Sujaya Chandran's Oral history project

   Interview with Professor Bridget Fischer.

           Bridget Fisher was born in San Diego and moved around the country before settling down in California. She has one younger brother and moved 13 times while at school.During her early days, she was a shy person, scared of standing in front of people and speaking, but art was something she enjoyed.  Her parents told her it would be hard to make a living as an artist and they thought teaching would be a a good fit. As a child, Professor Fischer pretended she was a teacher, teaching her stuffed toys using her black board.  At Community college, she had a mentor, who gave her the opportunity to give a guest lecture on oil painting. It was here that she realized that talking about something she enjoyed or loved, wasn't as scary as she had thought. She taught some classes at graduate school and the more she did it the more she fell in love with it and thus knew it was her ‘calling’ to be an Artist/Teacher.
       
             Professor Fischer joined Skyline College in the summer of 1992 as adjunct faculty. The first class she ever taught at Skyline was Art Appreciation and became a full time Professor in 1999.  She has since taught all of the Art History courses offered, was Coordinator of the Art Gallery for 9 years, and has taught, Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Watercolor and Printmaking.  She was the first instructor in the district to teach Art History courses online and has been the Distance Education Faculty Coordinator for the last 5 years in addition to her teaching duties.

             When we were assigned this project, I chose to interview Professor Fischer as she is someone who I have great respect and admiration for. Professor Fischer came out as a teenager, before the country was as tolerant and accepting as it is now towards homosexuality. I wanted to learn about her experiences and life. What began as a chance meeting in the cafeteria, has developed to her being someone I can go to for advice, information and just for a chat. She is a person who has been communicative, understanding and accommodating since I got to meet her and it gives me great pleasure in being able to share her life experiences, confidence and strength with other students.

Segment 1 : Can you tell me a little about yourself and your family background?

 

Segment 2 : Can you tell me about your parents?

Segment 3 : Did you have a strong religious upbringing?

Segment 4 : Did your family have any opinions about homosexuality? Was it something discussed at home?

Segment 5 :So your parents didn’t know any other gay people? They made their feelings about the subject known?

Segment 6 :When did you realize you were gay? And what were your feelings about it?

Segment 7 :Did you not feel the need to acknowledge being gay because there was no need to?

Segment 8 :How did you feel about coming out? Was it something you were comfortable doing?

Segment 9 :When did you come out? And what was your family’s reaction?

Segment 10 :Was it easy coming out because your mother asked you directly rather than you having to initiate a dialogue?

Segment 11 :Did your mother ever doubt your sexuality? Did she express that in hindsight she knew?

Segment 12 :Were your family ostracized in any way? Did they experience any negative behavior at work, church etc?

Segment 13 :Did you face any obstacles after coming out? Did people treat you differently?

Segment 14 :Do you feel your relationships with people have changed?Are you still in touch with friends you had before coming out?

Segment 15 :Can you think of anyone who has impacted you negatively or made you feel uncomfortable about being gay?

Segment 16 :Have you ever regretted coming out?

Segment 17 :Did you ever have regrets about coming out because if affected your parents in some way?

Segment 18 :When you came out, marriage was not a possibility. Today if your mother was still here, would you fulfill that dream for her?

Segment 19 :Does your niece ask about you getting married or having kids?

Professor Fischer completed her AA at West Valley college, then transferred to San Jose State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts  in Painting and drawing.After taking a year to develop a portfolio to apply to graduate school she applied to San Jose State University for their M.F.A. Program but realized that staying in the Bay area was too expensive.  Professor Fischer was set on joining a sculpture program that had a bronze casting foundry and ended up getting a full scholarship to University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.  After a semester, the person she went to go work with, left to become the Art Department Chair at the University of Arizona. Professor Fischer was able to follow her and got teaching assistantships there.  She went from  teaching a 9 student graduate program at Notre Dame to a 90 student program at University of Arizona.  She gained an M.F.A. in sculpture and ran the foundry for Bronze casting and taught, while completing course work and presenting a final exhibition at the University Museum in order to graduate in 1989.

