ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

A major part of Recuerdos is the Oral Histories we are collecting and memorializing. If you want to participate, please sign up via the appointment scheduler below or send us an email with your availability to PrincetonRecuerdos@gmail.com. Expect to set aside about an hour for the interview, which will take place on the Zoom platform. Below are some questions that will help you prepare for the interview. Thanking you in advance for your time and interest in this project!

Princeton Recuerdos Oral History Questions

Note, we may not get to all of these questions during the interview, but we will try to get to touch on as much of the four topic areas below as possible.

Prior life

Please set the stage and tell us briefly about your life prior to Princeton.

Did you attend a public or private school? In the US or overseas? Coed or same gender?

How did that prepare, or fail to prepare you, for Princeton, both socially and intellectually?

Why did you go to Princeton?

Life at Princeton

Where did you live?

What were your expectations coming in? Did Princeton live up to them?

What were your initial impressions of Princeton?

Did you feel that you “fit in” when you arrived? (please explain)

Was it easy or hard to adjust to college life?

Academic life at Princeton

What was your major? Were there many other Latino students in your major? Did that play a role in your choice of major?

Did you take any courses that touched on Latino related issues? If so, what?

What motivated you to take the academic direction that you did – or why not, if you didn’t?

How did your professors have any reaction to having Latino or other “minority” students? Female students?

How would you characterize the intellectual atmosphere?

What was your thesis topic? How did you find that experience?

Do you remember anything distinctive about how Latinos/women/folks in genera participated in lectures and precepts (sat together, vocal or shy, …)

Beyond academics

What was the social life like? 

Were you accepted at events such as House parties or other traditional Princeton social events?

Were your closest friends during your undergraduate years of a similar background to yours? (ethnic, gender, language, geography etc)

What activities (social, athletic, etc.) were available to you when you arrived at Princeton? 

Were you involved in any specific clubs, groups or publications?

Did you participate in or join any Latino-or ethnic-related organizations?

How did your extra-curricular involvement change during your time there?

Did you join an eating club? Why or why not?

What was the relationship between Latino students and the eating clubs? How did you feel about the eating clubs? 

Were there any “major events” on campus while you were there (demonstrations, visits by notable people, …)?

How did specific major external events, like war or depression affect the campus?

How did Princeton affect your subsequent life and career?

Anything else you wish to add?