SMU Digital Collections
Not a member yet
85743 research outputs found
Sort by
Elena Miranda Interview
No full textDr. Elena Miranda (Class of 2000) was interviewed by Brett Fearer in the oral history studio in the Fondren Library on Southern Methodist University's campus on October 20, 2022. Dr. Miranda was born in Richmond, California and is the oldest of four daughters. Growing up, her family moved around between various places in the country, many of which Dr. Miranda describes as being heavily segregated. Finally, her family arrived in Plano, Texas, where Dr. Miranda finished high school. She discusses her struggles with counseling and expectations when it came to applying for colleges. She applied and was accepted to SMU, and was also accepted into the President's Scholars program. When Dr. Miranda first arrived at SMU, she describes feeling as if she did not belong due to the socioeconomic gap between her and other students, and SMU not being a diverse community. She discusses her struggles with her identity in her first years at SMU with assimilation and whitewashing, and that she felt she was becoming distanced from her heritage. Dr. Miranda was able to find camaraderie and a helpful community in the geology department with fellow undergraduate students, grad students, and faculty. After graduating with her B.S. in Geology, she decided to pursue her PhD. in Geology at the University of Wyoming. In this section of the interview, Dr. Miranda discusses the challenges faced by minority women in academia. She also discusses her passion for environmental justice, and how it is a major part of her scholarly identity. As of the recording of this interview, Dr. Miranda is a professor of Geology at California State University - Northridge
Seifey Mohammad Interview
No full textSeifey Mohammad (Class of 2021) was interviewed by Ruchi Ranganathan via the Zoom internet-based video conferencing software on October 12, 2022. Seifey is the youngest of three children. Both of his older sisters graduated from SMU, influencing his decision to attend the university. Seifey graduated with majors in Statistical Science, Mathematics, and Economics with Financial Applications. During his time at SMU, he joined the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity and was an undergraduate research assistant for the physics department. Despite living at home for all four years at SMU, Seifey maintained his social commitments and dedicated time to engaging with the campus community through groups like the Bridwell Scholars Reading Group and taking advantage of the wealth of resources that SMU has to offer, like Dining With Decision Makers. Following his graduation from SMU, Seifey worked at JP Morgan and then later started at Robinhood, all while pursuing his masters in Data Science at Rice University
Dennis Spencer Interview
No full textDennis Spencer (Class of 1995; M.S. 1998) was interviewed by Laura Narvaez in the Norwick Center for Digital Solutions at Southern Methodist University on October 21st, 2022. Mr. Spencer was born in 1973 in New Mexico and graduated from SMU in 1995 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He received the support of the Presidential Scholarship when he enrolled in 1991 and served as a Resident Assistant from his sophomore to senior year. He joined the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, the first Black Greek letter organization established on a college campus. In Alpha Phi Alpha, he described finding community, engaging in community service projects, and remaining a lifelong member. Spencer also discussed policing in Highland Park and expressed that he felt the university’s attention to diverse numbers had somewhat diminished since his time as a student. Ultimately, he returned to SMU in 1997 to pursue a master’s degree in Engineering Management and feels that SMU can open a lot of doors in Texas for its graduates
