Interview Transcript Selections

Oral History Interview with Kathy Craig (2001)

September 25, 2001

Interviewer:  Michele Christian

KC:      I grew up in here in Ames.  I went to elementary school at Crawford Elementary, right by the campus, and then I went to Ames Middle School and graduated from Ames High School in 1997 and then came right here to Iowa State the fall of 1997.

MC:     Why did you decide to come to Iowa State?

KC:      Iowa State has always been a part of my family's tradition.  I think I have 22 different family members, either through marriage or direct blood relations that have been to Iowa State.  Both my parents came here, my older sister graduated from here two years before I did, and so it was sort of a natural thing to do, I guess.  Growing up in Ames, Iowa State had always been a part of our family's activities and I was familiar with the campus.  My grandpa worked as the director of financial aid here for 46 years.  So, when I was little, growing up, it was just natural to be on campus, and go to coffee break with him at the Union or, you know, spend time in his office over in Beardshear.   So I was familiar with the campus and so when I looked at colleges I didn't know what I wanted to major in or what exactly I wanted to study.  So I looked at a variety of schools but Iowa State seemed to have the widest offering of things where I would have plenty of opportunity to pick something I liked, and if I changed my mind, there were plenty of things I could change to.  And so that was really appealing, as well as just the fact that it's a beautiful campus and the people were so inviting and people wanted me to be here, so that's why I picked Iowa State.

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MC:     What are your most favorite experiences with VEISHEA, before you came.

KC:      O.K., before I was a student?

MC:     Yeah.

KC:      I think, well of course I remember, from pictures I remember the parade.  It guess that is probably the thing that sticks out most in my mind is we had to get up early, and we would always park over in the Presbyterian Church parking lot and carry the lawn chairs over to get a good seat, right by Beardshear Hall, 'cause that's where my grandpa worked.  So we'd get our seats and the one thing about the parade is that you never knew what the weather was going to be.  I remember wearing a snowsuit to the parade one year to the parade, and other years wearing a t-shirt and shorts.  It was just one of those unpredictable things.  Once we got our seats by the parade route, then we would go to where they were staging the parade and look at the floats.  And I remember seeing the students who built . . . afterwards when they would take the floats back to the lawn, you know we would walk around and get to see them up close and one year, one of the floats, they had candy, it was sort of candy and games, and there was a piece of bubblegum, that had like eyes and a little smile and the guy gave it to me. So I got to keep the piece of bubblegum, and that was just the neatest thing, I took it to show and tell at school because I thought it was so neat that I got this smiling piece of bubblegum. So I guess it was probably the parade that stuck out the most in my mind most when I was little.