FIVE WITH A FALCON: Jin Oakes ('24), History Major with a Professional Writing & Political Science Minor

In this episode of Five with a Falcon, Jin Oakes ('24), a transfer student, shares the journey that took them to a Fitchburg State major in History with a double minor in Professional Writing &  Political Science), how the campus library provides a sense of belonging and community among the stacks, and how their studies have inspired a passion for research. 

Episode transcript available here.

Episode edited and mixed by Adam Fournier, a member of the Perseverantia staff, and a film/video production student in the Communications Media department.

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Perspectives is an ongoing series of Perseverantia -- featuring the voices and stories of the campus community, including alumni interviews; conversations with students, faculty, and staff; and features events.  The goal of Perspectives is to allow for in-depth exploration of the experiences and issues on the minds of those teaching, learning, and working at Fitchburg State University.

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Transcript

[ Jazzy Five with a Falcon theme fades in ] 

Prof. Kate Jewell:
Could you please introduce yourself?

[ Jazz theme fades out ] 

[ 00min 18sec ] 

Jin Oakes (‘24):
My name is Jin Oakes. I'm a junior here at Fitchburg State. I'm currently a history major, finishing up my professional writing major. And I just added a not major, sorry, minor and added poly sci minor – just like last week.

Prof. Kate Jewell:
Great. So could you tell us a little bit more about your career at Fitchburg State?

Jin Oakes (‘24):
Yeah. Previously, I was at a different college. I was a history and English double major. But because of, like, how Fitchburg State is situated, I wanted to be in more of a city area, and that was something that my previous college didn't have – as well as an Asian Studies minor. And so then I transferred at the beginning of this year.

But unfortunately, upon arriving and meeting with my advisor and looking at the course options, I learned that most of the classes required for the Asian Studies aren't even offered anymore, which is a little disappointing. But I'm still a history major and I think that's going pretty well.

Prof. Katherine Jewell:
So where do you find a sense of belonging at Fitchburg?

Jin Oakes (‘24):
Generally, I feel most connected to others in the library and at my job in the mailroom because the library – I love the library. Like, I've always loved the library and I previously worked in a library. So despite, like, the library's supposed to be a quiet place, and you’re not really supposed to interact with people. But I find, like, the library to be one of the best places to feel part of the community.

Because despite, like, everyone's lives being different, we're all just sitting here in this one gigantic room [ laughs ]. Otherwise, I find my job as a window clerk at the mailroom, it's more of an interactive sense of belonging because I have to interact with people.  And I do enjoy doing that. Like, I help people find their mail. I disperse people's mail.

And it's one of the ways that, like, students can connect to the outside world. And so I'm happy to be able to facilitate that, too.

[ 02 min 14sec ]

Prof. Katherine Jewell:
So what has been your greatest accomplishment so far here?

Jin Oakes (‘24):
I definitely think I'm more involved here than I was at my previous school, especially when it comes to projects and that stuff. 

Like during the summer before, I was even really, like, a student. I co-wrote a short VR film which shows viewers some microaggressions that people of color face in educational settings. There are two Comm Media professors that were heading it up, and I think they were, like, looking for more of, like, the black student experience – which is obviously super important as black students are historically excluded and discredited when it comes to academia.

But being an Asian student, I brought up the idea of incorporating more of, like, an Asian student’s experience, which was an idea that they were kind of surprised about but were generally receptive to. And so we'll be showing that whole thing because they filmed it and we wrote it, and we'll be showing that at the Visions Expo later this month. So that's pretty cool.

Prof. Katherine Jewell:
Great. So even though you've only been here a year or so, in what ways have you grown or transformed during your time at Fitchburg State?

[ 03min 22sec ]

Jin Oakes (‘24):
I think I've really refined my path here. I've thought more critically about, like, where I'm going and where I want to go in my future. I also found, like, an appreciation for researching topics because I used to hate researching topics.  But here I found more of, like, an appreciation for it. And I'm not sure if those two things are quite related to Fitchburg State or where I am in my educational career.  [ jazzy Five With… theme fades in ] 

But there are all these things that have just occurred since, like, August.

Prof. Katherine Jewell:
Great. Well, it's been so nice talking to you and getting to know you. Thank you so much for doing this.

Jin Oakes (‘24):
Yeah, of course. Thank you.

[ 04min 01sec ]

[ jazz theme fades out ] 

[ 04min 08sec ]

Prof. Katherine Jewell:
To participate in or nominate someone for our Five with a Falcon series, email us at podcasts@fitchburgstate.edu or visit us at www.fitchburgstate.edu/podcasts.  

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This has been a production of Perseverantia, the Fitchburg State Podcast Network.

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