Conclusion : This interview was far more informative and insightful than I could have imagined. Professor Fisher was generous enough to allow me a no holds barred interview and she answered each question with enough detail to let me picture every situation she was describing. What was most impressive about Professor Fisher, is how at no point, did she ever feel ashamed or embarrassed about being true to herself. It is truly inspiring to see how she maneuvered life through a time when being homosexual was not well accepted in society and the concept of same sex couples was not very common. It is applaudable that Professor Fischer pursued her goals and achieved her dreams educationally as well as in her life. Bridget Fischer is an inspiration to all women out there, be it as a role model in coming out, educational goals or simply how to be a good person.

Sydney Brunner's Oral History Project

Interview with My Grandma

by Sydney Brunner

Introduction

My grandma, Mary Brunner, was born in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland. She grew up with five brothers and sisters. She had a very religious upbringing and says that there was very little opportunity in Mayo.  She moved to England at seventeen to pursue nursing. At the time nursing school was free. The school housed the students, fed the students and even gave them a small paycheck at the end of the week. She loved being a nurse and a midwife. My grandma moved to Chicago after visiting her brother Frank there. Eventually she moved to San Francisco as did three of her other siblings. Once in San Francisco she met my grandfather, Angus Brunner. My grandpa was also from County Mayo, Ireland. They met in Golden Gate Park at the bandstand and he asked her if she wanted some ice cream. They got married and had Kevin (my dad), Tom, and Brigitte. My grandparent worked very hard to give their children as well as their grandchildren as many opportunities as they could. I am thankful for them every single day. They inspire me to not only work hard but to be a better person. 

My grandma and grandpa played a huge role in raising my brother, sister and I. The three of us would often spend days at their house in the Sunset district of San Francisco while my parents worked. We would bake apple pies and Irish soda bread, go on long walks and play cards. My grandpa would recite poetry he had memorized, play opera and read us stories. My grandma would always hide a small tin full of candies for us somewhere in the house. They are the most moral and well mannered people. My grandma is 86 years old. She is a thin woman with short gray hair and blue eyes. She is very minimalist and frugal. I have never seen her wear makeup, perfume or nail polish. She often wears floral blouses with light pinks, lavenders and blues. She loves sweets and drinks only tea, rarely water.  Although she has been hear for over six decades you can still hear a bit of Irish in the way she speaks. She is charitable, trustworthy as well as trusting and sees the good in almost everybody. She is very open minded and liberal despite her extreme religious upbringing and often says, "God gave you a brain because he wants you to use it." 

Once assigned this project I immediately thought of my Grandma Mary. She is perfect for this project and this particular class because she exemplifies what it means to be an independent and self-aware woman. I wanted to know more about her life before I was in it. My grandma has been a role model of mine for as long as I can remember. She is strong, wise and loving. She has taught me that common sense and a sense of humor can get you through anything and she has also taught me how to make a proper cup of Irish tea. She has inspired me be independent and a diligent worker and always persevere. 

Segment 1-What is your name and where were you born?

Segment 2- What was your life like growing up in Ireland? 

Segment 3- What was school like?

Segment 4- What was it like to be a woman in Ireland? What was expected of you?

 Segment 5- Why did you come to America?

Segment 6- How did you find San Francisco?

Final Segment

Conclusion:

Interviewing my grandma was a wonderful experience. Many stories I had heard before but I also learned a few new things about her. I had about 36 minutes of footage by the end of our conversation. I was challenging to find the segments that best encapsulate because everything she told me sounded important. All and all, this project reinforced my ideas and feelings of respect and admiration for my grandmother. She has had an amazing life vastly different from my own. It is because she immigrated that I have the opportunities and education that I do and for that I can never repay her. She has given me so much to be thankful for.