This oral history has been a very valuable experience for me in terms of what I have gained education-wise, as well as emotionally. With regards to educational value, this assignment was unlike anything I have ever done for another class, and I think that it ended up being a unique experience.
I was surprisingly challenged by the more formal aspects of the interview process, I found it difficult to approach certain subjects due to my relationship with my interviewee. I wanted to make sure that my interviewee felt comfortable discussing such topics, so I did have a substantial conversation with him about it. Going into this project, I knew that my father would be a strong candidate for an interviewee. Beyond my own desires to learn more about his past and insights, he tends to put a lot of thought into what he says and how he says it, so I also wanted to make sure to craft questions that would allow him to incorporate that thoughtfulness.
I had never thought very specifically about how his father’s death impacted him, just that it was something that caused him to show a rare emotional side of himself. After recording this interview and debriefing with him about what we had talked about, I realized that I now had this key piece of information which was the root of such a big part of his life.
During the entire process of this oral history, from the pre-interview preparation to this final report, I have consistently felt as though all my work has helped me gain something. Rather than responding to a prompt and turning in a paper, each piece of this project has felt fulfilling in some way. I learned a great deal about my father, and my perceptions of him have been further informed, I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to deepen my understanding of his life and his character.
—Elodie Koo on her oral history with Paul Koo