bad guys because they’re eating— Karasik: That’s their sustenance. 4 �Graham: —the honeydew. Yeah. It’s kind of like we— Karasik: Yeah. Graham: —protect our dairy cattle from predators who might eat them, because we want to milk them and benefit from them. Karasik: Right, right. Graham: (then points to the text toward the bottom with her left hand) And understanding leads to multiple control approaches—biological, cultural, chemical, physical. There’s quite a diversity there. (She then moves toward the posterboard with the subheading “Assess,” points to the text with her left hand, and reads) And assess. Butterflies and moths are pollinators. Butterfly and moth larvae are consumers. Well, some bugs, I say they’re like children. They don’t always behave. They do some good and some bad (chuckles). And you have to kind of evaluate how it interacts in your garden. (points directly to the camera and whispers “The screen went dark. Is that a problem? Appears to wait for answer, and then says “okay,” and continues) You have to assess how they interact (using her left hand, she circles above a diagram showing the cycle of interaction of insects) in your garden, whether the bit of bad they do is less than the good they do. So, you can label them a good or a bad. Um, and of course, the green fruit beetle (points to the bottom of the board, to a photo of a beetle). Well, some people label it a pest, because it will attack, damage overripe soft fruits—peach, nectarines, plums, apricot—‘cuz it’s drawn to the fragrance. But, the grub, which admittedly looks creepy, is a fantastic decomposer. And it’s in all our compost piles, helping break things down. And it has a strict diet of eating rotting organic matter only. Although, it does look similar to the June Beetle grubs which eat live plant roots and tubers and corms. So, I try and teach people how to tell the difference— Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: (then moves toward the posterboard with the subheading “Control” and points to a pyramid illustration) —and then the control aspects, from cultural which is considered benign approach; mechanical and physical—I mean, just physically pulling (with her left hand, mimics pulling off the insects from the photos on the “Assess” posterboard) the snails off your plants; biological—reloos–reducing–releasing—excuse me—lady beetles, or recognizing the lady beetle larvae that you do have so you don’t accidentally spray it with pesticide; to chemical (points to the top of the pyramid on “Control” posterboard). And all these different approaches are out there (waves her left hand above the pyramid) and they should be assessed and see how they fit into your garden. So, I think that (waves her left hand in front of all four posterboards, indicating totality) kind of reviews them all. Karasik: Pretty much covers that. Before we go back to your childhood, I’m going to pause here just for a minute (Graham sits back down and nods) Karasik: Okay, Carol. I think probably one of the most important aspects of this beautiful background that you chose to bring is the chemical aspect of the pest management. (Carol points to the pyramid on the “Control” posterboard) So, let’s talk a little bit about that and the toxicity because I’m thinking that our descendants that may be watching this oral history in the years to 5 �come will know a whole lot–a lot more about what would have been a more wise pest management than we do now. Graham: (again pointing at the posterboard) Well, the chemical aspect is considered the most toxic, and we want you to try the cultural, physical, and biological approaches first. And under the chemical (reads the text on the posterboard, which I’ve designated in quotations) “Use only in combination with the other controls.” It’s not like you have to use only these or only the chemical. You can use them together. And hopefully you won’t even have to go to the chemicals. Hopefully, you can control it by the other approaches. “Use a pest–pest specific non-broad-spectrum pesticide.” In other words, if you do feel you have to use a chemical pesticide, don’t spray the whole garden, and make sure that before you buy any pesticide you carefully read the container and that it mentions the specific pest you’re trying to address, ‘cuz there are pesticides out there that would be totally wasted if you bought this pesticide and it didn’t apply to this pest that you were trying to control. Karasik: Right. Graham: And yet you introduce something toxic into the environment unnecessarily—very undesirable, of course. “Select the least toxic pesticide to reduce potential risks. Always read and follow directions on the pesticide label. It’s the law.” And as I tell people, well, the first thing you read before you buy any pesticide is will it address your target, you also want to make sure is it okay to put on the plant you want to put it on, ‘cuz many of us are growing edibles, and some of the pesticides like insecticidal soap are okay to put on edibles—fruits and vegetables—and will mention that on the paper. Whereas there are other pesticides that you definitely wouldn’t want to put on your edibles, ‘cuz they can get soaked into the plant, and you wouldn’t want to be eating them when you’re eating the produce from that plant. Karasik: Right. I–I was curious if you feel that very many people are actually aware, for example, of the dangers of glyphosate and how that has pretty much penetrated the entire planet. And I’m wondering in the future, um, you know, what will–what will become of that. Do you try to educate specifically on that or does that bother you that it’s still sold and advertised and is just so deadly? Graham: Well, mostly, we’re not targeting any one pesticide. We want people to open their minds to p–basically trying chemical, physical, and biological approaches before they’d even consider the pesticide. So, we spend most of our time—if we can teach them about biological control, physical control, or cultural control, hopefully they’ll never even have to get to the point where they’re considering a chemical pesticide. Karasik: Right. Right. And when you–you go into schools and tell me a little bit about who–who all is your audience. Obviously, festivals like we had— Graham: Oh, the Encinitas EcoFest was very nice— Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: —attended. And, of course, we do have many Master Gardeners helping in school gardens. And of course, when you’re talking to the students and their supervisors—the teachers, 6 �the staff, chaperones, and parents—about how to properly grow this product that they’re going to pick from the garden and eat, you definitely want to mention that “okay, we’re not going to put this pesticide on here because we don’t have any pests on this. Isn’t it great?” That kind of thing. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Or “oh, we do have pests. We have snails, sliming up the trunk of our citrus tree.” But instead of using a pesticide, we can teach them, of course, much simpler approach, just pick it off. Karasik: How–huh–who knew! Graham: Or we can use a copper band, because snails don’t actually like to slime over copper. It tastes bad for them. So, if we teach them that, we are hopefully enlightening them so when they actually grow to adulthood and have their own yards and their own gardens, they will not first grab the chemical control approach. Karasik: Oh, uh, that’s really great. Well, let’s talk a little bit about, I think maybe, how your life tha–developed, how you met your husband. Graham: Okay. Karasik: And, um, let’s–let’s hear about that. Graham: Well, I was attending San Diego State University, working on my Bachelor of Science in Zoology degree, and my husband, actually, had graduated from there and he was the teaching aide for the lab class in one of the biology classes. So, that’s how I met him, which is interesting. He was in marine biology which was kind of far away from my backyard biology, but still a biologist. And within a year of completing my degree, we were both working at Saturn Oak–San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One, in that the Nuclear Generating Station would shut down, I believe it was like every eight weeks, and they would heat-treat and chemical-treat the water intake system, because they had a large pipe—I think it was, like, twelve-foot diameter or something—and it was sucking in ocean water which was cooling some of the rest of the system at the nuclear power plant. But you’re sucking in water from the ocean, so you’re sucking in barnacles and polychaetas and other biophaline. They settle on the pipe and they grow. And this of course not only reduces the diameter of the water intake flow, but also when you’re treating, you might end up with some of these clogs of biophaline getting sucked in and causing problems. So, every, I think it was eight weeks, but don’t quote me on that, I think they were shutting the plant down to chemically treat and heat treat to kill the biophaline so it didn’t keep growing. Unfortunately, every time they shut the plant down, I believe I was told it was $10,000 more an hour for the energy company to buy energy to supply us than it was making the energy at San Onofre. And people really didn’t relate to this because they’d flip the lights on and the switch would come on because the power company was being responsible and making sure the power was there, even though it was costing more. But people were, of course, ending up having to pay a bit more, because it was more expensive when it was shut down. Now, as a biologist, it seemed pretty obvious that in the cold of the winter, the biophaline wasn’t growing as fast. And why were we shutting down the power plant every eight weeks, year-round, regardless of the time of the year. So, on site, I like to joke, I was basically locked into this research trailer, and I was measuring 7 �the biophaline on these research plates, so identifying which quadrat on which plate, and what was the diameter of that barnacle, and this polychaete, and that barnacle. And we measured them, for a year, and we were able to show people the hard scientific evidence that things were growing slower in the cold winter waters. And they didn’t have to shut the plant down as often. So, in the end, after we generated–processed all the data, etc., indeed they considered this quite a successful study. So, they weren’t shutting the plant down every week–eight weeks in the winter, because they realized things weren’t growing as fast, as far as the biophaline. So, everybody in the long run saved money, even the cost of the research, which seemed quite expensive at the time although now that the quanti–the money for that research project doesn’t seem quite as expensive as it was decades ago. But they more than saved, because of the change they could do in running the plant. Karasik: I’m curious, too, because you didn’t have computers back then. Or did you have s— Graham: It was much slower. Karasik: Yeah. You did have some large, like, big equipment that did do some processing. Graham: I’ve talked about after the year of being locked into the research trailer on site of San Onofre, I was locked for a year (chuckles) into the office to transfer the data. Whereas, if we’d had more sophisticated computers back then, it would have been much faster. Karasik: Right. Now, where was your husband working at the–at San Onofre. Graham: Well, he was the lead investigator, so we were locked into the same trailer. Karasik: Oh, that was nice! (chuckles) Graham: Yes. Karasik: I’m curi— Graham: There were three of us in the trailer. Karasik: Right. I’m curious, too, because I think it’s important from a–a women’s perspective. Did you feel any sense of a gender discrimination, or were women respected? Graham: No. I was given full respect. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Um, because it didn’t matter what my gender was. I was still going to be locked into that research trailer. ‘Cuz it’s–it was San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. So, basically, you went to the main entrance. You were evaluated, basically. They also threw the dice and every three or four or six people would be body-searched, (chuckles) physically patted down— Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: —going in. And this was before we really thought of terrorist activities much. And then we had to walk directly to the research trailer. And even at lunch we didn’t leave the research 8 �trailer. We would bring our lunches in and stay in that trailer until the end of the day, research day. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And we walked right out. But I never felt— Karasik: And was your pay equal? Graham: Yes. Mm-hmm. Karasik: Oh, that’s—I’m really happy to hear that. Graham: I mean, not necessarily equal to my husband, because he was the lead investigator. Karasik: Correct. Graham: But equal to the other party, who happened to be a guy, in the research trailer doing the same work I was doing. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Well, I’m glad to hear that. And it must have also really been nice to work with your husband and be able to share your knowledge and excitement about the job. That must have been–been really great. Graham: Well, he was a marine biologist, so he was quite into it. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Now, I wasn’t as into the organisms, because I was more terrestrial biologist, of course. Karasik: Right. Graham: Backyard gardening, etc. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: But I did appreciate the fact that this was a–basically a clean form of energy, compared to burning coal. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And, um— Karasik: And how do you feel about that now? Not that we have to go into a huge nuclear discussion. Graham: Well, now it’s shut down. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And of course, the–the complication is dealing with the remnants, the radioactive remnants. Karasik: Yes. 9 �Graham: And I’d like to see the country go more and more into clean energy—but nuclear was considered clean— Karasik: Right. Graham: —and weed ourself away from the energy sources that are not considered good for the environment. Karasik: You know, that reminds me. At the EcoFest, there was another booth that passed out quite a bit of information about the San Onofre situation and what we need to know as far as how close some of those storage tanks are to water sources and other things like that. Do you—is that a concern for you at all? Or do you think the public is aware of that? Graham: I think they’re doing a good job dealing with that. I would eventually like to see that material moved. For decades now, they’ve talked about moving it to a—I’ve forgotten the exact location. Karasik: There’s a place in Nevada, I know. Graham: Yeah. I don’t know exactly where in Nevada, but— Karasik: And then, of course, there’s the NIMBY—Not In My Backyard. Graham: Yes. Karasik: And then the people in Nevada were like “Well, you know, we don’t want it here.” So, I think this is an interesting discussion that in decades to come when people come back and look at this and will see what–what’s been done that’s much more safe, and–and won’t that–won’t that be great, hopefully. Graham: But, I’m sure glad we weren’t burning more— Karasik: Yes. Graham: —coal at the time to generate that energy— Karasik: Exactly. Graham: —when we were using. Karasik: And that–and that’s still an issue. So, then, tell me a little bit about either how San Onofre ended. You had a–a–I know you have one son that you had mentioned to me. So, tell me a little bit about your family and tell me about your–your parents and your husband’s parents, and where they came from and, you know, how your lives developed here in North County. Graham: Oh. Well, my husband and I moved to Encinitas over forty years ago. And, because it was relatively close to where the Lockheed Marine Biology Research facility was, where I was staying in the office for a year and processing the data from San Onofre. And my parents still lived in San Diego and my in-laws also lived in San Diego. So, it was smart to live on the Encinitas, south of where we went to work, because that was closer to go and visit them, which 10 �we frequently did. And my son—the family joke is “What does the only child of two biologists go into study-wise and stay in science, but get as far away philosophically and geographically from any of the biological studies as possible?” Astrophysics! (chuckles) So he got his–actually, his PhD finally. He started with his bachelor’s at Berkeley, and then wan–went to on get his Ph.D. at a–a—what is that, in Maryland, the institution?— Karasik: In Annapolis, or?— Graham: People think first of the medical aspect. Karasik: Right. Mm, we’ll come back to that. Graham: He’s going to criticize me for not remembering where he got his PhD. Karasik: Mmm. Graham: Anyway. And he had some research in astrophysics. Karasik: Not John Hopkins? [sic] Graham: John Hopkins, [sic] yes. I’m sorry. Karasik: Johns Hopkins. Okay, great. Graham: I’m going to have to apologize for a minute, not remembering, John Hopkins. [sic] Karasik: That’s alright. Yeah. Graham: He got his PhD at John Hopkins. [sic] Yes. Karasik: Yes. Prestigious. Yes. Graham: Yes. Karasik: So, you had just the one son? Graham: Just the one son. Karasik: Okay. So, tell me a little bit about where your parents came from, um, you know, what generation you are. Did they come directly to California? Do you know? ‘Cuz a lot of us don’t really know where our ancestors came from, other than immediate. How much do you know about both yours and your husband’s? Graham: Okay, my mother was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My father was born in Ohio. Now, I believe, possibly, the previous generation had come from Ireland and England and Germany. My in-laws, my mother-in-law was born in, I think, Kansas City, Missouri, which is, you know, Kansas City but it’s in Missouri, but I guess it’s a city that’s— Karasik: They’re sister cities on the border. Graham: Yes. Right across the river from each other. Karasik: Mm-hmm. 11 �Graham: And my father-in-law was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Karasik: Mmm! So he immigrated here and— Graham: Yes. Karasik: —with his wife? Do you know? Graham: No. Karasik: Or did he meet her here? Graham: He married her here. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Yes. Karasik: And then I guess they all decided to come out to California? Do you know anything about that journey? Graham: Um, my father-in-law was working, I believe, in the aircraft industry, which was quite active at one time in San Diego. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Manufacturing. And my father was a career Marine, and was stationed out here at Camp Pendleton and— Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: —some other facilities in southern California. Karasik: There’s a lot of history from Camp Pendleton that will be in our Oral History. Graham: Oh! Good. Karasik: Yeah. So, I guess probably, let’s switch then a little bit. When we look at your life’s work, uh, did–did you want to say more about after you didn’t work for San Onofre anymore, did you get more involved tha—How did you get involved with the Master Gardeners? Let’s go there. Graham: Oh, well, um, we had my son. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And my neighbors warned me that, “If you’re looking for infant childcare, you can’t depend on the local teenagers, if you want to do a routine.” And I wanted to apply to Master Gardeners, which was going to be, I think, seventeen consecutive Tuesdays, and you were expected to attend every one, ideally. And I was wondering, “Okay.” So I asked my mother, “I would like to go through this Master Gardener program which is put on through the University of California Cooperative Extension and become a Master Gardener volunteer, which is dedicated 12 �to disseminating information for a successful and environmentally responsible home gardening. But your infant grandson would need care every Tuesday for like seventeen consecutive Tuesdays.” And she said yes. So, I’m very beholden to my mother because— Karasik: Thank you, mother! Graham: Yes. Karasik: Yes. Graham: Because otherwise I’m not sure where I could have dropped him off for just— Karasik: Right. And what year would that have been? Graham: He was born in 1982. Karasik: Mmm, so you had— Graham: Then it was in 1983 that I started the Master Gardener program. Karasik: Oh. Wonderful. Graham: He was just a year old. Karasik: Okay. So, how would you say that work has changed over the years for you, and just tell me more about—I–I–I think, in these interviews we want genera–future generations that come back and watch this and want to learn about the community and how the peoples lives were affected (Carol points to something off camera), what you’d—(Carol looks again off camera and starts to chuckle) what you would want them to know. Graham: Well, Encinitas is a great community to live in. The microclimate is fantastic for people who like to grow a diversity of fruit. Although before you grow any fruit trees, no matter where you’re living, always check that the microclimate is adapted. I frequently, at the Master Gardener exhibit, drag out the Sunset Western Garden book and ask people, “Do you have this?” And if you don’t, you can check it out at any good library and tell them that this book divides the western portion of the United States into twenty-four different micro zones. And I open the map and we can usually identify where they’re living, and at least before they go away, I can tell them, “Oh, you open up Sunset Garden book, and you want to look at what apple varieties grow in your microclimate, look for this number on the microclimate.” Because, unfortunately, as a Master Gardener I’ve had people tell me they have purchased certain fruit trees, certain varieties, and I ask, “Oh, where are you gardening?” And I have to tell them, “That variety is not adapted to your microclimate. It’s not going to thrive.” And I even had a personal situation. Years ago, there was a new variety of—I’ve forgotten whether it was, um, a peach or a nectarine—and it came out—it was supposed to be okay for zone 24, close to the coast in southern California. And the next year, after I’d bought it that year, the next year they said “Sorry. We made a mistake. It’s further inland that it’s adapted to.” So, I dug up the tree, had a fellow Master Gardener who lived further inland and said “Would you like 13 �this tree? Because I bought this under the belief that it was going to thrive, and now they’ve changed what they’ve recommended.” Karasik: Right. Graham: So, it is critical to do your research first to be successful in gardening. And we don’t want you wasting water, putting water on varieties of plants that are not adapted to your microclimate, whether it’s fruit trees or just ornamentals. Karasik: That is so important. So— Graham: Especially with water being super critical now. Karasik: Absolutely, which will be another interesting aspect to look at when future generations, uh—what that’s going to be like. Do you—So, was your husband involved in the Master Gardeners too? Or then did you—you didn’t work, uh, when you had your son. Graham: Right. Karasik: And then what–what did he do? (Carol looks puzzled at the question) What was his work? Did he st— Graham: My–my husband’s work? Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Well, he continued to work for the Lockheed Marine Biological Research. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Um, now he wasn’t involved directly in Master Gardeners, but I must say that, uh, there were frequently times when I would have a long day at a Master Gardener exhibit, um, like you experienced at the Encinitas EcoFest recently, and I’d be driving home and very often he had the garage door open for me, ‘cuz I had told him when I went off, I hoped to be back in this time period, and the garage door was opened. I could drive right in. And he was a great cook, so it was wonderful because there was dinner waiting for me all ready and he really spoiled me. (chuckles) So— Karasik: That’s so wonderful. Graham: —not directly in Master Gardeners but he did support me to a high degree in Master Gardener. Karasik: Yeah. Behind ever—huh—there’s a saying: “Behind every great man is an exhausted woman.” (both she and Carol chuckle) Graham: Right. 14 �Karasik: And so I think we could probably— Graham: (nodding her head) Yes. Karasik: —turn that around. Um, what would you say some–are some of your greatest accompish–accomplishments in your life? Graham: Well, reaching out to so many people at Master Gardeners has made me really feel good in that, as I say, I want people, ideally, to have at least a little bit of a–an edible garden. So when their kids come around and the kids have the opportunity as young gardeners to pick that lovely tomato or bell pepper (gestures as if picking something with her right hand) or maybe it’s a fruit—a peach or nectarine—and eat it and say, “Mmm, really good,” that they directly understand where their food comes from. Karasik: (whispers) Yes. Graham: Because, while some of our food comes from the ocean and the rivers and the lakes, so much of it comes from the good earth. And children who grow up picking the stuff from their garden, I think, are going to realize that and makes a connection and be far less apt to pollute or litter. ‘Cuz they understand why would you want to put pollution or litter on the ground. That’s where your food comes from! Karasik: Exactly. Do you feel like you’ve been successful in educating hopefully thousands of people, because there is a lot of concern now about our food sources? And I myself just recently got a tower garden because I want to be able to grow my own food and it seems like we might be moving more to that. Um, you know, I don’t know if we want to get into it, but we may just want to mention because of the—being a–a–an oral history, you know, monocropping and how all the large corporations have taken over the farming. And so is this—Do you feel like you’ve had a little place in there where you’ve been able to— Graham: Yes. Karasik: —educate. Graham: And also sharing with people the experience. Well, there are some peaches and nectarines I’ve enjoyed purchasing in the market, but none of them have the fantastic flavor that my mother and I used to grow and the Panamint nectarine—that’s the one we really adore. And some people love the Babcock peach, but that’s sweet-on-sweet. And my personal taste buds like the sweet with tang, which the Panamint lives up to. So, you can customize better your favorites by growing them. And of course, the macadamia! Well, the macadamia nut—what is that— $12.99 to $19.99 a pound for the nuts in the market when you buy them. Well, you can grow them yourself. They’re easy to grow, although heads up! (points her left pointer finger into the air). I want to alert everybody. They are really a lot of work to crack, even if you buy the specific macadamia cracker which I bought. But so I try to educate people as to this and— Karasik: Mm-hmm. 15 �Graham: ‘Cuz the macadamia tree was my husband’s, um—I don’t know if it was his birthday, or his Christmas present the first year after we moved in. He wanted a macadamia. Karasik: Nice. Well, I’m definitely going to be coming to you, because even me being over in the far east side of North County, that is going to be different. And I’m very excited to learn more about what you think would be best for me to plant, primarily just for me to consume. Graham: Mm-hmm. Good. Karasik: That’s my—And also, did you want to talk a little bit about all the different flowers that are edibles that people don’t know about, different fl–like nasturtians [sic], for example. Graham: I’m really not educated on that aspect. My mother wasn’t into edible flowers, and I haven’t gone into it because I’ve been so enamored of the–the fruits, mais–mostly tree fruits. Karasik: Sure, yeah. Pe— Graham: And–and thornless blackberries! Karasik: Oh! Graham: Yes, ‘cuz I grew up with the Olallie blackberry which mother had which was delicious but boy does that have thorns! (holds up both her hands, fingers spread wide to emphasize prickliness of thorns) Karasik: Really! Graham: Decades of research and now we have thornless varieties out there. Karasik: Oh, I didn’t know that! Graham: So, yes. Triple crown. Karasik: It’ll–it’ll be really interesting for botanists, for example, who might be–get to hear these–this interview, in particular, and see how things have changed. I mean, there is certainly the concern that California may become a desert. And we do definitely have water issues right now. Does that, uh, take up some of your time of concern? Graham: It is concerning. However, I tell people, “Well, um, hopefully when we get off this third year of really severe drought here in San Diego County and people actually start to feel they can put plants in the ground again, well, instead of putting ornamentals, why not put some edibles? Wouldn’t that be a better use of the water?” And as I said you can also customize, so you can put your–your edible in the variety that you couldn’t even find in the market. Karasik: Right. Like sunchokes, Jerusalem artichokes. Those are hard to find, and very nutritious— Graham: Yeah. Karasik: —for example. Well, we could certainly talk about gardening (both Graham and Karasik chuckle). And that’s–and that was a lot of my reason for wanting to interview you, 16 �because I think this will be very interesting to, um, our descendants. I guess, uh, if there’s anymore that you’d like to tell about what you–what like what changes you would like to see for future generations, and if you had a chance to talk to some of these future generations, not just around Master Gardening but just about life in general and what you’ve learned over the years, what–what you think is most important that, uh— Graham: Well, continuing on some of the issues that we mentioned—less lawn, and more drought tolerant or edibles. Um, now there are some people who have a legitimate desire to have a lawn. They have young kids who do want to play on it. But that doesn’t mean they have to have a lawn both front and the back. And, um, after a certain length of time, maybe they want to take the lawn out because their kids are no longer playing on it— Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And cracking open the reference books, even good old Sunset Western Garden book. And it has a plant finder section. And one of the things that it addresses there are low water use plants. Karasik: Drought tolerant. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Yes. Graham: As well as delving through the various edibles— Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: —making sure you select the right variety for your microclimate, so you’re successful and don’t waste water on a variety that was doomed from the start. Karasik: Yeah. Hmm, well, we’ve just covered that so well. I think, more than—it sounds like you’ve had a wonderful life and, of course, everything’s not perfect. There is a question here. What are your regrets? Or what would you do over if you could. Did you want to speak to that by chance? Or— Graham: Well, I regret my husband passed away. My husband died. Karasik: Yes. If you want to— Graham: And I didn’t appreciate enough all the great cooking he used to do. Um, so now I’m spending a whole lot more time from going to the grocery store and buying the food and prepping the food and thinking ahead, “Okay, I have this many drumsticks. Am I going to eat chicken this many nights, or am I going to eat some of this, and what’s in the freezer, and how much time it takes.” ‘Cuz I’ve a terribly neglected yard. But I am enjoying the social aspect of going out for Master Gardener exhibits. Karasik: Yes. Graham: Especially since my husband is gone now. 17 �Karasik: Right. Graham: So— Karasik: And it hasn’t been that long, so—I know that, um, my condolences and I know how that is. We–we all have to accept that part of life. And— Graham: Mm-hmm. I’m grateful that he did have a good quality of life up until the very end. Karasik: Yes. And I think, too, that again that’s a lot why this oral history project is so important. Because we don’t realize what interesting lives people have had. And it doesn’t get documented. So, we certainly have more time. Um, here’s a couple of questions here around community that might–might be interesting. It says “In what w–ways is your neighborhood special or has it been unique or what are some of the favorite places in your community, and how has–how has this area changed since you moved here? And that’s— Graham: Yeah. Karasik: ―a big one. Graham: When my husband and I first moved here, we didn’t even buy groceries in Encinitas because there were very few grocery stores, you know. This was over forty-five years ago. And there was a grocery store we’d go right past when we were leaving that place of work. So, it made more sense to stop there, but it wasn’t in Encinitas. And of course, I like to spend my consumer dollars in my own community. And now we have over ten grocery stores!! I mean, in an hour—excuse me, in a mile and a half, I can walk to four different grocery stores in my community. And frequently I am walking because it’s checking off my exercise for the day and checking off my eco-point for the day, ‘cuz I’m not driving my vehicle, um, and I enjoy it! And Encinitas allows me to do this because of all the grocery stores they have, which forty-five years ago— Karasik: And they’re some of the finest–some of the finest grocery stores. Graham: Nice diversity. Karasik: Not the least expensive, by any means, but definitely some of the highest quality and the largest diversity of what is offered. Graham: Yes. And we have farmer’s markets. Karasik: We do. Graham: Two of them in Encinitas. Karasik: Yeah. Let’s talk–let’s talk a little bit about those. Do you get to know any of those farmers? Or— Graham: I actually—way back when, was it Harry Stone? Don’t quote me.—who founded the first farmer’s market in San Diego County up in Vista. He was a member of the California Rare 18 �Fruit Growers. And I’ve been an avid member of the California Rare Fruit Growers for decades. And the idea took off and it was great. Karasik: You know, another interview that I did, I learned that the–there is a big difference, obviously, between an egg farm, a truck farm, and a—are you familiar with that? So, the truck farm is the vegetables that you would then truck to the market. And then obviously the egg farm and the chickens, because Cal State San Marcos that was a huge egg farm. And actually, on the way over here you were telling me there was a wonderful nursery here that has now been— Graham: Sunshine Gardens Nursery is now closed, and it was a very nice nursery for I don’t know how many decades here. Karasik: Mm-hmm. And now it’s–it’s–they’re making room for housing because we need that, and–and I think all the more reason. We have community gardens here. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Did you want to talk a little bit about that? Graham: I think it’s wonderful we have a community garden, quite close to the Heritage Museum here in Encinitas. And there are people who live in condominiums or apartments and they don’t have a yard to put a garden. So, community garden gives them wonderful opportunity. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Um, now, I do want to encourage people, even if they don’t have a yard, to consider possibly growing—we used to call it pot culture, but now that gives you the wrong impression— container gardening! (laughs) Karasik: Right. Graham: Yes. For instance, you can grow a nice return of blackberries, pick the thornless varieties in a fifteen-gallon pot, fifteen-gallon black plastic pot. Or you can put a more decorative pot if you’d like and make it more decorative, and you can put it on your balcony perhaps on your condominium or apartment. Mind that you give it full sun, etc. But, even without having a yard, there are some edibles you can grow if you research things carefully. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Have you found that people in your neighborhood come to you and ask you for your advice? Or how do you—(both she and Graham chuckle) I think I’m going to be asking you for some advice, for sure. Graham: Well, this was an interesting first four months in the year 2022. I captured six gophers. Now only one of them in my yard. I’m grateful for it was only one in my yard. But the other five were in three different neighbors’ yards. And I was labeled the gopher getter. I’ve captured gophers in other yards previous years too, but this was an especially active first four months of the year, for some reason. 19 �Karasik: Do you think—and I might even have heard somewhere—do you think that the drought had a lot to do with that, that they might even be seeking water or food, or are–are they—maybe they’ve increased their offspring. Do we know why? Graham: I don’t think so. I didn’t hear anything connecting those variables. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: It was just a— Karasik: And then where do you take ‘em? When you catch them. Graham: Well, there are no have-a-heart traps for gophers. You realize this is–(makes a gesture with her right hand of cutting off her head and lets out a scraping sound) these are kill traps. Karasik: Oh. Graham: Because the gopher is not a wanted critter to release in a wild area. No. So, the traps you’d use are kill traps for gophers. Karasik: Hmm. Unfortunate, but necessary. Graham: Mm-hmm. Because remember if you don’t deal with it early, the pest note that University of California Cooperative Extension puts out on gophers, I believe it says, “In irrigated areas, like our gardens, gophers can have up to three litters a year.” And I believe they said the number in the litter can vary from like five to seven. So, that’s a pretty horrific number of offspring they could produce in a year, if you don’t deal with them quickly. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And I think it was this year I was given the gopher getter title, because the one party I trapped a gopher successfully was just put the trap in one day and the next day I had it. And she happened to comment to her neighbor across the street, and he had a gopher, so he contacted me. And there were these three neighbors fairly close to each other on an adjacent street, that— Karasik: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Graham: And the first four months of the year that—bing–bing–bing. Karasik: Hmm. Um, going back to—you’ve mentioned a couple of times. So it’s U.C. California San Diego, because when I tried to contact you, there is a division there. Do you want to tell us a little bit how that’s set up, ‘cuz I know you’re kind of under their umbrella. And— Graham: Well, the Master Gardener program is a volunteer branch of the University of California Cooperative Extension. It’s not just one university, ‘cuz sometimes people have thought, “Oh, you’re office is at U.C.S.D.” No, no, it’s actually in the County Operations Center in Corina Mesa. Karasik: Mmm. 20 �Graham: And we have information that is generated from all of these universities throughout the state. Now some of it applies directly to where we’re here in the San Diego. Another applies to more northern California areas. But the information clearly tells you that. And of course, our tax money is paying for some of this research, because we have a very productive agricultural economy in California. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And the research is directed toward the agricultural, commercial aspect. But there are spinoff bits of information that are generated that directly help the home gardener as well. So we’re out there. As a matter of fact, if I can bend your ear, the story about the creation of the Master Gardener program was apparently it started in Washington state. And this good-hearted cooperative extension agent was getting a lot of calls, people having questions on their home garden situation. But he was being paid to advise and help out the commercial growers and farmers. And he didn’t want to be rude and not help them, but he had his plate full helping the commercial farmers. So he got the brilliant idea. I’ll train a crew of volunteers and when I get a home garden question I will pass the question on to them. And that’s what I was told started the Master Gardener program. And now I’ve been told that we actually have Master Gardeners in all fifty states. Karasik: Oh, wow, good. Graham: So— Karasik: Oh, that’s great. Well, um, we’ve certainly had an interesting conversation here and if there’s anything else that you would like to tell. We’re so appreciative of the work that you’ve done and I can see where that’s been a really big part of your life and I’ve–I’m assuming very rewarding— Graham: Yes. Karasik: —and it’s enabled you to make a lot of friends and— Graham: And I’d like to say also I’m very pleased to volunteer for the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation. Karasik: Oh, that’s such a great place. Graham: Right here in Encinitas. Karasik: Let’s talk about that just for a little bit, because again in the future I think that will be something that will still be here. Graham: Yes, of course. Karasik: And they do so many things there. Let’s talk about that a little bit. Graham: Well, they were at the Encinitas EcoFest, right next to my Master Gardener exhibit. And they teach many aspects and as far as gardening, composting, very important. And instead of having that truck rumble through your neighborhood once a week and pick up the green waste 21 �in the bin, if more of us could compost on site, it would help the environment. Also, of course, if you’ve ever gone to the nursery and priced bags of potting soil and compost, it’s not inexpensive if you consider the number of bags you could use as an avid gardener for the year. Karasik: And I don’t know if we always know where all that soil came from. Graham: Well, it is nice to have control of it from your own garden and know what went into it exactly. Karasik: Exactly. Graham: And while it does take a little bit of room and it does take some time, it also is a nice excuse to get out into the fresh air in the garden. Karasik: What do you recommend, because I know a lot of people are afraid to compost because they think it will bring critters? Graham: Oh, okay. When you are putting certain elements in the compost pile that you think might accidentally bring critters like the egg shell, or the citrus peel or the avocado pits or something, it is highly recommended that you bury that in the compost pile with a layer at least four inches maybe even six inches of yard trimmings above it. That will basically absorb any odors and of course it’s not recommended that you put bones in the compost pile, because that would tend to attract critters. