<Begin Segment 23>

SY: So when you graduated, then you went right into surgery. That was the area of specialty?

CI: Well, I was there, yeah, and I went into surgery there. And then I moved to Long Beach and went to, I worked in a newborn nursery. And then that's when Dr. Crawford asked me to be his office nurse.

SY: So you weren't in surgery for very long in County then?

CI: No.

SY: It was a short time?

CI: Short time. And then I also worked in surgery at Harbor General for a short time. Predominately my career was school nursing. I was a school nurse for about, that was twelve years.

SY: From when to when?

CI: I think it was like 19... school nursing?

SY: Uh-huh.

CI: Probably about 1956 to 1968, something like that. And then Harbor (College), the director of the nursing program at Harbor (College) was a County grad. She graduated from the same school I did. So she told one of her staff, she says, "Call Chris and ask her if she'd like to teach for us." And so that's how I ended up at Harbor (College), was through the kindness of one of my alum friends.

SY: And what did you teach?

CI: At first I taught vocational nursing.

[Interruption]

SY: But you were able to teach because... didn't you have to have some sort of advanced degree?

CI: I didn't have an advanced degree at that time. But Roberta wanted, she was a very powerful woman. That's what the dean said: "Well, Roberta said she wanted you, so that's how we got you." And then so they facilitated me working towards my master's. They wanted everybody to have a master's degree and I didn't have it. And one of my friends when I was a school nurse, Dr. Callatrello was on the staff at Cal State Dominguez. And so he called me one day and said, "Chris, we're starting a master's program at Dominguez, and I want to know if you're interested." Well, he knew I was interested. And so I was one of their first students at the master's program at Dominquez in the school of ed.

SY: So you had to go to school and work at the same time?

CI: Yes, I did. I did have to do that.

SY: And when I first got -- Did I tell you about when I first got my teaching, I mean, my school nursing? During the interview they said -- and I didn't drive. I was in my thirties, and they said, "Oh, by the way, you do have a car, don't you?" And I thought, "Oh, yes?" And she said, "Oh, because you have to make housecalls when you're a school nurse." So I thought, "Oh, my goodness," and I said, "Oh, yeah, I have a car." I didn't have a car; I didn't even know how to drive. And so from June until school started in September, we had to buy a car and my husband had to teach me how to drive. And I had to go back to school because I needed a credential as a school nurse. So we had a house with a detached garage. The garage was way in the back. And so when I managed to come home from school at night, my school, I would park in the front and my husband would back up the car for me. So in the morning, all I had to do was zoom out. And so about three months later I thought, "Oh, I can back it up myself." So I got out of the car. Oh, and by the way, my roommate that was, worked with me at Japanese Hospital, she told me that, "You know, Chris, you're having a new job and you have to learn how to drive. You have to go to school. And so for one year, on the nights you have class, I will come over and give the boys a bath." I had two children by then. "I'll give the boys a bath and I'll make dinner for you." So that's what she did for one whole year. But in the meantime, I get out of the car and I'm trying to back the car up and I go back and forth, back and forth, for about, oh, ten minutes. And I finally gave up, so I parked the car and I got out, and I hear laughter from next door. And I said, "Hey, what's going on over there?" And they said, "Oh, Chris. I've called all your friends and neighbors because this is better than watching television." [Laughs] So anyway, that's how I learned how to drive.

SY: And you're still driving today, right?

CI: Yes. Still driving. I can back up, too.

SY: That's amazing. You put your mind to something and you're going to do it, right? So that was a lot to have to do in one short period of time, and you were --

CI: And I did that for twelve years, school nursing. It was wonderful.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright &copy; 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.