Student-Veteran Oral History Project
Katie Churchill Interview
Interviewer Name
Victoria Beck
Context for Interview
The interviewer is in a class that is studying how the experiences of the armed forces shapes the vets who are currently enrolled at USCA. The narrator volunteered for the interview.
Brief Description of Interview
The interview begins with the narrator’s early life. She grew up on farmland in Connecticut in the 1990’s. Her father has a background in the Navy. She graduated Enrico Fermi High school and joins the navy shortly after. After her 8 weeks of basic she trained to become a mechanic for the USS Nimitz and later USS John C. Stennis. Being one of two female mechanics on board she faced some discrimination. However, she wasn’t the type to give in and was able to prove her mechanic prowess were as good as the man on board. After her 6 year enlistment she returns to civilian life and enrolls in Trident Technical College in 2016. She transferred into USC Aiken in fall of 2018, with her farm-influenced love of horses being a factor in her choice of school. She is working to get her degree in nursing. After praises the VMSS for making her time as a student veteran on campus great; she heavily contributes her time in the navy as a major factor of her success at school. The interview then closes off with seeing herself being a successful nurse in the future who is still riding horses with a distant possibility of a child.
Part two: https://youtu.be/ay7V9TAuc_k
Part three: https://youtu.be/2RnPvqYB1go
Location of Interview
RPSEC
Duration of Interview
30 min
Date of Birth
1989
Birthplace
Hartford, CT
Gender
F
Dates of Service
2007-2013
Branch/Units of Service
Navy, nuclear mechanic; USS Stennis; USS Nimitz
Theaters/Locations of Service
Middle East, Persian Gulf
Highest Rank Attained
E-5
Major Course of Study
Nursing
Previous College/University Experience
Trident Technical College
Publication Info
2019.
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