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Now, will–will worms come into that? Or is a worm compost kind of a separate approach to composting? Graham: Well there is vermicompost in a worm bin. Karasik: Right. Graham: Worms will come into your compost pile. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And you give them things to eat. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: The fruit waste, like the peels and pits, etc. As well as the decomposing leaves and twigs, etc. Karasik: Leftover food, and lettu—greens, things like that. Graham: Vegetables and fruits leftover. Karasik: Yeah. Yeah. Graham: Not meat. Of course. Karasik: Right, right. 22 �Graham: Not meat or bugs. Karasik: Yeah. Graham: And of course, you’ve moistened the environment in the compost pile to help it decompose and they–worms breathe through their skin and they need a moist–yep, they actually need a moist skin to survive. So, they are very happy to find this moist environment which offers them perfect lodging and food buffet, moisture, yes. Karasik: Just for my own curiosity. I’ve always been fascinated by earthworms and the fact that you’ve–that you’ve–they’re w–w–one of the few living beings where you can cut off their head and they’ll grow another one. Is that correct? Graham: No. that’s not— Karasik: They’ll grow, maybe not their head, but the back end or— Graham: No. Karasik: That’s not true? Graham: Um, too many people—I mean, depending on the amount you cut off at the tail end, they might survive. Karasik: Not intentionally, obviously. Graham: Yeah. But if you accidentally cut one in two, some people have this misconception that you’ll get two worms. No. It’ll die. Karasik: Aw. I had that misconception. Graham: Yeah. That’s a popular— Karasik: And they are so critical. Graham: Yes. Karasik: They are so critical. But probably one of the most or when we look at–at soil. Are you familiar with soil regeneration and some of the ways that they’re trying now to—because so much of our soil has been depleted? Do you get involved in that, or are you just— Graham: Well, with the compost pile, you’re helping replenish. Karasik: mm-hmm. Graham: And when you think about it, okay. The nutrients it takes for let’s say your peach tree to make peaches, it has to make leaves. Well, some of that is from the very leaves that came, matured, off the tree. So, you’re recycling it in the compost pile and putting it back underneath the tree when you’re putting some compost into the soil under your peach tree. Karasik: Right. Wonderful. That’s–that’s a good point as well. 23 �Graham: Mm-hmm. Karasik: Yeah. Graham: So you’re just basically recycling the nutrients as opposed to chucking them into the trash and hauling them off to the land fill. Karasik: Yeah. Graham: And not even chucking them into the green bin and having them hauled off. But, at least when it goes to the green facility at Miramar, it gets repurposed. But it’s more. Karasik: Have you ever visited that place? Graham: Oh yes! It was fantastic. This was decades ago. Karasik: That would be a wonderful tour. Graham: There was a field trip—I don’t remember if it was Master Gardeners or the Encin—the Solana Center sponsored the field trip decades ago. It was so much fun! And wow, it was interesting. Karasik: I’d like to do that. I’d also like to visit one of these desalination plants and see how they’re doing that. Graham: Oh, yes. Karasik: Because that seems to be the future. Now, that’s another point. Graham: I was able to take a tour of that too. That was Solana Center that hosted that decades ago. Karasik: Oh, did they? Graham: From up the street at the Carlsbad Desalinization Plant. Karasik: Yes! I might ask them if they know how somebody can do that now. One other thing I wanted to ask about the Solana Center. I had seen something where you can get some buckets and take it home, and so you can kind of get compost from them, or maybe a starter? How does that work? Graham: Um, you pay a fee. I—don’t quote me because I’m not sure exactly how much it is. You get a bucket to take home, and you put your fruit and vegetable waste in it, and also bones and—in other words, if you’re not composting you put these materials in there. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And it has some bokashi in it, which ferments it. Karasik: Is bokashi an organism that breaks it down? Graham: It’s a— 24 �Karasik: What is that? Graham: —it’s more like a chemical— Karasik: Oh, okay. Graham: —that pickles it. I think it’s what they compare it to. Karasik: Okay. Graham: And you can take that back, and then you can get some finished compost as well. So— Karasik: Oh, that’s how— Graham: —but you’ll–you’ll want to call the Solana Center and ask for the details. Karasik: Right. Yes. I’ve been over there and they were very supportive to us— Graham: Yes. Karasik: —for the EcoFest as well. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Well, I just want to thank you for your time. And this has been a really interesting and educational interview. And you have definitely had a wonderful life, and I sense the fact that you will be around for quite a while and helping a whole lot more people. And I’m so happy to know you and really appreciate your time, and what you’re going to offer for future generations. Graham: Well, thanks for this opportunity to reach out to people. Karasik: Oh, absolutely. You’re so welcome. So again we’re—actually, I don’t know if I mentioned this. We’re at the San Dieguito Heritage Museum which is here in Encinitas and I really wish that people could see that, although they’ll have the opportunity to do that, you know, locally. But the history here at this particular museum is incredible, as well. So, would encourage people to come out if they happen to listen to this and we thank them also for the opportunity to use their equipment, and hope that this will be a good video. So, thank you very much. Graham: You’re very welcome. Karasik: And we will finish here. 25 �GLOSSARY Babcock peach (pg. 15) Biophaline (pg. 7, 8) California Rare Fruit Growers (pg. 18-19) Carlsbad Desalinization Plant (pg. 24) County Operations Center [Corina Mesa] (pg. 20) EcoFest (pg.1, 6, 10, 14, 21, 25) Glyphosate (pg.6) Heritage Museum (pg. 19) Integrated Pest Management (pg.3, 4) Johns Hopkins University (pg. 11) Kirkcaldy, Scotland (pg. 12) Lockheed Marine Biology Research facility (pg. 10, 14) Master Gardener(s) (pg. 1-4, 6, 12-15, 17, 20-21, 24) Panamint nectarine (pg. 15) Polychaete (pg. 7, 8) San Dieguito Heritage Museum (pg. 25) San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station [Plant One] (pg. 7, 8, 10, 12) Solana Center for Environmental Innovation (pg. 21, 24-25) Stone, Harry (pg. 18) Sunset Western Garden book (pg. 13, 17) Sunshine Gardens Nursery (pg. 19) Truck farm (pg. 19) University of California Cooperative Extension (pg. 12, 20, 21) Vermicompost (pg. 22) 26 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Transcripts Description An account of the resource Written oral histories and transcripts are available for researchers that prefer the written word, or to see the whole interview in a document. Transcripts of <a href="https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/collections/show/5">audio and video files</a> are also available as part of those video files. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Graham. Carol. Interview transcript, November 4, 2022. Description An account of the resource Carol Graham is a Master Garderner. She has a Bachelor's degree in Zoology and began her career working at Saturn Oak–San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One. After its closure, she enrolled to become a Master Gardner volunteer that was sponsered through the University of California Cooperative Extension program. The Master Gardner program is dedicated to distributing information for an environmentally-responsible home and garden. She has been a Master Gardner since 1983 and participates in various events such as EcoFest. She is very passionate about the study of insects, pest management, composting, and protecting the environment from pesticides. This interview was recorded as part of the North County Oral History Initiative, a partnership between California State University San Marcos and San Marcos Historical Society & Heritage Park. This initiative was generously funded by the Center for Engaged Scholarship at CSU San Marcos. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Carol Graham Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Suzy Karasik Melissa Martin Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-11-04 Subject The topic of the resource Crops -- Diseases and pests -- Biological control Gardening -- California -- San Diego County Master gardeners -- California -- San Diego County Organic farming San Diego State University San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Calif.) University of California (System). Cooperative Extension Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Encinitas (Calif.) North San Diego County (Calif.) 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The researcher agrees not to record, reproduce, or disclose any Social Security number or other information of a highly personal nature that may be found. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GrahamCarol_KarasikSuzy_2022-11-04_Transcription Community history North County Oral History Initiative Women's experience Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Description An account of the resource Video and audio oral histories can be viewed here. Histories are listed alphabetically by last name. Individual histories are indexed and transcribed and can be searched. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <p>Rights to oral histories vary depending on the history. The library owns the copyright to some histories, and has license to reproduce for nonprofit purposes for others. Please contact CSUSM University Library Special Collections at <a href="mailto:%20archives@csusm.edu">archives@csusm.edu</a> with any questions about use.</p> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Suzy Karasik Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Carol Graham OHMS Object This field contains the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file within the OHMS Viewer) https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=GrahamCarol_KarasikSuzy_2022-11-04_access.xml OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and / or Transcript and is what makes the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka 5.4 Graham, Carol. Interview November 4, 2022 SC027-028 0:57:21 SC027 California State University San Marcos University Library Special Collections oral history collection CSUSM This interview was recorded as part of the North County Oral History Initiative, a partnership between California State University San Marcos and San Marcos Historical Society &amp ; Heritage Park. This initiative was generously funded by the Center for Engaged Scholarship at CSU San Marcos. csusm Master gardeners -- California -- San Diego County ; Gardening -- California -- San Diego County ; Crops -- Diseases and pests -- Biological control ; Organic farming ; University of California (System). Cooperative Extension ; San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Calif.) ; San Diego State University ; Encinitas (Calif.) ; North San Diego County Carol Graham Suzy Karasik mp4 GrahamCarol_KarasikSuzy_2022-11-04_access.mp4 1:|19(7)|31(3)|64(8)|98(15)|120(17)|143(6)|160(4)|192(7)|213(5)|238(9)|260(11)|278(6)|297(5)|311(5)|330(12)|351(7)|366(12)|378(16)|390(5)|408(9)|438(13)|468(11)|512(9)|545(9)|557(6)|597(15)|620(5)|661(5)|683(7)|704(6)|717(9)|742(5)|780(10)|797(11)|815(3)|832(12)|867(6)|885(8)|899(7)|931(11)|955(12)|972(13)|998(9)|1017(14)|1037(14)|1065(8)|1083(12)|1105(3)|1119(17)|1143(8)|1171(12)|1189(6)|1231(11)|1265(7)|1300(13)|1333(10)|1364(10)|1423(4) 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/files/original/fbbe71e14ed9626f02df6a69bc6e6491.mp4 Other video English 0 Childhood and introduction to gardening Carol Graham recalls her childhood in San Diego, CA. Graham was born in North Claremont and explains that her mother introduced her to gardening. She explains that her mother planted fruit trees in their garden, and her experience gardening with her mother gave her the necessary tools to plant similar fruit trees in her current home in Encinitas, CA. She also briefly discusses her father’s career as Marine, which led their family to moving to Virginia for three years. Encinitas (Calif.) ; Gardening ; Master Gardeners ; North County San Diego (Calif.) ; San Diego (Calif.) ; U.S. Marines ; Virginia 0 191 College education/ Background in insects Carol Graham discusses her college education at San Diego State University. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology. She explains that she has always had an interest in animals and insects. She provides scientific background on the lady beetle and the mosquito to the interviewer, and explains the gardening and pest management education she provides to the community as a Master Gardener. She explains that many people are afraid of pests, or believe them to be harmful to plants and crops, and spray them with pesticides or kill them. Graham had also brought a few puppets to the interview, which she uses for a demonstration while discussing insects and pest management to the interviewer. Gardening ; Insects ; Lady beetles ; Master Gardeners ; Mosquitos ; Pest management ; San Diego State University ; Zoology 0 436 Four stages of pest management/ Pesticides Carol Graham describes the four stages of Integrated Pest Management: Identify, Understand, Assess, and Control. She also discusses the topic of pesticides. She explains that pesticides are the most toxic form of pest management, and Master Gardeners encourage others to try other forms of pest management first, such as cultural, physical, and biological approaches. Additionally, she provides other pieces of advice, such as purchasing pesticides that do not harm edible plants and containing the use of pesticides to only one area of a garden to prevent the spread of toxic chemicals. Graham had brought an Integrated Pest Management poster board to the interview, which she uses for the pest management demonstration portion of the interview. Environmentalism ; Gardening ; Master Gardeners ; Pest management ; Pesticides 0 959 Career at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One Carol Graham discusses her career at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One. She began working there a year after earning her Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in Zoology. She describes her work in decreasing the amount of shut downs at the onsite Nuclear Generating Station during the winter, which saved the company money. She explains that every eight weeks, the Nuclear Generating Station would shut down in order to heat-treat and chemical treat the water intake system and kill the biophaline. She describes her work of measuring the biophaline and proving that they were growing slower during the wintertime, which resulted in fewer shut downs. She also briefly explains gender equality at the Plant, working alongside her husband, and the equipment utilized in her work. Additionally, she reflects on the topic of nuclear power and explains that she would like to see the country move more into clean energy. Biology ; Biophaline ; Chemical-treating ; Clean energy ; Environmentalism ; Heat-treating ; Nuclear power ; San Diego (Calif.) ; San Diego State University ; San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One ; Zoology 0 1437 Family background Carol Graham discusses her family’s background. She and her late husband moved to Encinitas, CA over forty years ago. She and her husband had one son together. Her son earned a PhD in astrophysics from Johns Hopkins. Graham also explains her family’s genealogy, with her parents having been born in Minnesota and Ohio, but previous generations originally came from Ireland and England. Her father, as a career Marine, was stationed at Camp Pendleton. Her in-laws, additionally, were originally from Missouri and Scotland. Her father-in-law’s work in the aircraft industry brought him to San Diego, CA. Aircraft industry ; Astrophysics ; Baltimore (Md.) ; Camp Pendleton ; Encinitas (Calif.) ; England ; Genealogy ; Germany ; Ireland ; Johns Hopkins University ; Kansas City (Mo.) ; Kirkcaldy (Scotland) ; Minneapolis (MN) ; Oceanside (Calif.) ; Ohio ; San Diego (Calif.) ; U.S. Marines 0 1654 Involvement with the Master Gardeners Carol Graham describes how she became involved with the Master Gardeners. After San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One shut down, she enrolled in the Master Gardener volunteer program through the University of California Cooperative Extension in 1983. Graham explains that the Master Gardener program is dedicated to distributing information for an environmentally responsible home and garden. Graham also discusses the importance of researching one’s own microclimate. Education in the microclimate of one’s area will aid in the understanding of which plants will be best suited for different microclimates. This will be beneficial to the healthy growth of plants and trees in one’s garden. Environmentalism ; Gardening ; Master Gardeners ; Microclimate ; University of California Cooperative Extension 0 1978 Accomplishments/ California drought Carol Graham reflects on her accomplishments, including having the opportunity to help many people through the Master Gardeners program and educating the community about growing their own food. She also discusses other topics related to gardening and the environment, such as edible flowers, the California drought, and drought-tolerant plants. Drought ; Drought tolerant plants ; Edible flowers ; Environmentalism ; Gardening ; Master Gardeners ; San Diego (Calif.) ; San Diego County (Calif.) 0 2442 Development of Encinitas, CA/ Catching gophers Carol Graham reflects on how she has seen Encinitas, CA develop over time. She comments that the number of local grocery markets has increased since she and her husband first moved to Encinitas. She also discusses other characteristics of the town and of North County, such as its farmers markets, community gardens, and container gardening. Graham also recounts her relationship with her neighbors in Encinitas, and how she has been labelled as the “gopher getter” because she has caught many gophers in the neighborhood. Community ; Community gardens ; Container gardening ; Encinitas (Calif.) ; Farmers markets ; Gardening ; Gophers ; Neighborhood ; Pest management ; The California Rare Fruit Growers 0 2831 Establishment of the Master Gardeners program Carol Graham elaborates on her work with the Master Gardeners program. She explains that the program is a branch of the University of California Cooperative Extension. Their branch is operated through the County Operations Center in Kearny Mesa, CA. She explains the method and funding behind their research in the program. Graham also explains the origins of the establishment of the program in Washington state by an extension agent who decided to train volunteers gardeners to assist home gardeners with their gardening questions. The program now exists in all fifty states in the U.S. County Operations Center ; Gardening ; Kearny Mesa (Calif.) ; Master Gardeners ; University of California Cooperative Extension ; Volunteer ; Washington 0 2965 Composting Carol Graham discusses composting. She provides recommendations for food items to not include in a compost pile which could create odor or attract animals into one’s garden. She also discusses vermicompost, which is a form of composting that relies on earthworms, and explains how to create a successful vermicompost. Graham also dispels common misconceptions about earthworms. Finally, she discusses local companies and organizations that aid the community in environmental matters, such as Miramar and Carlsbad’s desalinization plants, and the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, which provides started compost kits to the community. Carlsbad (Calif.) ; Compost kits ; Composting ; Desalinization plants ; Earthworms ; Encinitas (Calif.) ; Environmentalism ; Gardening ; Master Gardeners ; San Diego (Calif.) ; The Carlsbad Desalinization Plant ; The Solana Center for Environmental Innovation ; Vermicompost 0 Oral history Carol Graham is a Master Garderner. She has a Bachelor's degree in Zoology and began her career working at Saturn Oak–San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One. After its closure, she enrolled to become a Master Gardner volunteer that was sponsered through the University of California Cooperative Extension program. The Master Gardner program is dedicated to distributing information for an environmentally-responsible home and garden. She has been a Master Gardner since 1983 and participates in various events such as EcoFest. She is very passionate about the study of insects, pest management, composting, and protecting the environment from pesticides. April 26, 2023 Transcript Suzy Karasik: Good morning. My name is Suzy Karasik. Today is November 4th and I am interviewing Carol Graham, Master Gardener, native Californian, and so much that we will learn here in part of the North County Oral History Initiative. Carol, thank you for joining me today. (coughs) Carol Graham: (nods) My pleasure. Karasik: And, um, I wanted to just say briefly how I met Carol. I’m part of the EcoFest that we had here in Encinitas a couple of weeks ago. It’s an annual event that we do to educate people to everything involved with the ecology and the environment here in the county. And Carol had an incredible display (Carol gestures with her arms to display the posterboards on a table behind her) with the Master Gardeners, which we’ve been able to set up here and hopefully make it a little bit more readable. (Carol holds up a model of a fly, with a paper flyer attached and hanging below it) And Carol, let’s just start here. As we had discussed, let’s talk a little bit about where you born and your childhood and if any of that happened to prepare you for what was to come in your most interesting life and, um, how you’ve identified yourself over the years and your relationship with the county. So, you can start there. Graham: Well, I was born in North Claremont, the city of San Diego. And my mother was a very avid fruit tree gardener. And I really benefited because when my husband and I moved up here to Encinitas over forty years ago, it’s a similar microclimate to the one I grew up in, which means the fruit trees that I enjoyed--gardening at my mother’s knees, and fell in love with certain varieties of nectarines and other delicious fruits, loquats--I could grow those same varieties here which was nice. Karasik: Yes. Graham: And it was a very pleasant community to grow up in. Karasik: If I may ask, if you don’t mind, what year were you born, or-- Graham: Oh. (chuckles) 1952. Karasik: Okay. Graham: Yes. So, I just recently celebrated--not that many months ago--my 70th birthday. Karasik: Yes! So, tell us a little bit about your school and what it was like here in the North County--well, you were actually down in San Diego-- Graham: Yes. Karasik: --as you were growing up. Graham: I went to elementary school and junior high in the city of San Diego. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Now, my father was a career Marine. So, we had three years in Virginia, and I graduated from high school in Virginia. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And then we came back to San Diego because the house had been rented--not sold. So, we were able to come back to the same garden, the same microclimate, which was great for the garden-- Karasik: Yes. Graham: --the same fruit trees waiting for us-- Karasik: Yes. Graham: --the ones that we had planted earlier. So, it was a very pleasant experience, very supportive of the interests that I continue to enjoy today. Karasik: So–so you graduated from high school in–in–out east, and-- Graham: Yes. Karasik: --then you came back out here. What were your–What was your initial work, and-- Graham: Well, I went to S.D.S.U. and earned a bachelor’s degree in Zoology-- Karasik: Mmm. Graham: --because animals have always fascinated me, and that’s not just the animals many people first think of are the gigantic giraffe and interesting hippopotamus, and rhinoceros. But I’m also fascinated by what some people will refer to as the–the bugs (holds up a stuffed toy puppet ladybug, and chuckles). So, um-- Karasik: Let’s talk about the bugs a little bit. Graham: Yeah. Well, I am very pleased to educate people on--well, most people recognize this as one of their favorite bugs in the whole garden, the lady beetle. (has now put on the puppet on her right hand and is holding it up in front of her) People call it the ladybug, but it’s more scientific to call it the lady beetle. Because actually the word “bug” has a derogatory reference. It comes from old English, meaning something unpleasant (makes a face, and gestures with her left hand to indicate something scattering away). So, lady beetle is the more appropriate, better name. And it’s interesting in that its larval stage looks creepy! (holds up another stuffed animal, which appears to be a larval stage representation of the lady beetle). So-- Karasik: I did not know that! Graham: --the larval stage, as I tell people, “Yes, it looks like a creepy, six-legged, micro alligator.” So, it’s very important that we reach out to the public, as Master Gardeners, and inform people “when you see this in the garden, don’t assume it’s something bad.” (she shakes the larval-stage, stuffed animal) For instance, (turns to her right and looks at the posterboard behind her, first to one with the header “IPM” then points to the board with the header “Identify”) one of the first steps of Integrated Pest Manager—which is what I.P.M. stands for—is identify friend or foe. Because if you assume this is bad (holds up the larval stage stuffed toy) and as many people have told me as they come by our Master Gardener exhibit, they had no idea it was a lady beetle larva. They thought it was something bad ‘cuz it looks creepy! You know what they had told me they had done? They sprayed it with pesticide, or they squished it, or they taught their kids to be afraid of it, which was so sad. Especially since this (shakes the larval stage toy) can not do any good if you squish it! (laughs) Um, but I admit, yes, it looks creepy. And we also educate people that not all lady beetles look like this. (Shakes her right hand which has the mature lady beetle puppet on it) Not all of them are red. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: So, we have an assortment of photos that show different colors for the different species ‘cuz it–it’s great to benefit not from just one species of lady beetle (again shakes her puppeted right hand) but several. (Turns to put both of those stuffed toys down on the bench next to her, then holds up a stuffed toy that looks like a mosquito, which has a paper flyer hanging off of it.). And on the dark side, we also need to educate people about this character. Karasik: Ugh. Graham: Now, a Master Gardener friend of mine made both this educational model (again holds up the larval stage toy) and this (holds up mosquito toy). And she made them too pretty, in a way, because this looks, actually, quite attractive. And it is the creepy mosquito! And I think we’ve all been bitten by mosquitoes. And some people don’t realize but the mosquito actually has been given the horrific title of the most deadly animal we share the planet with, because the part it plays vectoring malaria, dengue, yellow fever. Even West Nile virus killed some of our residents here in San Diego County. It was about fifteen, seventeen years ago. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Now, it’s true that apparently everyone who died of West Nile virus in our county had pre-existing medical conditions or they would have survived. But it’s also true some of those people could be alive today if they hadn’t been bitten by infected mosquitoes. But unfortunately, 3the mosquito larvae are not easily identifiable for people who haven’t been introduced to them. And many of our neighbors are growing mosquito larvae in their bird baths and other water-containing items, children’s toys, and buckets in the garden. Stagnant water is where the mother mosquito likes to lay her eggs. In a few days, those eggs hatch out to larvae. And when I have displayed larvae—‘cuz sometimes I’ll deliberately grow them to have them on exhibit, and I take the lid off the jar only after I make sure they’re just in the larval stage. No adults to fly out and bite people. And I will ask people as they come to the exhibit, “Do you know what this is?” and over half the adults have no idea it’s mosquito larvae, which is very disturbing, because they’re growing them possibly in their gardens. And when they see them, they’re not motivated to dump it out, ‘cuz they don’t know what it is. Karasik: This is so important, and so, uh, (Graham puts down the mosquito toy) so–so much of it is actually unknown to the public. I’m curious, if you wanted to just kind of go through these four stages, if you will. (Carol stands up and turns toward posterboards) And then we’ll talk more about how you even became to be a Master Gardener. But I don’t want to— Graham: Okay. Karasik: --uh, (Carol sits back down again) forget to look at a little bit more of your early days-- Granham: Okay. Karasik: --so we’ll come back. Graham: (she turns toward the board that reads “IPM.”) Well, the first stage in Integrated Pest Management, as I said, is Identify--(points to the posterboard reading “Identify”) friends, and admittedly some of these friends do look creepy--(points to photographs under the subheading “Friends” on that posterboard) Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: --and foes. (points to, and circles with her right-hand finger, various photographs under the subheading “Foes”). And here, kind of the star of the show, (circles the middle of the board, which has a collage of photos) indeed, we recognize the adult lady beetle (points to the photo of the lady beetle). I hardly ever see the eggs (points to a photo of lady beetle eggs) and I have my head in the garden a lot, so I’m surprised I don’t see them more often. But, at certain times of the year, I’ll see the larval stage, (points to a photo of a larval lady beetle) and as I said, I’ll admit it looks creepy like a six-legged micro alligator. And the pupal stage (points to a photo of a pupa of a lady beetle). And if, ideally, people would get this in high school or junior high school biology, it would be so helpful for the public health of our communities. And then of course you move on (stands up and points to the posterboard with the subheading “Understand”) to understand relationships, like the sooty mold, which is this black powdery (points to a photo of leaves with black mold on it) material you frequently find on some infected leaves (reads the text above the photos, indicating it with her left hand)—“grows on the honeydew, produced by sucking insects.” So, unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to have aphids or mealybugs or whiteflies or scale. And what goes in one end to their body as food—‘cuz they puncture the tender leaves and they’re sucking the sap—comes out the other end of their body, and instead of calling it like “aphid poop” it's called “honeydew.” Karasik: (chuckles) Graham: And this honeydew is a rich source of food for the growth, unfortunately, of ants which will protect these bad guys and sooty mold to grow. And here (points to a photo of ants) we see the ants will actually chase away the good guys who would eat some of these bad guys. But the ants are kind of protecting the bad guys because they’re eating-- Karasik: That’s their sustenance. Graham: --the honeydew. Yeah. It’s kind of like we-- Karasik: Yeah. Graham: --protect our dairy cattle from predators who might eat them, because we want to milk them and benefit from them. Karasik: Right, right. Graham: (then points to the text toward the bottom with her left hand) And understanding leads to multiple control approaches--biological, cultural, chemical, physical. There’s quite a diversity there. (She then moves toward the posterboard with the subheading “Assess,” points to the text with her left hand, and reads) And assess. Butterflies and moths are pollinators. Butterfly and moth larvae are consumers. Well, some bugs, I say they’re like children. They don’t always behave. They do some good and some bad (chuckles). And you have to kind of evaluate how it interacts in your garden. (points directly to the camera and whispers “The screen went dark. Is that a problem? Appears to wait for answer, and then says “okay,” and continues) You have to assess how they interact (using her left hand, she circles above a diagram showing the cycle of interaction of insects) in your garden, whether the bit of bad they do is less than the good they do. So, you can label them a good or a bad. Um, and of course, the green fruit beetle (points to the bottom of the board, to a photo of a beetle). Well, some people label it a pest, because it will attack, damage overripe soft fruits--peach, nectarines, plums, apricot--'cuz it’s drawn to the fragrance. But, the grub, which admittedly looks creepy, is a fantastic decomposer. And it’s in all our compost piles, helping break things down. And it has a strict diet of eating rotting organic matter only. Although, it does look similar to the June Beetle grubs which eat live plant roots and tubers and corms. So, I try and teach people how to tell the difference-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: (then moves toward the posterboard with the subheading “Control” and points to a pyramid illustration) --and then the control aspects, from cultural which is considered benign approach ; mechanical and physical--I mean, just physically pulling (with her left hand, mimics pulling off the insects from the photos on the “Assess” posterboard) the snails off your plants ; biological--reloos–reducing–releasing--excuse me--lady beetles, or recognizing the lady beetle larvae that you do have so you don’t accidentally spray it with pesticide ; to chemical (points to the top of the pyramid on “Control” posterboard). And all these different approaches are out there (waves her left hand above the pyramid) and they should be assessed and see how they fit into your garden. So, I think that (waves her left hand in front of all four posterboards, indicating totality) kind of reviews them all. Karasik: Pretty much covers that. Before we go back to your childhood, I’m going to pause here just for a minute (Graham sits back down and nods) Karasik: Okay, Carol. I think probably one of the most important aspects of this beautiful background that you chose to bring is the chemical aspect of the pest management. (Carol points to the pyramid on the “Control” posterboard) So, let’s talk a little bit about that and the toxicity because I’m thinking that our descendants that may be watching this oral history in the years to come will know a whole lot–a lot more about what would have been a more wise pest management than we do now. Graham: (again pointing at the posterboard) Well, the chemical aspect is considered the most toxic, and we want you to try the cultural, physical, and biological approaches first. And under the chemical (reads the text on the posterboard, which I’ve designated in quotations) “Use only in combination with the other controls.” It’s not like you have to use only these or only the chemical. You can use them together. And hopefully you won’t even have to go to the chemicals. Hopefully, you can control it by the other approaches. “Use a pest–pest specific non-broad-spectrum pesticide.” In other words, if you do feel you have to use a chemical pesticide, don’t spray the whole garden, and make sure that before you buy any pesticide you carefully read the container and that it mentions the specific pest you’re trying to address, ‘cuz there are pesticides out there that would be totally wasted if you bought this pesticide and it didn’t apply to this pest that you were trying to control. Karasik: Right. Graham: And yet you introduce something toxic into the environment unnecessarily--very undesirable, of course. “Select the least toxic pesticide to reduce potential risks. Always read and follow directions on the pesticide label. It’s the law.” And as I tell people, well, the first thing you read before you buy any pesticide is will it address your target, you also want to make sure is it okay to put on the plant you want to put it on, ‘cuz many of us are growing edibles, and some of the pesticides like insecticidal soap are okay to put on edibles--fruits and vegetables--and will mention that on the paper. Whereas there are other pesticides that you definitely wouldn’t want to put on your edibles, ‘cuz they can get soaked into the plant, and you wouldn’t want to be eating them when you’re eating the produce from that plant. Karasik: Right. I–I was curious if you feel that very many people are actually aware, for example, of the dangers of glyphosate and how that has pretty much penetrated the entire planet. And I’m wondering in the future, um, you know, what will–what will become of that. Do you try to educate specifically on that or does that bother you that it’s still sold and advertised and is just so deadly? Graham: Well, mostly, we’re not targeting any one pesticide. We want people to open their minds to p–basically trying chemical, physical, and biological approaches before they’d even consider the pesticide. So, we spend most of our time--if we can teach them about biological control, physical control, or cultural control, hopefully they’ll never even have to get to the point where they’re considering a chemical pesticide. Karasik: Right. Right. And when you–you go into schools and tell me a little bit about who–who all is your audience. Obviously, festivals like we had-- Graham: Oh, the Encinitas EcoFest was very nice-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: --attended. And, of course, we do have many Master Gardeners helping in school gardens. And of course, when you’re talking to the students and their supervisors--the teachers, the staff, chaperones, and parents--about how to properly grow this product that they’re going to pick from the garden and eat, you definitely want to mention that “okay, we’re not going to put this pesticide on here because we don’t have any pests on this. Isn’t it great?” That kind of thing. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Or “oh, we do have pests. We have snails, sliming up the trunk of our citrus tree.” But instead of using a pesticide, we can teach them, of course, much simpler approach, just pick it off. Karasik: How–huh–who knew! Graham: Or we can use a copper band, because snails don’t actually like to slime over copper. It tastes bad for them. So, if we teach them that, we are hopefully enlightening them so when they actually grow to adulthood and have their own yards and their own gardens, they will not first grab the chemical control approach. Karasik: Oh, uh, that’s really great. Well, let’s talk a little bit about, I think maybe, how your life tha–developed, how you met your husband. Graham: Okay. Karasik: And, um, let’s–let’s hear about that. Graham: Well, I was attending San Diego State University, working on my Bachelor of Science in Zoology degree, and my husband, actually, had graduated from there and he was the teaching aide for the lab class in one of the biology classes. So, that’s how I met him, which is interesting. He was in marine biology which was kind of far away from my backyard biology, but still a biologist. And within a year of completing my degree, we were both working at Saturn Oak–San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One, in that the Nuclear Generating Station would shut down, I believe it was like every eight weeks, and they would heat-treat and chemical-treat the water intake system, because they had a large pipe--I think it was, like, twelve-foot diameter or something--and it was sucking in ocean water which was cooling some of the rest of the system at the nuclear power plant. But you’re sucking in water from the ocean, so you’re sucking in barnacles and polychaetas and other biophaline. They settle on the pipe and they grow. And this of course not only reduces the diameter of the water intake flow, but also when you’re treating, you might end up with some of these clogs of biophaline getting sucked in and causing problems. So, every, I think it was eight weeks, but don’t quote me on that, I think they were shutting the plant down to chemically treat and heat treat to kill the biophaline so it didn’t keep growing. Unfortunately, every time they shut the plant down, I believe I was told it was $10,000 more an hour for the energy company to buy energy to supply us than it was making the energy at San Onofre. And people really didn’t relate to this because they’d flip the lights on and the switch would come on because the power company was being responsible and making sure the power was there, even though it was costing more. But people were, of course, ending up having to pay a bit more, because it was more expensive when it was shut down. Now, as a biologist, it seemed pretty obvious that in the cold of the winter, the biophaline wasn’t growing as fast. And why were we shutting down the power plant every eight weeks, year-round, regardless of the time of the year. So, on site, I like to joke, I was basically locked into this research trailer, and I was measuring the biophaline on these research plates, so identifying which quadrat on which plate, and what was the diameter of that barnacle, and this polychaete, and that barnacle. And we measured them, for a year, and we were able to show people the hard scientific evidence that things were growing slower in the cold winter waters. And they didn’t have to shut the plant down as often. So, in the end, after we generated–processed all the data, etc., indeed they considered this quite a successful study. So, they weren’t shutting the plant down every week–eight weeks in the winter, because they realized things weren’t growing as fast, as far as the biophaline. So, everybody in the long run saved money, even the cost of the research, which seemed quite expensive at the time although now that the quanti–the money for that research project doesn’t seem quite as expensive as it was decades ago. But they more than saved, because of the change they could do in running the plant. Karasik: I’m curious, too, because you didn’t have computers back then. Or did you have s-- Graham: It was much slower. Karasik: Yeah. You did have some large, like, big equipment that did do some processing. Graham: I’ve talked about after the year of being locked into the research trailer on site of San Onofre, I was locked for a year (chuckles) into the office to transfer the data. Whereas, if we’d had more sophisticated computers back then, it would have been much faster. Karasik: Right. Now, where was your husband working at the–at San Onofre. Graham: Well, he was the lead investigator, so we were locked into the same trailer. Karasik: Oh, that was nice! (chuckles) Graham: Yes. Karasik: I’m curi-- Graham: There were three of us in the trailer. Karasik: Right. I’m curious, too, because I think it’s important from a–a women’s perspective. Did you feel any sense of a gender discrimination, or were women respected? Graham: No. I was given full respect. