American Lit
December 6, 2009
Interview with a Perspective: Education
Purpose: To see how experiences have shaped the perspective of a Cejay Roman on education.
Back ground information:
1. Name: Cejay Roman
2. Place of birth: Chicago, Il
3. Age: 23
4. Where do you currently live: Wilmette, Illinois
5. Schools attended: Loyola Academy, Lake Forest College, Argosy University
6. Highest level of Education completed: 1st year of grad school (MS Psychology)
Experience questions:
1. What is the highest level of education your parents have completed?
a. My mom and dad both only completed high school.
My father took some collegecourses, but never finished.
2. What type of student were you in school?
a. I was always a good student. I usually earned A’s and B’s on my report card, but it
wasn’t easy. I managed to get a couple of D’s on a few exams. I did poorly my first year
of college because I couldn’t balance school and my life together right away.
3. Describe your time in grade school, high school, and college
a. Grade school was fun from what I remember, but I can’t really remember it all that
well. High school was great! Your remember, you were there! Football games, prom,
friendships. Mr. Seeburg’s class. So many memories. College was a great time too. At
the beginning I wasn’t so sure because it was a lot harder for me, but I feel that most
people didn’t have as hard of a time as I did.
Follow-up Questions:
1. Tell me how you’re parents’ experience with education helped shape your perspective
a. Well, my father worked very hard to open up his grocery store after coming to America
from Italy. He always worried about making enough money to support his family. I
think we are pretty well off, but he always worries about making enough to support us
since he the money we had was dependent on the amount of business the store had.
Because of this both my parents always forced me to get an education because of they
didn’t want me to depend on the success of a business for stability.
2. You said you’re experiences in school have been primarily positive. Is it safe to say you like school?
a. Yes, I do enjoy school. I don’t always like the classes or teachers, but I do know it
is necessary for me to do the best in all my classes because of the fact that it
determines where I get to work in the future.
3. What do you mean about your future?
a. Well, getting a good career. Since my field of study is psychology I need to get a
doctorate. There is more schooling that I need to complete in order to complete
degree. Each class I work as hard as I can.
Reflection:
After interviewing Cejay Roman, I can see why she believe education to be positive. The experiences she has had in school have helped shape this positive perspective. Since her parents have had such a hard time supporting their family it has made Cejay value education. She also seems to be motivated by her goal of earning a PhD in Psychology. Cejay recalls having fun in school with friends, sporting events, and social activities like prom. These experiences have left her with a positive perspective on education. Had she not earned the grades she did, not seen her parents struggle, and had negative experiences with school she would most likely have a negative perspective on education.
