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Norvell Slater Interview by Christine Anderson [excerpt]
No full textInterview 501. Restricted access
Isam Baber Interview
No full textIsam Baber (Class of 2024) was interviewed by Laura Narvaez in the Norwick Center for Digital Solutions on April 18, 2024. Mr. Baber majored in Human Rights and was on the Pre-Med Track at SMU. He was born in Louisiana to a close knit family and moved to Texas at the onset of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He spoke about facing a challenging academic environment in his early school years due to dyslexia and a speech impediment, and how he persevered to take advanced placement courses in high school. Mr. Baber knew what he wanted to study from an early age, with parents who encouraged him to pursue medicine. He began his journey in higher education at Collin College before transfering to SMU. Mr. Baber did not live on campus as a student and focused on his studies, but made friends through classes and with other Muslim students through campus Jumu'ah prayers. After graduating from SMU, he plans to obtain a master's degree and apply for medical school
Sivani Kumar Interview
No full textSivani Kumar (Class of 2024) was interviewed by Amanda Sun via the Zoom internet-based conferencing software on June 8, 2024. Ms. Kumar received a BS in Data Science and another BS in Psychology with a minor in statistics and math from SMU. Born in Bangalore, India, Ms. Kumar’s education through an international school helped her complete the IGCSE, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. Being exposed to international students helped prepare her to transition to the undergraduate experience at SMU. Ms. Kumar chose SMU because the Psychology PhD program at SMU is accredited by the APA, the American Psychological Association. During her time at SMU, Ms. Kumar became a RLSH Pal and a research assistant with the Health Psychology Lab. Ms. Kumar advocates for mental health awareness and attributes her success to the support of her family
Terrie Fields Interview
No full textTerrie Fields (MA 2024) was interviewed by Laura Narvaez via the Zoom internet-based conferencing software on July 3, 2024. Ms. Fields received her MA in Dispute Resolution from the Simmons School of Education and Human Development. She was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in the nearby suburb of Cypress. After the 2016 election, Ms. Fields noticed that race relations became more precarious, learning to navigate disparaging comments from high school classmates and teachers alike. Seeing college as an opportunity to get out of her hometown, Ms. Fields sought the help of a counselor to help her with college applications. She decided to attend Prairie View University, where she became an active member of CAB, Campus Activities Board, of which she became director during her junior year. Graduating with a BA in Communications, Ms. Fields received a job offer at SMU in the student housing department. Because of SMU’s tuition benefit program, Ms. Fields was able to pursue an MA at no personal cost. Ms. Fields chose Dispute Resolution because she sought to provide people with the resources to empower themselves and solve problems affecting their life
Adam Czarnik Interview
No full textAdam Czarnik (Class of 2022) was interviewed by Laura Narvaez via the Zoom internet-based conferencing software on April 27, 2024. He received a bachelor’s in Computer Science with a minor in Economics. Mr. Czarnik was born in Mountain View, California, where he grew up in a homogenous neighborhood but a diverse broader community that he was able to be a part of through school and extracurriculars. Despite the Bay Area being largely accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, he was one of only a handful of out queer students at his high school, which he attributed to his small class size. Mr. Czarnik discussed the shortcomings of the FAFSA system in regards to cost of living and how his mother prepared him mentally for the possibility of taking out loans. He also described how, despite not being sure if it was genuine at first, he felt welcomed on campus and at admitted student events and orientations. Mr. Czarnik was a Student Senator for a significant portion of his college career, joining after being impressed by the way a Senator handled a COVID-19 related hearing with staff and faculty members. He was also an RA his junior and senior years after returning to campus in Fall of 2020 because of difficulty adjusting to the time zone difference between Texas and California. During his time as a Senator, Mr. Czarnik worked with Jo Lew, the only other queer Senator at the time, and Bethany Bass, the only queer committee chair, to address issues affecting LGBTQ+ students and develop and pass related legislation. In particular, he described their work on the NAMES Act, which added pronoun and ‘’preferred name’’ fields to the SMU system and synced changes made in My SMU to applications such as Canvas and Zoom. In 2020, he and Mx. Lew focused on helping the Women and LGBT Center, Association of Black Students, Society of Women Engineers, and other groups focus on coordinating with each other and receive funding for programming to help them better aid the students they focused on despite the switch to fully remote communication. Mr. Czarnik discussed his frustration with needing to justify why he was making certain