VT Stories Oral History with Lorraine Feury, April 22, 2016 (Ms2016-015)

Ren Harman: Good afternoon, my name is Ren Harman and today is April 22nd at

about 3:30 p.m., and we are here in Squires 238. So, to start with what is your

name, your date and place of birth?

Lorraine Feury: I am Lorraine Feury, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech. Class

of 2014. Date of birth, June 14, 1992, and where I'm from Northern Virginia.

Ren: Can you tell us a little bit about your family and about your upbringing,

mom and dad, brothers and sisters? Tell me a little bit about your upbringing.

Lorraine: My parents are West African. There were born and raised in Sierra

Leone. They moved to England to get some years in college; they didn't finish

college. Had me and then we moved to America, so I have a first 00:01:00 western

generation, first college generation, and the first born, so first child to go

through the whole American education system. But pretty much I was raised with a

very family environment. Everything you do is not for yourself, it's to always

benefit the people around you. I always grew up with the phrase, if you don't

where you're going know where you're coming from. So it was always very

important for me and my parents teaching me and my brother and sister to learn

from the past experiences they've had, or my grandmas had or my aunts and uncles

had, so that we wouldn't make the same mistakes they did, because they did a lot

of sacrificing to get us here. My parents left a whole entire country, aunts and

uncles who 00:02:00survived a civil war in Sierra Leone and were doing their best to

make sure that their kids should survive. So just all those different

experiences and examples of just perseverance, determination, and strength was

really all incorporated in my childhood.

Ren: When did you first think about college? High school, I guess?

Lorraine: Yeah, I thought about college when I take the SAT. And it's funny

because I didn't really think about [Virginia] Tech until April 16th, because we

had an alumni from my high school he was one of the fallen Hokies there. So that

when I really started paying attention. Before then didn't know what [Virginia]

Tech was about, didn't really care at first.

Ren: Were there some other reasons you chose Virginia Tech? WHy did you choose

it over maybe some other colleges?

Lorraine: So when I 00:03:00applied me and my best friends we had this idea of we're all

going to go to the same school and we're going to rule the campus and it was

going to be out of state. So we all went to Penn State University campus, like,

yeah, we're going to go. We're going to do this. We showed our parents the bill,

they are like, no. I still wanted that out of state feeling, so Virginia Tech

was still far enough, but it's still close enough to be considered in state. And

then also when I was doing more research into Virginia Tech it was a big

institution, so it had a lot of not only a good football program, but had a lot

of research opportunities and a great alumni network for me to use after I graduated.

Ren: What was your first memory of Virginia Tech and when was that?

Lorraine: Personally I have a couple.

Ren: Okay.

Lorraine: The first one, so Northern Virginia. I don't live in any mountains. I

am familiar with farms. There's a small farm across the street from where I

live, so I remember I was coming down for student orientation and left really 00:04:00early in the morning, so it was still dark. And we were driving down 81 and I

saw a sign it says, watch out for falling rocks. I asked my mom, What do you

mean rocks are falling? Rocks shouldn't be falling. We're on a road. It's dark

outside and I was like paranoid for the entire trip, so I was like we need to

watch out for these falling rocks. So that was good, but as a lot of people say

it looks like Hogwarts. I really read a lot of Harry Potter books when I was younger.

Ren: Yeah, me too.

Lorraine: I liked the beautiful landscape how when you look, especially during a

sunset, the mountains just look painted. It doesn't really like--it looks

surreal. And another of my favorite moment was my first Virginia Tech game,

orange effect. I can't remember who we were playing, but I was late to the game

because I couldn't find my seat for Enter 00:05:00Sandman so I had to watch it from the

south end zone, and just seeing so many people jumping up and down to Enter

Sandman. It was just amazing.

Ren: Right.

Lorraine: And that honestly is one of my favorite first memories of [Virginia]

Tech is that football game.

Ren: So you hadn't really visited Blacksburg until you came for some type of

like for new student orientation?

Lorraine: I visited campus once from All United Nations in high school, but it

wasn't like come look at this school because you're interested in it and here

are our programs. It's usually some type of business interaction I've had before.

