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This is Erix Infante. I am doing the interview here. It is October 25, 2017. We are on the fourth floor of the Dunbar Library at Wright State University, and I am interviewing…

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Krista Dunkman. I am a second-year Public History graduate student.

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So, Krista, what was your first day of classes like here at Wright State?

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Um, it was probably a mix of exciting and stressful, just because, you know, you’re starting this new chapter of your life, but also, you don’t know anybody, so it’s…

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you’re starting college all over again. And we had a night class. It was Historical Methods.

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So going in there was a little bit intimidating, but it worked out, because you know, you kind of, wherein, you meet new people and make some friends so it was fun.

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Nice, What is your favorite thing about Wright State?

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My favorite thing is the amount of hands-on experience we get, especially in our program.

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We get to go around to a lot of different museums, a lot of different field sites, and we get to actually do the stuff that we’re learning about.

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You know, it’s not just sitting in a classroom, having people just, you know, spew information at you.

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We actually get to go out there and do it and practice it, which is really helpful.

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Very nice. What’d you have for breakfast this morning?

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Um, I had a granola bar and some tea.

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Nice. What kind of tea?

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English breakfast.

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That’s the best kind.

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Yes, indeed.

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[laughs] What do you want to do after you graduate here?

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I’d like to work at a large museum, preferably in collections management or something with exhibits.

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Why’d you choose Wright State?

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I chose Wright State because I’d visited a few other places for their Public History programs and nobody really kind of sold me like Wright State did.

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Um, especially Dr. Swanson. I had a meeting with him; he’s the head of the program.

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And, you know, he really convinced me that this was the place. You know, you do get that hands-on experience.

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Everybody else just kind of…was a lot of theoretical stuff…um, so…yeah.

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Describe your typical day at Wright State.

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My typical day at Wright State would be, I get to campus usually around 9:30 so I can find a parking spot [chuckles], and then I have my office hours, my graduate<br>Oral History Interview with Krista Dunkman (as part of SC-325) 3<br>assistant office hours, at 10 o’clock.

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And then, I kind of just hang out in that office, talk with my friends, do some homework, until I have to go to class. And maybe meet with some students, but… Maybe meet with some students

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What has been your favorite class so far while you’ve been at Wright State?

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My favorite class was History of American Parks. It was really fascinating because, you know, going into the class,

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I thought it was going to be just learning about the big western parks, and you know, really, it was learning a lot about the cultural and social aspects that go into making a park, which I had never thought about before, so it was really, really interesting.

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What is your least favorite thing about Wright State University? 

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Hands down, the parking. It’s ridiculous. You come to campus, and everybody’s like sharks, trying to find a spot. [laughs] So, it’s terrible. 

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Everyone has to do that. [both laugh] And, for incoming, I guess, first-years into this program [Public History], what advice would you give them? 

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I think my best advice would be to take advantage of the connections that you make, and definitely obviously make friends within your program.

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But then also, all of the guest lecturers that people bring in—and every class will bring in guest lecturers—and often times they are pretty big figures in the museum world,

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in Dayton, and they have a lot of really great advice, so definitely talk to them, don’t be afraid to email them, and get involved, because really, that’s what you’re going to get the most out of, is when you get involved.

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Well, very nice, thank you very much.