requests regarding queer students on campus or advocating for accommodations for his learning ability. In his studies, Mr. Czarnik focused largely on project management and ethics-related classes, which have shaped his day-to-day work in data analytics. He cited Dr. Klyne Smith as an influential professor whose different approaches helped him absorb and understand the information in his classes. He also credited his friends and family as his major supports during his studies. Despite describing hesitation that he believed hindered his ability to fully seize some opportunities, Mr. Czarnik is satisfied with what he was able to accomplish at SMU. At time of recording, Mr. Czarnik was working at an AT&T office in San Ramon, California, after completing two successful internships with the company, and was considering moving back to Texas to work at one of their Dallas locations
Krysta Davis Interview
No full textKrysta Davis (Class of 2006) was interviewed by Michelle Ma in the Norwick Center for Digital Solutions on October 18, 2024. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Mrs. Davis was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in a very tight-knit family that centered Christianity. In high school, Mrs. Davis visited SMU through a campus tour, and instantly fell in love with the school. From then on, she knew she wanted to attend SMU. She chose to major in English, but wanted to pursue a career in education. During her time at SMU, she was involved with both ABS and Voices of Inspiration, the campus gospel choir. She also made lifelong friends and developed close relationships with her professors. Upon graduation, Mrs. Davis began teaching in schools, and worked for the Dallas ISD. In 2020, she received a master’s degree from Concordia University Texas in education to further her work in the academic field. Now, she has started two businesses: an online tutoring service and an academic consulting company that mentors teachers in their journeys
Paul Payway Interview
No full textPaul Payway (MTS 2003, D.Min. 2007) was interviewed by Michelle Ma via the Zoom internet-based video conferencing software on November 1, 2024. Dr. Payway was born into a large family in Liberia, the fifth child of nine. His parents emphasized the importance of education, and he was inspired by his father, a preacher, to go to seminary. He attended university during the Liberian Civil War, which was a traumatic experience for him. After graduating, he worked part-time as a language arts teacher at a Methodist high school while also serving as pastor of his first church in Liberia. He learned about SMU through his teaching job. After some delays due to the war, he and his young family immigrated to the U.S. so he could attend SMU. He spoke of the strong support they found for international students on campus, including several of his professors at Perkins. He spoke about the divide between being a Baptist and doing his internship at a Baptist church while attending a liberal Methodist university. He graduated with his Master of Theological Studies in 2003 and went straight into his doctorate program, during which he completed a chaplaincy at Baylor Hospital. This experience helped him decide to go into hospital chaplaincy, as he was unable to get a pastor job as an African at an American church. He graduated with his Doctor of Ministry in 2007. After leaving SMU, he received a Master of Business Administration, which has been useful in his current position as Director of Spiritual Health for a hospital system in Youngstown, Ohio. He is currently focusing on writing books and hopes to return to Africa upon his retirement
Deepti Garg Interview
No full textDeepti Garg (MS 2006) was interviewed by Laura Narvaez via the Zoom internet-based conferencing software on March 28, 2024. She spoke about her experience coming to SMU as an international student from Ghaziabad, India. Ms. Garg became familiar with SMU after speaking to her counselors about studying in the US after getting her master's degree in Computer Science. She remembers creating a community with other students from India where they would celebrate festivals throughout the year to stay in touch with their culture. In 2007, she returned to India as an assistant professor at a private engineering college, remembering her time at SMU fondly for the confidence she acquired
Vedang Uniyal Interview
No full textVedang Uniyal (Class of 2024) was interviewed by Michelle Ma via the Zoom internet-based conferencing software on June 16, 2024. Mr. Uniyal graduated with a BBA in Marketing with minors in Public Policy and International Affairs as well as Journalism. Born in Louisville, Texas, Mr. Uniyal grew up around the DFW area. Although his neighborhood consisted of upper middle class white families, Mr. Uniyal was exposed to a diverse group of people in school, including children of Indian descent, like himself. Mr. Uniyal’s mother grew up in Varanasi, and his father grew up in Garhwal. Indian culture played a crucial role in Mr. Uniyal’s formative years, including his family hosting pujas, or large prayer ceremonies. Mr. Uniyal chose to attend SMU to push himself out of his comfort zone. He was part of the Hilltop Scholars Program, which helped assimilate him into campus life. During his time at SMU, Mr. Uniyal had the opportunity to intern with several sports teams in the DFW region, which he hopes will lead to future jobs in the field