Ren: What was your major?

Lorraine: I graduated with two degrees, one in math and one in sociology.

Ren: You graduated in 2014, did you have some notable professors and how did

they impact you and how are they 00:06:00important in your life?

Lorraine: So I have my math and sociology degree, and then I had a minor in

leadership and social change. So one of my professors I believe he's a doctor

now, so I can call him Dr. Mathew Grimes. We used to call him Coach back then

because he didn't like the formal Mr., so he was really great. My freshman year

I took him for both fall and semester classes of our leadership class with

living in the residential community, ROC-- The people that lived in the building

and Peddrew-Yates you also see in classes, so it was kind of like I was in

school 24/7 in regards to that curriculum.

Ren: Right.

Lorraine: He was just my ideal teacher. Like his teaching style he will 00:07:00 use

examples, sometimes use oral presentations. Sometimes we would read books. It

was just a very nice balance of all these different ways you can learn, and he

was just so enthusiastic about learning, and showing how to be a leader,

encouraging us to do service projects. I still keep in contact with him. Like

he's one of my favorites. Let's see, some notable classes were my classes junior

and senior year in math. When I started my math degree I was under the

impression that math was just numbers. Knowing numbers I should be fine. I was

like okay cool, I like numbers, until I had my proofs class and I didn't

understand why I was spending hours writing words, I was writing an essay for a

math problem. I was like that's not what they told me when I signed up for math.

I don't know why it's happening. 00:08:00A lot of my harder classes, looking back in the

past I enjoy them now because it just showed that even though I was struggling,

I just didn't understand some of the concepts, I was just getting really

frustrated when why am I not being perfect, it really taught me more about

myself. It helped me define my sense of perseverance and determination and strength.

Ren: Right. You mentioned, I think in one of your minors you said something

about social justice or social reform, things like that; what was your interest

in that? Was that just kind of something to do or was it linking back earlier to

what you said about your mom and dad?

Lorraine: Initially I wanted to go to college for international relations. In

high school I was in an international program, so my deal was to be an

ambassador and travel the world. Mom was like, you don't really make enough

money with that. You're really good at math; let's do math. So I retaliated and

I said, okay, well I'm going to get a second degree in sociology. So that's how

the sociology degree came about, but I've always been fascinated with the fact

that 00:09:00whenever someone says they like math some people are like, ugh, you like

math? That's so hard. And I want to be able to find a way to use my applied

skills in math and to help create some type of social reform or create an

environment where people do not need to be scared of things they struggle with.

I'm not saying you have to be perfect with everything you do, but there is a

beauty of recognizing the successes you can get from your failures, and not a

lot of people have that kind of few.

Ren: Right.

Lorraine: My deal was just finding creative ways to just encourage people who

are not math-friendly. It's actually understanding they do math. They feel like

oh don't understand concept. I'm like you actually do algebra when you go to the

mall and you're like, okay, I'm going to spend one hundred dollars. These couple

of stores have sales. I know I want a particular amount of shirts and pants,

maybe accessories. How can I make this work with one hundred dollars?" That's

math right 00:10:00 there.

Ren: Right. My wife is a math teacher, so all these things you're saying it's

like, she teaches at Blacksburg High School, she's a math teacher and so all

these things you are saying I hear from her all the time. And she always talks

about her students like, why am I going to use this? And then she's like, you

will use it, and that example at the mall she's used that on me before. It's

very refreshing to hear someone else repeat it. You talked about Enter Sandman;

what are some other favorite memories or experiences you've had here in your

four years?

Lorraine: I've done so much. Freshman year I was all over the place. If there

was an event that seems kind of interesting I'm going to go and do it. There's

another type of leadership program for Virginia Tech where they had it for

freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes and that was held with Dr.

Alison Dunn. I don't believe she's with 00:11:00the school anymore, but that was also

helpful for me. I became a member of Black Student Alliance which introduced me

to the Budget Board, so that helped me get a better understanding of okay,

students actually do get some type of say of the money and the tuition we pay to

the school to pay for organizations. So just all those different opportunity has

led me to do different things. My senior year I was able to zone in on the

places I was interested in, so I still remain the Chair of Budget Board, which

allowed me to be a member of the Order of the Gavel.

