Susan Mowery Oral History Interview, February 29, 2024

Partial Transcript: Alright, so, before we get going. So, I'm Julia Weirnick. And do you want to say your name?

Segment Synopsis: Introduction of interviewer and interviewee, verbal consent.

Partial Transcript: So, I think I remember you saying you grew up in, er, were from Portland originally?

Segment Synopsis: Susan discusses her life growing up in Portland, her father, and playing sports as a kid.

Keywords: Childhood; Father; School; Sports; Portland Oregon

Partial Transcript: That's pretty cool. And then about your school, did you, like, have any classes that you liked that were your favorite?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about being in science classes at a college prep high school named Holy Child Academy. She really enjoyed chemistry, especially the laboratory for it, and was encouraged by her teachers and family to follow her passion for it.

Keywords: Chemistry; Family; Laboratory; Prep School; Teachers; Science

Partial Transcript: And this was like a college prep school, you said. So, like, were you always kind of like, wanting to go to college?

Segment Synopsis: Susan discusses how her family, most notably her father, encouraged her passions for science. Her father also graduated at Oregon State, but Susan was only two years old at the time.

Keywords: Family; Oregon State; Science; Father

Partial Transcript: What kind of led you to picking Oregon State? Was it kind of like those options, like you were talking about? Was it because your dad went there and liked it? Or some combination?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about her journey to finding the right college, originally attending Gonzaga for a year before transferring to Oregon State.

Keywords: Gonzaga; Oregon State; College

Partial Transcript: Oh yeah, so, like, your major. How did you end up picking those? And what was your major at first?

Segment Synopsis: Susan discusses how she chose to double major in zoology and microbiology and why she picked that combination.

Keywords: Chemistry; Laboratory; Microbiology; Public Health; Research; Zoology; Science

Partial Transcript: And, so, going back to Oregon State. So you felt like, they kind of like, they helped. Like, they encouraged you in your science ambitions and all that. And I think we talked about chemistry classes a little?

Segment Synopsis: Susan discusses being a woman studying science at Oregon State, and how she felt that she was treated equally in her classes.

Keywords: Chemistry; Equality; Laboratory; Oregon State; Science

Partial Transcript: I also remember you talking a little about, like, what clothes you would wear. So, could you talk about that a little?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about the types of clothes students would wear to classes at Oregon State and the social standards at the time for women.

Keywords: Gender; Social Standards; Clothes

Partial Transcript: Did you do any, like, out of class activities? Did you go to any sports games or clubs?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about how she was always driven to succeed and never found the time to attend social events around campus or do extra curricular activities due to her heavy workload. Because of this, she didn't know too much about things happening around campus.

Keywords: Sports; Studying; Classes

Partial Transcript: So, did you see a lot of women, um, around you at Oregon State getting those sorts of degrees? Like, liberal arts sort of oriented?

Segment Synopsis: Susan discusses the most common majors women would pursue at Oregon State back when she was there. It seems like a lot of them were majoring in education, social work, and nursing.

Keywords: Gender; Majors; Oregon State

Partial Transcript: So is there anything else about Oregon State that you want to talk about?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about how she fell in love with the setting of Corvallis and the Oregon State campus, especially the farm animals and educational setting.

Keywords: Corvallis; Education; Oregon State

Partial Transcript: So, you graduated in 1970. Like, what was your next step after that?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about how she got introduced to working in public health laboratories through a class at Oregon State, and her passion for working in microbiology and virology. She discusses working at places such as the Oregon Health Division and Portland State.

Keywords: Oregon Health Division; Portland State; Science; Virology; Public Health

Partial Transcript: I think I remember you talking about that you got married and you got pregnant and you stuck with your job?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about how she navigated her career while balancing it with her home life and what resources she used to accomplish this. She talks about how at the time it was uncommon for women to pursue motherhood and a career at once.

Keywords: Family; Gender; Career

Partial Transcript: What was your favorite part about that job at the health center?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about her love for her jobs in public health where she got to work with great people and do work she was very passionate about. She gives credit to Oregon State for helping to set her up on this career path.

Keywords: Laboratory; Oregon State; Science; Career

Partial Transcript: What was your favorite, like, lab stuff you did in college and in your job? But start with college, I guess.

Segment Synopsis: Susan reflects on her favorite laboratory experiences, both in her career and as a student at Oregon State.

Keywords: Career; Oregon State; Laboratory

Partial Transcript: Did you ever, like, think you would end up in that sort of job when you were a kid?

Segment Synopsis: Susan discusses how she didn't think she would end up in science, and how her younger brother also went to Oregon State where he had a very different experience to her in terms of social participation.

Keywords: Family; Oregon State

Partial Transcript: Did you live in Sackett the whole time, or did you move to a different dorm?

Segment Synopsis: Susan talks about living at Sackett Hall and how she moved into an apartment in her Junior year.

Keywords: Apartment; Dining; Dorms; Friends; Gonzaga; Sackett Hall; Studying; Oregon State

Partial Transcript: Well, anything else you want to talk about?

Segment Synopsis: Signing off