Abstract In this interview, Xochitl Gonzalez, Brown University class of 1999, shares her memories of her time on campus on the eve of her 25th reunion. Gonzalez begins by discussing her childhood. She describes growing up in a working class Brooklyn neighborhood and being raised by her maternal grandparents. She explains that her mother, Andrea […]
Travel
Meghan Kallman, class of 2016, Ph.D.
Abstract In her interview, Meghan Kallman, Brown University class of 2016, PhD, speaks about her path into sociology and Rhode Island state politics — both of which stem from a deep interest in community and social organization. Kallman begins by describing her childhood in a rural school system in New Hampshire. She also discusses her […]
Yukti Agarwal, class of 2024
Abstract In this interview, Yukti Agarwal, Brown University class of 2024, shares her experiences as a Brown | RISD dual degree student and international student during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Agarwal begins by detailing her family background and highlighting the educational challenges women and girls face in India. She explains the deal she made with […]
Virginia Thomas, class of 2020
Abstract In this interview, Virginia Thomas, Brown University class of 2020, discusses her experience as an academic during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Thomas begins by recalling that she heard about the Coronavirus on the news but tried to believe the virus would not spread despite what she knew about transnational networks from her training in […]
Shira Buchsbaum, class of 2019
Abstract In this interview, Shira Buchsbaum, Brown University class of 2019, describes her experiences as a graduate student and future librarian during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Buchsbaum begins by sharing why she chose to attend Brown University for her undergraduate studies. She explains her family legacy at Brown and feeling at home while on campus. […]
Hector Mooney, class of 2011
Abstract In this interview, Hector Mooney, Brown University class of 2011, describes their experience traveling through Southeast Asia during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Mooney begins by explaining that they chose to attend Brown because the environment and politics were far different from their hometown’s in Virginia. They recall the transition from the Appalachian Mountains to […]
Kathy Le, class of 1997
Abstract In this interview, Kathy Le, Brown University class of 1997, shares stories about her family’s emigration from Vietnam to the United States, and also details memories of her time at Brown. Le begins by talking about her parents’ educational and professional experiences and the ways in which the war in Vietnam impacted their lives. […]
Bernadette Aulestia, class of 1994
Abstract In these two interviews, Bernadette Aulestia, Brown University class of 1994, discusses her time at Brown, her career path, and her family’s experience with the COVID-19 global pandemic. In part one, Aulestia begins by describing her childhood living in various places throughout Asia and Latin America. She explains that her father, who worked in […]
Wendy Edwards, Faculty
Abstract In this interview, Chair and Professor of Visual Arts, Wendy Edwards, describes her journey to becoming a professional painter and discusses her 40-year tenure at Brown University. Edwards begins by briefly mentioning her parents’ educational backgrounds and then detailing her early life living on a farm in Virginia outside of Washington, DC, and visiting […]
Shibei Guo, class of 2020
Abstract In this interview, Shibei Guo, Brown University class of 2020, shares her experiences as an international student from Wuhan, China, during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guo begins by explaining why she decided to transfer to Brown after her first year of college at New York University. She emphasizes the allure of Brown’s open curriculum […]
Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949
Abstract Jean Ellen Miller tells the story of her life in this interview, which was recorded on three occasions in 2014 and 2015. In Part 1, Miller describes being a young child raised during the Depression in the home of her Scottish grandparents, following the death of her mother. She discusses how she received a […]
Teresa Elizabeth Gagnon, class of 1939 (interview 1 of 2)
Abstract Teresa Elizabeth Gagnon begins Part 1 of this interview by discussing her early experiences at Pembroke, including freshman orientation week and the embarrassing experience of taking posture photographs. She also talks about the academic curriculum at Pembroke, her passion for languages, and the strict physical education requirement. In Part 2, she talks about the […]
Gladys Paine, class of 1913
Abstract Gladys Paine begins her interview by describing her family and how she came to Brown in 1909, the first member to attend college. She considers herself lucky to have lived in the mansion on Benefit Street, where she met Sarah Doyle and made lifelong friends. Describing her classes and professors, Paine remembers public speaking […]
Jessica U. Meir, class of 1999
Abstract In this interview, Astronaut Jessica Meir, Brown University class of 1999, discusses her experiences as an undergraduate student at Brown, the steps she took to become a NASA Astronaut, and her life and work completing a mission on the International Space Station. Meir begins by sharing her family background including her parents’ immigration to […]