Ren: Okay.

Lorraine: What was a very profound moment. Usually every year we have the April

16 some type of memorial we do, so I was the light. I held the light from

Burruss to the candle.

Ren: It kind of came full circle, right?

Lorraine: Yeah. Oh, that was really a good 00:12:00memory. It was just really quiet. It

was a nice clear day. The cadet was who leading the taps from the Burruss

Stadium his father was one of the fallen. So that was even more touching. You

could just hear the echoes. That was also memory.

Ren: Fast-forward to your senior year, you really probably brought things full

circle for you, huh?

Lorraine: Yeah. I really enjoy meeting new people. People kind of find it weird

when I say I'm shy, but I've been practicing forcing myself to actually go out

and meet people, because I tell students all the time these four years of

college, this is the only time I'm going to be able to meet so many people,

create so many networking opportunities. Because after you graduate if I

approach you on the street it's like all right, she's kind of crazy. Did I do

something? Is she trying to rob 00:13:00me? So I just try and get involved with

everything. I remember one favorite event also was Relay for Life. One of my

friends, I was like a faithful Zumba, an instructor Stephanie Mateos, we

graduated the same year, so she had a spot to perform Zumba on the stage. I

think it was like two or three o'clock in the morning during Relay for Life.

Ren: Oh my gosh.

Lorraine: And we were all in there doing it and that was just amazing.

Ren: That's awesome.

Lorraine: Even though someone fell. It was so funny but we kept going. It was amazing.

Ren: Yeah. We talked about a lot of positive things about Virginia Tech. I

graduated for my bachelor's degree, I guess it would be your sophomore year, so

I graduated in 2011, so we probably crisscrossed a lot of the same events and

things that happened here, but were there any difficult experiences that you

feel comfortable talking about maybe that you had on campus in your four years?

Lorraine: Being 00:14:00a Black woman and coming from an area where I was used to

hearing accents from all over, Spanish accents, African accents, Asian accents,

European accents. It was really weird coming to a place-- As big as Virginia

Tech is I thought it would bring more people who have interacted with people

outside of their culture, but I was wrong about that. I remember I had roommates

who I was doing my hair, I like doing a whole lot of different hairstyles. They

were just in awe with what I was doing. I was like to me this is normal and a

lot of them brought up I don't even think we have a Black person in our country.

I was just like I'm the first Black person? Like eighteen years of your whole

life you haven't seen a Black person or interacted with them daily? That's

crazy. So difficulties like that, especially my math classes, I was the only

Black person in most of my 00:15:00classes. And I was doing so many stuff outside of

class I just felt it was hard for me to relate to my classmates, because they

were just focused on just studying to get that A and stuff, and I was more to

the concept of learning more about the skills as opposed to saying, oh I got an

A in my class. Because some of my best classes I've taken were not As, and they

were not Bs, but I know I earned that grade and when I tell you I know what I

know I can say it with confidence.

Ren: Right.

Lorraine: Just little frustrating things like that where my friends would go to

other schools and they will have all these different cultural events going on,

and it was kind of hard for me to find that type of environment here.

Ren: Did those kind of things oftentimes maybe being the only Black student in

your class and then interested with your culture, your hair, did those things

ever really bother you or did you just kind of play it off I'm in southwest

Virginia and this is kind of how the culture is 00:16:00 here?

Lorraine: Sometimes it did. It honestly just depended on my patience, because as

much as I don't want to-- People that come with a similar background like mine

and they are put into an environment where people do not understand or they've

never been given the opportunity to understand a culture outside of their own or

a lifestyle outside of their own, I'm always forced to be a teacher 24/7.

