Affiliation: Current Graduate Students
Sami Al-AbdRabbuh Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
September 13, 2016
Sami Al-AbdRabbuh (b. 1987) is a Ph.D. student in OSU's Industrial Engineering program
who completed his master's degree within the program in 2015. The CEO of a small
start-up company, Al-AbdRabbuh has also been active in both student government and
state politics, running as the Progressive Party candidate for state representative
during the 2016 election cycle. Al-AbdRabbuh was born in the United States and raised
in Saudi Arabia, and in his interview he provides perspective on the Muslim and Muslim
American experience in both the U.S. and the Middle East. His academic and entrepreneurial
pursuits as well as his community service projects are likewise included as secondary
topics.
The Lives of International Students
Three life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
March 3 - 6, 2015
In 2015, Oregon State University served as a home away from home for over 4,000 international
students hailing from 107 different countries. Over the course of three interviews
conducted in March 2015, the experiences and perspectives of four current OSU international
students were recorded, with particular emphasis paid to changing perspectives on
U.S. culture, contrasting systems of education around the world, and the major social
and cultural adjustments required of international students studying at Oregon State.
The international students who shared their stories are Jenny Urbina, a Ph.D. candidate
from Colombia; Kong Zheng Yeang, an undergraduate from Malaysia; Andrea Jara, also
a Ph.D. student from Colombia; and Chidi Okonkwo, a master's candidate from Nigeria.
Zhian Kamvar Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
June 19, 2015
Zhian Kamvar (b. 1984) is a Ph.D. student in Botany and Plant Pathology who is conducting
research on plant pathogen bioinformatics. Kamvar is also the co-founder and a co-host
of Inspiration Dissemination, a student radio talk show broadcast weekly on KBVR-FM. Created in 2012 to provide
a forum for OSU graduate students to discuss their research, and meant to inspire
undergraduates to consider further education as graduate students, the show was honored
with the Most Innovative Radio Program Award at the 2014 Intercollegiate Broadcasting
System Conference. In his interview, Kamvar reflects on his own educational path up
to his current life as a doctoral student, discusses the history and progression of
Inspiration Dissemination, and shares his perspective on graduate student culture at Oregon State.
Keith Nishida Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
May 20, 2014
At the time of his interview, Keith Nishida was a Ph.D. candidate and Graduate Teaching
Assistant in the OSU School of Design and Human Environment. In 2012 he challenged
a group of his students to collaborate and create a fashion magazine for their final
class project. This assignment quickly bloomed into a continuing creative endeavor,
called DAMchic magazine, that is now its own student-run organization. In its short history, DAMchic has attracted a wide audience - one issue of the online publication has logged over
500,000 views - and broad student support within the School of Design and Human Environment.
In his interview, Nishida reflects upon his personal experiences in the world of fashion
and at OSU, as well as the history and aspirations of DAMchic magazine.