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TI: So at this point, sort of looking back, so you just graduated from college. Looking back on your life, were there any events that you can recall that really had a big influence on you one way or the other? That you just think back, and it was kind of a defining moment for you?

EW: A defining moment?

TI: Or just anything in terms of, that is memorable to you.

EW: I think I had very, a lot of memorable experiences. None come to mind right now, but certainly that's, I think we all go through life, and whether we realize it or not, there are always events that are shaping our life from day to day.

TI: Oh, things like you mentioned your, that hike in New Mexico or something like that, or the jamboree. But I guess moving on, how about individuals or people? Are there some people like teachers, coaches, parents, that were a large influence on you as you grew up?

EW: I think, there were, there were a few teachers here and there. I think I had one teacher in grade school who really believed in me, and she put me in this, in a higher learning class in sixth grade. And that really meant a lot to me, I think, back in grade school, just to have somebody believe in what I could do and believe that I had some intelligence, some worth when it came to learning and things like that. So I think in high school, there was, there were a couple of teachers who were very impactful. There was, I remember there was one teacher who, who really got on me because I got a 'D' in her class, and this was sophomore year. And I had her again in senior year, and she put me at the front of the class, right in front of her. And I struggled, but I got an 'A' for the entire year that I had her. And I remember during football, she was one of the few teachers who stayed at seven o'clock, seven-thirty, eight o'clock at night to tutor football, football players. And there weren't many teachers who were willing to do that, but she was there. And she tutored me as well. And I realized that years later, I think maybe just as recent as a couple years ago, she passed away. And she, one of the other teachers told me that she didn't have any kids, she didn't have any family. Students were her life, and she was a math teacher so math and students were her life. And she really dedicated everything she had to her students. And she passed away, and it really, what she did for me as a person, and what she did for the other football players, I think, had a huge impact on my life, and I never got a chance to tell her that. And so I hope that she, in some way, that's communicated to her on another level. So that was one teacher, and I think in college there were a few professors, very few professors that I had that I really felt I'd learned something from, something beyond just textbooks and tests and things like that. Really, I can count them on one hand -- [laughs] -- the number of teachers. But yeah, those were the ones I valued, the ones that teach you something outside of just attaining a degree, something, learning more about yourself and about the world.

TI: And what would be an example of teaching or learning outside of the textbook? What, what type of thing did you, is an example of learning outside that?

EW: Well, the two teachers that I had, one taught political science, the other taught international trade and finance. And I think just going to the professor who taught international trade, all he had to do was just teach you maybe some macroeconomics and things about how trade, trade works in an international realm, and maybe some historical perspectives and things like that. But he, he used to work for USAID in the government, and he told us that he became so disillusioned that he left and decided to teach. And he used his real world experience and he also used a ton of historical example and perspectives to kind of define what America's role is in international trade and finance. And it was really mind-boggling just to know everything there was to know. And you, throughout your life when you grow up, you hear snippets here and there, but to tie it all together is another thing. And that, for me, was beyond just earning, earning an 'A' or passing that class so I could graduate.

TI: So it sounded like he really had a good grasp or a good knowledge of that subject and could go much deeper than just regurgitating what the book said, for instance.

EW: Uh-huh. And a lot of, a lot of the other students, before I took the class were like, "Oh, you're gonna get that professor? He's really strict, he's really hard." And he was; he was very demanding, but I learned a lot from his class. And you have to, if you apply yourself, then you learn. If you don't, then it's simply just another difficult class you have to get through.

TI: That's good. Yeah, I'm the same way, I love professors who do that.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.