Whether or not I will always be a teacher, I will always be a living example or

the person that speaks for whatever group they think I'm representing. So it

gets really frustrating sometimes where I have to remind people that it's okay

for us to disagree on certain things, but at least just try to understand where

I'm coming from. And not everyone that you see that looks similar to 00:17:00me will be

exactly like that. That's been frustrating. And then also just the lack of

different color people in the area as well. When I started [Virginia] Tech,

before [Virginia] Tech I think the proportions of the Black community was fairly

high. I think they were pushing 10 percent. When I graduated I think we were

barely touching 4 percent, and at the same time a lot of the faculty members who

actually encouraged me to join some of the organizations I was in, they were

leaving the community as well. So it's a bit frustrating because there are days

where just like maybe I should transfer, like teachers kind of treating me I

feel like in a certain way that they wouldn't have treated my other classmates.

It's just like okay, well this is what you want to do. These are the

opportunities. You can do this, 00:18:00because I can run away from that problem now,

but when I graduate I may be facing another situation. So it's best to do in a

more safer environment, so that I can really learn how to deal with a situation

if I have to approach it again in the future.

Ren: Right. So following your education, you recently graduated, so how has your

Virginia Tech education played out in your real life as they say?

Lorraine: Well where I work they recruit a lot of Hokies, so that was nice. We

can make jokes about campus and you understand.

Ren: Yeah.

Lorraine: All the different opportunities I've had like a Budget Board that

helped me get the job I was in, just those different skill sets. It's funny,

because ever since I've graduated I've acquired more maroon and orange, and like

people at my job they make fun at me because I have an orange cup. I have an 00:19:00orange lunch bag. I have like maroon stockings, a maroon jacket, a maroon purse. [Laughs]

Ren: What's your current position?

Lorraine: I'm a cost analyst, so I support the Navy, and then I'm also a

graduate student at Georgetown, so anytime I walk on campus at Georgetown I am a

bit homesick. There's a building that looks similar to, something similar to

Burris and they have kind of Hokie stone. Well it looks like Hokie stone and

I'll go on campus and I'm like, oh, this is such a fake school. That's not real

Hokie stone.

Ren: That's awesome. So if someone simply says, Virginia Tech, what's the first

thing you think of?

Lorraine: I think of all the different opportunities I received from the school.

There's just a lot out here and 00:20:00every time I meet with someone I try to share

with them that same energy and try to share with them the same opportunities I

was given. So my freshman year people will come up and introduce ourselves to

each other. Someone is like, oh Lorraine I heard that you're interested in this.

Here's this event, go to that. Just that being able to have access to so many

different sources and so many different ideas, whether you want to join an

organization or not, just being able to get a taste of what they're talking

about I really truly miss that ever since graduating [Virginia] Tech, just being

able to say, oh you know, maybe I want to learn something about Nepal or

something. Okay, they're having an event. Let me go over there. It's kind of

hard to do that in DC.

Ren: Right, I can't even imagine. Interesting. Are you still involved at the

university in some capacity? And then maybe in what ways?

Lorraine: I'm trying to be more involved. I'm still trying 00:21:00to keep up my

Georgetown work life balanced because grad school is hard.

Ren: It is.

Lorraine: But I still have a couple of friends that are graduating this year, so

I do keep up with some of the different things, whether I see it on Facebook or

Snapchat, or I'll get the newsletter. But I do have a desire to get more

involved in alumni networking and to expand recruitment from my high school,

because I don't think Virginia Tech really recruits to Hilton anymore.

Ren: Why do you think, and this is a question that I've always wondered too, and

maybe you don't think that they are, but Virginia Tech alumni a lot of Virginia

Tech alumni are really engaged once they graduate with the university in some

capacity. Being a freshly new Hokie maybe all these 00:22:00things you've already said,

why did you think that? Why do you think they become engaged with the university?

Lorraine: Okay, imagine you hear this restaurant, you've been hearing great

reviews about it. You finally get the chance to sit down and taste their food.

Like oh, I finally see why this is so amazing. What's the next thing you want to

do? You want to go and tell everybody, I've been to this restaurant that

everyone is talking about, and I can prove to you that the food is amazing. I

ate there. So it's just being able to share that blessing and to share that good vibe.