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Um, because it didn’t matter what my gender was. I was still going to be locked into that research trailer. ‘Cuz it’s–it was San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. So, basically, you went to the main entrance. You were evaluated, basically. They also threw the dice and every three or four or six people would be body-searched, (chuckles) physically patted down-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: --going in. And this was before we really thought of terrorist activities much. And then we had to walk directly to the research trailer. And even at lunch we didn’t leave the research trailer. We would bring our lunches in and stay in that trailer until the end of the day, research day. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And we walked right out. But I never felt-- Karasik: And was your pay equal? Graham: Yes. Mm-hmm. Karasik: Oh, that’s--I’m really happy to hear that. Graham: I mean, not necessarily equal to my husband, because he was the lead investigator. Karasik: Correct. Graham: But equal to the other party, who happened to be a guy, in the research trailer doing the same work I was doing. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Well, I’m glad to hear that. And it must have also really been nice to work with your husband and be able to share your knowledge and excitement about the job. That must have been–been really great. Graham: Well, he was a marine biologist, so he was quite into it. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Now, I wasn’t as into the organisms, because I was more terrestrial biologist, of course. Karasik: Right. Graham: Backyard gardening, etc. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: But I did appreciate the fact that this was a–basically a clean form of energy, compared to burning coal. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And, um-- Karasik: And how do you feel about that now? Not that we have to go into a huge nuclear discussion. Graham: Well, now it’s shut down. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And of course, the–the complication is dealing with the remnants, the radioactive remnants. Karasik: Yes. Graham: And I’d like to see the country go more and more into clean energy--but nuclear was considered clean-- Karasik: Right. Graham: --and weed ourself away from the energy sources that are not considered good for the environment. Karasik: You know, that reminds me. At the EcoFest, there was another booth that passed out quite a bit of information about the San Onofre situation and what we need to know as far as how close some of those storage tanks are to water sources and other things like that. Do you--is that a concern for you at all? Or do you think the public is aware of that? Graham: I think they’re doing a good job dealing with that. I would eventually like to see that material moved. For decades now, they’ve talked about moving it to a--I’ve forgotten the exact location. Karasik: There’s a place in Nevada, I know. Graham: Yeah. I don’t know exactly where in Nevada, but-- Karasik: And then, of course, there’s the NIMBY--Not In My Backyard. Graham: Yes. Karasik: And then the people in Nevada were like “Well, you know, we don’t want it here.” So, I think this is an interesting discussion that in decades to come when people come back and look at this and will see what–what’s been done that’s much more safe, and–and won’t that–won’t that be great, hopefully. Graham: But, I’m sure glad we weren’t burning more-- Karasik: Yes. Graham: --coal at the time to generate that energy-- Karasik: Exactly. Graham: --when we were using. Karasik: And that–and that’s still an issue. So, then, tell me a little bit about either how San Onofre ended. You had a–a–I know you have one son that you had mentioned to me. So, tell me a little bit about your family and tell me about your–your parents and your husband’s parents, and where they came from and, you know, how your lives developed here in North County. Graham: Oh. Well, my husband and I moved to Encinitas over forty years ago. And, because it was relatively close to where the Lockheed Marine Biology Research facility was, where I was staying in the office for a year and processing the data from San Onofre. And my parents still lived in San Diego and my in-laws also lived in San Diego. So, it was smart to live on the Encinitas, south of where we went to work, because that was closer to go and visit them, which we frequently did. And my son—the family joke is “What does the only child of two biologists go into study-wise and stay in science, but get as far away philosophically and geographically from any of the biological studies as possible?” Astrophysics! (chuckles) So he got his–actually, his PhD finally. He started with his bachelor’s at Berkeley, and then wan–went to on get his Ph.D. at a–a--what is that, in Maryland, the institution-- Karasik: In Annapolis, or?-- Graham: People think first of the medical aspect. Karasik: Right. Mm, we’ll come back to that. Graham: He’s going to criticize me for not remembering where he got his PhD. Karasik: Mmm. Graham: Anyway. And he had some research in astrophysics. Karasik: Not John Hopkins? [sic] Graham: John Hopkins, [sic] yes. I’m sorry. Karasik: Johns Hopkins. Okay, great. Graham: I’m going to have to apologize for a minute, not remembering, John Hopkins. [sic] Karasik: That’s alright. Yeah. Graham: He got his PhD at John Hopkins. [sic] Yes. Karasik: Yes. Prestigious. Yes. Graham: Yes. Karasik: So, you had just the one son? Graham: Just the one son. Karasik: Okay. So, tell me a little bit about where your parents came from, um, you know, what generation you are. Did they come directly to California? Do you know? ‘Cuz a lot of us don’t really know where our ancestors came from, other than immediate. How much do you know about both yours and your husband’s? Graham: Okay, my mother was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My father was born in Ohio. Now, I believe, possibly, the previous generation had come from Ireland and England and Germany. My in-laws, my mother-in-law was born in, I think, Kansas City, Missouri, which is, you know, Kansas City but it’s in Missouri, but I guess it’s a city that’s-- Karasik: They’re sister cities on the border. Graham: Yes. Right across the river from each other. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And my father-in-law was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Karasik: Mmm! So he immigrated here and-- Graham: Yes. Karasik: --with his wife? Do you know? Graham: No. Karasik: Or did he meet her here? Graham: He married her here. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Yes. Karasik: And then I guess they all decided to come out to California? Do you know anything about that journey? Graham: Um, my father-in-law was working, I believe, in the aircraft industry, which was quite active at one time in San Diego. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Manufacturing. And my father was a career Marine, and was stationed out here at Camp Pendleton and-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: --some other facilities in southern California. Karasik: There’s a lot of history from Camp Pendleton that will be in our Oral History. Graham: Oh! Good. Karasik: Yeah. So, I guess probably, let’s switch then a little bit. When we look at your life’s work, uh, did–did you want to say more about after you didn’t work for San Onofre anymore, did you get more involved tha--How did you get involved with the Master Gardeners? Let’s go there. Graham: Oh, well, um, we had my son. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And my neighbors warned me that, “If you’re looking for infant childcare, you can’t depend on the local teenagers, if you want to do a routine.” And I wanted to apply to Master Gardeners, which was going to be, I think, seventeen consecutive Tuesdays, and you were expected to attend every one, ideally. And I was wondering, “Okay.” So I asked my mother, “I would like to go through this Master Gardener program which is put on through the University of California Cooperative Extension and become a Master Gardener volunteer, which is dedicated to disseminating information for a successful and environmentally responsible home gardening. But your infant grandson would need care every Tuesday for like seventeen consecutive Tuesdays.” And she said yes. So, I’m very beholden to my mother because-- Karasik: Thank you, mother! Graham: Yes. Karasik: Yes. Graham: Because otherwise I’m not sure where I could have dropped him off for just-- Karasik: Right. And what year would that have been? Graham: He was born in 1982. Karasik: Mmm, so you had-- Graham: Then it was in 1983 that I started the Master Gardener program. Karasik: Oh. Wonderful. Graham: He was just a year old. Karasik: Okay. So, how would you say that work has changed over the years for you, and just tell me more about--I–I–I think, in these interviews we want genera–future generations that come back and watch this and want to learn about the community and how the peoples lives were affected (Carol points to something off camera), what you’d--(Carol looks again off camera and starts to chuckle) what you would want them to know. Graham: Well, Encinitas is a great community to live in. The microclimate is fantastic for people who like to grow a diversity of fruit. Although before you grow any fruit trees, no matter where you’re living, always check that the microclimate is adapted. I frequently, at the Master Gardener exhibit, drag out the Sunset Western Garden book and ask people, “Do you have this?” And if you don’t, you can check it out at any good library and tell them that this book divides the western portion of the United States into twenty-four different micro zones. And I open the map and we can usually identify where they’re living, and at least before they go away, I can tell them, “Oh, you open up Sunset Garden book, and you want to look at what apple varieties grow in your microclimate, look for this number on the microclimate.” Because, unfortunately, as a Master Gardener I’ve had people tell me they have purchased certain fruit trees, certain varieties, and I ask, “Oh, where are you gardening?” And I have to tell them, “That variety is not adapted to your microclimate. It’s not going to thrive.” And I even had a personal situation. Years ago, there was a new variety of--I’ve forgotten whether it was, um, a peach or a nectarine--and it came out--it was supposed to be okay for zone 24, close to the coast in southern California. And the next year, after I’d bought it that year, the next year they said “Sorry. We made a mistake. It’s further inland that it’s adapted to.” So, I dug up the tree, had a fellow Master Gardener who lived further inland and said “Would you like this tree? Because I bought this under the belief that it was going to thrive, and now they’ve changed what they’ve recommended.” Karasik: Right. Graham: So, it is critical to do your research first to be successful in gardening. And we don’t want you wasting water, putting water on varieties of plants that are not adapted to your microclimate, whether it’s fruit trees or just ornamentals. Karasik: That is so important. So-- Graham: Especially with water being super critical now. Karasik: Absolutely, which will be another interesting aspect to look at when future generations, uh—what that’s going to be like. Do you--So, was your husband involved in the Master Gardeners too? Or then did you--you didn’t work, uh, when you had your son. Graham: Right. Karasik: And then what–what did he do? (Carol looks puzzled at the question) What was his work? Did he st-- Graham: My–my husband’s work? Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Well, he continued to work for the Lockheed Marine Biological Research. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Um, now he wasn’t involved directly in Master Gardeners, but I must say that, uh, there were frequently times when I would have a long day at a Master Gardener exhibit, um, like you experienced at the Encinitas EcoFest recently, and I’d be driving home and very often he had the garage door open for me, ‘cuz I had told him when I went off, I hoped to be back in this time period, and the garage door was opened. I could drive right in. And he was a great cook, so it was wonderful because there was dinner waiting for me all ready and he really spoiled me. (chuckles) So-- Karasik: That’s so wonderful. Graham: --not directly in Master Gardeners but he did support me to a high degree in Master Gardener. Karasik: Yeah. Behind ever--huh--there’s a saying: “Behind every great man is an exhausted woman.” (both she and Carol chuckle) Graham: Right. Karasik: And so I think we could probably-- Graham: (nodding her head) Yes. Karasik: --turn that around. Um, what would you say some–are some of your greatest accompish–accomplishments in your life? Graham: Well, reaching out to so many people at Master Gardeners has made me really feel good in that, as I say, I want people, ideally, to have at least a little bit of a–an edible garden. So when their kids come around and the kids have the opportunity as young gardeners to pick that lovely tomato or bell pepper (gestures as if picking something with her right hand) or maybe it’s a fruit--a peach or nectarine--and eat it and say, “Mmm, really good,” that they directly understand where their food comes from. Karasik: (whispers) Yes. Graham: Because, while some of our food comes from the ocean and the rivers and the lakes, so much of it comes from the good earth. And children who grow up picking the stuff from their garden, I think, are going to realize that and makes a connection and be far less apt to pollute or litter. ‘Cuz they understand why would you want to put pollution or litter on the ground. That’s where your food comes from! Karasik: Exactly. Do you feel like you’ve been successful in educating hopefully thousands of people, because there is a lot of concern now about our food sources? And I myself just recently got a tower garden because I want to be able to grow my own food and it seems like we might be moving more to that. Um, you know, I don’t know if we want to get into it, but we may just want to mention because of the--being a–a–an oral history, you know, monocropping and how all the large corporations have taken over the farming. And so is this--Do you feel like you’ve had a little place in there where you’ve been able to-- Graham: Yes. Karasik: --educate. Graham: And also sharing with people the experience. Well, there are some peaches and nectarines I’ve enjoyed purchasing in the market, but none of them have the fantastic flavor that my mother and I used to grow and the Panamint nectarine--that’s the one we really adore. And some people love the Babcock peach, but that’s sweet-on-sweet. And my personal taste buds like the sweet with tang, which the Panamint lives up to. So, you can customize better your favorites by growing them. And of course, the macadamia! Well, the macadamia nut--what is that—$12.99 to $19.99 a pound for the nuts in the market when you buy them. Well, you can grow them yourself. They’re easy to grow, although heads up! (points her left pointer finger into the air). I want to alert everybody. They are really a lot of work to crack, even if you buy the specific macadamia cracker which I bought. But so I try to educate people as to this and-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: ‘Cuz the macadamia tree was my husband’s, um--I don’t know if it was his birthday, or his Christmas present the first year after we moved in. He wanted a macadamia. Karasik: Nice. Well, I’m definitely going to be coming to you, because even me being over in the far east side of North County, that is going to be different. And I’m very excited to learn more about what you think would be best for me to plant, primarily just for me to consume. Graham: Mm-hmm. Good. Karasik: That’s my--And also, did you want to talk a little bit about all the different flowers that are edibles that people don’t know about, different fl–like nasturtians [sic], for example. Graham: I’m really not educated on that aspect. My mother wasn’t into edible flowers, and I haven’t gone into it because I’ve been so enamored of the–the fruits, mais–mostly tree fruits. Karasik: Sure, yeah. Pe-- Graham: And–and thornless blackberries! Karasik: Oh! Graham: Yes, ‘cuz I grew up with the Olallie blackberry which mother had which was delicious but boy does that have thorns! (holds up both her hands, fingers spread wide to emphasize prickliness of thorns) Karasik: Really! Graham: Decades of research and now we have thornless varieties out there. Karasik: Oh, I didn’t know that! Graham: So, yes. Triple crown. Karasik: It’ll–it’ll be really interesting for botanists, for example, who might be–get to hear these–this interview, in particular, and see how things have changed. I mean, there is certainly the concern that California may become a desert. And we do definitely have water issues right now. Does that, uh, take up some of your time of concern? Graham: It is concerning. However, I tell people, “Well, um, hopefully when we get off this third year of really severe drought here in San Diego County and people actually start to feel they can put plants in the ground again, well, instead of putting ornamentals, why not put some edibles? Wouldn’t that be a better use of the water?” And as I said you can also customize, so you can put your–your edible in the variety that you couldn’t even find in the market. Karasik: Right. Like sunchokes, Jerusalem artichokes. Those are hard to find, and very nutritious-- Graham: Yeah. Karasik: --for example. Well, we could certainly talk about gardening (both Graham and Karasik chuckle). And that’s–and that was a lot of my reason for wanting to interview you, because I think this will be very interesting to, um, our descendants. I guess, uh, if there’s anymore that you’d like to tell about what you–what like what changes you would like to see for future generations, and if you had a chance to talk to some of these future generations, not just around Master Gardening but just about life in general and what you’ve learned over the years, what–what you think is most important that, uh-- Graham: Well, continuing on some of the issues that we mentioned--less lawn, and more drought tolerant or edibles. Um, now there are some people who have a legitimate desire to have a lawn. They have young kids who do want to play on it. But that doesn’t mean they have to have a lawn both front and the back. And, um, after a certain length of time, maybe they want to take the lawn out because their kids are no longer playing on it-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And cracking open the reference books, even good old Sunset Western Garden book. And it has a plant finder section. And one of the things that it addresses there are low water use plants. Karasik: Drought tolerant. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Yes. Graham: As well as delving through the various edibles-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: --making sure you select the right variety for your microclimate, so you’re successful and don’t waste water on a variety that was doomed from the start. Karasik: Yeah. Hmm, well, we’ve just covered that so well. I think, more than--it sounds like you’ve had a wonderful life and, of course, everything’s not perfect. There is a question here. What are your regrets? Or what would you do over if you could. Did you want to speak to that by chance? Or-- Graham: Well, I regret my husband passed away. My husband died. Karasik: Yes. If you want to-- Graham: And I didn’t appreciate enough all the great cooking he used to do. Um, so now I’m spending a whole lot more time from going to the grocery store and buying the food and prepping the food and thinking ahead, “Okay, I have this many drumsticks. Am I going to eat chicken this many nights, or am I going to eat some of this, and what’s in the freezer, and how much time it takes.” ‘Cuz I’ve a terribly neglected yard. But I am enjoying the social aspect of going out for Master Gardener exhibits. Karasik: Yes. Graham: Especially since my husband is gone now. Karasik: Right. Graham: So-- Karasik: And it hasn’t been that long, so--I know that, um, my condolences and I know how that is. We–we all have to accept that part of life. And-- Graham: Mm-hmm. I’m grateful that he did have a good quality of life up until the very end. Karasik: Yes. And I think, too, that again that’s a lot why this oral history project is so important. Because we don’t realize what interesting lives people have had. And it doesn’t get documented. So, we certainly have more time. Um, here’s a couple of questions here around community that might–might be interesting. It says “In what w–ways is your neighborhood special or has it been unique or what are some of the favorite places in your community, and how has–how has this area changed since you moved here? And that’s-- Graham: Yeah. Karasik: --a big one. Graham: When my husband and I first moved here, we didn’t even buy groceries in Encinitas because there were very few grocery stores, you know. This was over forty-five years ago. And there was a grocery store we’d go right past when we were leaving that place of work. So, it made more sense to stop there, but it wasn’t in Encinitas. And of course, I like to spend my consumer dollars in my own community. And now we have over ten grocery stores!! I mean, in an hour--excuse me, in a mile and a half, I can walk to four different grocery stores in my community. And frequently I am walking because it’s checking off my exercise for the day and checking off my eco-point for the day, ‘cuz I’m not driving my vehicle, um, and I enjoy it! And Encinitas allows me to do this because of all the grocery stores they have, which forty-five years ago-- Karasik: And they’re some of the finest–some of the finest grocery stores. Graham: Nice diversity. Karasik: Not the least expensive, by any means, but definitely some of the highest quality and the largest diversity of what is offered. Graham: Yes. And we have farmer’s markets. Karasik: We do. Graham: Two of them in Encinitas. Karasik: Yeah. Let’s talk–let’s talk a little bit about those. Do you get to know any of those farmers? Or-- Graham: I actually--way back when, was it Harry Stone? Don’t quote me--who founded the first farmer’s market in San Diego County up in Vista. He was a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers. And I’ve been an avid member of the California Rare Fruit Growers for decades. And the idea took off and it was great. Karasik: You know, another interview that I did, I learned that the–there is a big difference, obviously, between an egg farm, a truck farm, and a—are you familiar with that? So, the truck farm is the vegetables that you would then truck to the market. And then obviously the egg farm and the chickens, because Cal State San Marcos that was a huge egg farm. And actually, on the way over here you were telling me there was a wonderful nursery here that has now been-- Graham: Sunshine Gardens Nursery is now closed, and it was a very nice nursery for I don’t know how many decades here. Karasik: Mm-hmm. And now it’s–it’s–they’re making room for housing because we need that, and–and I think all the more reason. We have community gardens here. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Did you want to talk a little bit about that? Graham: I think it’s wonderful we have a community garden, quite close to the Heritage Museum here in Encinitas. And there are people who live in condominiums or apartments and they don’t have a yard to put a garden. So, community garden gives them wonderful opportunity. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: Um, now, I do want to encourage people, even if they don’t have a yard, to consider possibly growing—we used to call it pot culture, but now that gives you the wrong impression--container gardening! (laughs) Karasik: Right. Graham: Yes. For instance, you can grow a nice return of blackberries, pick the thornless varieties in a fifteen-gallon pot, fifteen-gallon black plastic pot. Or you can put a more decorative pot if you’d like and make it more decorative, and you can put it on your balcony perhaps on your condominium or apartment. Mind that you give it full sun, etc. But, even without having a yard, there are some edibles you can grow if you research things carefully. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Have you found that people in your neighborhood come to you and ask you for your advice? Or how do you--(both she and Graham chuckle) I think I’m going to be asking you for some advice, for sure. Graham: Well, this was an interesting first four months in the year 2022. I captured six gophers. Now only one of them in my yard. I’m grateful for it was only one in my yard. But the other five were in three different neighbors’ yards. And I was labeled the gopher getter. I’ve captured gophers in other yards previous years too, but this was an especially active first four months of the year, for some reason. Karasik: Do you think—and I might even have heard somewhere--do you think that the drought had a lot to do with that, that they might even be seeking water or food, or are–are they--maybe they’ve increased their offspring. Do we know why? Graham: I don’t think so. I didn’t hear anything connecting those variables. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: It was just a-- Karasik: And then where do you take ‘em? When you catch them. Graham: Well, there are no have-a-heart traps for gophers. You realize this is–(makes a gesture with her right hand of cutting off her head and lets out a scraping sound) these are kill traps. Karasik: Oh. Graham: Because the gopher is not a wanted critter to release in a wild area. No. So, the traps you’d use are kill traps for gophers. Karasik: Hmm. Unfortunate, but necessary. Graham: Mm-hmm. Because remember if you don’t deal with it early, the pest note that University of California Cooperative Extension puts out on gophers, I believe it says, “In irrigated areas, like our gardens, gophers can have up to three litters a year.” And I believe they said the number in the litter can vary from like five to seven. So, that’s a pretty horrific number of offspring they could produce in a year, if you don’t deal with them quickly. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And I think it was this year I was given the gopher getter title, because the one party I trapped a gopher successfully was just put the trap in one day and the next day I had it. And she happened to comment to her neighbor across the street, and he had a gopher, so he contacted me. And there were these three neighbors fairly close to each other on an adjacent street, that-- Karasik: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Graham: And the first four months of the year that--bing–bing–bing. Karasik: Hmm. Um, going back to--you’ve mentioned a couple of times. So it’s U.C. California San Diego, because when I tried to contact you, there is a division there. Do you want to tell us a little bit how that’s set up, ‘cuz I know you’re kind of under their umbrella. And-- Graham: Well, the Master Gardener program is a volunteer branch of the University of California Cooperative Extension. It’s not just one university, ‘cuz sometimes people have thought, “Oh, you’re office is at U.C.S.D.” No, no, it’s actually in the County Operations Center in Corina Mesa. Karasik: Mmm. Graham: And we have information that is generated from all of these universities throughout the state. Now some of it applies directly to where we’re here in the San Diego. Another applies to more northern California areas. But the information clearly tells you that. And of course, our tax money is paying for some of this research, because we have a very productive agricultural economy in California. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And the research is directed toward the agricultural, commercial aspect. But there are spinoff bits of information that are generated that directly help the home gardener as well. So we’re out there. As a matter of fact, if I can bend your ear, the story about the creation of the Master Gardener program was apparently it started in Washington state. And this good-hearted cooperative extension agent was getting a lot of calls, people having questions on their home garden situation. But he was being paid to advise and help out the commercial growers and farmers. And he didn’t want to be rude and not help them, but he had his plate full helping the commercial farmers. So he got the brilliant idea. I’ll train a crew of volunteers and when I get a home garden question I will pass the question on to them. And that’s what I was told started the Master Gardener program. And now I’ve been told that we actually have Master Gardeners in all fifty states. Karasik: Oh, wow, good. Graham: So-- Karasik: Oh, that’s great. Well, um, we’ve certainly had an interesting conversation here and if there’s anything else that you would like to tell. We’re so appreciative of the work that you’ve done and I can see where that’s been a really big part of your life and I’ve–I’m assuming very rewarding-- Graham: Yes. Karasik: --and it’s enabled you to make a lot of friends and-- Graham: And I’d like to say also I’m very pleased to volunteer for the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation. Karasik: Oh, that’s such a great place. Graham: Right here in Encinitas. Karasik: Let’s talk about that just for a little bit, because again in the future I think that will be something that will still be here. Graham: Yes, of course. Karasik: And they do so many things there. Let’s talk about that a little bit. Graham: Well, they were at the Encinitas EcoFest, right next to my Master Gardener exhibit. And they teach many aspects and as far as gardening, composting, very important. And instead of having that truck rumble through your neighborhood once a week and pick up the green waste in the bin, if more of us could compost on site, it would help the environment. Also, of course, if you’ve ever gone to the nursery and priced bags of potting soil and compost, it’s not inexpensive if you consider the number of bags you could use as an avid gardener for the year. Karasik: And I don’t know if we always know where all that soil came from. Graham: Well, it is nice to have control of it from your own garden and know what went into it exactly. Karasik: Exactly. Graham: And while it does take a little bit of room and it does take some time, it also is a nice excuse to get out into the fresh air in the garden. Karasik: What do you recommend, because I know a lot of people are afraid to compost because they think it will bring critters? Graham: Oh, okay. When you are putting certain elements in the compost pile that you think might accidentally bring critters like the egg shell, or the citrus peel or the avocado pits or something, it is highly recommended that you bury that in the compost pile with a layer at least four inches maybe even six inches of yard trimmings above it. That will basically absorb any odors and of course it’s not recommended that you put bones in the compost pile, because that would tend to attract critters. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Now, will–will worms come into that? Or is a worm compost kind of a separate approach to composting? Graham: Well there is vermicompost in a worm bin. Karasik: Right. Graham: Worms will come into your compost pile. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And you give them things to eat. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: The fruit waste, like the peels and pits, etc. As well as the decomposing leaves and twigs, etc. Karasik: Leftover food, and lettu—greens, things like that. Graham: Vegetables and fruits leftover. Karasik: Yeah. Yeah. Graham: Not meat. Of course. Karasik: Right, right. Graham: Not meat or bugs. Karasik: Yeah. Graham: And of course, you’ve moistened the environment in the compost pile to help it decompose and they–worms breathe through their skin and they need a moist–yep, they actually need a moist skin to survive. So, they are very happy to find this moist environment which offers them perfect lodging and food buffet, moisture, yes. Karasik: Just for my own curiosity. I’ve always been fascinated by earthworms and the fact that you’ve–that you’ve–they’re w–w–one of the few living beings where you can cut off their head and they’ll grow another one. Is that correct? Graham: No. that’s not-- Karasik: They’ll grow, maybe not their head, but the back end or-- Graham: No. Karasik: That’s not true? Graham: Um, too many people--I mean, depending on the amount you cut off at the tail end, they might survive. Karasik: Not intentionally, obviously. Graham: Yeah. But if you accidentally cut one in two, some people have this misconception that you’ll get two worms. No. It’ll die. Karasik: Aw. I had that misconception. Graham: Yeah. That’s a popular-- Karasik: And they are so critical. Graham: Yes. Karasik: They are so critical. But probably one of the most or when we look at–at soil. Are you familiar with soil regeneration and some of the ways that they’re trying now to--because so much of our soil has been depleted? Do you get involved in that, or are you just-- Graham: Well, with the compost pile, you’re helping replenish. Karasik: mm-hmm. Graham: And when you think about it, okay. The nutrients it takes for let’s say your peach tree to make peaches, it has to make leaves. Well, some of that is from the very leaves that came, matured, off the tree. So, you’re recycling it in the compost pile and putting it back underneath the tree when you’re putting some compost into the soil under your peach tree. Karasik: Right. Wonderful. That’s–that’s a good point as well. Graham: Mm-hmm. Karasik: Yeah. Graham: So you’re just basically recycling the nutrients as opposed to chucking them into the trash and hauling them off to the land fill. Karasik: Yeah. Graham: And not even chucking them into the green bin and having them hauled off. But, at least when it goes to the green facility at Miramar, it gets repurposed. But it’s more. Karasik: Have you ever visited that place? Graham: Oh yes! It was fantastic. This was decades ago. Karasik: That would be a wonderful tour. Graham: There was a field trip--I don’t remember if it was Master Gardeners or the Encin--the Solana Center sponsored the field trip decades ago. It was so much fun! And wow, it was interesting. Karasik: I’d like to do that. I’d also like to visit one of these desalination plants and see how they’re doing that. Graham: Oh, yes. Karasik: Because that seems to be the future. Now, that’s another point. Graham: I was able to take a tour of that too. That was Solana Center that hosted that decades ago. Karasik: Oh, did they? Graham: From up the street at the Carlsbad Desalinization Plant. Karasik: Yes! I might ask them if they know how somebody can do that now. One other thing I wanted to ask about the Solana Center. I had seen something where you can get some buckets and take it home, and so you can kind of get compost from them, or maybe a starter? How does that work? Graham: Um, you pay a fee. I—don’t quote me because I’m not sure exactly how much it is. You get a bucket to take home, and you put your fruit and vegetable waste in it, and also bones and—in other words, if you’re not composting you put these materials in there. Karasik: Mm-hmm. Graham: And it has some bokashi in it, which ferments it. Karasik: Is bokashi an organism that breaks it down? Graham: It’s a-- Karasik: What is that? Graham: --it’s more like a chemical-- Karasik: Oh, okay. Graham: --that pickles it. I think it’s what they compare it to. Karasik: Okay. Graham: And you can take that back, and then you can get some finished compost as well. So-- Karasik: Oh, that’s how-- Graham: --but you’ll–you’ll want to call the Solana Center and ask for the details. Karasik: Right. Yes. I’ve been over there and they were very supportive to us-- Graham: Yes. Karasik: --for the EcoFest as well. Graham: Yes. Karasik: Well, I just want to thank you for your time. And this has been a really interesting and educational interview. And you have definitely had a wonderful life, and I sense the fact that you will be around for quite a while and helping a whole lot more people. And I’m so happy to know you and really appreciate your time, and what you’re going to offer for future generations. Graham: Well, thanks for this opportunity to reach out to people. Karasik: Oh, absolutely. You’re so welcome. So again we’re--actually, I don’t know if I mentioned this. We’re at the San Dieguito Heritage Museum which is here in Encinitas and I really wish that people could see that, although they’ll have the opportunity to do that, you know, locally. But the history here at this particular museum is incredible, as well. So, would encourage people to come out if they happen to listen to this and we thank them also for the opportunity to use their equipment, and hope that this will be a good video. So, thank you very much. Graham: You’re very welcome. Karasik: And we will finish here. GLOSSARY Babcock peach (pg. 15) Biophaline (pg. 7, 8) California Rare Fruit Growers (pg. 18-19) Carlsbad Desalinization Plant (pg. 24) County Operations Center [Corina Mesa] (pg. 20) EcoFest (pg.1, 6, 10, 14, 21, 25) Glyphosate (pg.6) Heritage Museum (pg. 19) Integrated Pest Management (pg.3, 4) Johns Hopkins University (pg. 11) Kirkcaldy, Scotland (pg. 12) Lockheed Marine Biology Research facility (pg. 10, 14) Master Gardener(s) (pg. 1-4, 6, 12-15, 17, 20-21, 24) Panamint nectarine (pg. 15) Polychaete (pg. 7, 8) San Dieguito Heritage Museum (pg. 25) San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station [Plant One] (pg. 7, 8, 10, 12) Solana Center for Environmental Innovation (pg. 21, 24-25) Stone, Harry (pg. 18) Sunset Western Garden book (pg. 13, 17) Sunshine Gardens Nursery (pg. 19) Truck farm (pg. 19) University of California Cooperative Extension (pg. 12, 20, 21) Vermicompost (pg. 22) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en video Property rights reside with the university. 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The researcher agrees not to record, reproduce, or disclose any Social Security number or other information of a highly personal nature that may be found. 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=GrahamCarol_KarasikSuzy_2022-11-04_access.xml GrahamCarol_KarasikSuzy_2022-11-04_access.xml Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Graham, Carol. Interview November 4, 2022. Description An account of the resource Carol Graham is a Master Garderner. She has a Bachelor's degree in Zoology and began her career working at Saturn Oak–San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Plant One. After its closure, she enrolled to become a Master Gardner volunteer that was sponsered through the University of California Cooperative Extension program. The Master Gardner program is dedicated to distributing information for an environmentally-responsible home and garden. She has been a Master Gardner since 1983 and participates in various events such as EcoFest. She is very passionate about the study of insects, pest management, composting, and protecting the environment from pesticides. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SC027-028 Subject The topic of the resource Crops -- Diseases and pests -- Biological control Gardening -- California -- San Diego County Master gardeners -- California -- San Diego County Organic farming San Diego State University San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Calif.) University of California (System). Cooperative Extension Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-11-04 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Carol Graham Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Suzy Karasik Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Encinitas (Calif.) San Diego North County (Calif.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Carol Graham Community history North County Oral History Initiative Women's experience Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Description An account of the resource Video and audio oral histories can be viewed here. Histories are listed alphabetically by last name. Individual histories are indexed and transcribed and can be searched. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <p>Rights to oral histories vary depending on the history. The library owns the copyright to some histories, and has license to reproduce for nonprofit purposes for others. Please contact CSUSM University Library Special Collections at <a href="mailto:%20archives@csusm.edu">archives@csusm.edu</a> with any questions about use.</p> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Madeleine Meyer Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Diana Saldivar OHMS Object This field contains the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file within the OHMS Viewer) https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=SaldivarDiana_StanleySeth_2023-04-14.xml OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and / or Transcript and is what makes the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka 5.4 Saldivar, Diana. Interview April 14th 2023. SC027-39 01:04:02 SC027 California State University San Marcos University Library Special Collections oral history collection CSUSM This oral history was made possible in collaboration with the Cross-Cultural Center and with generous funding from the Instructionally Related Activities fund. csusm California State University San Marcos. Cross-Cultural Center ; California State University San Marcos. Kamalayan Alliance ; California State University San Marcos. Associated Students Incorporated ; San Diego State University ; California State University. Multicultural Programs ; Filipino Americans ; Student success ; Human rights Diana Saldivar Madeleine Meyer Video SaldivarDiana_MeyerMadeleine_2023-04-14 1:|14(13)|32(10)|47(3)|59(10)|73(9)|92(14)|104(3)|133(8)|148(11)|164(15)|178(14)|202(11)|230(3)|259(11)|284(3)|297(6)|316(10)|334(4)|348(6)|363(4)|382(15)|404(11)|427(4)|443(13)|458(4)|481(6)|503(9)|523(11)|543(4)|554(3)|571(13)|584(12)|596(7)|615(16)|630(12)|644(6)|654(15)|682(5)|703(11)|717(13)|728(8)|744(4)|765(7)|776(17)|794(9)|812(9)|828(6)|848(11)|873(9)|888(8)|900(8)|919(13)|934(12)|949(15)|971(16)|990(13)|1009(8)|1031(9)|1046(18)|1065(6)|1080(6)|1103(11)|1121(9)|1148(6)|1152(15) 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/files/original/4ba35a3be1f188bd69a1d18341a5b736.mp4 Other video english 0 Childhood and Education Saldivar describes how she moved a lot and never had a solid group of friends due to her father's career in the military. She explains how she struggled navigating college as a first generation student. Saldivar started out at Palomar Community College, then California State University San Marcos and later moved onto San Diego State University for graduate school. Saldivar explains how she graduated during the recession and no one was hiring so she felt discouraged and had to take on volunteer work to maintain work experience. She also discusses what life was like growing up with parents who immigrated from the Philippines and China. Palomar Community College ; California State University San Marcos ; San Diego State University ; immigrant ; VA bill ; Military ; first generation ; childhood 0 780 Finding the Cross-Cultural Center and Getting Involved In Associated Students Incorporated Saldivar explains how the Cross-Cultural Center was very small and almost hidden amongst the campus. She explains how faculty encouraged her to apply for a position for Associated Students Incorporated (ASI, student governance). Saldivar explains how the Cross-Cultural Center exposed her to faculty that looked like her and represented her despite the campus being predominately white. Cross-Cultural Center ; Associated Students Incorporated ; representation ; identity 0 1205 Working and building up the CCC Saldivar explains how she started working at the Multicultural Center (now called Cross-Cultural Center) and helped to build the foundations of the center. She explains how in only three years the center was able to grow and become recognized on campus. The center was working with various other campus organizations to share resources and create appropriate spaces for students. Saldivar explains how the center impacted people within their identity. multi-cultural center ; start up ; building ; Pride Center ; LGBT ; Womens Center ; Asian Center ; Cross-Cultural Center 0 1690 CCC Began Growing Saldivar discusses how the Cross-Cultural Center began to expand and its new location allowed the center to become more visible to students. Programing for the center was created such as the Peer Educator Program, Multicultural Mondays and Dinner Dialogues. These programs provided a space and opportunity for students to explore, understand and discuss identities. Peer Educator Program ; Multicultural Mondays ; Dinner Dialogues ; identities ; representation ; LGBTQ ; Religion 0 2282 How the CCC Helped Saldivar Saldivar feels like her courses helped her identify who she was and understand how her background has shaped her as an individual, but the CCC is what allowed her to put those realizations into practice. The CCC allowed her to realize she must live intentionally and how to really make an impact in peoples lives. The CCC provided her with the skills she would use later on in her career. 0 2744 How Saldivar Met Her Husband Saldivar explains how she and Randy, her husband, met through the Cross-Cultural Center and ended up getting married. Saldivar reflects on the programs that she and Randy worked on for the CCC. Husband ; San Diego State ; University of San Diego ; University of Southern California ; Filipino American Organization 0 3191 Working Dynamics Between Saldivar and Her Husband Saldivar explains how she and Randy maintained a professional relationship while working at the center. She describes how they compliment one another and help one another become successful in their work. Kamalayan Alliance 0 3399 Asian Pacific Islander First Graduating Ceremony Saldivar discusses how the CCC helped the Asian Pacific Islander Club recognize their first graduating class. She explains how the lack of a budget forced the CCC and Asian Pacific Islander Club to get creative. Saldivar expresses her gratitude towards the university for always listening to the wants and needs of their students. Asian Pacific Islander Club ; Asian Pacific Islander graduation 0 3557 Impact of CCC on Others Saldivar discusses impact of the CCC on students and their academic success. She expresses the joy it brings to her when she sees how much her and her community has grown due to the center. Filipino ; student success 0 3723 Role of CCC Saldivar discusses how much the center has grown and how its programs are focused on the current needs of the students. 0 Video Diana Saldivar is a California State University San Marcos alumna. She graduated with her degree in Communications, Sociology and Ethnic Studies. Saldivar worked at the Cross-Cultural Center from 2004-2007 and was also involved in the Asian Pacific Islander Student Society, Kamalayan Alliance, and with Associated Students Incorporated (student government). In her interview, Saldivar discusses how the Cross-Cultural Center provided her with a sense of belonging on campus and served as a second home. Saldivar explains how the center provided her with lifelong friendships, skills and connections that has helped her become the person she is today. Saldivar recounts how the CCC provided a safe space, allowing for conversations with others that are often deemed controversial, and how the center encouraged those to constantly seek knowledge. Madeleine Meyer: My name is Madeleine Meyer and I'm here today in the Kellogg Library interviewing Diana Saldivar at California State University San Marcos for the Cross-Cultural Center Oral History Project. The date is Friday, April 14th, 2023, and the time is eleven fifty-seven. I'd like to start with asking you a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up and what was your early life like? Diana Saldivar: Ooh, that's a long question (both laugh). That's gonna be a long answer. How long do we have? Um, I actually was born here in San Diego, California on a military, one of the military bases. I don't know exactly which one. My mom forgot to give me those details, but all I know is that the hospital is now torn down. So I know it doesn't exist anymore, but I assume it was either 32nd or one of the Navy bases down south. Because I didn't know, we lived in North Park for a little bit, from there, because my dad's military career, we moved several places across, the West Coast. So I've been to Fallon, Nevada, San Francisco, Treasure Island, back to San Diego, Hawaii. And then once my dad retired, he retired at Camp Pendleton here in Oceanside. So I ended up being around probably fourteen, fifteen (years old). So right in the middle of my middle school, high school years is when I came to kind of be more of a, a transplant to San Diego. So--it was definitely still different from me, (laughs) for me from moving from San Francisco to a really big, you know, metropolitan city with a lot of diversity to Oceanside, which was very (laughs), in development still. Meyer: Um-Hm. Saldivar: So that was a big challenge. And then also because of me moving around to so many schools, I think I went to eight or nine schools by the time I was fifteen. Meyer: Wow. Saldivar: So it wasn't like I grew up having solid friends, grew up with them during grade school and things like that. It was always a lot of transition. So me entering high school, middle school when everybody has friends since they were like second grade in kindergarten, that was very different for me. Fortunately, I was able to find my own community. I was able to find other, military transplants. So we just kind of found each other in a sense. So, I ended up graduating high school at Vista High, in 2000, oh (both laugh) that's so long ago. We just even had our 20th, annual, reunion. It was delayed because of the pandemic (COVID-19). Meyer: Right Saldivar: So it was 21(st annual reunion), which made it feel so much worse (laughs). So I graduated in Vista High and, I didn't really know what to do. I mean, I was kind of one of those, I was a first generation, what do you call it? Immigrant child who, my parents did some college, but it was more like vocational college. They didn't really understand the full traditional college career, how to get there. So I had a lot of high school counselors. They kind of helped with, you know, what are your thoughts about going into, you know, college, have you thought of, you know, applying and things like that. And it never really crossed my mind. I was just kind of going as it goes. But I ended up applying to San Diego State, Cal(ifornia) State San Marcos and one other college. Because of my dad's military career, he was able to get the GA or, the VA Bill (Veterans Affairs, often referred as GI Bill). So I was able to use it as his dependent, which was nice because affording college was just out of the question and having that nice little package was so good (laughs). So I had to stay in California, so I was very limited to where I could go. And I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I was like, you know, “Let's just go to Cal State San Marcos. It's close to home (laughs).” You know, I didn't really understand the whole, let's research and let's look at this and that and things. I'm just like, okay, I'll just go to college and put, I don't know, well non-major and stuff like that. And then, you know, I ended up being here, started 2000, dropped--got kicked out (both laugh) 2002 because I didn't meet the math requirement (laughs). I'm not sure if they still have that here, but as an undergrad you had to meet an English and math requirement. I definitely met the English because I did IB (International Baccalaureate) English, like honors English, but I was terrible at math, and I don't know why I was taking math classes at seven o'clock in the morning (Meyer laughs). So that was terrible setup for me. So then I ended up going to Palomar Community College for a couple years to get myself back on track, doing the, IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum) program. And probably by 2004 I found myself back here at Cal State San Marcos, you know, with a brand new focus, more (of an) understanding of what I wanted to do. Finally declared a major and two minors, like a crazy person. Like why would I wanna be the school more? I don't know. I ended up then graduating in the winter, or yet fall of 2007, but I walked, spring 2008, which was great because it felt really nice to kind of be able to represent my family, kind of being the first gen(eration) going across. And then it was like, what do I do now? And then I ended up going to San Diego State for my grad program, but that in itself wasn't even planned. Meyers: Um-Hm. Saldivar: This is kind of how my life has been. Meyers: Yeah. Saldivar: It just doesn't get planned. It just happens. Which is probably not a great (laughs) way to live life sometimes, unless you have a goal. It was my mentor, Dilcie Perez from the Cross-Cultural Center, or actually just kind of the student activities area and where she looked at me and she's like, “Did you ever think about making this a career?” And I was like, “What, I could get paid for this?” (both laugh). So that was kind of pretty much how it all happened in, the three months before I was graduating, I went to a info session about higher education programs and kind of figuring out that you could work with students, these are things that you could do to build your, your career in, in the collegiate setting. And I was like, oh, okay. I'll apply to of course, a California state school because that's how I can afford (laughs). And you know, still on my dad's, VA. Ended up getting in the San Diego State program. And so right after, the fall semester, I had a semester off because of the way that the, the, the calendar, schedule was laid out. So I had some work experience. So I ended up getting some work experience at the--oh my gosh. St. Paul? No, not St. Paul's. Oh my gosh. Father Joe's. Oh, my I’m like why I’m saying St. Paul's. Meyer: Yeah. Yeah. Saldivar: The Father Joe's Villages. I ended up, being a vocational counselor there for a couple months. And then I moved on to do my grad program at San Diego State. And then this was the longest title ever. Let me, let me see if I can get it right. Masters (laughs) of Arts in Higher Education with a Specialization in Student Affairs Administration. Meyer: Wow. Saldivar: Yeah (both laugh). You should see what it looks like on the degree (Meyer laughs). It's like, my gosh, what did it say? I'm like, just higher ed. Just, just say higher ed. Meyer: Just put et cetera at the end. Saldivar: Right. And (both laugh) everything's an acronym. So yeah, I went to San Diego State, got do-- done, and then I graduated in 2010, when the economy was just (blows raspberry, gives thumbs down gesture). Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: So it was a terrible time-- Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: To graduate because education was literally redlined. Nobody was hiring. People were, either being laid off or decreased (furloughed) and things like that. So I, it was, it was a difficult time because, you know, I grew up with that mentality, especially that, first gen mentality that if you go to college and you get these degrees, you're going to get a good job at the end. You're gonna get paid well, you're gonna be able to buy a house and all these other things, which is a very, you know, generational (laughs), you understand. We're like, yeah, here, we're now still paying rent. Meyer: Yeah Saldivar: So it was, it was very, it was very humbling. At the same time it was, it was an eye-opener to the reality of like, this is not really the American dream that I was fed to believe in a sense. If that'll, you know, if you're educated, you'll be much more successful, whatever that looks like in that terminology. I would say at least, probably 80 to 85% of our class did not end up in higher ed. Meyer: Um-Hm. Saldivar: They only got in if they were already doing an internship and then was already kind of luckily able to find funding to continue that internship into a part-time or, uh, what do you call it? A contracted job? So it wasn't even like they were full on (jobs). It was, you know, you're, we could, we could help keep you on for another year. And it was like yearly basis until they finally, leveled out and then got the full-time benefit stuff. So that's what happened to a lot of my, cohort, either they all ended up going home to where they, came from and then going into nonprofit or some type of K-12 (Kindergarten-twelfth grade) education prep program. So we tried to find jobs, or I definitely tried to find jobs that could still, you know, help hone in my skills that are transferrable to get back into higher ed. But it took a long time to do that. So, I mean that's kind of more of my, educational professional side (laughs) about me. I guess, on a more personal side, I'm the first born of two. So I have a younger brother, two years younger than me. I, you know, grew up, like I said, all over the place. My parents are, my mom is from the Philippines and then my dad's Chinese. So he's from China, Hong Kong. They both immigrated to the states probably when they were fifteen, sixteen. Meyer: Wow. Saldivar: Yeah. So they were like teenagers. So they still kind of had deep cultural ties to their homelands, but then also was at that point in where they were at school, where they could become more acclimated to their American culture and things like that. So I kind of, I wanted to be, say like, I'm one and a half, two generation kind of in a sense where they understood some of, you know, American norms and values and things like that, but at the same time had that duality of, how do we stay culturally close to ourselves and things like that. So it, growing up I still kind of, you know, butt heads in, in a sense (laughs) with my parents. Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: Like, well, that's not how I feel doing that now. Meyer: Yeah Saldivar: You know? I mean, even my grandma had immigrated later on and so, I had a lot of my family in the Bay Area. The San Francisco, San Jose, or Stockton area. And my Chinese grandma, R.I.P. (Rest In Peace) love her to death. She was very, very strict Chinese ma--grandma. And where she tried to marry me off so (laughs), I was like, oh, no, no, no, no, no. (laughs). I mean, I was too young to understand what was going on, but at least my mom was like, “We are not doing that!” Meyer: Oh my God. Saldivar: Yeah (laughs). Meyer: How, how old were you? Saldivar: I was probably about seven or eight when my grandma was grooming-- Meyer: Oh-- Saldivar: Me to, you know, prepare for like, have you met this child? Or, you know, I have a friend's son who's on my oh. What the heck? (Meyer laughs) No! Meyer: Your mom is like, “We're not, (both talking) we’re not doing this—" Saldivar: Yeah, exactly. We're not exactly (laughs). Meyer: Oh my gosh. Saldivar: Yeah. It was kind of neat because my, my--the thing is because my dad is a firstborn male of the family. So he's spoiled and everything and oh, since I'm the first daughter, you know, we have to make sure she's married off well. And then my, my brother who's actually considered the first-born male of the firstborn son gets so much better benefits and perks than I do. So even though I'm the first born (unintelligible) oh no, you're a female. But my son--my brother still gets like, everything. Meyer: And he's the baby. So it's, yeah. (Saldivar laughs). Oh man. Saldivar: Yeah. So that's kind of just a little bit about me. I know that was, a real deep dive into a lot of stuff. Meyer: No, that's great. That's great. Um, yeah, I, well that answers my question about your educational journey too. Which is perfect. Saldivar: There you go. Meyer: Um, and then I was just going to ask, how did you first become aware of the Cross-Cultural Center when you came onto Cal State San Marcos’ campus? Saldivar: That’s a, (laughs) that's actually a really good question. Um— Meyer: How did you wander in? Yeah. Saldivar: Yeah. And I think that's always the funny thing is people don't know about it. I think what was hard was when I was here on campus and versus like how it is now, it wasn't visible. Meyer: Oh OK. Saldivar: You--it was not even like an indicator. There was no signage, there was not like, how the Veterans Center is literally right there in the middle of campus or, you know, the Student Center is right there. The, the Cross-Cultural Center, or what it was called formerly is the Multicultural Center was in a back office kind of like this. It was hidden in Craven Hall (now Administrative Building), fourth floor way in. So when you walk in, it's not right there. It's like you have to go halfway through, then down this tiny corridor and then it's a door. Meyer: Um-Hm. Saldivar: And it's, you think, okay, either it's a janitor’s closet or it's where they keep all the, um, what do you call it, the computer stuff and everything— Meyer: Yeah Saldivar: Like a storage closet. You're just like, “Where is this place? Am I in the right place?” And (they’re) like, “Keep going down. (laughs) You're following the right area”. Like we had signs and arrows and everything. In different bright colors to make it feel like it's okay, (Meyer laughs) it's a safe space. You're coming to, you're know, we're not going to kidnap you or anything. (both talking) Meyer: This is not a meat locker. Saldivar: Right, exactly. You're going to make it out alive. Meyer: Yeah, yeah. Saldivar: The way I ended up getting there, funny enough was I was just going through--when I returned back to school, my focus was just get my degree and go, you know, I wasn't even thinking about being involved, you know, student life, things like that. That wasn't even on my radar, until I started taking community, what do you call it? Sociology classes. So my major was Communications and I minored in Sociology and Ethnics Studies and my Ethnic Studies teacher --I am terrible with names (laughs). I see her face Dr. Elsie, (whispers: Elsie), no, Elsa, Elsie (Dr. Sharon Elise), something like that. Meyer: Uh-Hm. Salvidar: And she--was talking about, you know, race and, racial identity and things like that. And so she was very involved in the school, and something came up in where there’s a position for ASI, our Associated Student Inc. for a Director of Diversity and Cultural Events or, something like that. I'm terrible remember(ing), those kind of details years back. But yeah, it was with ASI and I, so it was a Cultural and and Diversity Coordinator. So it'd be in charge of all the events regarding, you know, student orgs ,and things like that. So she know would talk about in this class and she was like, you know, this is available if you guys are interested and stuff. And then she personally took me aside and she's like, “I think you should go for this Dee.” I was like, “really?” She was like, “I think you might be good for it. You should try it out.” I was like, “Okay, cool.” That was my thing. (laughs) I was just like, okay, people see something in me, I guess I'll try it. It wasn't anything like, oh, I have so wanted this job, or I should be interested. It's like, okay, let me just fill it out and stuff and you know, and ask questions, you know, your personal identity. What do you think you would bring on campus? Why is cultural diversity important to you and, and to the students? Those are kind of some of the things I remember. And, and you know, I was filling it out, just kind of taking a lot of the experience. I grew up, you know, being a military child and being in San Francisco and other places and having to adjust to those. It's just, you know, feeling--just more of creating a belonging on campus. Meyer: Um-Hm. Salvidar: Because especially during that time, there was not a lot of students of color on, on campus. It was very predom-- we called it the pre-primarily, PWI. Primarily a White Institution (Predominately White Institution). That was, what do you call it? Oh geez, I forgot what you call it. Commuter (student body). Yeah. So it was very big commuter student, there was no student life on campus. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: It wasn't as lively as it was, is now or a couple years before. So I applied for it. I think I was the only one (laughs) that applied for it because I don't think, because ASI wasn't even really built up either. We were such a young campus. And so I interview it. I ended up being on the board and so that was kind of my shoe into student activities and student involvement. And that's where I got to meet other people, meet other campus organizations, realized, oh my gosh, there's much more to on-campus than going to class. Meyer: Right. Saldivar So from there I ended up, you know, having to--part of that position allowed me to network and coordinate with a lot of different folks on campus, which was great. And that's when I caught the attention of Alexis (Montevirgen, second Associate Director of Multicultural Programs). Who was a part of the Multicultural Center at a student affair, student activities department. And he would be attending some of the stuff that ASI would be putting on. And he's like, “So have you thought of, you know, maybe wanting to move into student, you know, affairs and activities? You know, I have a position that'd be coming up,” you know, but because with ASI it was only a one-year thing. So it wasn't like you could continue. I mean, I could continue on if I wanted to, but, you know it was just my foot on the door just trying to see what, it was about. And he's like, “Yeah, you know, we actually have a center that you could be a peer educator and all this stuff come by. Let's talk. You know, I'd love to see what you'd be interested in doing for us.” And, and, it was kind of amazing to see a male Filipino-- Meyer: Um-Hm Saldivar: Faculty, staff member on campus. Because it was like, wait, there's somebody that looks like me and he's interested in what I have to do and talk about. So it was kind of really neat to kind of see him as a mentor and a friend and somebody that looks like me, but could understand also culturally, you know, where we come from. What was interesting was I hadn't really explored my Filipino identity as much, because I wasn't really exposed to it other than my family. And so I felt more closely to my Chinese American identity. So him being Filipino and being like, hey, you know, I see you, let’s work together. Let's figure out what we could do. I felt like it was an opportunity for me not just to, you know, be a part of that center, but also to help kind of selfishly myself, kind of, I learned who I am. Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: You know, in this role. So after I did ASI for the one year, they're like, “So you want to continue?” I'm like, “Actually I want to move over there (points, laughs).” So they, they always laugh because Sarah Gallegos was my supervisor for ASI. So her and Alexis, you know, would work together and stuff and she's like, “You stole my person (laughs).” So they would always joke about that and everything. “Stop stealing my people!” Meyer: They're poaching. Saldivar: Right. Exactly. He literally just straight up poached me. He's like, so you interested. So that's how I ended up being a part of the Multicultural Center as, it was, it was a different title at that time. It was, I, I don't know if it was ambassador or, because it wasn't even called peer educator at that time. It was just kind of like, I was his assistant because the peer educator program hadn't, hadn't even started yet. We were in, he was in the— the works of actually building it. So I kind of came on more as a, as like an executive assistant to him helping him organize what is the peer education supposed to look like? What are some programs we could start doing? Things like that. So looking at more of the administrative logistic planning of it before even, just even being a student. So it was kind of nice because, I was able to do some of my work experience to like, hey, you know, let's get my type A personality going here. Yeah. So (laughs). Yeah. So that's how I fell into it. And I was there for almost two and a half, three years. Meyer: Wow. Saldivar: Yeah. I continued on with it. He was just like, yeah, you're staying on. I'm like, okay. (laughs). Meyer: Aw. Saldivar: Yeah. Meyer: Well, it sounds like you were really essential to the early space. Saldivar: I want to say I am, I guess. I mean, I was just in it because I felt like it was such a great opportunity to create a space for students who, didn't feel like they belonged on campus. And just to be with great minds who want to think big and create a culture and a system of, what do you call it? Just, you know, integrate a lot of things on campus that wasn't there. And it was, I felt like it was one of, what do you call it? Now, I'm looking back like I'm, when I was young I was like, “I’m in it. This is fun. Yay!” Just go ahead and do this because, you know, I just want to be part of it and I'm now looking back like, I was in an incubator. Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: I literally was in a startup not realizing it was a startup. So yeah. I was kind of looking back like, oh dang, (laughs). I did all that. Oh— Meyer: You were at the beginning of something really big. Yeah. Saldivar: Yeah. Meyer: So it sounds like the Cross-Cultural Center, or the Multi-Cultural Center as it was called, was a lot smaller when you started. Saldivar: Oh my gosh, yes (both laugh). Meyer : How would you say it was different when you started and when you left? Saldivar: Oh my gosh. We had people (laughs), the campus community actually knew what the Cross-Cultural Center was. So that was really, it was so interesting to see within the two-and-a-half, three years how much it had grown. When I started it was just me and Alexis in this small little room, red couches, you know, we had some posters up. We had a bookcase full of just some, you know, books that we called “our library” (laughs). Now that, I think have a huge like, depository of information that people can have resources to. But at that time we didn't even have this library, so it was-- Meyer: Wow. Saldivar: I know it's hard to imagine (laughs). So there wasn't like a lot of resources focused on DEI (Diversity and Equity) work, you know, even it was even called DEI work at that time. It was just called, you know , you know, diversity and multiculturalism. So a lot of the lingo has even changed from the time I was there to now. I think what, I mean, just breaking it down to even certain years, the first year was just building, just building a foundation, getting down what is the Multi-Cultural Center about what’s its place on campus and how can we be in collaboration and community with all the other centers that were even being established. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: So it was nice that it was a really good time for the Cross-Cultural Center, Women's Center, um, the LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender) Center, the Pride Center, all those centers kind of working together to build each other up. You know, we knew that it was important to have these centers, but we didn't wanna have just one centralized one that filled everything. Its like, no, we need to really, I don't wanna say--segment them. But we, they did needed to be segmented because there's all different sorts of needs for each one. But we also wanted to work together as, you know, we are here together as a whole but specifically they could help you with these certain things. You know. So we were, that was such a great time in where we didn't, we weren't fighting for resources and I think still they're not fighting for resources, so, which is good. So we started in Craven Hall, the small little area, and I think what really helped was just having students come and just hang out and know there's a space for them. Yeah. It ended up being a lot of API (Asian Pacific Islander) students of course. So, you know, it kind of, it was hard to get that stigma off for a while that's like, “Oh, that's the Asian Center.” It's like, no, we're actually open to a lot more people. But it just happened to be a lot of Asians in here. Meyer: You're not the first person who said that. Saldivar: Yeah. Meyer: I’ve heard that a few times. Saldivar: Yeah. I know Floyd is still dealing with that. (both talking) Meyer: Yeah, Floyd mentioned that. Saldivar: I’m sorry, I'm so sorry (laughs). Myere: No— Saldivar: Because what, what was nice about the, the, the Multicultural Center or when it changed to the Cross-Cultural Center was that it was a nice incubator for student organizations to start too. There was, since there's no space for folks, there's no space to grow. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: And no space to, to create communities. And so that's kind of what happened with the Cross-Culture Center--well, I like Cross-Cultural Center, but it's Multicultural Center--back then Multicultural Center (laughs) was, it was an incubator for, for student orgs (organizations). So Kamalayan Alliance actually started from there. The Filipino organization that me, and actually my husband was a part of the, the found founding group. Yeah. So we founded that and it's crazy to see how far they are. And I was, oh god, 20 something years later. Oh, that makes me feel old. And they're like, “Oh yeah, 26th anniversary.” I'm like, “has it been 26 years?” Meyer: You're like, can we say 15 maybe? Saldivar: Can we just say anniversary? Just, just leave the number out. Meyer: Yeah (both laugh). Saldivar: It's crazy to see how many generations have gone through that. I know--what do you call, APSA? The Asian Pacific Student Society? The Vietnamese group. I know we also helped, and this was later on also, you know, the Black Student Union, things like that. And kind of just developing and growing and finding spaces to find each other. And then being able to create that community. And then if they needed to go off and do their own thing, that was fine too. But we just were happy that, hey, people found each other through here and they were able to do something and create action. So that was kind of a really, something that I hold dear to my heart is that there was a space for students to do that and to find friendships and god, I don't know how many of them got married to each other. Meyer: Aw. Saldivar: (laughs) There’s a lot of people that are like, oh, you're still together. We're still best friends and now y'all have kids. And it's crazy how much the, the, that space had, impacted so many people so many years later. Meyer: Wow. Yeah. Saldivar: So I guess, so what else happened there? I mean, there's just so much (laughs). We did move three times, the time I was there, so it was nice that they realized this space is too small for us. They ended up, the main office ended up taking note of how many students were coming in a day. So then they could show to, I don't know, the chancellor, the provost, I still don't understand the hierarchy. And I'm a student and I'm in higher ed(ucation). And I was like, what (laughs) You know, they're like, there's a need here. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: You see what's happening is that these students are coming in, they're using the space, they're doing this, this, this, and this. So they were provide--so us, us students just hanging out and chilling and doing whatever we're doing there. They were using us, as I won’t saying using us. But, you know, they were using us as a case study saying, “Hey, this is something important to us. Look what's happening. We need a bigger space.” And so what was nice is that through, I think between 2005, five and six or six or six or seven, we ended up moving us to the bottom floor of the Craven Hall. Or was it the first floor? It's one of the, the lower ends. Which was nice because not only was it semi-visible to, the students now, because people would have to walk by the center to get to the one stop. And we were in front of that really nice, painted mural. But they also, it was a bigger space. It was an awkward space, but it was bigger. It was this weird triangle and were like, how are we gonna fit anything? So it was really weird, like sectioned off stuff. It was weird. But what was nice is that because of being more visible people were able to see, “Hey, wait, what's going on in there? Oh, that looks cool.” Then we were able to even promote more of our programs and be like, hey, have you guys heard of this? Or, you know, here's a flyer, here's A-frames. Things like that. The red couches still, still came with us because the red couches came (both laugh) wherever we went. Everybody knew us by the red couches. I think, that was really one of the key things that brought a lot of students in, because you know, I mean, before we just had-- Meyer: Benches Saldivar: Benches. And basic chairs. And it was not comfortable. It didn't feel welcoming. People like, “Hey, you wanna take a nap? We got some red couches.” People just pass out there next thing (Meyer laughs) you know, they made it a home. You know. Other things that happened in there was when a lot of programming was starting to be developed. So I was there as the assistant for about six months until the new semester kicked in. And me and Alexis had come up, helped develop the peer educator program. So the peer educator program consisted of four peer educators. I was kind of the main lead one. Jay (Franklin) was hired on as, the LGBTQ peer educator. And then there was Brittany, which I forgot her, what her specific one was. And then there was Stephanie who was like spiritual and religious. So we were kind of sectioned off into certain areas of our expertise to kind of help reach out to those groups. At that time it kind of worked because it was such a small population of the students, we could do that. As time has gone on, they just made 'em all peer educators and they were just kind of more cross trained in everything and anything. And whoever had those expertise would be kind of referred to. So it became more of a referral system than it was like, “Oh, you go to Jay because he's specifically this identity.” But it was great because we were able to all really learn from each other. Oh yeah. And then there was Cher, how can I forget, I forgot Cher. Cher is fun. Cher just, her (laughs) demeanor was so different, she was, very introverted, but once you got to know her, oh, she had the most sassiest mouth ever. And I'm just like, “Cher! We can't say that!” (Both laugh) But she was great. She, we, we came really close. And I think that's what I love about being in that peer educator program that we became really close. You know, we were all in it brand new. First of all, we were all students of color, so we're like, oh my god, there's more you know (laughs). And it was a great learning opportunity for all of us. So the things that we didn't know or understand, it was a safe space for us to explore that. So as peer educators, you know, we came up with some programming for the students. So we did things, and it kind of kind of all organically came together. You know, one, one of the things that we all worked on was called Multicultural Mondays. So on Mondays, once or every twice a month, I forgot what days.(laughs). There was a, you know, a certain schedule to it. We would, look at certain identities or things that would be meaningful for the students to wanna explore. So just kind of added programming to it. One of the things that I love that I hold dear to my heart was one of the programs we did called “Dinner Dialogues.” That was a very pricey program, but it worked (laughs). I'm like, “Do we have a budget?” (Both laugh) I didn't know what that was. I'm just like, “Can I have money for this?” Meyer: Well, Jay was saying, getting people in with food always worked. Saldivar: Oh gosh. Yeah. We ended up having a fridge and a microwave, but until we moved down to the, to the second floor. So yeah. That's one of things. Like we got food, we got pizza because, the campus was a food desert. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: We had nothing other than the Dome (food services originally operated by San Diego State University’s Aztec Shops). And the Dome was one of, first of all kind of expensive, and two, it was gross (both laugh). It was, oh. Oh no. So one of the things that we came up with called Dinner Dialogues, and it was a really great, I wanna say experience of how that organically happened as a program. It was just a bunch of students, hanging out in the Cross-Cultural Center past four o'clock, which was very rare because nobody wanted to be on campus past two. Usually the classes ended at two, you were gone. But these students felt safe. They felt home. They felt like, this is where I want to be. So we all ended up just getting food. I think this was when Chick-fil-A opened and we all got free, what do you call it? Chicken sandwich passes. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: So we all went got like (laughs), thirty-five sandwiches. Oh, it was crazy. And yeah, we all sat there, we're just all eating. And we started talking about-- it was my, my good friend Jacob Dansler, he was, Black male and it was some of us and we were all, you know, all from different backgrounds and stuff. And we were talking about some of the challenges that we've had as a person of color or what it mean to be a man of color, or a woman of color or, you know, LGBQ person of color. And it was really cool to kind of just sit there and have that kind of dialogue with each other and learn and be able to ask questions that were, I wouldn't say in, in a way that we didn't feel like we were being judged for asking these questions. It was a very safe space and a space for learning and, and feeling, you know, we actually have a lot more in common than we realized. And people were like, you know, we need to make this a program. This is cool. I would love to have these kind of spaces where we could talk about these things like this. And so that's where Dinner Dialogues ended up coming out and we're like, yeah, free meal, but at the same time, let me talk with you about things that maybe we don't have these opportunities to talk about all the time . So it was really great. That program kicked off really well and we had ended up having, I think it was for two years until I actually ended up leaving. And then I don't know what happened if it continued or if it morphed and changed ‘cause it always changes with people who come in. But yeah, I think that was one of really one of the main things that kicked off there. And then Jay, because he was the LGBTQ peer educator, he also was able to bridge a lot of the communities together and start, start planning out the Pride Center. And so that was kind of really nice in where the, the Multicultural Center was the hub of creating more and building more and growing out. So while he was there, we worked together in supporting not only the, oh gosh, LGBT group, but then also, okay, how are we gonna get a space for these students as well? So that was a really big achievement for Jay and for the Cross-Cultural Center in that sense. And it was nice that we were able to support each other in building those communities. You know, mine was Kamalayan, his was-- Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: You know, the pride, oh, we call it, I think Britney was helping with the BSU (Black Student Union) part, things like that. So we were all there to support each other, support the students and just, I don't know, we were just doing it because we wanted to. It's just ‘cause we had the passion for it and we loved it. I don't think we—it was like fully intentional what we were doing. And until we're like, oh crap, look what we did (laughs). Meyer: Yeah. You wanted to create a space for you and the people on campus and it just kept being a space. Saldivar: Yeah. Meyer: That's great. Saldivar: Yeah. Meyer: All right. Saldivar: I know, I think I've-- there's so much. I hope I'm catching everything (laughs). Meyer: No, you're, you're actually answering some of the questions before I even ask 'em, which is great-- (both talking) Saldivar: Oh, perfect. Okay good. Meyer: Yeah. How did it, how did the Cross-Cultural Center help you develop and express your cultural identity? Saldivar: Oh gosh. I think it made me, I think it was, it was, that was just one of the many layers upon my education studies here. Because in my communications major, and because minoring in sociology and ethnic studies, those classes helped me really look internally of who I was, what my identities meant, how they came across to, to the students, to the people that I work with. You know, really being able to put all that theory and then the Cross-Cultural Center allowed me to put it into practice. Oh god, I sound old (laughs). Meyer: No. Saldivar: Being able to put those together. I'm like, ah, makes me (unintelligible). Meyer: No that's, that's a great way to put it. Yeah. Saldivar: Yeah. And I think that helped me a lot in regards to the development of who I was becoming and who I am now. You know, coming into a college, like I said, you know, first gen(eration) Chinese, Filipino-American, I'd like, what does that, what did that mean to me? You know, even when I, I went into college, I didn't even know, I didn't even know that I was considered first gen. I was just like, yeah, I'm going to college because everybody says I should, or, you know, my parents weren't able to go and they said I should go, so I'm gonna go, you know, you just don't have that frame of reference until you get into a space. They're like, “Oh, are you the first one to go in your family? Oh, so you’re the first gen.” Wait, what, what does that mean? So, and so, you know, not realizing there's the support systems and things like that to help you and understand and develop that. And I think that's what really helped me was with that Cross-Cultural Center is to be--is to meet not only my community and people and friends, lifelong friends, who’re gonna help me, you know, be where I am today. But also meeting the mentors and the folks who do the work and how they've helped me understand more of, I guess the practice and, and the acknowledgement of like, it's okay to be uncomfortable. You know, it's, it, it's it, you have to be uncomfortable with the un-- you have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, you know, these are things that I don't know, and it's okay not to know. You know, you're gonna move into certain spaces where you're gonna feel uncomfortable and how do you unpackage that? How do you take that and make it into a learning opportunity? And that's one thing that Dilcie Perez has-- she taught me throughout my time being there . She was such a great guidance and mentor for me that I give her kudos to everything about what I do with the work that I do. I remember when I was asked to return back for the 15th-year anniversary of the Cross-Cultural Center, and they asked me and Jay to be speakers, I was like, “Oh, good lord, what am I supposed to talk about?” (both laugh) There's so much to talk about! And it took me a while to realize what I wanted to say. And it came back in, to the fact of being intentional. And that always stuck with me. The one thing that Dilcie always said to me, she was like, what's your intentions on what you know, of what you're doing? Why are you doing this? Meyers: Um-Hm. Salvidar: So I wasn't just doing something for the sake of doing it, but just to understand, you know, is there an impact? What are the consequences? What is the bigger picture that you're trying to achieve? Even (Former Dean of Students, Gregory) Toya was a really great, mentor and where he asked, “What are the students learning outcomes?” I was like, students what (laughs)? What, what? He's like, yeah. Why are we putting on this? Why are you putting on this project? Or why are you putting on this program? What do you want the students to learn? So that really gave me a great foundation and understanding of, why am I doing this? Just, am I doing it for the sake of doing it? Is it self-serving, or is it really here for the students? And being kind of in a, in a selfish (selfless?) teaching moment. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: So I, I wanna say that the Cross-Cultural center really helped me build, you know, a framework or a lens of how I move forward in doing whatever I do or move, as I grow up, you know, it's like, oh my gosh, it made me mature (laughs)! Meyer: They gave you a little toolkit with all the stuff you-- Salvidar: Right. Meyer: You needed for adult life. Saldivar: Exactly. And I, and I thank them for that. ‘Cause now that I'm, you know, now in kind of their space. In their spot. It's so weird to have that flip in where I was looking for mentors who look like me or who I could connect to. But now I'm in that space and where I'm the mentor and where I'm reaching out to students say, “Hey, I see you. Let me, you know, I'm here for you. If you need a space or someone to talk to, I'm here.” You know, and it's so weird to be in that odd spot (laughs) right now, but it's because of them that they were such great models by example that I now have those skills and that toolkit to be like, okay, you know what? I know what it feels like to be in that spot. Let me help you get to where you wanna be. Let me help you unpackage what's going on with your lives and things like that. You know, just an example was a couple weeks ago I had a grad student, who identifies as Chinese American reach out to me. And she's like, I wanna be in where you are at in doing marketing and communication. But how do I, you know, deal with the cultural, challenges with my parents who want me to be in the medical field. Meyer: Um-Hm. Salvidar: And I was like, oh girl, let's talk (both laugh)! You know? And so it was really nice and, and I would say the experience of being, being able to talk to her and her just at the end feeling so relieved and feeling like she could find someone that she could connect to. Someone that she was able to be like, oh my god, I'm not alone in this feeling and this experience and it's okay to feel what I'm feeling. Was such an elated moment for me to be like, oh my gosh, I can still help students (laughs). You know-- Meyer: You took that weight off her shoulders. Saldivar: Yeah. And it felt good to be, you know, I was there and I didn't have anyone to help me with navigating that. And I'm glad that I was able to be there for her to have those experiences that I could be able to connect with someone else who's going through the same thing. So yeah, the Cross-Cultural Center helped me grow a lot, Personally a lot. In understanding who I am, what space I take, what space I should take, you know, what being present means. In spaces that don't have many people of color or female people of color. Yeah. I mean it's (laughs). It's a lot. It's a lot. Yeah. Meyer: And I understand that you made a lot of friends there and met your husband at the Cross-Cultural Center. Saldivar: (laughs) Yes. Meyer: Tell us a little bit about how you guys met. Saldivar: Oh my gosh. (laughs). Meyer: Well, it's relevant to the Cross-Cultural Center, so. Saldivar: Right. Yeah. I mean, that's the funny thing. It's just, wow, y'all (both laugh) we're, we're like, y'all met and y'all married, now you have a kid. Okay! Meyer: So you're not the only ones. There's multiple. Saldivar: There were several people who, I would say yeah, got married some of our best friends and stuff. So me and Randy (Saldivar), met through a friend. It was not intentional when we first met. I was actually working with ASI at the time. So we were, I was at the cancer, one of the cancer walks, the Susan G. Koman cancer walks that we had on here at the field. I was a part of, you know, the walking team and my good friend Trish at the time, she was another Filipina-American and who were able to connect, was there with me to help support. And we were both at the check-in, check-in table at that time. And this is when we had the Nokia phones. Okay. Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: This is how old it was. So she (laughs)--her. Randy had called her ‘cause I guess he was studying at the library. He was like, “Hey, what's up? What are you doing?” She's like, “Hey, come down.” You know, “I'm with my friend Dee, and we're at this thing, you know, just come and hang out.” He's like, okay. I didn't even know who he was. I didn't know who this guy was. She's like, oh, my friend's coming over. I'm like, okay, cool. I'm sitting there with my--I was in a Japanese 101 at this time, so I have my Japanese book out. I'm reading it, you know, he comes down with his boom box and (Meyers laughs) and I’m, I was like, what are you doing? He's like, oh yeah, you know, just B-boying. And I'm like, okay, cool. Whatever. You know, I didn't know anything about the hip-hop culture and stuff. And she's like, “Oh, this is my friend Randy, Randy this Dee,” I'm like, “Cool. Okay.” And he looks down and he is like, “Oh, you're studying Japanese?” I'm like, “Yeah, I'm in 101.” He's like, “Oh, I took it.” I was like, “Oh cool. How was it?” He's like, “Oh, it's really fun. He's like, do you need help with it?” I'm like, “No, I'm cool, thanks.” So (both laugh). So that's was my first initial meeting with him. Not even a thought. He was just a passing thought. And there was another time where they had the International Festival here on campus, and it was me and Trish again. And we're eating Ramen sitting on the floor. Randy comes by, says hi again. And this is a time where we had the old school, film. Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: So we didn't have phones or anything. It was just, yeah, he was going around taking pictures, right, and--but this is where you could actually get it digitally downloaded, which was weird. On a CD, and he had taken a picture of me and Trish and it wasn't until years later when we started dating where we're going through photos. And it was labeled “Trish and Friend.” Meyer: Oh my God. (laughs) Saldivar: I was like-- Meyer: That's your wife. Saldivar: I was like, Randy, that's, that's me (both laugh). He was like, wait, what? He looks back, oh my god, I took a picture of you two (laughs). And we couldn’t stop dying. Just, we had all of these opportunities that we had met. And nothing. He wasn't attracted to me. I wasn't attracted to him. We had no clue. We even met each other. We're like, ah-ha. Cool. Okay. Bye. It wasn't until our friend Trish had decided when, you know after we were kind of starting the Cross-Cultural Center and stuff. It's, you know, let's create a, a student organization for Filipino-Americans or folks who were interested in the Filipino-American culture. Great. So she asked me to be on board. My friend Marvin, asked Randy to be on it, and her friend Katie. So it was the five of us. And we, we, that's when we literally first intentionally met each other. Like, oh, hey, okay. I thought of him as a little brother. I was like, cool (laughs), you know, whatever. And so then we would go to the Cross-Cultural Center, or the Multicultural Center to hold meetings just to hang out, you know? ‘Cause Alexis ended up being our advisor as well. So then we would ask him, okay, how do we, you know, how do we start this (student organization)? Or what are things that we need to do? You know, we ended up having our first GBM, you know, and, and saying, okay. So we started kind of building out the, the, the student org here and there. During that time there was probably about--we knew each other for about a good eight months by now. We just still friends. We just kil-, I don't even pay attention to him. He don't pay attention to me. We're just like, yeah, cool. Have you seen this movie? Cool. Have you seen this? Okay. Yeah. We're just hanging out. And then, masquerade ball was around the corner. And all of us were like, yeah, let's go. Let's go to masquerade ball. Woo! You know, let's just dress up and dance. And it was my friend Trish who was like, “So have you thought of, what do you think of Randy?” And I was like, what do you mean what do I think of Randy? “Like, you know, what do you think of him? Like, you think he's cute or something?” And I was like, “Uh, he's okay. I mean, he's nice.” Like she, I, you know, she's trying to plant seeds in my head. On the flip end, she's planting seeds on his end. Meyer: Oh. Saldivar: “So what do you think about Dee?” I was like, what! Meyer: One of those friends-- Saldivar: Yeah. Yeah. She's like, I see something, but you both don't see it. So she was playing matchmaker. And so one time, we were supposed to all meet and go to, a GBM meeting, or we call FCC, Filipino Collegiate Collaborative. So this is where, all the schools across San Diego, USC (University of Southern California), UCSD (University of San Diego), San Diego State and us (CSUSM) were supposed to meet all the Filipino American organizations. So we worked together outside of the school to work with other student orgs, which was really cool. So we were supposed to have our meeting, and it was supposed to be me, Trish, and Randy. And Trish was like, “Oh no, I'm sick. I can't go, but if you two wanna go.” I'm like, okay (laughs). Literally, that's kind of how it ended up going. “Okay. So, you wanna go to like, masquerade ball together?” “Sure. Okay.” So it ended up kind of being our first date in a sense. And then from there, you know, we were kind of dating and-- Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: Because we were still involved in, you know, Kamalayan Alliance. We were coming, as you could tell to the center, he would help out and volunteer a lot, you know, and he saw, you know, Alexis, he's like, “Hey, another Filipino. Yay!” So, you know, we all started kind of building the community and you know, we're spending more time together. He's helping out a lot. And then next thing you know, it's, I'm the one who asked him out (laughs). I was like, so, you know what's going on? (Meyer laughs) And he is like, hey, yeah. I was like, “So do you wanna go out or something?” And he looks at me and he's like, “Yeah, sure. Where do you want to eat?” (Meyer laughs) I was like, “What?” “Yeah. You said you wanna go out, so where do you want to eat?” I'm like, oh my god, you’re so dense. (laughs). I was like, no, do you, wanna be, you know, exclusive? He was like, “Oh yeah. Okay, cool.“ Meyer: Where do you want to eat? Right? Saldivar: He's like, uh, so this-- it tells you so much about his personality. We are so different from each other (laughs), you know, and, he's such a great support. He, when we talk about it, we laugh about it. I'm always the very type A business type of person behind the scenes. Let's get the logistics and stuff going. He's the PR (public relations) of it all. He can talk people's ear off, he can find people's stories, he can connect with them. And then once he does a connection here, here's Dee. And then, you know, I get all this stuff taken care of (laughs). So it was really cool. We've, we worked really well in tandem. And I, I'm surprised at the age that we were at, we were early twenties nobody knew we were dating. Meyer: Oh wow. Saldivar: We were very professional in a sense of where nobody knew in the student org or even sometimes in the Cross-Cultural Center that we were even together, we kept it very, professional. Didn't do the whole PDA (Public Display of Affection) thing. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: No. You know, we're not here to do that. We're here to serve our community. And I think at such a young age and stage of our relationship of being able to do that, helped us really kind of be able to be really good partners. In the sense where what we do here is for, you know, a different purpose versus what we do here. Meyer: Right Saldivar: I think it was the one time (laughs) at a GBM, this is where the students really started growing. You know, we had almost forty to fifty members by the second, third year, and we had people come through the center and stuff. (laughs) When GBM, he went to go off to go get lunch and he is like, let me go grab something before the, the, the meeting and I'll see you. I'll be right back. And then he gave me a kiss. Everyone freaked out. They're like, oh, what? Meyer: Oh. Saldivar: They're like, what? (laughs) We’re like, what? They’re like what was that? (points, laughs), and we’re like, oh, y'all don't know yet? Like really a core small group of us. The ones right here knew, you know. Meyer: But everyone else. Saldivar: Everyone else, because I guess because they didn't hang out with us outside of the Cross-Cultural Center or at our house or when we went to the dinner and things like that. We really kept it. We, we didn't know we were that good at keeping it very separate. You know, when we go out to sushi or dinner, hang out at people's houses and we were, you know, completely different people. But we were in a school setting or the Kamalayan setting, we were very--we are officers, we are representatives of this, you know, this space. We need to be kind of, you know, professional. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: So yeah. That moment that kiss happened, people were like, (gasps)? And we had people, no, you're lying. You're all lying to us. You just, no, you're trying to prank, someone was so sure we were probably, we were trying to just get a rise out of people. We're like, no, we've been together for like six months now. They're like, (gasps) no! (laughs). So it was, it was crazy. It was, that's how we ended up meeting, you know, he graduated in Kinesiology in 2009. Yeah. He--and what was nice is that in, he was also the president of Kamalayan, probably within the first two or three years. And the Cross-Cultural Center helped in creating a lot of the success of Kamalayan and where we had the first API (Asian Pacific Islanders) graduate ceremony. Meyer: Oh. Saldivar: Now that has been going on. And we used the center, oh my gosh, that was so crazy. (laughs). We had used the Cross-Cultural Center as a place to build the graduate, the, the planning of the graduate. And we also made the stoles. This is how we had no budget. So we went to Michael's (craft store) and bought the thickest red stole, I mean, red ribbon we could. Meyer: Oh yeah. Saldivar: And black puffy paint. Meyer: Oh no. Saldivar: And we're sitting there, (painting) 2005. Meyer: And that never looks even or clean. Saldivar: Oh no. It was a hot, ugly mess. (Meyer laughs) And you know, we put API grad and there's, you know we're trying to sit there and make it dry, so nothing's smearing. We had red ribbons everywhere and Alexis was like, what the heck is going on? I'm like, “We're making stoles!” (Both laugh) And he's like, oh boy. So I'm--yeah. A lot of the things that happened, like I said, the Cross-Cultural Center was an incubator. A lot of things was DIY (Do It Yourself). It was handmade. You had no budget. So what were we gonna do? You know, we had a lot of, thank goodness we had a lot of support from departments and different, areas with, other API folks who were like, yeah, we got budgets that we could go ahead and just hand over to you or, you know, we'll support you or sponsor you in this or sponsor you in that. So, oh, thank goodness for this community because I don't know if we would’ve got where we are today without really, the support of the school to see that there is a need and it wasn't coming up from the president or things like that. It was coming from the ground up. So that was really cool. Meyer: You were asking for what you needed, not having someone tell you. Yeah. Saldivar: Exactly. And they're like, oh, we--that's what made a, I think Cal State San Marcos such a unique school is that they listen to the people from the ground. It's not directives always coming from the top saying, hey, we need this, or you need to do this, or you need to do this. It's like, no, the students are saying something, how can we meet their needs? Type of thing. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: So it's been really cool in seeing that dynamic versus a lot of other institutions that believe or think that, you know, this is what the students want, but not really listening to them. Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: So yeah. So yeah, all in all, that's how me and Randy met. And we ended up getting married after I finished my master's program. And then now we have a child. Two of our other friends, Mike and Darlene met through, he was part of Kamalayan and she was a part of VSA, the Vietnamese Student Association. And we worked really well together, or we worked closely together and we ended up being, you know, in the Cross-Cultural Center as well. And so she ended up asking him out and he was like, “Sure, okay. I didn't know you liked me.” (Both laugh). And now they're together, married. And then other, there's another couple come Kamalayan Alliance that also was a part of the Cross-Cultural Center and they ended up doing, PCN together, Filipino Culture Night. Which was another thing the Cross-Cultural Center helped create and establishing a lot of that stuff too. And now they're married (laughs). So yeah, there's a lot of married couples coming out and just, you know, we're still really all in touch with each other. People have ended up, generations after us, one of our good friends Jael he was part of Kamalayan Alliance, I'm not sure if he was part of the board, but now he owns and runs his own polvorón company, called Papa's Polvorón. And where he's now has his--it started out as like a at home kitchen type of thing. And he was at the farmer's markets. Now he has his product in a lot of the Filipino stores, across the nation. So it's like, geez, (laughs). Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: You know, it's really nice to see where all of the students and people who've been through the Cross-Cultural Center and where they are now. You know, and I think that's just one of the biggest rewards I see. Being a part of that community was like, wow, I was there to see y'all start like, “I don't know what I wanna do. I just wanna go and, eat all you can eat sushi.” To, now they're having families and having own businesses and doing great things and great work, you know? So Yeah. So yeah. That's how I met my husband (laughs). Long story short. Meyer: Well it's so intertwined with the story of the Center for you. So I think it's really cool the, you know. Yeah. Saldivar: When we, took our engagement photos we came back to the center, we came back to the campus because this has so much meaning for us. Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: You know-- Meyer: I'll add the pictures, to the file later. Saldivar: Yeah. Meyer: But, just so people know what you're talking about, the picture of you when you thought it was, like a conference and it was a surprise actually. Saldivar: Yeah. (laughs) Meyer: That’s that's really sweet. Yeah. What role do you see the Cross-Cultural Center playing going forward as it coexist with these other identity-specific spaces? You said it's kinda like a support, an incubator, it helps kind of foster the activities of the other programs. Saldivar: Yeah. I think when, when it was in, during my time generation, that's what it was. Now, I mean, it's grown so much and where I, I want--in a sad way that I don't recognize it anymore, but that's a good thing. Because that means there has been growth and development and changes. And I'd rather see that than stay where it is stagnant-wise. What role it has now on the campus, I--I don't really know. Meyer: You've been off campus for awhile (laughs). Saldivar: I’ve been off campus for a while, so it's like, oh, I don’t know what it's gonna be. I mean, what they're doing now, it, it--and I want them to continue what they're doing: is to just continue to, to grow support, find changes. I mean, a lot of the things that I've seen is, you know, with their programming has changed. Which I think it's great, it's changing with the times and that's how all centers should be is, you know, they have to go with what's going on with the students. If they're not willing to change or, be flexible, then what's kind of, what's the purpose of the center? Meyer: Yeah. Saldivar: You know, that's kind of the (laughs) thing I could say because I mean, I've been so removed. Meyer: Right. Saldivar: I mean, other than coming back and, you know, being like, “Yay. Hi everybody.” I'm like-- Meyer: You haven't been hands-on with the center for a while. Saldivar: Yeah. Meyer: Of course, of course. Saldivar: Yeah. I'm, I'm the person that used to be here years ago (laughs). “No, don't call me Auntie, please!” (Both laugh) Meyer: And are there any other memories you wanna share that, um, like I know there were retreats that you guys (video cuts out, battery ran down, audio recording) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en video Property rights reside with the university. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. &#13 ; &#13 ; This resource is licensed for noncommercial educational use using CC NC-BY 4.0. Please contact Special Collections at archives csusm.edu if you need reproductions made. Please see the related “Preferred Citation note” for language on citing materials from this collection. &#13 ; &#13 ; Permission to examine Library materials is not authorization to publish or to reproduce the examined material in whole, or in part. 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The researcher agrees not to record, reproduce, or disclose any Social Security number or other information of a highly personal nature that may be found. 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=SaldivarDiana_StanleySeth_2023-04-14.xml SaldivarDiana_StanleySeth_2023-04-14.xml https://archivesearch.csusm.edu/repositories/3/resources/19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saldivar, Diana. Interview April 14th 2023. Description An account of the resource Diana Saldivar is a California State University San Marcos alumna. She graduated with her degree in Communications, Sociology and Ethnic Studies. Saldivar worked at the Cross-Cultural Center from 2004-2007 and was also involved in the Asian Pacific Islander Student Society, Kamalayan Alliance, and with Associated Students Incorporated (student government). In her interview, Saldivar discusses how the Cross-Cultural Center provided her with a sense of belonging on campus and served as a second home. Saldivar explains how the center provided her with lifelong friendships, skills and connections that has helped her become the person she is today. Saldivar recounts how the CCC provided a safe space, allowing for conversations with others that are often deemed controversial, and how the center encouraged those to constantly seek knowledge. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SC027-39 Subject The topic of the resource California State University San Marcos. Cross-Cultural Center California State University San Marcos. Kamalayan Alliance California State University San Marcos. Associated Students Incorporated California State University. Multicultural Programs Filipino Americans Human rights Student success San Diego State University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-04-14 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Diana Saldivar Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Madeleine Meyer Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant San Marcos (Calif.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Language A language of the resource English Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Diana Saldivar Asian Pacific Islander Desi American experience Cross-Cultural Center oral history project CSUSM history Women's experience https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/files/original/67921431bd6e9ca8ce1ba1d3c044d068.pdf 7cbc407be4bff4412696fcbf4fb57a8f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Transcripts Description An account of the resource Written oral histories and transcripts are available for researchers that prefer the written word, or to see the whole interview in a document. Transcripts of <a href="https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/collections/show/5">audio and video files</a> are also available as part of those video files. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lacea, Jan Michael Letigio. Interview transcript, November 8, 2024. Description An account of the resource Jan Michael Letigio Lacea served in the Navy for eight years. He was frocked Petty Officer First Class HM1 (Hospital Corpsman First Class) before he left the service. Lacea described his service in the Philippines for Operation Enduring Freedom, and he reflected on his own identity as a Filipino American immigrant. He also recounted his return to civilian life, attending graduate school at CSU San Marcos, the support he received from the CSUSM Veterans’ Center, and the life lessons he learned from military service. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jan Michael Letigio Lacea Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jason Beyer Adel Bautista Marilyn Huerta Justin Gans Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024-11-08 Subject The topic of the resource California State University San Marcos Camp Pendleton (Calif.) Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (Calif.) Missouri State University Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-2014 -- Philippines San Diego State University United States. Navy United States. Navy -- Hospital corpsmen Veterans -- United States Great Lakes (Ill.) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant San Marcos (Calif.) Fallbrook (Calif.) Cebu City (Philippines) Springfield (Mo.) Okinawa (Japan) Louisiana San Antonio (Tex.) Zamboanga (Philippines) Manila (Philippines) Boracay (Philippines) Bohol (Philippines) Arkansas Marawi (Philippines) Iraq Afghanistan North County San Diego (Calif.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In copyright</a> Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Jan Michael Letigio Lacea License A legal document giving official permission to do something with the resource. <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context LetigioLaceaJan_BeyerJason_2024-11-08_transcript Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. San Diego Veterans History Initiative Asian Pacific Islander Desi American experience Community history San Diego Veterans History Initiative Veteran experience Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Description An account of the resource Video and audio oral histories can be viewed here. Histories are listed alphabetically by last name. Individual histories are indexed and transcribed and can be searched. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <p>Rights to oral histories vary depending on the history. The library owns the copyright to some histories, and has license to reproduce for nonprofit purposes for others. Please contact CSUSM University Library Special Collections at <a href="mailto:%20archives@csusm.edu">archives@csusm.edu</a> with any questions about use.</p> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Jason Beyer, Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Jan Michael Letigio Lacea OHMS Object This field contains the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file within the OHMS Viewer) https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=LetigioLaceaJan_BeyerJason_2024-11-08_access.xml Interview Keyword This filed adds keywords to the Omeka Oral History item type. Keywords are included in the OHMS XML, this field in Omeka will allow for full data migration between OHMS XML and the Omeka Record. This field does not impact the OHMS / Omeka integration and is optional if you do not need to map the "keywords" field in the OHMS XML to the corresponding Omeka record. Veteran;Hospital Corpsman;United States Navy;Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines;California State University San Marcos OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and / or Transcript and is what makes the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka 6.0 Letigio Lacea, Jan. Interview November 8th, 2024. SC027-072 00:00:00 SC027 California State University San Marcos University Library oral history collection CSUSM csusm Veteran ; Hospital Corpsman ; United States Navy ; Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines ; California State University San Marcos Jan Michael Letigio Lacea Jason Beyer, Marilyn Huerta, Adel Bautista Moving image LetigioLaceaJan_BeyerJason_2024-11-08_access.mp4 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/files/original/018dba3b4aa97ac3f2e94e43a109d4de.mp4 Other audio English 0 Interview Introduction 0 60 Military Background The highest rank Letigio Lacea attained serving in the Navy was Petty Officer First Class HM1 (Hospital Corpsman). He served in the Philippines as part of Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines. Navy ; Petty Officer First Class HM1 ; Hospital Corpsman ; Philippines ; Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines 0 84 Childhood Letigio Lacea was born in Cebu City in the Philippines in 1991 and was raised in Springfield, Missouri since he was three months old. Cebu City, Philippines ; Springfield, Missouri 0 101 Family Affiliations with the Military Letigio Lacea’s father had mandatory Army ROTC in college in the Philippines. His twin older brothers were both in the military: one was a Marine, and the other was also a Navy corpsman. Army ROTC ; brothers ; Navy corpsman ; Philippines 0 132 Jobs Before Military Service Letigio Lacea worked various jobs in food service before enlisting in the military, including smoothies, snow cones, Chinese food, and sushi. Tropical Smoothie Cafe ; smoothies ; snow cones ; Chinese restaurant ; sushi chef 0 172 Choosing Military Enlistment and Military Branch Letigio Lacea describes how school, family, and his identity as an immigrant influenced his decision to enlist. He decided to join the Navy with his brother’s guidance because it was the best way to pursue a career in the medical field. school ; brothers ; dad ; immigrant ; Navy ; Military Occupational Specialty ; Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery ; medical field 0 282 Early Days of Service, Basic Training, and Education Letigio Lacea describes his experiences throughout training, including basic training, accession school, and the Field Medical Training Battalion. He also recalls some of his most vivid memories, like the IV labs in school and Marine Corps training at Camp Pendleton. basic training ; bootcamp ; accession training ; A School ; Great Lakes, Illinois ; Field Medical Training Battalion ; Camp Pendleton ; IV labs ; Marine Corps ; physical training ; Third Marine Division ; Okinawa, Japan 0 434 Memories of Instructors Letigio Lacea recalls being scared and stressed during bootcamp, but there were positive and funny experiences in hindsight. He says the instructors “mess with your head so that way they can try to prepare you for anything that you might face in the military.” His memories include the culminating event of Navy Bootcamp called Battle Stations, his impressions of his division chief’s accent, his experience as the Guide of his platoon, and his award for Platoon Motivator. instructors ; Louisiana ; Cajun accent ; Navy bootcamp ; Battle Stations ; Corps School ; Field Med ; Staff Sergeant Borge ; Guide ; Camp Pendleton ; Platoon Motivator 0 701 Weapons Training Letigio Lacea describes additional equipment training he received for weapons like the M4, M9 Beretta, .50 caliber machine gun, and Mk 19 grenade launcher. In order to receive the Fleet Marine Force pin, he needed these qualifications. Overall, his main qualification was in the medical field. M4 ; M9 Beretta ; Fleet Marine Force ; .50 caliber ; Mk 19 0 782 Military Promotions Letigio Lacea started off as an E3. He described his promotion to Petty Officer Third Class while in the Philippines, and how Filipinos like to help each other out in the Navy. He got promoted to E5 through evaluations. Finally, he was frocked to Petty Officer First Class while in Reserves, before leaving the service. Hospitalman E3 ; Philippines ; Petty Officer Third Class ; the Filipino Mafia ; Navy ; Petty Officer Second Class ; advancement test ; evaluations ; Petty Officer First Class ; Reserves 0 910 Difficulties Adapting to Military Lifestyle Letigio Lacea describes the high standards of the military as one of the most difficult yet rewarding aspects of military service. However, feelings of burnout motivated him to leave the service. This led to some feelings of anxiety and regret, as the transition back to civilian life included new expectations. high standards ; burnout ; anxiety ; regret 0 1023 Interactions with People During Stateside Service Letigio Lacea describes differing experiences while stationed in San Antonio, Texas ; California ; and Okinawa, Japan. Interactions with locals could depend on the political environment and social class of civilians. San Antonio, Texas ; uniforms ; phase of liberty ; California ; Okinawa, Japan 0 1174 Deployment for Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines Letigio Lacea’s only deployment was for six months in Zamboanga, Philippines from 2012-13 for Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines. He describes the conflict in the south of the Philippines and the U.S. military’s involvement in it, mostly advising the Philippines military. He was glad to serve in the Philippines, because he felt that he was giving back to his motherland. Zamboanga, Philippines ; six-month deployment ; Abu Sayyaf ; Moro Islamic Liberation Front ; Al-Qaeda ; advising ; rules of engagement 0 1330 Interactions with Local Peoples and Cultures in the Philippines Letigio Lacea is from Cebu City in the central part of the Philippines, but he speaks the same dialect of Bisaya as many locals in Zamboanga. So, despite the differences in religion and culture, he was able to communicate with locals. Zamboanga, Philippines ; Muslims ; religion ; hospitality ; Bisaya ; dialect 0 1430 Friendships and Comradery During Service Letigio Lacea describes the diversity of military branches and skills of the people he served with in the Philippines. He also describes highly stressful moments when he and other corpsmen would provide medical assistance after mass casualty events. Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines ; Navy SEALs ; Delta Force ; the Air Force ; Air Force ; marine security element ; Recon Marines ; USMC Reconnaissance Battalions ; Headquarters Battalion Third Marine Division ; Truck Company ; Motor Team Marines ; night vision equipment ; opposing forces 0 1639 Keeping Contact with Family and Friends While Deployed Letigio Lacea recalls having internet access and using it to Skype and FaceTime his friends and family back home. Skype ; FaceTime ; internet ; friends ; family 0 1680 Recreation While Off Duty in the Philippines Letigio Lacea recalls his time spent working out, playing basketball, and learning Marine Corps martial arts. He also recalls his four-day R&amp ; R trip to visit his family in Cebu City and Bohol with three friends. exercise ; basketball ; Marine Corps Martial Arts Program ; Rest and Recuperation ; Cebu City ; Bohol 0 1846 Humorous Events While in the Philippines Letigio Lacea tells a funny story about the Marines in his platoon being smokers. Others were surprised to see him, the corpsman, passing out cigarettes to his platoon. smoking ; cigarettes ; Marlboro Reds ; corpsman 0 1930 End of Service and His Decision to Stay in California after Service Letigio Lacea met his wife while stationed at Miramar. He started wanting to settle down while keeping opportunities in the military. He decided to switch to the Reserves, but it was not what he expected. After nearly eight years serving in the military, he decided to leave the Reserves and stay in California where his wife’s family lives. Since he was surrounded by family when his service ended, he had support. Third Marine Division ; Miramar ; fourth tank battalion ; Reserves ; wife ; family ; California ; Missouri ; childcare ; family ; brother ; Camp Pendleton 0 2142 Relationships with Family, Readjusting to Civilian Life, and Enrollment at CSU San Marcos Letigio Lacea had plans to work at Scripps Health while continuing service in the Reserves and pursuing graduate school, but he was disillusioned with both jobs and left them. When he enrolled in the Master of Public Health program at Cal State San Marcos he initially felt out of place, anxious, and regretful. However, once he got involved with the veteran center on campus, he felt the support of a community of veterans struggling with the same issues. graduate school ; Reserves ; Scripps Health ; quitting ; anxiety ; stress ; enrollment ; CSU San Marcos ; veteran community ; Master of Public Health ; support 0 2384 Experience with the G.I. Bill Tuition assistance supported Letigio Lacea’s bachelor’s degree. Using the G.I. Bill, he was able to pay for two master’s degrees in public health and business administration. G.I. Bill ; tuition assistance ; bachelors ; master's in public health ; master's in business administration ; CSU San Marcos 0 2417 Continuing Friendships After Service Letigio Lacea admires that he can keep up with his friends on social media and see them when they are stationed at Camp Pendleton or come to visit. friendships ; social media ; Camp Pendleton ; visits ; nostalgia 0 2490 Experience with Veterans Organizations Letigio Lacea describes his experience with the Veteran Center at CSU San Marcos, including working for the Veterans to Energy Careers program for a semester. He is also part of the Telesforo Trinidad Committee, which was formed because there is a ship being built, the USS Telesforo Trinidad, named after a Filipino who received the Medal of Honor. CSU San Marcos ; vet center ; work-study program ; Veterans to Energy Careers ; Telesforo Trinidad Committee ; USS Telesforo Trinidad ; Medal of Honor ; Filipino 0 2560 How Military Service Impacted His Life Letigio Lacea shares how the military provided him social and material benefits. It helped him network, build friendships, and expose himself to different cultures and political views from across the country. It also helped him pursue higher education. education ; family ; G.I. Bill ; disability ; friendships ; networking ; culture ; politics ; Arkansas 0 2674 Life Lessons From Military Service Letigio Lacea admires that his service helped him become an adult, including how to complete his taxes. His experience also gave him positive role models. taxes ; TurboTax ; adulting ; parenting 0 2774 Message for Future Generations Letigio Lacea wants people to know that veterans are “regular people who were put into extraordinary circumstances.” He wants people to know that the military may not be for everyone. Veterans have very different experiences, and many veterans have not experienced combat. veterans ; perspectives ; experiences ; decisions ; gratitude 0 2871 Association with CSUSM and the North County San Diego Community Despite it being a backup choice, Letigio Lacea was happy with his experience at CSU San Marcos. He chose CSUSM because its Master of Public Health program had CEPH accreditation. CSU San Marcos ; North County San Diego ; community ; San Diego State University ; CEPH accreditation ; Council on Education for Public Health ; Master of Public Health 0 2935 Raising Awareness About Conflict in the South of the Philippines Letigio Lacea wants more people to know about Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines. Many people died, notably during the Siege of Marawi in 2017. He says, “I just want people to be aware of what we did down there and the people that we helped.” Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines ; Siege of Marawi ; Abu Sayyaf 0 3005 What More People Should Know About Veterans Letigio Lacea wants people to know that even though many veterans did not serve in wars, he thinks all veterans “still would've performed well.” He also shares more about how he volunteered for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. However, when he joined in 2011, there were fewer military deployments to those countries. He was disappointed by this but happy to be in the Philippines. Iraq ; Afghanistan ; brother ; corpsman ; Marines ; volunteer ; war 0 3093 Lessons Learned from Military Experience Letigio Lacea again recounts how mentors during his service taught him how to manage his personal finances and pushed him to pursue higher education. He describes his journey from military enlistment to bachelor’s to master’s. finances ; education ; career ; bachelor’s ; master’s ; Missouri State ; Third Marine Division ; mentors ; Miramar 0 Oral history Jan Michael Letigio Lacea served in the Navy for eight years. He was frocked Petty Officer First Class HM1 (Hospital Corpsman First Class) before he left the service. Letigio Lacea described his service in the Philippines for Operation Enduring Freedom, and he reflected on his own identity as a Filipino American immigrant. He also recounted his return to civilian life, attending graduate school at CSU San Marcos, the support he received from the CSUSM Veterans’ Center, and the life lessons he learned from military service. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.525 --> 00:00:56.024 My name is Jason Beyer, and I am a graduate of California State University San Marcos. Today I will be interviewing Jan Michael Letigio Lacea. Today's date is Friday, November 8th, 2024. The general location in which this interview is being conducted is in the Letigio home in Fallbrook, California. Me and the interviewee are both military veterans. The names of the people attending this interview are Marilyn Huerta, camera operator, Adel Bautista, Jason Beyer, the interviewer and the interviewee, Jan Michael Letigio Lacea. The purpose of this interview is to conduct an oral history. Please state your first, middle, and last name. 00:00:56.024 --> 00:01:00.125 My name is Jan Michael Letigio Lacea. 00:01:00.125 --> 00:01:02.664 Please state your branch of service. 00:01:02.664 --> 00:01:04.444 Navy. 00:01:04.444 --> 00:01:07.265 Please state the highest rank that you attained. 00:01:07.265 --> 00:01:12.575 I was frocked Petty Officer First Class HM1 (Hospital Corpsman) right before I got out of the Navy. 00:01:12.575 --> 00:01:17.075 And were you a part of any war or conflicts while you served? 00:01:17.075 --> 00:01:24.734 I served in the Philippines, part of Operation Enduring Freedom—Philippines (OEF-P). 00:01:24.734 --> 00:01:26.564 Where were you born? 00:01:26.564 --> 00:01:41.185 I was born in Cebu City in the Philippines in 1991. And shortly afterwards, when I was three months old, I moved to Springfield, Missouri, and that's where I grew up most of my life. 00:01:41.185 --> 00:01:45.894 Does your family have any past affiliations with the military? 00:01:45.894 --> 00:02:12.365 Yes. So my dad was technically affiliated with the military. He was in Army ROTC in college as part of a mandatory ROTC back in the Philippines—back in those days it was mandatory. And my brothers, my twin older brothers, were both in the military. One was a Marine—he just retired last year—and the other one was also a Navy corpsman. 00:02:12.365 --> 00:02:15.764 Did you hold any jobs before entering the service? 00:02:15.764 --> 00:02:31.925 Yes. So my first job was at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a small smoothie joint. I started there when I was 15 years old. And I also worked at a snow cone place. And I also worked at a Chinese restaurant. And then right before I left for the Navy, I was a sushi chef. 00:02:31.925 --> 00:02:34.425 So what was it like being a sushi chef? 00:02:34.425 --> 00:02:52.044 Being a sushi chef was fun. I really like eating sushi, so that part was fun. What I didn't like was also I had to work pretty much every weekend, and every day I came home smelling like fish. 00:02:52.044 --> 00:02:55.455 When and why did you choose the military? 00:02:55.455 --> 00:03:32.925 So I chose to join the military for plenty of reasons. School was one. Obviously both of my brothers were in the military, so that was a big influence for me. But the biggest reason why I joined the military was because being an immigrant, coming to America, I saw all the great things that this country provided for my family, for my dad, the opportunity to work. And so I just felt like it was a good way to give back to the country that welcomed our family. 00:03:32.925 --> 00:03:35.694 Were you drafted or did you enlist? 00:03:35.694 --> 00:03:38.594 I enlisted. 00:03:38.594 --> 00:03:42.854 And which branch did you enter, and why did you choose that branch? 00:03:42.854 --> 00:04:42.694 So I chose the Navy and—I enlisted into the Navy because—so again, my brothers influence—my brothers were a big influence on why I joined the military. And my Marine brother wanted me to join the Marine Corps. My Navy brother wanted me to join the Navy. They both gave their pros and cons to each one. I really wanted to be a Marine at first, but my brother did tell me that there was no guarantee that I would get to pick the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) or the job that I wanted to do. Whereas the Navy was a little bit more of a guarantee I would like, as long as I made a good ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) score and I told the recruiter what I wanted to do, if it was available, then I could do it. So ultimately how I decided was I wanted to see if I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, and the Navy was the best choice, because unfortunately, the Marine Corps doesn't have a medical field. So being a Navy corpsman was the next best thing. 00:04:42.694 --> 00:04:49.314 For your early days of service, what type of training or schooling did you have? 00:04:49.314 --> 00:05:35.004 Sure. So everybody joins military. They have to attend a basic training or bootcamp as some people call it. So, I attended a bootcamp up at Great Lakes, Illinois, when I first left for the Navy in 2011 in March. And that was my first taste of the military. And then after bootcamp, I went to A School (accession training) that's kind of like our corpsman school where we learned our jobs. And yeah, I learned all the basic medical stuff there at A School. And then after that I went to Field Medical Training Battalion, which is pretty much where we learned the Marine side of being a corpsman and being up in the field and learning about weapons systems. And that was at Camp Pendleton. 00:05:35.004 --> 00:05:44.055 What is your most vivid memory, both best and worst parts of your time in training or in school? 00:05:44.055 --> 00:06:57.665 Let's see. I would say one of my most vivid memories in school was the IV labs. Learning to give IVs to patients. It was a bloody mess for everybody (laughs). So that was pretty vivid. I mean, I'm not really that scared of blood, but I had a lot of classmates that were, so I actually had like one classmate who actually passed out when (laughs) they saw blood. So that was a pretty vivid moment for me. And also, one of the big things I remember was in Field Medical Training Battalion, when I started learning all the Marine Corps side of things. I think that's when the military started being more fun for me, because that's really what I wanted to do. Like I said, initially I wanted to be a Marine—and you know, bootcamp and A School, it was kind of like more of the Navy side and like, oh, okay, this is cool. But once I started doing more of the quote unquote, like, the Marine stuff, that's when it was really fun working with weapons, doing fireman's carry, working out, PT'ing (physical training) every day. I think that was kind of where I was like, okay, this is where I want to be. 00:06:57.665 --> 00:07:01.225 What was your first assignment after basic training? 00:07:01.225 --> 00:07:14.545 Sure. So, after basic, I went to A School and then I went to Field Med. And then after Field Med, that's where we get assigned to our first unit in the fleet. And my first unit was Third Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan. 00:07:14.545 --> 00:07:20.665 Before we wrap up your training, do you recall your instructors that you had? What were they like? 00:07:20.665 --> 00:11:41.674 Yes. My bootcamp instructors, so (laughs), they're—it's funny, looking back at bootcamp. Everybody thinks it's a scary experience. When you're first into it, it's very stressful. But when you look back on it, there's a lot of funny stories that we have. One of my bootcamp instructors, he was this tall guy from Louisiana, and he had this Cajun accent, and a lot of people tell me that I can do really good impressions. So I (laughs) used to do an impression of him all the time, whenever it was a holiday routine on Sundays, whenever we kind of have a little bit of free time during bootcamp. And then towards the end, right before—so our culminating event in Navy Bootcamp is called Battle Stations, similar to the Marine Corps they have the Crucible. So right before Battle Stations, one of the instructors said, "Alright, I know one of you has a good impression of Chief, so who can do a good impression of Chief in the division." And sure enough, everybody in the division pointed back and they said, "Lacea he can (laughs) do a great impression of Chief." So I went up there—I'm not gonna do it right now (laughs), 'cause I don't know if he will watch this. But yeah, I did my impression and like even the instructors were busting out laughing. So that was funny. My Corps School instructors, honestly, I don't really remember too much about them. Again, like, they did a lot of messing around with us. But, you know, all in all, I think that's just all what the military is. You know, they mess with your head so that way they can try to prepare you for anything that you might face in the military. So, and then, and my Field Med instructors, I remember them pretty vividly. Again, they like to mess with us a lot. So in Field Med we had two or three corpsman instructors I think per company. And then we had one Marine instructor. And our Marine instructor, his name was Staff Sergeant Borge—I think he just retired as a Gunny (Gunnery Sergeant)—but he was a funny guy. He liked me because I was the smallest guy in the platoon. And, he actually picked me to be guide for our platoon. So Guide is the person who gets to carry the flag for the platoon, and it's kind of seen as the main leader and motivator of the platoon. And he picked me for Guide. And, unfortunately that didn't last too long, because I am the shortest guy in the platoon, the hikes for me in Camp Pendleton were very hard (laughs) because we had guys in the platoon probably the size of Jason (gestures toward interviewer) who were like six foot five, six foot eight-whatever, and their strides were like (laughs), you know, like 10 feet. And for me to make that same 10 feet, I'd have to pretty much sprint the entire hike all while carrying about like 80 pounds of gear. So (laughs), so pretty much the whole time Staff Sergeant Borge is like, Lacea, you better motivate the platoon. And I would run around the entire platoon all while going uphill (laughs). And, as you know (gestures toward interviewer), the hills in Pendleton are crazy. So, I'm running up this hill, running around the entire platoon trying to motivate them. And eventually I just could not keep up with the platoon anymore and I started to fall back. And Staff Sergeant Borge said, "If you fall back, Lacea, you're fired (laughs)." And unfortunately, I fell back. So I eventually got fired from being the Guide a couple weeks before graduating. But at the end, right before graduation, the platoons, they have like a platoon award that they call the Platoon Motivator, and pretty much the platoon puts in votes and they vote whoever was the biggest motivator for the platoon. And they still voted me as the platoon motivator. So I got recognized for that. And at the end of Field Med, Staff Sergeant Borge, he was like, you know, I don't really say this to a lot of students, but I was actually proud of you and seeing how you improved throughout training. So despite the fact I got fired, he (laughs) still liked me. So (laughs)— 00:11:41.674 --> 00:11:51.284 Did you qualify for equipment such as vehicles, aircraft, radios, weapons? If yes, what was that training like? 00:11:51.284 --> 00:13:02.644 Sure. So in Field Med we're all taught on how to shoot the M4—or it's pretty much the carbine style of the M16—so pretty much just taught the basics of it, how to disassemble and assemble an M4. Also, I got to shoot an M9 Beretta—when I was deployed that was my main sidearm. And, let's see, what else? Oh, and when I was with the Marines most corpsmen—you've probably seen corpsmen in their uniforms they have like a, they call it the FMF pin (Fleet Marine Force), it's like an eagle, globe, and anchor from the Marine Corps, and then it's got like these like wings and stuff. So in order to get that FMF pin, you have to do different qualifications. One of the main ones is weapons qualifications. So we were actually taught how to disassemble and assemble a fifty cal (.50 caliber), which is a big machine gun. We also got to play around with the Mark 19 (Mk 19 grenade launcher). So we were kind of given like a basic instruction on those weapon systems. But overall, my main qualification was just the medical field, medical stuff. So being a corpsman. 00:13:02.644 --> 00:13:06.375 Did you receive any promotions? And if so, could you tell me about that? 00:13:06.375 --> 00:15:10.004 Sure. So when I first joined the Navy, I started off as an E3. And for the Navy our rank is also our job, so my rank was Hospitalman E3. And then while I was deployed in the Philippines, I was actually meritoriously promoted to Petty Officer Third Class while I was there. So, pretty much, the Navy, as some people know, there's a thing called the Filipino Mafia. And so a lot of Filipinos like to help each other out in the Navy. And so a lot of people said that I've got the meritorious promotion because of the Filipino Mafia. So I don't know if that's true or not, but there were a lot of Filipinos in the Navy and I had a lot of Filipino mentors that helped me out. So, yeah, according to some people, that might've been why I got meritoriously promoted to Petty Officer Third Class. And then I got promoted to Petty Officer Second Class pretty much through the regular way, quote unquote. So in the Navy, when you get promoted, pretty much, they take into account your evals and they also take into account a test score—you have to take an advancement test once or twice a year, I don't remember. But, so I took it, I got promoted to E5 the regular way, through the test. And then my last promotion was to Petty Officer First Class. Technically I didn't attain the pay grade. It's kind of confusing how it works in the Navy, but like when you initially pick up rank you get frocked, so you get to put on the rank but you don't get paid as that rank. So I picked up First Class from the Reserves—I was in the Reserves at that time—and I picked up First Class, and I put on First Class, but I got out of the Reserves before I actually attained that pay grade. So, that's why I was only frocked to Petty Officer First Class. 00:15:10.004 --> 00:15:16.715 What was the hardest part of the military lifestyle for you to adapt to? 00:15:16.715 --> 00:15:59.894 Honestly, the hardest part—which ironically also was why I liked it too—was just like the high standards, maintaining that and, you know, like just getting the mission done at all costs. And honestly, that kind of translated to why I had a hard time transitioning out of the military, because I was very focused on making sure I get the job done and making sure it gets done right. And so that was a challenge for me to adjust to—and it was also a challenge for me to adjust out of, too. 00:15:59.894 --> 00:16:09.118 And why do you think that that was the hardest? Why do you think it was the hardest part of the lifestyle to adapt to? 00:16:09.118 --> 00:17:03.705 Yeah, honestly, I mean, you know, like I said, so I was in the Navy for about seven and a half years and making it all the way to Petty Officer First Class for—especially as a corpsman—that's a pretty fast pace of picking up rank. And I really was striving to be the best I could be in the military. And sometimes that could lead to burnout. And so, honestly, like, I eventually got burnt out of being in military, and that's why I ultimately decided to get out instead of staying in the full twenty (years) and retiring. And so yeah, it was hard for me 'cause, you know, sometimes I would get anxiety of like, am I good enough? Will I ever be good enough for everybody? Like, everyone's like, oh, you know, you had such a successful career in the Navy, why did you get out? And so, you know, I had a lot of thoughts of regret and those type of things. 00:17:03.705 --> 00:17:10.875 What were your interactions like with people you encountered during your stateside service? 00:17:10.875 --> 00:17:13.315 Um, like, civilians or— 00:17:13.315 --> 00:17:20.605 Civilians or other people from the military at different bases you might have been stationed at? 00:17:20.605 --> 00:19:34.775 Sure. So, definitely 'cause—so after bootcamp I was stationed in San Antonio, Texas, and it's a very military friendly town. So wherever we went, like, people offered to, you know, get us free food, free drinks, wherever. So being in San Antonio was great. But it was kind of funny because whenever we're in Corps School, our first couple weeks while we're there, we're still in our first phase of liberty, as they call it. So you can only go off base but you have to be in uniform. We would be in our service uniforms whenever we went out in town. And when we went there, our school was still pretty new, so folks in San Antonio weren't used to seeing Navy guys, and especially at the time—we also got a new service uniform too, which we called the Peanut Butters, which was a khaki top and black bottoms—so nobody was really used to seeing anybody in those uniforms. So we would go out in San Antonio and this one guy—old Navy vet from like, you know, the Cold War era—and he came up to us and he was like, "Hey, are you guys Boy Scouts?" (Letigio Lacea laughs.) And we're like, no, we're in the military. And he was like, "No, what branch are you in?" Like, we're in the Navy. And he's like, "What? There's Navy guys here in San Antonio? You're wearing uniforms I don't even recognize." Like, yeah, this is a new uniform. So, yeah, it was great being in San Antonio. And then here in California, you know, there's a lot of Marines out here and California is a little bit more, as they say, like a liberal state. So, I don't know—I would just say like, we didn't get as much as the same treatment as we got in San Antonio. But I still like it out here in California. And then, I was stationed overseas in Okinawa when I was with Third Marine Division. And interacting with the local Japanese community, you know, there's a lot of folks in Okinawa who didn't really like us being there. But on the flip side, there were a lot of locals who did like us being there, especially the ones who owned businesses. And so it was a interesting dynamic. But for the most part, the Japanese people were really friendly and polite. 00:19:34.775 --> 00:19:44.085 So now we're gonna move on to your wartime and conflict service. What wartime conflicts were you a part of? 00:19:44.085 --> 00:19:55.005 Sure. So, pretty much my only deployment when I was in the military was in the Philippines, part of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Philippines. 00:19:55.005 --> 00:19:57.483 When and where did you serve in the Philippines? 00:19:57.483 --> 00:20:20.714 Sure. So I was deployed to Zamboanga, Philippines, in the Southwest part of the Philippines. And that was in, I believe, September, or that was in October, 2012 to April, 2013. 00:20:20.714 --> 00:20:25.174 And what were your recollections of that experience? 00:20:25.174 --> 00:22:10.414 Man. Like I said, it was my only big six month deployment, but it was some of the best memories I have of being in the military. Well, for one, being Filipino and being deployed to the Philippines, that was really rewarding for me because I felt like even though I was serving in the American military, I was able to give back to my actual motherland. So not a lot of people are familiar with the conflict down there in the Philippines, but down south there's a big Muslim population in the Philippines. And with that, there were some radical groups there. The main big one was called the Abu Sayyaf, and there's also another big group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front down in the south, or M.I.L.F. for short. And so those were the main belligerents that were down there, when we were deployed. And, pretty much, they've been causing issues for the government there in the Philippines for a very long time. And especially after September 11th, I believe Abu Sayyaf, they kind of aligned themselves with Al-Qaeda, so that's why America kind of felt like they needed to have a contingency there. And they deployed a lot of their military there mainly for advising. So that's what our main mission there was for was for advising the Filipino military. And so we weren't really like the main combatants, but if we were ever attacked our RRE, or our rules of engagement, were self-defense. So there were I think maybe a couple of times they were skirmishes, but I was not involved in one, though. 00:22:10.414 --> 00:22:21.765 So based off your time in the Philippines, what were your interactions like with the local cultures and the people you encountered during deployment? 00:22:21.765 --> 00:23:50.243 Yeah, so, like I said, I was really proud of being deployed in Zamboanga in the Philippines. But it was a part of the Philippines that I had never been before. So I'm from Cebu, in the central part of the Philippines, and I would visit back there every two years, so I was mainly familiar with that part of the Philippines. But down south, like I said, is a very majority Muslim population. So going there it almost felt like it was a Philippines that I didn't recognize. There's, like I said, a lot of Muslims down there. You would see people in like Muslim garb. Some females even wore a hijab. And so yeah, it was a part of the Philippines I wasn't used to, but everybody there, I mean, they still had that same Filipino hospitality. Everybody was super nice. They spoke the dialect that I speak, which is Bisaya. So I was actually kind of a translator when I was down there—not in an official capacity, but more of like, whenever my Marines went out in town or like, you know, they wanted some food, I would help them out with that (laughs). So, yeah, I was able to mingle with the locals that way. And it was cool because a lot of the Filipinos, they didn't expect somebody—well, they saw like a lot of Filipino American military, but for me especially, because we spoke the same dialect, that was a little bit more rare for them to see. So yeah, that was really interesting. 00:23:50.243 --> 00:23:57.615 What kind of friendships and comradery did you form while serving and with whom, while you were in the Philippines? 00:23:57.615 --> 00:23:59.285 Sorry, can you repeat the question one more time? 00:23:59.285 --> 00:24:05.904 What kinds of friendships and comradery did you form while serving and with whom? 00:24:05.904 --> 00:27:19.365 Man. I had really close friendships when I was deployed. So pretty much when we deployed, it was part of a rotation of—they call it marine security element. So, the main unit that's there in the Philippines was called, JSOTFP, Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines. So, as the name implies—special operations—a majority of the units that were there and that most people we're supporting were special operations units. So you had the SEALs (Navy SEALs), Delta (Delta Force), the Air Force, PJs—the para rescue guys, I forgot what they're called in the Air Force. But yeah, you had pretty much all sorts of special operations guys there in the Philippines. And then you had all the support people, and we were part of the marine security element. Historically they had Recon Marines (USMC Reconnaissance Battalions) that would deploy there, but then they said, I don't really think we need Recon guys. We could just get a bunch of just regular Marines and fulfill those security roles. So, what they did was they augmented—I was part of Headquarters Battalion Third Marine Division—they augmented Marines from all across the battalion to be part of the mission. So we had guys from Truck Company who were Motor Team Marines, the guys who drove the big seven-ton trucks. We had Comm Marines (Communications) that were there. Even had like a couple admin guys, so it was almost like bakers and candlestick makers, and they just put us all into a platoon. And then it was me and another corpsman who were kind of like the medical. And so whenever they formed the platoon, we all met up and yeah, it was almost like a ragtag group of group of kids. But I mean, like, we immediately bonded, definitely on our first field op (operation). And when we were preparing for deployment, we learned a lot of like, security stuff like how to—like defensive driving and like how to conduct a convoy and all that stuff. So that was really fun. And then when we deployed—you know, like I said, even though we were in an advising role, the Filipinos, you know, they were very active in fighting the conflict there. So it was pretty frequent that there would be mass casualty events. So, a lot of times—'cause the Filipino military guys, what they would do were a lot of night operations. So a lot of times they would go out there—sometimes without even like any NVGs (night vision goggles) or night vision equipment, and there would be a lot of casualties. So of course, me and the other corpsmen, our main job was to assist in those casualties. So, we would go out there, they would evacuate a lot of the Filipino soldiers and even some of the OpFor, the opposing forces, that would get wounded, and they would evacuate them to the local military hospital there and we would assist with anything medical. So yeah, there was a lot of stressful times, a lot of high stress stuff going on. But through all of those difficult times, we bonded a lot. 00:27:19.365 --> 00:27:26.164 How did you stay in touch with family and friends? Did you choose to keep communication with them while deployed? 00:27:26.164 --> 00:28:00.634 Yeah, so luckily for me, I deployed in the 21st century, so we had Zoom—actually I don't think we had Zoom, we had Skype—so I was able to Skype my friends and family back home. I think FaceTime was still a thing back then, so yeah, I was still able to communicate that way. We had the internet in our little fob, if you wanna call it that. So overall, where we were staying at, it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't say it was like resort living, but it was (laughs)—it wasn't too bad. 00:28:00.634 --> 00:28:05.505 What did you do for recreation or when you were off duty while in the Philippines? 00:28:05.505 --> 00:30:46.815 Sure. So, down in Zamboanga, we weren't really allowed to go off base unless it was for—obviously for like official duties. So unfortunately for some of the Marines who wanted to go out and party (laughs) in Zamboanga, unfortunately they couldn't do that. So what we did mostly for recreation was workout a lot. So we had the gym, that was there on our little fob, and yeah, we just worked out a lot. I probably worked out pretty much every day, gained a lot of muscle (laughs). And then we also had like a basketball court, so we played basketball. We had one of our—one of our Marines in our platoon was a MCMAP instructor (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program), so he got me to gray belt. So that was cool. So, learned MCMAP, which is Marine Corps martial arts, and, I learned to hip toss (motions arms and laughs). So that was fun. What else did we do? Oh! So because the deployment was a joint deployment, so it was run by the Army. So how the Army likes to do deployments is if it's, I think, a six-month deployment, then you actually rate four days R&R (Rest and Recuperation). So, it was actually kind of nice. Mid-deployment, I got four days R&R, and I actually got to go visit my family in Cebu. So how they did R&R was you had to go with three other buddies whenever you do that. So most of the other Marines wanted to go to some of the more popular places in the Philippines, like Manila or Boracay, which is, you know, kind of like this resort area in the Philippines. And everybody was going there. And I was like, no, no, no. I was trying to convince my three other Liberty buddies. I'm like, let's go to Cebu. And they're like, where is that doc? I don't even know where that's at. And I'm like, no, it's in the middle of the Philippines. Like, it's a little lesser known but that's even better because then there's less tourists. And they're like, all right, doc, we'll go there. And yeah, they had a time of their life. And so yeah, we went to Cebu—they got to meet my family there, my cousins. And then we also got to take a ferry to Bohol, which is a nearby island, and that's where my dad's side of the family's from. And so they got to meet my dad's side of the family and kind of see the more rural part of Bohol in the Philippines. And yeah, it was definitely a good experience for them to see them experience that. Yeah, I don't know, it's just—it's kind of, I don't even know what the word is—but it's just kind of crazy, like seeing these two different worlds that I never thought would cross together—my military life and my family life, and like my family meeting my military friends. So that was really interesting to see. 00:30:46.815 --> 00:30:55.035 Do you recall any particularly humorous or unusual events while you were in the Philippines? 00:30:55.035 --> 00:32:10.605 Yes. Uh, I don't know how (laughs)—how inappropriate can we be with this? (Laughs.) I mean, I can—I'll keep it PG if you want me to, so—(nods, laughs, gives a thumbs up to interviewer.) Yeah, keep it PG. Okay, cool. Yeah there was a lot of humorous things. Well, for one, when we first deployed—so a lot of my Marines in the platoon are smokers. So you know it's ironic that the Corpsman (laughs) was the one who supplied them with cigarettes. But, like a lot of the Marines they have a certain—they like Marlboro Reds. And so they forgot to pack it with them–which, I don't know why they did that—but I was like, don't worry, Doc's got you. And I brought like three big cartons of Marlboro Reds. And then I was like, here you go. And then somebody else on the base was like, Is that the Corpsman passing out cigarettes? And I was like, Hey man, you know, I'm just trying to keep morale up. Like, yeah, my Marines smoke, that's okay. We're deployed but (laughs) we'll work on tobacco cessation when we get back to Garrison. So yeah, that was pretty funny. Man, yeah, there's a lot of fun times, but I don't know if I could share it for this (laughs). 00:32:10.605 --> 00:32:23.095 So let's talk about your end of service. Do you recall the day your service ended? Where were you when your service ended? 00:32:23.095 --> 00:34:04.825 Sure. So I'll backtrack a little bit. So, after I was deployed, I went back to Third Marine Division and I finished that tour in 2014. And then after that, I got stationed at Miramar at the clinic on base there. And then after that duty I met my wife, and that's when I decided I didn't want to move around anymore. I think I wanted to settle, but I still wanted to keep my foot in the door of the military. So that's when I switched over to the Reserves. So when I was in the Reserves, I served with a fourth tank battalion, and I was only there for a short while. And pretty much I just—I wanted to, like I said, I wanted to join the Reserves because I wanted to still, you know, keep my foot in the door with the military. But honestly, the Reserves was just not what I pictured the military being. I mean, no offense to the Reserves, I respect everybody in the Reserves, but it was just, it was not for me. I think if I wanted to be in the military, I probably would've just stayed active duty. So, pretty much, since I was still within my initial eight-year contract, my career counselor pretty much said like, I did have the option to drop to IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) or inactive Reserves and get out if I wanted to. And so I opted to do that. And so I decided—like I said, I got frocked to HM1 Petty Officer First Class. And shortly afterwards—like, I think maybe not even like two weeks after that—that's when I got out of the Reserves, and then that's when I decided to just stay here in California. 00:34:04.825 --> 00:34:14.000 Um, why did you decide to not return home, or where, like, where did you go? California? And then what played a role in that decision? 00:34:14.000 --> 00:35:08.465 Yeah, so I decided to stay in California because, you know, I met my wife and she's from here, and all of her family is here. And, you know, like I said, I mean, I grew up in Missouri—and nothing wrong with Missouri—but I just, that was also one of the reasons why I joined the military too, was to get outta Missouri. So, I just like the vibes here in California. It's, the weather is, you can't beat it. Yes, it's very expensive here, but luckily I've been blessed to have a job where I'm able to afford to live here. So as long as me and my family can afford to stay out here then we'll stay out here. And, like I said, since my wife's family is all here and I have kids of my own now, all the extended family, they offer their help to raise the kids and watch the kids. So instead of having to pay for daycare, we have family. So that's definitely a big reason why we stay out here. 00:35:08.465 --> 00:35:17.175 On the day when it came time for you to end your service, how were you received by your family in the community that you returned to? 00:35:17.175 --> 00:35:42.405 Yeah, so, when I got out of the military, I mean, I was already, you know, like I said, I was surrounded by my wife's family, who was here. My brother, he was actually stationed at Pendleton at the time, so my brother was here, and yeah, I mean, it was pretty much the same. Everybody was already here in California, so yeah, not too much change really. 00:35:42.405 --> 00:35:47.614 How did you readjust to civilian life? Did you work or go back to school? 00:35:47.614 --> 00:39:44.875 Yeah, so adjusting back to civilian life was actually really tough for me. Like I said, being in the military, that kind of made me have a higher standard for myself. And so when I initially got out of active duty I had a whole plan ahead of me. I was gonna go to graduate school—actually while I was active duty, I finished my bachelor's using tuition assistance. And so my plan was I wanted to go to graduate school. And so that's why I got out of active duty. And while I was gonna go to graduate school, I was gonna be in the Reserves. And then while I was in the Reserves, I was also gonna work out of town. I had a job lined up with Scripps (Scripps Health, a major healthcare system in San Diego County). And so I worked at Scripps for only about two months, and I just couldn't handle it. I think the biggest—the toughest thing for me was because, I don't know, I just felt like in the military I had almost like a sense of purpose. Like I put the uniform on and I was proud to do the work that I was doing. And no offense to Scripps, you know, I did the best job that I could, but I just felt like the job wasn't really rewarding at the end of the day. And, I almost felt like I was just another number when I was working there at Scripps. Nobody really paid attention to me or knew who I was or anything like that. And so, yeah, I ended up quitting that job. And, you know, it was, it was a little bit tough on me and my wife 'cause, you know, that was some income that was lost because of that. But, I decided to shift gears and I was gonna focus on the Reserves and do graduate school. But like I said, eventually, I didn't even like the Reserves either, so I ended up quitting that as well. And so two of my three things that I had planned after I got outta active duty fell through, and I almost felt like, you know, I was a failure. And so, that was really tough for me to deal with. I had a lot of anxiety and stress about that, and guilt. And honestly, I didn't really feel better about myself until I started graduate school at Cal State San Marcos. When I got there and started doing the whole enrollment process and I got familiar with the veteran community at Cal State—and seeing how like, great the veteran community was at Cal State, that kind of actually helped me with my transition. Even when I started graduate school, I felt like I was out of place and felt like I had like imposter syndrome. Like most of my classmates when I was going for my MPH (Master of Public Health), they were coming straight out of undergrad. A lot of them were like—well, to me they were like kids. I was like in my late twenties about to be thirty, and they were like in their early twenties, and so they were in a different stage of life from me. And like you know, I was already married and trying to start a family and stuff. So yeah, I had big imposter syndrome when I was in graduate school. But when I met with the veterans at Cal State, like meeting people like you Jason (gestures toward interviewer) and all the people at the vet center, I'd come to find that I wasn't alone. Like everybody else was going through the same struggles that I was going through when I got out of the military. For some people it was even tougher for them. Like I know some people they did their full 20, they retired outta the military, and then they're going to get their bachelor's and literally their classmates could be their kids. And so they must have felt really outta place. And so, yeah, I think just getting to bond with other veterans and realizing we were all in the same boat, that helped me realize that, yeah, I wasn't alone. 