So, without any further ado, I give you – Diana Rogut!
From
up north in Westfield, New Jersey, Diana is a senior nursing major here at
Belmont and was inducted into the ever-vaster Bruin family in the fall 2010
semester. She told me, “I came because I
did not get into the nursing program at UT [University of Tennessee] Knoxville,
and Belmont was some other school I had heard of in Tennessee.”[1]
Although she did “not particularly”[2]
always like history, her multilingualism more than makes up for this
absence. Diana elaborated, “I can speak
Italian. I know some Russian. I know the Hebrew [… and] Russian alphabet[s].”[3]
And now, my exclusive interview with this amazing young
lady… :)
CRAFT: What and how many history courses have you
taken here at Belmont? Please provide the course names and numbers if you can
(e.g. HIS 4670 – The Tudor Monarchy, 1485-1603).
ROGUT: I have taken two history courses at Belmont.
I do not have the numbers for these courses at this time. I have taken a linked
cohort which included World History from the 1500’s as well as Dr. Kuryla’s
course on America in the 1920’s.
CRAFT: Why did you enroll in Dr. Kuryla’s 1920s’
America course? Was it to fulfill a general education requirement, or was it
because that you were genuinely interested?
ROGUT: It was to fill a general education
requirement. I picked it because it was the ONLY course out of HUNDREDS that I
looked at that would accommodate my clinical schedule. I looked at everything
from dance classes to religion to Spanish to guitar lessons. This was the only
thing that worked for me. I was relieved that it wasn’t a dance class.
CRAFT: Will you take more history courses here at
Belmont? Or was Kuryla’s 1920s’ America it?
ROGUT: My degree does not require any additional
history credits so I will not be taking any additional courses within the
history department.
CRAFT: If you can remember, what history did you
learn in your pre-collegiate days?
ROGUT: I barely remember. Honestly, whatever is
required by the state of New Jersey. I know I took Western Cultures and Eastern
Cultures. I took U.S. History and AP European History. I know I took more but I
do not remember.
CRAFT: What is your opinion of history, both the
discipline and the concept? Before college? Before taking Kuryla? Before
meeting me? Before helping me study? After taking Kuryla? After meeting me?
After helping me study? Has your opinion of history changed? If so, how?
ROGUT: I value the
study of history. I think it is important. Before college, I did not like
school in general, so I don’t think I really cared one way or the other about
history. Kuryla was brutal, but I loved the class. I knew I did not belong in
that class, and I missed half the references or little side jokes the other
students made, but I enjoyed Kuryla. I enjoyed helping you study for your exams
and writing your study guides, but I don’t know that those experiences really
affected my opinion of history. While I appreciate it, I know I am not meant to
spend my life meddling with it. I love what I am studying. I love the science
of nursing, and I know the history of nursing because it generally interests
me.
CRAFT: Why are the histories of Russia and ancient
Rome boring or uninteresting to you? Even during and after helping me study for
those two courses?
ROGUT: I know a lot of
Russian history because my father is Russian. I enjoyed it as much as a nursing
major can really enjoy studying for a class that they weren’t getting credit
for. Rome was pretty boring for me. I don’t know—I guess I am not really
interested in either one. I like helping people. I guess I felt like learning
about Rome and Russia wasn’t really helping anyone in a life or death
situation. I understand I was helping you study, but I like helping others in a
different way.
CRAFT: Is there a specific avenue or focus of
history you find most interesting, and why?
ROGUT: I enjoy the history of nursing. It has come a
long way in a short amount of time. I enjoy it because I am passionate about
the science of nursing.
CRAFT: What is your impression of Dr. Kuryla and his
class?
ROGUT: I
absolutely LOVED Dr. Kuryla. I signed up
for the class because it fit my schedule and it seemed tolerable. I heard about
the professor and didn’t think much of it because I thought that there could be
absolutely nothing more difficult than nursing. If I could survive Jane
Shelby’s Pathophysiology, then this Kuryla guy had nothing on me. It was during
the first class that I learned I was the only nursing major and one out of two
students who was not a history major. It started off manageable. I was excited
about what we were studying. I did the readings. But the first class discussion
I remember raising my hand and I thought I had a really mind blowing comment
about the reading. Like, I thought my comment was jaw-droppingly amazing.