Ren: Yeah. That's a really good point, because somebody who has been here for a

very long time getting degrees and things. I find myself telling family members

who have children who are getting ready to graduate high school, like, you guys

going to Virginia Tech, can I help you out? It's the same exactly what you said,

that's a very good analogy because you think about how much this institution

means to all of us, and that's the first thing you want to do is to go tell 00:23:00someone. I really like that analogy. That was really good. I will have to

remember that one. You talked about a lot of things in terms of Virginia Tech

and historically a PWI and some issues you had. You always felt like the teacher

in things. What would be some changes you would like to see and maybe that you

have seen?

Lorraine: Oh that's a good question. Some changes. One reason why I enjoyed my

time here at Virginia Tech was that I encouraged myself and forced myself to

pursue classes that not only work on your knowledge, but work on your idea of

your self-being. I'm a very big advocate for self-awareness. So I think it's

very important that Virginia Tech can encourage some type 00:24:00of, I don't know if

it's a wellness test but to see where you're standing. Because sometimes people

don't understand that they're going through stress. It's just actually hit them

full force. So before I came to [Virginia] Tech I still don't consider myself an

anxious person, but there's been times where I was really stressed out because I

was doing a lot. But my body will tell me I was doing a lot by loss of appetite,

or whenever I did eat I couldn't stomach down the food.

Ren: Yeah.

Lorraine: So just getting rid of that stigma of ignoring yourself, just because

you are physically fit doesn't mean you are mentally fit. I feel it's more

important to be mentally fit because then that navigates and controls everything

else that you do. So I would really like Virginia Tech to push everyone at least

once a year to do some type of wellness assessment, because it is a big change,

especially if you're someone who is maybe coming out of state. You're an only

child. You're far away from home. Your idea of very very smart and you 00:25:00just got

your first F on a test some people don't know how to deal with that properly, so

I think that will be very cool if they can introduce some type of self-care

system or some type of take care of me system. I know they've incorporated new I

guess global classes, like people learning about other topics outside of their

required electives or their major.

Ren: Right. A lot of interdisciplinary stuff going on, which you kind of

positioned yourself as that when you were here, even before the cool thing to

do, right?

Lorraine: Yeah, you know, a little-- I was going to say a little hippie.

Ren: A little over-achiever maybe.

Lorraine: Yeah, maybe, or too excited, but I think that will be great as well.

Also, I know there's a museum, a history museum in the Goldschmidt End Center.

That was the first time I have ever been in that, and they said it's been there

since 2007. I did not have any idea. But just ways for current 00:26:00students to the

history that they had. Like the fact that I was here and I met the first Black

woman to come to [Virginia] Tech. Downstairs, the lady, there's a lady Ms.

Rhonda, she is secretary in the MPS Office, the first Black secretary hired by

Virginia Tech. And her husband is the first Black quarterback at Virginia Tech.

Just all these different firsts, like it will be nice to let the mainstream

public know that you're walking around amongst history, or you're creating

history yourself.

Ren: Right. Just interviews like this we're creating history and this is going

in a special collection, so fifty years from now our grandchildren can listen to

about how good this university is and maybe they will come here too, so we'll

see. Is there anything you would like to add or felt I should have asked or

anything you want to 00:27:00 include?

Lorraine: Thirty minutes is such a short time.

Ren: Yeah, it really is, and we could have went really in-depth, but I wanted to

hit the highlights. If there is anything you want to take a second and think,

anything else you would like to say.

Lorraine: I think another thing Virginia Tech should look at is really teaching

or really encouraging the students to engage with each other. I notice over my

times at [Virginia] Tech that people don't really say hi to each other, usually

just stay within the click or group that you're with. And college is the time

where you are supposed to be out of your comfort zone. This is the whole

environment for you to test your beliefs, for you to test your approaches and

deal with things. So I think Virginia Tech should focus more on trying to get

people to intermingle outside of their normal cliques.

Ren: Right, this has been wonderful. It's be 00:28:00short at to the point, but thank

you so much and I really appreciate it.

Lorraine: Thank you for listening.

[End of interview]