00:39:44.875 --> 00:39:47.275 Did the GI bill affect you at all? 00:39:47.275 --> 00:40:17.105 Yes. So like I said, I used mainly tuition assistance to finish my undergrad while I was active duty. But when I got out, I mainly used the GI bill for my graduate school. So, luckily that helped a lot. I was able to pay for my first graduate degree and my master's in public health. And since the GI bill I had a lot left over, that's when I decided to use it for my master's in business administration. And I also pursued that at Cal State as well. 00:40:17.105 --> 00:40:22.364 Did you continue any friendships after service? If so, for how long? 00:40:22.364 --> 00:41:30.405 Yes, definitely. I've kept in touch with almost everybody that I met in the military. I mean, I met a lot of people, but thanks to social media, I was able to keep up with most people. A lot of my friends are still in the military. I actually have one friend that's stationed out at Camp Pendleton and another friend that's about to get stationed there. And so, I still keep tabs on everybody and message them, and it's great to see them, especially even like over the years when I do see them—like a couple of my friends, they came over to the house about a month ago, and it was almost like we picked up right where we left off, and even though we hadn't seen each other for almost 13 or 14 years. So yeah, you know, just reminiscing on all the good times and the nostalgia that we had. Yeah, the friendships that I had in the military—like to this day, like, I don't know, it's definitely friendships that I almost feel like you can't really get anywhere else. 00:41:30.405 --> 00:41:33.585 Did you join any veterans organizations? 00:41:33.585 --> 00:42:40.000 Yes, so, like I said, Cal State, they had a really great veteran community there. So I got really involved at the vet center, especially my last semester at Cal State. That's when I learned about the work-study program. And so I actually worked for a semester at Cal State, and I worked with VTEC (Veterans to Energy Careers) and helped other veterans mainly with their professional development and writing resumes and stuff like that. So that was great to work with them. And right now, currently, I don't know if it's really a veteran organization, but I'm part of the Telesforo Trinidad Committee. So what that is is there's actually a ship called the USS Telesforo Trinidad that's currently—I think it's still being built—but it's the first naval ship that's gonna be named after a Filipino. So, Telesforo Trinidad was actually the first—and I believe only—Medal of Honor recipient that was Filipino. 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:54.000 So now we're coming up on reflections. How has your service impacted your life, your community, your faith, and your family? 00:42:54.000 --> 00:44:34.000 Well, I would say joining the military was probably the best decision I ever made. I mean, for one, like I said, the GI bill was able to cover graduate school for me, and that led me to get the job that I'm at now, and it's able to provide for my family. So, the military was able to help out with that. Also, I am a disabled veteran, and so all the benefits that come with that has also been able to help out a lot with my family as well. Um, let's see—and like I said, all the connections and the friendships that I made through the military, that has been super valuable for me. Not only for networking, but just maintaining those friendships and always having a good support system. Like I said, I'm able to call my friends all over the country if I ever need anything. Like, if I fly to Arkansas, I have a friend out there. If I ever go to the east coast, I have a friend out there. So, having such a diverse network of people from the military like that, that's one of the great things about the military is, just, it's a melting pot of different people, different cultures, different walks of life, different beliefs, backgrounds. Like, I have friends from all over the country, and they really opened my perspective on a lot of things, like my political views, my personal views, my personal beliefs and everything. And I think I wouldn't have gotten that if I didn't join the military. 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:38.934 So, what are some of the life lessons you learned from your military service? 00:44:38.934 --> 00:46:14.054 Oh, man. I've learned a lot of life lessons from the military. Um, let's see—well, for one, the military taught me how to do my taxes (laughs). So, I mean, you know, a lot of kids like, they just kind of wing it and figure it out. But luckily I had a petty officer who was kind of a leader and he was like, Hey, this is how you do TurboTax, and this is how you do this. And I was a 19-year-old kid, and I didn't even know taxes was a thing. My parents always just kind of took care of that. And so, when the end of the year came and they were like, Hey, all the sailors, did you guys do your taxes? And I was like, Oh, that's a thing? I dunno what that is. So luckily I had a mentor that kind of guided me through that. So, life lessons, a lot of pretty much how to be an adult. I got that from the military, which I feel like not a lot of people get that. They'd have to kind of find it on their own. So the military helped me grow up and it helped me mature. Honestly, the military even helped me become a good dad, a good father. Like a lot of my friends, they got married, they had kids, and I kind of saw how they raised their kids and how they had their relationships while they were in the military. And so that kind of shaped how I was gonna be as a father. So, let's see—what other life lessons? That's pretty much the main ones I can think of. 00:46:14.054 --> 00:46:22.034 What message would you like to leave future generations who will view or hear this interview? 00:46:22.034 --> 00:47:51.675 Pretty much, you know, a lot of people have different perspectives of what the military is like and what that is. Growing up, like a lot of people thought the military is you're going to just, like, it's just a job where you just go and you kill people or something like that. Or like, you go out and you be a hero. But the military is just like, it had a lot of different experiences. A lot of people ask me like, is joining the military a good decision? And honestly, it's ultimately up to you—like, what your goals are, what you wanna do with your life. I wouldn't say the military is a good or bad decision. It really just depends on what you wanna do. So for me it was a good decision. And I just want everybody to know, whenever people come and thank me for my service—you know, some people they respond with "you're welcome." I don't really like saying "you're welcome." I just like saying thank you for your support, because, you know, I'm just a person, just like everybody else is and I just got experiences that some other people haven't experienced before. So, yeah I guess I just want people to know that people in the military, veterans, were just regular people who were put into extraordinary circumstances sometimes. 00:47:51.675 --> 00:47:59.565 How did you become associated with the CSUSM campus and the North San Diego County community? 00:47:59.565 --> 00:48:55.474 Sure. Pretty much I got affiliated with Cal State because I was looking for grad schools. Actually my initial—I wanted to go to San Diego State, but that didn't quite work out (laughs), so Cal State was actually my backup, but it was a great decision. I don't regret it at all. Cal State was a great school, and that's why I went there twice, for both of my graduate programs. But I ultimately picked Cal State because of their MPH program. They had a CEPF accreditation (Council on Education for Public Health). I forget what CEPF stands for, but at the time I was pondering the idea of going back into the military as an officer. And so the program accreditations are really important, whenever you try to put in your officer packages. So, CEPH accreditation for an MPH degree was important. So that's why I pursued a degree at Cal State. 00:48:55.474 --> 00:49:13.894 So we're coming up on the conclusions. I'd like to first thank you for taking the time to share your recollections of military service. Is there anything you've always wanted to share about your service or veteran experience that you never had? 00:49:13.894 --> 00:50:05.375 Lemme see. Well, I think like the main thing I wanted to share was the experiences I had with my deployment. Like I said, it's a lesser known theater that not a lot of people know about—the conflict down in the Philippines. And back in I think 2017 or 2018, there was a big siege in a town called Marawi where, pretty much, the Abu Sayyaf had taken over this entire city, and a lot of people died. And you know, the conflict down there in the south part of the Philippines, like I said, not a lot of people know about it, but a lot of people have died. And so I just want people to be aware of what we did down there and the people that we helped. 00:50:05.375 --> 00:50:10.224 What do you wish more people knew about veterans? 00:50:10.224 --> 00:51:33.005 Pretty much, kind of what I said before, you know, veterans are just normal people who just got put into extraordinary circumstances. I mean, I know I didn't get to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan—my brother did. My corpsman brother. He was with the Marines—or as a corpsman he was with the Marines, with the infantry. And that's what I initially wanted to do. I wanted to go over there. But unfortunately the time that I joined was in 2011, so the wars at both of those places in Iraq and Afghanistan were starting to die down. Literally right when I checked into third Marine division, the last rotation to Afghanistan from our unit had stopped. That was the—so I was asking, I was volunteering like, Hey, can I please go to Afghanistan? That's why I joined the military. I wanted to go over there, and as the Marines would say, "get some," but that didn't quite work out. But when they said that there was a deployment to the Philippines, I was like, okay, well, that's the next best thing. So, yeah, I just want people to know that veterans, even though we didn't, like, I would say a large majority of us didn't even serve in a war or in combat, but we all did our part. And, like, if even if we were put into that situation, I think we all still would've performed well. So yeah. 00:51:33.005 --> 00:51:40.675 In your unveiling of the journey, what are the lessons learned from your military experience? 00:51:40.675 --> 00:54:12.385 Lessons learned. Like I said, I learned how to be an adult in the military. So, let's see, what else? I learned how to be fiscally responsible. Let's see. Hmm. Oh, and I also—being in the military, I learned the importance of education. I had a lot of mentors in the military, and some of them were officers. So they went to school and they told me their pathway to success, if you will. And at the time when I joined the military I did a semester at Missouri State and I just felt like college isn't for me. I'm just gonna join the military, make a career out of it. And then like, when I was active duty, when I was with the Third Marine Division, I mean, we were very busy with operations and stuff, and people would mention going to school, and I'm like, I don't even know how you guys have time to go to school. And so I didn't even think about going to school, but when I got stationed at Miramar, it was considered a shore duty. So it was a little less paced for the operations side. So everybody kept saying, Hey, while you're at Miramar, you should go to school. And then I had an HM1 who was kind of like my mentor, and he went and did all of his classes and he was like, "Lacea, you need to go to school too." And I was like, "All right, all right, fine, I'll do it. I'll see how it goes." And I was I think twenty-two, twenty-three at the time, and I felt like going back to school, even though I was a good student in high school, I thought I was gonna have a hard time going back to school and learning again. So I was really nervous, and when I did my first college class, I was like, Wow, this wasn't that bad. And so I started like packing on the classes and, like I said, at the time I was still thinking about the Navy as a career, so I was just doing some classes here and there, just to kind of like build my time. I could even put those classes on my eval to make it like an eval bullet. But then I eventually saw like, oh shoot, I'm stacking more and more classes. I could actually finish my bachelor's. And so, once I finished my bachelor's, then yeah, it was just up and up from there. I was like, okay, next thing is my master's. So, yeah, the military definitely taught me the importance of education, for sure. 00:54:12.385 --> 00:54:13.844 Thank you for your time today. 00:54:13.844 --> 00:54:14.344 Cool. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en audio Property rights reside with the university. Copyrights are retained by the &#13 ; creators of the records and their heirs. This resource is licensed for noncommercial educational use using CC NC-BY 4.0. Please contact Special Collections at archives csusm.edu if you need reproductions made. Please see the related “Preferred Citation note” for language on citing materials from this collection. &#13 ; Permission to examine Library materials is not authorization to publish or to reproduce the examined material in whole, or in part. Persons wishing to quote, publish, perform, reproduce, or otherwise make use of an item in the library’s collections must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of the copyright holder. &#13 ; The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of the material and agrees to hold harmless the University Library, and California State University, against all claims, demands, costs, and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of the library's materials. &#13 ; In assuming full responsibility for use of the material, the researcher also &#13 ; understands that the materials they examine may contain Social Security &#13 ; numbers, other personal identifiers, and/or sensitive material on potentially living and identifiable individuals (e.g., medical, evaluative, or personally invasive information). The researcher agrees not to record, reproduce, or disclose any Social Security number or other information of a highly personal nature that may be found. 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=LetigioLaceaJan_BeyerJason_2024-11-08_access.xml LetigioLaceaJan_BeyerJason_2024-11-08_access.xml https://archivesearch.csusm.edu/repositories/3/resources/19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lacea, Jan Michael Letigio. Interview November 8th, 2024. Description An account of the resource Jan Michael Letigio Lacea served in the Navy for eight years. He was frocked Petty Officer First Class HM1 (Hospital Corpsman First Class) before he left the service. Lacea described his service in the Philippines for Operation Enduring Freedom, and he reflected on his own identity as a Filipino American immigrant. He also recounted his return to civilian life, attending graduate school at CSU San Marcos, the support he received from the CSUSM Veterans’ Center, and the life lessons he learned from military service. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SC027-072 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024-11-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jan Michael Letigio Lacea Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jason Beyer Adel Bautista Marilyn Huerta Subject The topic of the resource California State University San Marcos Camp Pendleton (Calif.) Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (Calif.) Missouri State University Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-2014 -- Philippines San Diego State University United States. Navy United States. Navy -- Hospital corpsmen Veterans -- United States Great Lakes (Ill.) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant San Marcos (Calif.) Fallbrook (Calif.) Cebu City (Philippines) Springfield (Mo.) Okinawa (Japan) Louisiana San Antonio (Tex.) Zamboanga (Philippines) Manila (Philippines) Boracay (Philippines) Bohol (Philippines) Arkansas Marawi (Philippines) Iraq Afghanistan North County San Diego (Calif.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In copyright</a> Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Jan Michael Letigio Lacea Community history San Diego Veterans History Initiative Veteran experience https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/files/original/b180c3edcbc49ffa0dfcf47128e107e3.pdf cd2ab238d19462ca59858d0d63ae7f4e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Transcripts Description An account of the resource Written oral histories and transcripts are available for researchers that prefer the written word, or to see the whole interview in a document. Transcripts of <a href="https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/collections/show/5">audio and video files</a> are also available as part of those video files. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Carr, Jim. Interview transcript, September 26, 2017. Description An account of the resource Jim Carr spent 24 years at California State University San Marcos working for the Distribution Services team and was instrumental in implementing the first barcoded inventory tracking system for the University. Jim discusses his time working for CSUSM as part of Distribution Services and how his education and background led to him this job. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jim Carr Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Judith Downie Robert Sheehan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-09-26 Subject The topic of the resource Barcoding Distribution Services California State University San Marcos Fixed asset tracking San Diego State University Sustainability Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant San Diego (Calif.) San Marcos (Calif.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In copyright</a> Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. California State University San Marcos Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CarrJim_DownieJudith_2017-09-26_transcript License A legal document giving official permission to do something with the resource. <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/</a> CSUSM history Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Description An account of the resource Video and audio oral histories can be viewed here. Histories are listed alphabetically by last name. Individual histories are indexed and transcribed and can be searched. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <p>Rights to oral histories vary depending on the history. The library owns the copyright to some histories, and has license to reproduce for nonprofit purposes for others. Please contact CSUSM University Library Special Collections at <a href="mailto:%20archives@csusm.edu">archives@csusm.edu</a> with any questions about use.</p> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Judith Downie Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Jim Carr OHMS Object This field contains the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file within the OHMS Viewer) https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=CarrJim_DownieJudith_2017-09-26.xml Interview Keyword This filed adds keywords to the Omeka Oral History item type. Keywords are included in the OHMS XML, this field in Omeka will allow for full data migration between OHMS XML and the Omeka Record. This field does not impact the OHMS / Omeka integration and is optional if you do not need to map the "keywords" field in the OHMS XML to the corresponding Omeka record. Distribution Services;CSUSM;Asset tracking OHMS Object Text This field contains the OHMS Index and / or Transcript and is what makes the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka 6.0 Carr, Jim. Interview, September 26, 2017 SC027-091 00:00:00 SC027 California State University San Marcos University Library oral history collection CSUSM csusm Distribution Services ; CSUSM ; Asset tracking Jim Carr Judith Downie sound CarrJim_DownieJudith_2017-09-26.m4a 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/files/original/31e232bd190157b0333d3c3a3d37e764.m4a Other audio English 0 Introduction 0 28 Accountable fixed assets for CSUSM Jim talks about the folder he brought into the interview that documents Cal State San Marcos' fixed assets across 82 pages. That folder is included in CSUSM library Special Collection. Fixed assets ; Cal State San Marcos ; Asset tracking 0 333 Education and Employment in the CSU System Jim talks about his education at San Diego State University where he received a Bachelor's degree in English and worked as a student assistant. His work as a student assistant at SDSU eventully led him to his career as a property manager at SDSU and then CSUSM. Asset tracking ; Education ; San Diego State University ; Cal State San Marcos ; Student employment 0 1008 Watching the University Grow Jim discusses how CSUSM has grown in his 24 years working on the campus. Blossoming into a campus with over 17,000 students. CSUSM ; Expansion ; Student experience 0 1379 Barcoding Assets Jim talks about one of the largest projects during his tenure at CSUSM, barcoding all of the fixed assets on campus. Barcodes ; Fixed assets ; Asset tracking 0 1604 Sustainability and Purchasing Jim talks about the ways that his department worked with other departments on campus to create sustainable plans for the retirement of assets and how on campus purchasing plays a part in that project. Sustainability ; Asset retirement ; Asset planning ; Asset tracking 0 2175 Technology Growth in Higher Education Jim talks about how technology has been implemented within the CSU system over the course of his career. Email ; Technology development ; Higher education ; CSUSM ; SDSU 0 2292 Retirement Jim talks about his plans for retirement which include staying active on the Retiree's Association and backpacking with his grandson. Backpacking ; Retirement ; Retiree's Association 0 2542 Asset End of Life Planning Jim talks about how assets are retired from the CSU system through sustainable means. Donations or reselling old er assets are often used as ways to retire old assets and keep them out of landfills. Sustainability ; Asset retirement ; CSUSM ; Donations 0 2898 Crunching the Numbers Jim talks about how he did some quick calculations to see how many thousands of miles he drove during his commutes and how much money was spent on fuel. Trivia ; Commuting ; Expenses ; CSUSM 0 Oral history Jim Carr spent 23 years at California State University San Marcos working for the Distribution Services team and was instrumental in implementing the first barcoded inventory tracking system for the University. Jim discusses his time working for CSUSM as part of Distribution Services and how his education and background led to him this job. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:01.314 --> 00:00:16.155 Okay, this is Tuesday, September 26th, 2017. Judith Downie, Special Collections and History Librarian at Cal State San Marcos with Jim Carr, of Materials Management at CSUSM to record an oral history. 00:00:16.155 --> 00:00:19.545 Okay, so this picks up very, very well. So-- 00:00:19.545 --> 00:00:19.885 Very well, 00:00:19.885 --> 00:00:20.714 Don't worry about speaking. 00:00:20.714 --> 00:00:21.942 Good morning, Judith. 00:00:21.942 --> 00:00:23.047 Good morning. Jim 00:00:23.047 --> 00:00:28.995 Jim Carr here, also known as James Carr, in case any official documents need to be-- 00:00:28.995 --> 00:00:48.704 Okay. So let's go back to what you were talking about before I got the recorder started. There's about three quarters of an inch of eleven by four or --eight and a half by fourteen (inch) paper. Computer printout with signatures from Ernest Zumwalt, Patricia Harris, and Ron Neu-- 00:00:48.704 --> 00:00:49.395 Farris 00:00:49.395 --> 00:00:50.085 Harris. 00:00:50.085 --> 00:00:51.005 Farris. Farris. 00:00:51.005 --> 00:01:12.355 Farris, I'm sorry, it's been so long since I've used her name. And Ron New who, in regards to an inventory of assets here at Cal State San Marcos. And Jim is giving it to us for storage in the archives as part of our campus startups. The document is dated 1994. And so this will be in the University collection when it is processed. 00:01:12.355 --> 00:01:13.685 Okay. Yes. 00:01:13.685 --> 00:01:14.754 So you wanna explain this document? 00:01:14.754 --> 00:01:50.484 It's 82 pages of, the accountable fixed assets that the university, first accounted for after a long process of converting, manual inventory labels into barcoded assets. And once we were all accounted for, this is what we used and was signed up for as a dollar amount and a number of items that the University was gonna start accounting for in the fixed asset category, for accounting purposes. 00:01:50.484 --> 00:01:55.954 And what I love is I'm seeing computer monitors. Apple. Back in the days when we had Apples. 00:01:55.954 --> 00:01:56.525 Yeah. There's-- 00:01:56.525 --> 00:01:59.564 Then we went to PC and then we came back to Apple. So. 00:01:59.564 --> 00:02:00.000 Yeah, 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.000 We've kind of gone full circle here. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:32.044 Yeah. We kind of went back and forth there for a while and of course back then we were asset tracking at a $500 threshold. And then around the year 2000 we went to a $1,500 threshold and now we're at a $2,500 threshold. Hopefully at some point the Chancellors office will find a way for all the campus' to be on common ground in that regard. But right now every campus is a little different in how they track assets, so there we are. 00:02:32.044 --> 00:02:35.155 That's kind of a campus system standard it seems like. 00:02:35.155 --> 00:02:48.914 Yeah. I also have some old, letterhead that I happen to have acquired somehow that actually talks about, the old address at the University before it moved onto our current location here. 00:02:48.914 --> 00:02:50.564 Without a logo or anything. 00:02:50.564 --> 00:03:00.555 Yeah. Without a logo. It's from the College of Arts and Sciences, and the address on it is 820 West Los Viacitos Boulevard in San Marcos. So, in other words, when we were across the freeway. 00:03:00.555 --> 00:03:03.965 With the area code of 619. That's been a long time. 00:03:03.965 --> 00:03:27.000 Yeah, that's right. Also some old one with our old logo here. From accounting. That's nothing much there. I also have something,(19)91 that was just kind of interesting. back in the earlier days of the University, of course we had a program called Central Stores and it was kind of like what would later become Office Max or Staples or something. And-- 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:28.354 I had forgotten about that. 00:03:28.354 --> 00:03:36.485 --chargebacks at the time, 1991. Just little things of what we used to carry in the warehouse that we would deliver to campus when somebody was interested in that. 00:03:36.485 --> 00:03:39.205 I remember ordering reams of colored paper and things like that. 00:03:39.205 --> 00:04:21.444 And then of course, in the early days too, being a small university, our department, and our warehouse workers were responsible for every move on campus at the time. And Ron Neu at the time, used to track who had asked for a particular move on a date, when it was completed and how long it took. So anyway, that's just kind of interesting in that it references a lot of the employees that were on campus at the time, in fact there's even a few that are still around, like Kathy Martin. It won't be around much longer. Or, Marcy Boyle up in, the provost's office, that kind of a thing. So there's some very interesting history to look at. So if you're interested in that. 00:04:21.444 --> 00:04:22.764 Oh, that's fabulous. Yes! Thank you. 00:04:22.764 --> 00:04:24.444 You're more than welcome to archive that. 00:04:24.444 --> 00:04:32.095 That's in the manila folder. Yeah, I, let's see, Mitchell, I wonder if that's Dannis Mitchell or. 00:04:32.095 --> 00:04:34.264 Susan Mitchell. It's probably Dannis. 00:04:34.264 --> 00:04:38.345 And then there was also another D. Mitchell. It was Judy Taylor's daughter. 00:04:38.345 --> 00:04:39.644 Oh, really? 00:04:39.644 --> 00:04:46.774 Oh, what was her name? She worked in, boy. Yeah, this is going back. Oh, I see. Yee. So that would be probably Michael Yee. 00:04:46.774 --> 00:04:48.963 Mike Yee or Criselda Yee maybe. 00:04:48.963 --> 00:04:50.426 Yeah, who just retired. 00:04:50.426 --> 00:04:51.706 Yeah, he just retired. 00:04:51.706 --> 00:04:52.475 Oh, there's Theresa Handy. 00:04:52.475 --> 00:04:53.764 Yeah. Still here. 00:04:53.764 --> 00:04:58.125 Oh yeah, I'm seeing a lot of names down there that take me down-- 00:04:58.125 --> 00:05:04.925 Yeah, interesting names. So I, again, I just kind of thought something I found when I was going through my files that I thought maybe the archives would be interesting. 00:05:04.925 --> 00:05:17.725 Yeah, no, definitely. Wonderful. Okay. Very good. Well, here's a rough idea of kinds of questions you could answer. And of course, if you take off from those and talk about something else, that's absolutely fabulous. 00:05:17.725 --> 00:05:19.463 Okay. That sounds good. 00:05:19.463 --> 00:05:33.485 And here is a clipping from the San Diego North County Times with-- this goes through 2004. So that's not, of course exhausted by any means, but it might trigger a few things 'cause. 00:05:33.485 --> 00:05:51.024 Absolutely. And I can certainly, relate to this in, in several regards. And I'll tie in my history here. I'll start with where I was before. CSUSM back, of course my history with the CSU actually spans 44 years. 00:05:51.024 --> 00:05:51.634 Wow. 00:05:51.634 --> 00:08:53.206 When you count the idea that I actually went to San Diego State and was a college student there, starting in the fall of 1973. And I graduated in May of 1978. And during that time, I was able to be employed as a student assistant in the property office there under a gentleman named John Hines at the time. And, he put me to work as a inventory student to go around to different buildings and do inventory. So I'd take a clipboard and a piece of paper and I would write down asset tag numbers and record those and give them to John to, you know, do his tracking and accountability for those. And I remember, at the time we had just opened a brand new art building and I was very excited 'cause John handed me his master keys, said, Jim, go through every room in this building and find every asset you can find 'cause we wanna make sure we know what got moved into that new building. So that was fun. And it was a very good experience and a very good precursor to learning all the things that I did that I brought to Cal State San Marcos. But before I got to San Marcos again, I spent a couple years as a student assistant. I also worked over in, what was called the Duplication Department, doing deliveries of printed materials as, what they would call secretaries back then needed particular copies made. And of course, back then they had their great big printing machines. There was no such thing as, printers. There were still mimeograph machines and all that back then and typewriters by the galore 'cause that was the mid seventies (1970s). So, apparently I was well-liked as a student assistant. 'cause I did graduate and I worked off campus for a couple of years. And during those couple of years off campus, I worked for a delivery service that handled a lot of medical accounts. It was kind of like a small, say like a FedEx home delivery type business. And our accounts were mainly, medical at the time. So we delivered to a lot of pharmacies, medical labs, dental labs. And for a short while, there was actually a veterinary account that we carried. And one of my routes during that time carried me from Kearney Mesa, all the way up to the small town of San Marcos. So this would see be around 1979, 1980, somewhere in there. And on one trip at the end of my day, I remember driving down this long road delivering to a chicken ranch, and I can almost guarantee that it was the Prohoroff Chicken Ranch. And I delivered a small box of veterinary supplies. And I don't remember much of it other than it was a long road. And I found someone out there that could sign for the package. I handed it to 'em and off I went. But it's just fascinating that I probably came to the Chicken ranch once in my career. 00:08:53.206 --> 00:08:56.195 And no inkling you were going to be back there for something. 00:08:56.195 --> 00:09:01.294 I had no idea. Absolutely. So that was just a great story. 00:09:01.294 --> 00:10:51.645 later on, I found out that there was an opening in the department, that I had worked for at San Diego State, and I applied for that position and, took that position in September of 1980. And that began my employment career in the California State University system. So I went to work, in the property office. And, I spent twelve and a half years working at San Diego State. And during that time, I certainly remember that, San Diego State, of course had a satellite campus out in Imperial Valley at the time. Well, up there in the North County, growing as it was, the University wanted to establish a North County campus up there. And, again, based on your history here, I can see that in September of 1979, a satellite branch of the university opened in Vista, for 148 students. And I remember, it may have been after this point, but at one point, the North County satellite campus moved to a location on the Lincoln Middle School, I believe. And they actually, assigned an admin coordinator, secretary, whatever you wanna say, in a trailer there at that location. And that secretary needed some furniture. She would need a desk, she would need a table, a file cabinet, maybe, bookcase, something like that. And, John, my supervisor, said, well, Jim and Larry, my coworker at the time, go to our surplus area, pick out a nice desk, pick out some furniture, and you're gonna make a road trip up to that location and deliver that for that secretary. So I do remember making a trip up to Vista at the time and delivering some, surplus furniture. So that staff employee-- 00:10:51.645 --> 00:10:53.725 Yeah. Was this Prison Industry's furniture do you remember? 00:10:53.725 --> 00:12:27.384 It probably-- Well, I, no, it wasn't Prison Industries. It would've been an old, like World War II type metal desk. That would've been what we had a lot of at San Diego State. A lot of that type of furniture at the time. So that was kind of another little piece of history. And of course, as the, North County satellite campus grew larger and larger, we would make trips up there when they would order tablet armchairs that would come into our receiving at San Diego State. And then we'd have to make, again, another road trip up to deliver a tablet armchairs or other furniture as it grew and grew and grew. And then, obviously it got to the point, at San Diego State, John Hines retired and I became the, the property clerk there for a while. So, it became obvious that San Marcos was going to be dedicating a brand new campus up there in North County. And it was about the time I had become the property clerk. So employees were getting hired up there at, the new campus. It officially dedicated again in, I believe, July of 1989. It was, established. And, some of the new employees would come down to San Diego State, like Ron Neu, who had been hired in there at the time, would come down to San Diego State and visit with me to kind of get ideas of how we did processes and set up policies and how we did that kind of business to support the University in categories such as fixed asset tracking, shipping and receiving, if you had a central store's mail, that kind of thing. 00:12:27.384 --> 00:14:21.825 So, I would talk to Ron and, he was impressed with, how we ran things at San Diego State. And it wasn't too long after that, that burgeoning campus there at, Cal State San Marcos, was now going to be separating completely from San Diego State. There was a little transitional time where San Diego State supported Cal State San Marcos in some of their processes and business practices. Well, once the split occurred, I was tasked to go up to Cal State San Marcos when they're still at the Jerome's location. And do an inventory again, of tracking fixed assets to find out what assets the University (CSUSM) was gonna keep that used to belong to San Diego State. And which ones they wanted to relinquish back to San Diego State. So again, I went up to the Jerome's location and went through all the buildings and track things. And I walked around with Ron who said, okay, we're gonna keep these pieces and these, you're gonna, you know, gonna be moved back to San Diego State at some point. So that was, again, a great experience. And again, meeting more people at the new campus and being very excited for them. And, so went back, took care of that project. And then before long I was getting calls from Ron Neu, asking if I might be interested in coming to work at Cal State San Marcos. And this was in, late 1992. And, that was one of the times when, our CSU system was undergoing one of its budget downturns. And there were some, tough times there. There was new management coming in. There were workers that were getting laid off, only because they were temporary, but there were some tough times. And the prospect of a new, vibrant, exciting university just up the road, was very appealing. And, again, Ron was wooing me, and it didn't take me too long to realize that this would be a very good move. 00:14:21.825 --> 00:16:47.004 So in, December of 1992, right before Craven Hall (Academic Hall) was occupied, I came up to the campus and submitted my application for a warehouse worker position that had opened up in, Support Services there at the USB (University Services Building) building, one of our first buildings on campus. And, Human Resources was in Academic Hall at the time. And I submitted my application and I interviewed with, Ron and Ivalee Clark and a gentleman, from procurement at the time, and ended up getting the job. So in February of 1993, I had given my notice, and I came up, started working at Cal State San Marcos, and, a couple years later I got reclassed into the property clerk position. And again, we were starting to barcode all our assets, and it was a very exciting time at the, the young campus. The, Craven Hall building was dedicated in April of 1993. And that was exciting, to go through that ceremony. And, one other interesting thing about, my previous history at San Diego State was when I was a college student, I took an English class and it was called, John Milton. And it was about that writer, John Milton, and a lot of his writings. And the particular faculty member that taught that class was none other than Mr. Richard Rush, who was one of the very first, administrators here at the new university. I think by the time I started, he had already moved on to become president back at, the University of Minnesota that he was. But, it was neat to, have had him as an instructor. And find out he was an administrator here. And then of course, he spent a very great distinguished career up at, (CSU) Channel Islands. And I think he came down to campus a couple times to visit. And I think I got a chance to talk to him a few times and mention that I had been a student of his and, put a smile on his face there. He was a good instructor. So, that was kind of another neat little piece of history. And then I've of course spent 24 and a half years here at Cal State San Marcos, always down there in the University Services Building, whether we were called Support Services or Materials Management, or now we're Distribution Services. And it's been a--it's been a great career and I've loved working here. 00:16:47.004 --> 00:16:48.754 I've always seen you with a smile on your face. 00:16:48.754 --> 00:17:08.755 Well, thank you. It's-- there's been great people here. There were of course, great people working at San Diego State too. So--but to see the university grow and blossom from, you know, just the few buildings that were here when I started to our large vibrant campus now with 17,000 students has been--has been a great experience. 00:17:08.755 --> 00:17:11.204 Yeah. Very. It's been amazing. It's definitely been amazing. 00:17:11.204 --> 00:17:13.243 Absolutely. So-- 00:17:13.243 --> 00:17:16.607 I came in (19)91 as a student, so yeah, I've done that. 00:17:16.607 --> 00:17:17.125 Oh. There you go. 00:17:17.125 --> 00:17:22.924 It's very similar trajectory of being here to help schlep all the stuff. 