Another man in the class spoke first, and I didn’t even know what his analysis
meant because it referenced some other writer in history that I never heard of
and that was that. I never participated in class again because my responses
were first-grade level compared to their real world understandings. My opinion
of Kuryla has always been this: He is absolutely hilarious. I just liked to
listen to him talk. I enjoyed his humor. Sometimes he would go off and rant
about something that had nothing to do with our class and it didn’t even matter
because it was so funny. However, he was also able to be incredibly serious at
the same time. He knew when there was time to go off on a tangent about the
weather and when there was a time to express disappointment in the history
majors for not going out and supporting their fellow students at an important
convo. He presented the material in a clear manner and graded appropriately. I
think sometimes he gave me points for the pure fact that I was at least trying.
He knew I was lost. I think the History Department has a real treasure in Dr.
Kuryla.
CRAFT: What is your opinion of your other history
teachers, both pre-collegiate and collegiate? Before taking Kuryla? After
taking Kuryla? Has it changed? If so, how?
ROGUT: Pre-collegiate I don’t really feel the need
to comment on. No single teacher blew me away or made me fall in love with the
subject. I am blanking on the other history professor I had at Belmont, but she
was Native American and a really sweet woman. She introduced one lecture by
saying this, “Okay, guys, here’s the deal. There is absolutely no way for me to
make today’s lecture interesting. This is just going to be plain old boring.
I’m bored teaching it, and you’ll be bored hearing it, so let’s get this over
with.” That really won me over. I feel like a lot of times professors have no
idea how students are perceiving their course. I had a racquetball professor at
Belmont who could not fathom the idea that I had a life outside of racquetball.
This lady was able to be honest. I learned a lot because I respected her. She
did an amazing job.
As
I stated previously, I enjoyed Kuryla as a professor. He was challenging as I
assume most professors in this department are.
CRAFT: Do you have other friends who are history
majors or minors or are interested in history?
ROGUT: No. I know of
other Belmont students via general education credits, but all my friends are
nursing majors. My freshman year roommate was some other type of major (I
forget) but it was not history.
CRAFT: In your opinion what role do writing and
other forms of communication play in history, nursing, and other disciplines?
ROGUT: This is a very broad question. I will answer
specifically to nursing. Communication is key because we are being trusted with
the lives of others. It is important to communicate with the patient as well as
all members of the health care team. Nurses need to work together because it is
oftentimes a high stress environment with many opportunities to make mistakes.
Writing is a lost art in nursing. We don’t form real sentences in our charting;
it’s mostly all abbreviations. I am currently getting frustrated with this
questionnaire because it is very long and I haven’t really had to write this
much without using abbreviations in a really long time. I would assume writing
is more valuable in other disciplines, but communication (mostly verbal) is key
to nursing.
CRAFT: How difficult was it for you to write history
papers for Kuryla and others?
ROGUT: Difficult because I am more accustomed to
charting which is all short hand and abbreviated. I more or less forgot how to
structure a sentence.
CRAFT: Was it difficult to switch from APA
documentation style for your nursing and science courses to Chicago documentation
style for Kuryla? Or didn’t you have to switch for Kuryla?
ROGUT: Haha! When
Kuryla told us that we had to “write in Chicago,” I thought that he had lost
his mind. How could he expect me to go to Chicago to write this paper? What
planet was I even on? It was a very, very embarrassing moment for me. I never
heard of it before. I can do MLA and APA and feel very comfortable. Chicago
ruined my life for like 6 straight days.
So, folks, what do you make of Ms. Rogut? Obviously, I
love her to death. Thanks a million for reading, peeps.
Also, FYI, I am putting The Bruin History Blog on a brief hiatus. Don’t know yet when I
will reawaken from its slumber, but when I do, I’ll definitely let you know. So
for now, “That’s all, folks!”[4]
AW MML, HI
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