00:17:22.924 --> 00:17:25.434 Yeah. Yep. And been a lot of schlepping over time. 00:17:25.434 --> 00:17:26.194 Yeah. Yeah. 00:17:26.194 --> 00:17:56.444 It's been great to see the buildings come up and people move and the students come in and, and the technology change to, to see how education has grown over the years. It would've been neat to have been a little more involved on the academic side, but, I was very proud to have, supported the University with our customer service and the frontline people that are behind the scenes on the business side of the University that, you know, really keep it going. 00:17:56.444 --> 00:17:58.404 Yeah. You're the grease that makes the wheels turn. 00:17:58.404 --> 00:18:00.233 That's, that's kinda it. Yeah. 00:18:00.233 --> 00:18:01.684 Very essential to getting things done. 00:18:01.684 --> 00:18:20.005 Yeah. And the nice thing about San Marcos, we've generally had pretty good, support from management to, you know, continue our operation and make sure that we provide the service that's best for the campus. So, very glad to have been part of that. Very good. So thank you, Judith. 00:18:20.005 --> 00:18:26.045 Well and so, you talked about being a student at San Diego State. What was your degree? 00:18:26.045 --> 00:18:27.869 My degree was in English. 00:18:27.869 --> 00:18:28.599 Oh, okay. 00:18:28.599 --> 00:19:11.505 And, I guess I could have pursued a teaching credential or something might've been the logical direction to go, but the employment that I had experienced as a student assistant was really good. And, my mother in fact was a department secretary there at San Diego State for about 20 years. And, her promoting the benefits of state employment kinda said, well, you know, this would be a good direction. I kind of like what I was doing. And, so again, when, that position opened up, it was a great draw and I'm glad I did, because, our benefits are very good. 00:19:11.505 --> 00:19:26.444 And do you think that having been a student assistant maybe also helped you decide to go that way? Just because you had worked with good people, you also saw how the system worked rather than going blindly into something completely different and saying wait a minute I don't think I like this? 00:19:26.444 --> 00:19:57.000 Absolutely. Yep. The student assistant definitely was part--it was fun to work on a campus. You worked with really good people. You worked with, other student assistants that were, you know, enjoying being employed before they headed off in their careers and things. And, working with people that, had--were actually in second careers. Because a lot of the people at the time I worked with were veterans from World War II and they were working in that support business for the University, because that's what they had done in the military. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.964 The military runs on logistics and things, so, yeah-- 00:20:00.964 --> 00:20:16.275 Exactly. So it was, it was kind of neat. And I had always, enjoyed logistics like that. So it was a very good fit. And, so the student assistant experience was a very good precursor to going into that business. And I was glad I did. Yeah. It was a good fit. 00:20:16.275 --> 00:20:19.785 Okay. So, have you ever attended any classes at Cal State San Marcos? 00:20:19.785 --> 00:20:46.243 I never did, other than, some, you know, classes that you get sent to as an employee. I did join a national association called the National Property Managers Association, which is a nationwide group of property professionals, again, property having to do with fixed assets and tracking. 00:20:46.243 --> 00:20:47.315 As opposed to real estate? 00:20:47.315 --> 00:21:41.674 Correct. Correct. Tracking fixed assets in all kinds of different applications. Everything from the military, a lot of federal programs, universities, cities, counties, state agencies. So, it's a very good support group for property professionals. And I got my certification in that. And, kept that for a while. I wish I could have pursued it more, but at some point, the University decided that, we'd move a different direction in that regard. So I'm hoping maybe, anyone that follows me in the fixed asset world might be able to join that association. Because it's a very great support group along with the other property clerks. In the CSU system, which are also very good resources. 00:21:41.674 --> 00:21:47.894 So is there anything formal in the CSU for the property? 00:21:47.894 --> 00:22:42.855 No, not really. Other than, like the Chancellor's office attempting to, you know, set new standards and guidelines for, tracking assets. Whether it be capital assets, non-capital assets, theft sensitive assets. But the property clerks, had some meetings that they would get together in the late nineties (1990s), early two thousands (2000s). They kind of fell off during the recession, but about three years ago (circa 2014), they started having them again. So, the CSU property clerks are getting together for a conference, in fact next month in October at San Diego State and my successor is gonna be joining that conference and a couple other people here on campus. So I'm glad to see that that's been revived. And that, they get together and talk about different challenges that they have amongst the campuses in their business practices. So it's good to share that information and learn something. 00:22:42.855 --> 00:22:47.134 And communication is only augmented when you can do face to face and build some relationships that way. 00:22:47.134 --> 00:22:48.214 Exactly. 00:22:48.214 --> 00:22:49.365 So that's great. That's great. I'm glad to hear that. 00:22:49.365 --> 00:22:52.674 I'm glad to hear they're doing that. Yeah, absolutely. 00:22:52.674 --> 00:22:58.000 And you talked about your mother working at San Diego State for 20 years and being a champion. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:59.515 Yes! 00:22:59.515 --> 00:23:06.585 but what are some of the most notable projects you can remember having worked on? I mean, the barcoding the assets was a huge project-- 00:23:06.585 --> 00:25:10.434 Right. That's a big project because even ongoing, as we add new buildings, you have to go into each building and kind of update where all your equipment is moved. So if everything was in the first science building (Science Hall 1), now they've opened a new science building (Science Hall 2), first thing you have to do is go through the whole building and barcode all the rooms so that you can track locations. And then, you kind of go through and have to update, locations within all those labs, what centrifuges--microscopes, whatever it might be, have moved. And, of course we've been very lucky as a campus that, we have centralized computing on our campus, but we used to barcode every computer that came into the campus. And of course, computers were very important piece of equipment. And even more so these days in our information age where computers are holding a lot of data and basically have become a very, very strong security risk. As we all know, when you're talking about data breaches and things like that. So, IITS we're lucky on our campus being very centralized as we have it, makes it a lot easier for them to kind of grab the reins on tracking data security with the new software and technology that they have, which makes tracking computers much better for them to do than (have) me slap on my paper asset tag and go, it is located here. Well, the datas are the most important part. So, we actually haven't been tagging, with our barcodes, computers in some time because they've been tracking that on their own with their own asset tags. And, the important part of course is tracking the data security of that. Because when a computer is now not gonna be used, they'll pull a hard drive and make sure that's taken care of. Or wipe a computer because you don't want any information to be disposed. Because again, you've got assets that come into the university, they have a life, well, at some point that life's gonna end. And so how do you dispose of assets? 00:25:10.434 --> 00:26:30.164 It's very important that you wanna make sure everything is--there's no data on them. How are you gonna dispose of it? Is it--'cause again, with sustainability, a big part of dispositions of assets, you're gonna avoid having to go to the landfill at all. So you have assets that you might be able to sell. You have assets you can donate to a charity. If you can do that. You have assets that go to an e-waste vendor because of their particular criteria that makes them e-waste. So you do the best you can. Which is a big part of, asset tracking of accounting for how you dispose of assets. How do you think sustainability and you think going forward, okay, what is the University procuring that at the end of its life, it's not going to be, you know, having to be disposed of in the landfill. Is it made of something that can be recycled? Is it made of something that, you know, can be reused for a long time that is gonna have a good life to it. So there's a lot of thoughts that you can use, as the University moves forward to kind of, you know, follow that sustainability. So that's now become kind of a part of my thought process. And hopefully others in that process going forward as, the University grows, 00:26:30.164 --> 00:26:33.964 Which means you collaborate a lot with the recycling program that Carl Hanson kind of-- 00:26:33.964 --> 00:26:34.650 Correct. Yeah, exactly. 00:26:34.650 --> 00:26:44.000 --Spearheaded. And you have to think, not just something's come in or I have to make sure I know where it is, but what's gonna happen to it over a long run. So there's a lot of planning and forethought going into this as well. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:27:30.000 Correct. Exactly. And, we now have a department on campus called, Sustainability. It's part of, sustain,--well, what we used to call, Risk Management. They're in that department. So we work a lot with them to say, going forward, you know, how are we gonna be sustainable in our dispositions? That kind of a thing. So they have a good Sustainability Committee on this campus. They put forward a policy that the University's now been following, and I've been--I believe it's been approved by the President. So, that's a step in the right direction also. So working with them, and again, like you say, the recycling program, under Energy Management, which is now a part of, Facilities Management. So-- 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:35.674 yeah, we have shifted things from department to department to division to division. And, well. 00:27:35.674 --> 00:27:42.434 When you have a brand new campus, a lot of things are gonna change over time and it's exciting to watch those happen. 00:27:42.434 --> 00:27:45.045 Yeah. So any other projects. 00:27:45.045 --> 00:28:54.984 Well definitely have watched procurement change and implement system-wide power of purchasing to bring in our office vendors like, OfficeMax and Staples that we have. So that the unit that the CSU is now again using their purchasing power to try and save money. Certainly makes it better than the central stores that we used to have. So that transition's been good. Of course, as we procure things. Now, of course we've seen procurement go into the credit card business, so Pro Card (procurement card) is happening. But, that kind of implements a new level of asset tracking because now you have to track pro card purchases. Because again, it's the technology of our new world. You know, that's the way to procure. Now all of a sudden you've got Amazon being used significantly, and that's a major development that we have to look at to make sure we're able to account for those kind of packages as they come in. So, the technology is changing and it brings new challenges. Those are always exciting to work with. 00:28:54.984 --> 00:29:08.285 And my impression, since I don't do--I don't order supplies, I don't do any of that stuff anymore, is that the Pro Card and Amazon are generally the smaller ticket items, which means a lot of little stuff coming in. 00:29:08.285 --> 00:29:46.434 Right. And you have to look at those Amazon packages and go, well, okay, yeah, someone can be using the university credit card to buy things and they're getting their packages, but how do we know they're not using their personal credit cards, buying things that they have come into their office through Amazon, you know, how can we in receiving look at those and say, what's a personal package and what's a University business related package? There's no way to tell anymore. So that, that leads to challenges that, you know, we're looking at. And hopefully, we'll come up with a process to check those, so yeah. Other than the end user, which might really be the only genuine way to do it. 00:29:46.434 --> 00:30:00.724 Yeah. And we already have so much workload, but people are here so much all the time. It's kind of like, well, I'd rather have it delivered at my work because I know it's gonna be secure, as opposed to, you know, being left on my doorstep at home and not be there when I get home and stuff. 00:30:00.724 --> 00:30:11.994 Right. Yeah and it doesn't help that the news focuses on look at the thieves taking these packages from this poor person's porch. So, yeah, so there's a challenge right there. 00:30:11.994 --> 00:30:18.065 Just to complicate issues. What campus events are most remarkable in your memory? 00:30:18.065 --> 00:31:07.184 Oh, gosh. The dedication of any new building was always something new because it just showed how fast we were growing and, becoming more focused in our community as we grow, because we're certainly putting a greater thumbprint on our local area. So each time a new building came on, it just showed that, you know, the campus is just becoming more and more of a fixture here in North County. The Kellogg Library was a huge addition because of course, it freed up a lot of space in Craven Hall and enabled the Library to actually be a functioning department that it was meant to be all along. And, was, I'm sure that was great. It was a great project for Marian Reid, and, I'm sure it was the feather in her hat, and it was --that was a great moment in it-- 00:31:07.184 --> 00:31:12.005 It was a delight to get rid of those horrible old hand me down copiers from SDSU. 00:31:12.005 --> 00:31:25.805 Yeah, there you go. Yes. And microfiche readers and all those things that were there at the time. And, of course it made for, you know, much more securing the library to make sure, you know, your archives were good too. Yeah. All your books. 00:31:25.805 --> 00:31:28.684 And a multitude of access points in the new building. 00:31:28.684 --> 00:32:27.755 Exactly. So Library was big. Gosh, just as new programs came on, whether it was, you know, we didn't have a physics program. Visual and performing arts came on, you know, all those different programs as we grew, of course, as we started, we only had upper division. Then all of a sudden we had freshmen and sophomores were coming in so we were a full four year college, which was notable. Again, building a parking structure, it's like, whoa, we are getting big. That kind of a thing. Sports came in, where we had nothing for a long time. All of a sudden, look, we have a memorable and notable coach. Steve Scott is coming. He's bringing a track program, and then all of a sudden we have golf, and then it's like, well, look at this. We're now--we're playing basketball and baseball and, getting big, you know, down the line who knows? I don't know if we'd get football, but, eh (inaudible). 00:32:27.755 --> 00:32:32.265 Well, we are-- they are retiring the first Crash, the Cougar costume. 00:32:32.265 --> 00:32:32.964 Oh, okay. 00:32:32.964 --> 00:32:35.881 And it's coming to the archives. 00:32:35.881 --> 00:32:36.714 Oh, neat. 00:32:36.714 --> 00:32:41.285 And they said it's an off-the-shelf costume, so we're having a custom design costume the second time around so-- 00:32:41.285 --> 00:32:42.884 Oh, okay. Well that's gonna be neat 00:32:42.884 --> 00:32:49.394 That shows they're growing up, too, but, yeah. I wish we'd been able to get an oral history from Debbie Dale about her years with the Athletics. 00:32:49.394 --> 00:32:51.964 Oh, absolutely. In the early days. Yeah. 00:32:51.964 --> 00:32:57.565 Because I know she mentioned to me one time that the athletes used to change in her office because there was no place else. 00:32:57.565 --> 00:34:03.644 Oh, look at that. That's a great--that's a great piece of history right there. Yeah. So things like that. So, just watching the University grow, of course, we've had some of the great challenges that are somewhat memorable. Like, the fires that have gone through were always memorable. They would have to send us home or, something like that. Very scary times. But again, the university's been very blessed that we haven't really been affected by that luckily. Of course, I remember 9/11 (2001) coming to work the day that happened, and then the University sent us home, things like that. And, other events like that. But, again, usually focus on all the memorable things. Of course, we had commencements down at Del Mar for a long time when the students would graduate, and it's like, how many did we graduate? It's like, wow. And then now we're back on campus because we have our athletic fields and things. So, that was exciting. The building of the McMahon House was kind of neat, because it's like, well, they were looking at building something there for a long time and it finally happened, and it's like-- came out very nice. 00:34:03.644 --> 00:34:08.545 I remember the big piles of compost that used to be down there, along that front corner. 00:34:08.545 --> 00:35:41.925 Oh, down there. Yeah. And now that's, it's all been cordoned off as an environmental area of some kind. So that's interesting there. We'll have to see how the University expands in that direction, if anything will change in that regard. Of course, remember the early days just watching some of the springs and waters that would come up out of the ground and flow off in that direction. And, I believe now the university is getting groundwater to help with some of our irrigation. There's some wells that are coming in from further up, La Marea (Carlsbad, California), I believe that flow onto our property. So we're tapping into that to, for irrigation now. So we're using some well water and trying to get very energy sufficient on our own. If we can do that. Solar panels have gone on some of the new buildings now, and they may further that, I know they're looking at--they have the fuel cell going. I don't know how successful that's been, but I'm sure they're gonna be looking at other energy changes as we move on. So, little things like that. They're in the background too. I believe, Procurement's finalizing, working with AT&T to partner with them for a cell tower, but that's gonna be a win-win for them and us, because it's gonna enable us to get some, new, very efficient and, well used, lighting for our baseball fields and any other expanding for sports in that direction too. So, that's something we'll look forward to. So again, all these changes keep happening and it's, good to see. 00:35:41.925 --> 00:35:47.525 Yeah. The side of the house you work on, you know about things that I had no idea. We were talking cell towers-- 00:35:47.525 --> 00:35:57.965 Yeah. Until they happen. Yeah. It has been a very, very long process. Because there's been a lot of issues with AT&T and getting permission from the Chancellor's office, that kind of thing is always something. 00:35:57.965 --> 00:36:03.244 Yeah. You get the state involved, you probably get all sorts of environmental agencies involved. You know, there's just. 00:36:03.244 --> 00:36:03.905 Yep. 00:36:03.905 --> 00:36:09.605 You know, and so many strictures about what we can accept. So it doesn't look like a bribe probably. 00:36:09.605 --> 00:36:15.285 Right. Exactly. Exactly. There's all that, legal-ease involved in that kind of a thing. And, of course, budgetary and logistics and, and all that. You know, what's it--what are we gonna get out of this? So, a lot of tough questions have to be asked. 00:36:15.285 --> 00:36:31.304 One thing I-- that crossed my mind while you've been talking is did you use email at San Diego State at all? 00:36:31.304 --> 00:37:18.445 No. In fact, when I left San Diego State, we were actually just in the early, days of using computers, we had gone through the whole transition of--remember typewriters, well, typewriters were a big thing when I was a student. And then, slowly transitioned into word processors. And then in the mid eighties (19080s) there, the first computers were coming into some of the student labs to use. And, they gradually made their way into our offices. Because being a support agency, we weren't always needing the technology. We had our old business practices. And, that change was a tough time coming. So really didn't start using email until I got to Cal State San Marcos here. And it--the first one was implemented and I think, Netscape was our first-- 00:37:18.445 --> 00:37:20.244 Or was it Eudora? I seem to remember. 00:37:20.244 --> 00:37:23.994 Well, Eudora was the email program. I think Netscape was our first. 00:37:23.994 --> 00:37:24.844 Browser system. 00:37:24.844 --> 00:37:36.445 Browser system, yeah. And then we eventually went to, Windows, of course. But, yeah, I think, I'm trying to remember what we were using for barcodes. It might have been Windows 95 back then, something like that. 00:37:36.445 --> 00:37:41.005 Yeah. And you're scampering out just in time to miss this whole move to SharePoint and OneDrive. 00:37:41.005 --> 00:38:04.635 Yeah. All that going on. So, exactly. So it's been fun to, to work with the new technology and, of course phones are in now, and I'm sure there's, a lot of adjustment to our Millennials coming in that are, only familiar with, you know, telephones and things. So, that technology is something I'm sure they're using. 00:38:04.635 --> 00:38:08.885 They're using equipment and media. Their expectations are so very different than-- 00:38:08.885 --> 00:38:10.364 Yeah, esactly. 00:38:10.364 --> 00:38:12.875 Who've been there through all of this growth and development. 00:38:12.875 --> 00:38:30.965 Yeah. It's been fascinating. So, it'll be, fun to watch and change as I keep contact with the University through the Retirees Association to kind of talk to people to see how things are changing in the education business. So, it'll be fascinating to watch. 00:38:30.965 --> 00:38:38.144 Yeah. I did wanna ask what your plans were for retirement. And it sounds like you're gonna be active in the Retirees Association which-- 00:38:38.144 --> 00:38:39.244 Yes. In fact-- 00:38:39.244 --> 00:38:41.875 I see their newsletter and they do lots of great stuff. So-- 00:38:41.875 --> 00:39:24.744 Yeah. I've been to a couple of their meetings and one neat thing that they advise, they say, well, when you first jump into retirement, you know, don't jump too hard, too fast into like, another part-time job or volunteering or something. But, for someone in, say, a type A personality, which is more like me, it's like, it's gonna be hard to just spend six months chilling, as they say, to transition into retirement. But, you know, that's good advice. So, can certainly do a blend of that. There'll be plenty of things around the house for me to work on and catch up on. I would love to do more traveling. I've got a grandson now. So I'll be definitely spending time with him. 00:39:24.744 --> 00:39:26.566 How old is he? 00:39:26.566 --> 00:40:12.824 He's 13 months. And just a joy. We're-- my wife's been retired for a couple of years, and she's babysitting him two and a half days a week. Because my daughter went to work-- back to work part-time after he was born. And, so we're helping her out by babysitting. So I'm sure I'll be helping with that. And--but I would love to do some more backpacking. I love going up to the Sierras and hiking. I've summited Mount Whitney nine times now. My goal is to get my grandson up to the top. And that would mean four generations have actually summited Mount Whitney, because my parents did it and took me up when I was very young. And then, of course, both my brothers and I summited and two of my daughters have now summited. And I would look forward to seeing if I can get my grandson up. 00:40:12.824 --> 00:40:14.153 That's a wonderful goal. I'm sure you will! 00:40:14.153 --> 00:40:15.335 That would be would be neat. 00:40:15.335 --> 00:40:36.676 Thank you. So, you know, I've talked to a lot of people that have retired and they say, I don't know how I had time to work. I'm so busy. So we'll just see how it goes. But, I'm a little anxious of course, because I've had this wonderful family here at Cal State San Marcos for over 24 years. And, it'll be kind of hard to step away from that. So-- 00:40:36.676 --> 00:40:41.048 Well, the retirees will certainly be a transition. Because that's part of the family. 00:40:41.048 --> 00:40:54.164 Yeah, absolutely. That'll definitely help. So I'm looking forward to that. And, I do see some things they do, and they do look like they're a lot of fun. And to touch base with previous employ--employees who have been here will be a lot of fun. 00:40:54.164 --> 00:40:55.394 And swap those stories. 00:40:55.394 --> 00:41:05.155 Exactly. Exactly. So, that'll--I'm looking forward to that. So, we'll just transition in gently and see how it goes. 00:41:05.155 --> 00:41:08.724 Well, since your wife is already retired, it sounds like she'll be able to help you transition as well. 00:41:08.724 --> 00:41:12.085 Absolutely. I'm sure she'll have a "honey-do" list for me. 00:41:12.085 --> 00:41:52.585 Yeah. What free time? Yeah, I think the same way. I just --I think that all sounds so wonderful, and this is--you have reminded me of some things--and I forgot about Central Stores. I mean, I forgot that that's how we used to order things. And then the whole decentralization where, you know,--because it used to be, back in the old days at Jerome's where you needed something done, you just grabbed whoever was available and they came over and did it. Now it's fill out forms, get permission. Plot everything. Track everything. And so it has been a big change, but we--it's a sign of our maturity. It's not a negative, it's just a sign of our maturity. 00:41:52.585 --> 00:42:02.195 It absolutely is. So, yes, there's always challenges going forward, but, so far we're doing very well. And I look forward to the University continuing that path. 00:42:02.195 --> 00:42:08.224 Yeah. And so how much do you have to do with the (inaudible) building to refer to it by its old name? 00:42:08.224 --> 00:42:10.284 Oh, the one that's being built now? 00:42:10.284 --> 00:42:11.485 No, with the, existing-- 00:42:11.485 --> 00:42:12.445 Oh, the old Foundation (CSUSM Foundation)-- 00:42:12.445 --> 00:42:14.445 You know, where we had the Library collection stored for a while. 00:42:14.445 --> 00:42:20.644 Yes. In fact, I had some pictures of that. I might still have, of the collection that was over there because 00:42:20.644 --> 00:42:22.074 Oh, that'd be fun. 00:42:22.074 --> 00:43:50.545 I'll send them over to you if I can--if I can find them. I hopefully, well, I hope I haven't deleted 'em. But anyway, that was an interesting building because, as the University has grown, of course, in the early days it was--it seemed like we were almost required or mandated that we had to buy Prison Industries furniture. So every year we would expect, okay, we're gonna have another 20 faculty, so we'll need to order 20 more Prison Industries desks, and 20 more--or for each faculty three more bookcases. And a couple of file cabinets. And a chair. And a lot of this was, from Prison Industries. Everything was standalone. And as the University has matured and aged, all that thought process has gone away, and now we've just entered Cubicle World. So it is been very change--much of a change. So as each new building's come online and people have moved as desks and those old pieces of furniture have gone away, we needed a place to put them. And that's what we always used, was that old Foundation building. And it became a challenge to dispose of all that kind of equipment. So we finally were able to find charities that would take those, whether it be Goodwill or we found a very excellent, charity from Mexico that supplies schools and classrooms and libraries down in, the Tijuana area with some of our old furniture that's still usable. We can't use it. Sometimes it's very hard to donate or sell furniture. 00:43:50.545 --> 00:43:52.324 We have regulations within the state system that really restrict what you can do. 00:43:52.324 --> 00:43:59.217 Right. You wanna account for, again, your disposition. So, that's why we were able to find charities to take these and made the process a lot easier. 00:43:59.217 --> 00:44:01.371 That's wonderful. 00:44:01.371 --> 00:44:50.394 So, that building now, after these many, many, many years, looks like it's going to be--we're gonna give up the lease on that. So the admin offices upstairs will come over to campus or into the new Extended Learning building, depending on how all that pans out. And, as far as the warehouse space, that's something University's gonna have to kinda figure out to see how we're gonna work on, you know, moving out, pieces of furniture as they become access. So again, that's part of something we're working on with our Sustainability group, with the Recycling group. And, it's gonna be a little bit of a challenge. So, space is something the University has always struggled with. So, this will be another a little example of how we can adjust to that challenge. 00:44:50.394 --> 00:45:08.695 Yeah. Well, I have to say, the last time I was over at the Foundation slash (inaudible) building, it seemed like there was a lot less down in the Land of Misfit Furniture as I called it. So it shows that you've been very effective in weeding things out and getting them moved through. But yeah, there will always be a need for some sort of holding space. 00:45:08.695 --> 00:45:55.744 Space holding space, right. Staging area. Yeah. And in fact, kudos to, Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) who have really sort of stepped up and taken the lead in finding ways to reuse a lot of that surplus furniture on campus because now we're getting more and more of the cubicle surplus. So as departments sometimes can expand or need extra space, they can refurbish and reuse some of the cubicle furniture that's there. That Prison Industries furniture is kind of finally--there's not much of it left out there. So really PDC has stepped up and has really done very well in reusing a lot of that. They're kind of continuing that. So I've sort of stepped away from that part of it as they've stepped in. 00:45:55.744 --> 00:46:04.664 And the Prison Industry furniture was never ergonomically appropriate, which is something that campus has really been placing a focus on very wisely. 00:46:04.664 --> 00:46:08.545 Wisely. Very important. And it was also very heavy. 00:46:08.545 --> 00:46:29.264 Oh, I remember one time my--the desk, because I still have a Prison Industries desk in my office. And I cannot remember his name, but he was a very-- he was a shorter, very stocky built man. And he was underneath the desk and he just kind of got on all fours and then arched his back to push the desk up. And I was just like, oh. 00:46:29.264 --> 00:46:30.704 Oh, that might've been Eli. 00:46:30.704 --> 00:46:35.525 No, it wasn't Eli. I know Eli hurt his back and ended up going over to Parking Services. 00:46:35.525 --> 00:46:36.125 Went over to Parking. 00:46:36.125 --> 00:46:51.114 But, no, this-- Bobby, maybe his name was? I really don't remember. It's been a lot of years. I mean, I've been in the same office since we moved into the library. And that's--it's kinda like, gee, when I--when do I get a wall painted in my office or something? 00:46:51.114 --> 00:47:27.284 Yeah. Well that you've been in your space for that long is something unusual on this campus. Because so many people have moved so many times, I think there have been people that have moved 20 times just because of--a building comes online and so people move around and you have the whole domino effect. So you move from one place to another, to another, to another over the course of your history. And I may have actually set the record for actually been in the same office for the longest amount of time, in the building that I am. Although once I actually did move from downstairs to upstairs where I am now. But, I think I was 19 years in the exact same location. 00:47:27.284 --> 00:47:29.195 Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. I don't quite make that. 00:47:29.195 --> 00:47:30.445 Yeah. I think-- 00:47:30.445 --> 00:48:14.505 I think all of my colleagues up on the third floor, with maybe the exception of one person have moved because there's an office down at the end that's not very desirable. It's kind of dark, odd shape. And so every time somebody shifts position, it's kind of this, okay, everybody's playing musical offices again and--My office is--it's fine. It serves my needs. So, really haven't gotten--I've moved the furniture around it a couple times. But not moved out of that office. But there are very few of us that are probably in the same location simply because of the, the numbers of buildings. All of a sudden you school or your unit, whatever you're in, has the whole thing's been moved over to another building, which you know, is great because you've expanded. You need that room. But yeah so-- 00:48:14.505 --> 00:48:17.763 But then you have to move all your stuff. 00:48:17.763 --> 00:48:18.000 A lot of people don't move outta choice. 00:48:18.000 --> 00:49:29.125 Yep. Exactly. Exactly. So that was kind of neat to stay in one place. Another thing I was thinking, one day, it's like, well, what is my legacy? And it's like, well, I certainly have a lot of history here, but it's like, I was thinking, it's like, well, in the business that I am, I'm very fortunate that I often get to go over to campus and meet people one-on-one because I'm either doing deliveries or maybe I'm doing inventory or tracking a piece of equipment. So you're out on campus and you're going from building to building. And it was the same thing I was doing at San Diego State. I spent many years doing central stores deliveries down there, shipping and receiving deliveries. So I'd be out on campus quite a bit, and I was thinking, it's like, wow, I might be the only person in CSU history that may have used almost every bathroom on two different campuses. It's like, ah, okay. There's a little bit of trivial information. So it's like, of course then San Diego State has changed immensely since I left. But, at the time, you know, I could say it's like, no, that's an interesting little fact. You know, when you're out and about, you know-- 00:49:29.125 --> 00:49:30.764 That's a wonderful trivia question. 00:49:30.764 --> 00:49:39.204 It's like, yes, it might be--my best legacy right there. 00:49:39.204 --> 00:49:48.875 No you've certainly made an impact on the campus and certainly facilitated a lot of the growth and a lot of the changes we've been through. And like I say, always done it with a smile, but.-- 00:49:48.875 --> 00:49:51.724 Well thank you. I appreciate that. 00:49:51.724 --> 00:49:54.074 Having been in nearly every bathroom-- 00:49:54.074 --> 00:51:03.000 Some of 'em are very nice. Yeah. You know, I don't think I use the president's bathroom at San Diego State, but I did see ours here. That was a little trivia. And, you know, people talk about, serving the campus community and you know, they usually talk about the amount of time that they spent, someone was here for 25 years. I had 24 and a half, 37 in this system. But you never really think about how many miles did you spend working for the CSU driving to work? Okay. How much money over your long tenure, if you are blessed enough to have a long tenure, did you spend on gasoline going to work? And most people don't think about that. Well, when you're in the fixed asset business, you deal a lot with numbers. You have, barcode numbers that you place on equipment. That piece of equipment has a serial number, it has a model number, it has a dollar value, it has a building number location, it has a room number location. There's a lot of numbers. There's-- 00:51:03.000 --> 00:51:05.000 And you just have quantities. 00:51:05.000 --> 00:52:17.000 Correct. So I got to thinking, it's like, well, okay, my brain thinks in numbers a lot. It's like, you know, I'm gonna really do quickly, I'm just gonna do the math. Because having lived in San Diego and working at San Diego State, well that was a short commute. But when I had to start traveling to San Marcos, all of a sudden I became a commuter and I was putting on a lot of miles. So I thought, well, how many miles did I put on driving like five different cars that I had in the course of my time here, 24 and a half years, how many miles did I drive? And I thought, well, okay, this is gonna be a little bit of fun math because you have to figure out a lot of different factors involved, right? So I figured, okay, 365 days in a year, but working days are only about 260 because you have your weekends, right? Well then you'd subtract from the 260 working days, the holidays, well, there's about 15 that come off. And then you figure out, okay, over time you accrued more vacation as you worked, you started with two weeks, you ended up with about five weeks. so I kind of rounded it off. Did some calculations and figured on average we work around 200 days a year. 00:52:17.000 --> 00:52:19.000 Right. I think it's between 200 - 220, depending-- 00:52:19.000 --> 00:53:29.525 Something. Sort of again, depending on vacation and, and how much sick leave you use. I looked at kind of my sick leave, 'cause I used to track it and I--most of my time off was like appointments. So you'd go to work, but you'd leave to go to your appointment and actual days I was actually sick, luckily, knock on wood, I was very healthy and didn't take too many days. So I subtracted that too. And again, it came out to around 200. So, for like the first, 16 years or something like that, I--my round trip to work was about 60 miles and then I moved once and it became maybe 55 'cause I didn't move too far. So I put that all in. And to make a long story short, I calculated that I drove to San Marcos about 286,000 miles. Back and forth over the course of my 24 and a half years. And figuring the price of gas somewhere, maybe averaging around $2 a gallon, I think it ended up like $23,000 worth of gas just driving to work. And it's amazing, you think about that, how far, I mean, people probably come from Temecula and may have put on even more miles. And they had the commute to San Diego State that might been another 30,000 miles. And another $3,000 worth of gas or something like that. 00:53:29.525 --> 00:53:30.364 Yeah. You are a numbers man. 00:53:30.364 --> 00:53:38.724 So it's definitely numbers, but it's just fascinating to think how many miles you put on. It's like 286, somewhere around there, thousand miles. Close to 300,000. 00:53:38.724 --> 00:53:40.795 Wow. No wonder you went through so many cars. 00:53:40.795 --> 00:53:44.324 Exactly. 00:53:44.324 --> 00:53:58.474 Yeah. But that also says something about our, our commuting system here. In San Diego still is not adequate to serve the needs of people. It's gotten better over the years. I mean, we've gotten the sprinter, we've gotten the coaster, things like that-- 00:53:58.474 --> 00:54:21.844 It's great for the students to be able to do that. The ones that either live here or can commute by using the Sprinter. And, I know our, our Parking Services tries to get the commuter information out to everybody. To have them take advantage of that whenever they can. But, yeah, we don't realize how much time we spend behind the wheel when we come to our jobs. So, it's fascinating to kinda look at that. 00:54:21.844 --> 00:54:24.565 Oh my gosh. 00:54:24.565 --> 00:54:25.514 A little trivia. 00:54:25.514 --> 00:54:26.844 Yeah. 00:54:26.844 --> 00:54:27.235 Absolutely. 00:54:27.235 --> 00:54:35.206 Well, at that point I will bring this interview to a close. I wanna thank you, Jim. That's been absolutely phenomenal. Just so much fun. 00:54:35.206 --> 00:54:36.706 Thank you, Judith. 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The researcher agrees not to record, reproduce, or disclose any Social Security number or other information of a highly personal nature that may be found. 0 https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/ohms-viewer/render.php?cachefile=CarrJim_DownieJudith_2017-09-26.xml CarrJim_DownieJudith_2017-09-26.xml https://archivesearch.csusm.edu/repositories/3/resources/19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Carr, Jim. Interview, September 26, 2017 Description An account of the resource Jim Carr spent 23 years at California State University San Marcos working for the Distribution Services team and was instrumental in implementing the first barcoded inventory tracking system for the University. Jim discusses his time working for CSUSM as part of Distribution Services and how his education and background led to him this job. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SC027-091 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-09-16 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio Subject The topic of the resource Barcoding Distribution Services California State University San Marcos Fixed asset tracking San Diego State University Sustainability Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant San Diego (Calif.) San Marcos (Calif.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available California State University San Marcos University Library Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In copyright</a> Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Jim Carr License A legal document giving official permission to do something with the resource. <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/</a>