WEBVTT 00:00:00.506 --> 00:00:06.746 A:middle [ Music ] 00:00:07.246 --> 00:00:08.126 A:middle >> You're listening to the 00:00:08.126 --> 00:00:11.566 A:middle "Valley College Connection" podcast where John Kawai 00:00:11.566 --> 00:00:14.676 A:middle and Scott Weigand, two Valley professors engage 00:00:14.676 --> 00:00:18.196 A:middle in a conversion about success with educators and students. 00:00:18.426 --> 00:00:20.966 A:middle Each week they'll sit down with a different guest to find 00:00:20.966 --> 00:00:24.886 A:middle out ways each of us have had to plan, persevere and overcome 00:00:24.886 --> 00:00:26.106 A:middle to be where we are now. 00:00:26.206 --> 00:00:29.186 A:middle The show will also highlight resources and services 00:00:29.306 --> 00:00:31.036 A:middle that are working to make a difference 00:00:31.036 --> 00:00:32.786 A:middle at Los Angeles Valley College. 00:00:33.056 --> 00:00:35.156 A:middle John and Scott believe that all of us 00:00:35.386 --> 00:00:37.816 A:middle and the college itself are a work in progress. 00:00:38.116 --> 00:00:40.036 A:middle And in this podcast, they'll explore 00:00:40.036 --> 00:00:43.166 A:middle on a more personal level how the community can work together 00:00:43.166 --> 00:00:45.936 A:middle to support each other as we move forward with our goal. 00:00:46.516 --> 00:00:48.626 A:middle [ Music ] 00:00:49.126 --> 00:00:51.876 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Today we're joined by Dr. Erika Endrijonas, 00:00:51.936 --> 00:00:53.786 A:middle president of Los Angeles Valley College. 00:00:53.906 --> 00:00:56.266 A:middle Thank you so much for finding time in your busy schedule 00:00:56.266 --> 00:00:57.256 A:middle and sitting down with us today. 00:00:57.596 --> 00:00:59.066 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Well, thank you so much for inviting me. 00:00:59.276 --> 00:01:01.306 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: We wanted to start off by finding 00:01:01.306 --> 00:01:04.876 A:middle out a little bit more about your backstory, what the pathway was 00:01:04.876 --> 00:01:06.866 A:middle like that ultimately led you here to Valley College. 00:01:07.416 --> 00:01:09.986 A:middle You can take the story as far back as you like 00:01:09.986 --> 00:01:12.626 A:middle and then we'll bring it up to the current and find 00:01:12.626 --> 00:01:14.366 A:middle out a little bit more about your thoughts and ideas 00:01:14.406 --> 00:01:15.976 A:middle for Valley College moving forward. 00:01:16.296 --> 00:01:16.996 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Okay, great. 00:01:16.996 --> 00:01:19.026 A:middle Well, I'm happy to share my story. 00:01:20.166 --> 00:01:23.796 A:middle So, I went to Cal State Northridge 00:01:23.796 --> 00:01:25.406 A:middle for my undergraduate in history. 00:01:25.406 --> 00:01:29.846 A:middle And while I was there I had a fabulous mentor who convinced me 00:01:29.846 --> 00:01:31.476 A:middle that it would be wonderful to me -- 00:01:31.686 --> 00:01:34.066 A:middle for me to continue on in the history field. 00:01:34.646 --> 00:01:38.286 A:middle And so, I applied and got into USC -- 00:01:38.526 --> 00:01:39.866 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: -- Can I pause you right there, 00:01:39.866 --> 00:01:40.436 A:middle just for a second? 00:01:40.436 --> 00:01:41.406 A:middle Sorry for the interruption. 00:01:41.406 --> 00:01:43.236 A:middle But, I just wanted to ask you because I did read something 00:01:43.236 --> 00:01:45.866 A:middle about that, about your mentor at CSUN 00:01:45.906 --> 00:01:47.706 A:middle and about how you were originally a journalism major. 00:01:47.886 --> 00:01:49.626 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: I was originally a journalism major. 00:01:49.826 --> 00:01:50.876 A:middle It's kind of funny. 00:01:50.876 --> 00:01:53.556 A:middle I went to CSUN thinking I was going 00:01:53.556 --> 00:01:55.476 A:middle to be the next Woodward and Bernstein. 00:01:55.556 --> 00:01:57.536 A:middle You know, I was all about that. 00:01:57.536 --> 00:02:03.866 A:middle And my first semester I took U.S. history 1865 00:02:04.166 --> 00:02:05.246 A:middle to the present. 00:02:05.246 --> 00:02:08.176 A:middle And I went to the class, I loved the faculty member 00:02:08.176 --> 00:02:11.666 A:middle and after the first test, he -- 00:02:11.666 --> 00:02:14.066 A:middle I got an A. He wrote in my bluebook A, 00:02:14.186 --> 00:02:15.486 A:middle could you please come see me. 00:02:15.486 --> 00:02:18.556 A:middle And you know, the really diligent student that I was, 00:02:18.556 --> 00:02:20.876 A:middle I thought, "Oh my gosh, what am I in trouble about now?" 00:02:21.066 --> 00:02:24.176 A:middle So, I went to talk to him and he said, 00:02:24.856 --> 00:02:26.386 A:middle "Please tell me you're a history major." 00:02:26.716 --> 00:02:29.006 A:middle And I said, "Well, no actually I'm in journalism major." 00:02:29.006 --> 00:02:30.216 A:middle And he said, "Well, I'm going 00:02:30.216 --> 00:02:31.796 A:middle to work really hard to change that." 00:02:32.506 --> 00:02:35.856 A:middle And he stayed in touch with me 00:02:35.856 --> 00:02:39.846 A:middle and I started taking more history classes thinking, "Well, 00:02:39.846 --> 00:02:41.446 A:middle okay maybe I'll do a history minor." 00:02:42.036 --> 00:02:45.566 A:middle But, then what happened was I started doing a little more work 00:02:45.566 --> 00:02:47.076 A:middle in journalism classes. 00:02:47.126 --> 00:02:50.666 A:middle And what pushed me over the edge was the news writing class. 00:02:51.376 --> 00:02:58.966 A:middle So, this was probably 1984 and I was taking a Monday night class 00:02:58.966 --> 00:03:04.376 A:middle and in order to leave that class every single Monday night, 00:03:04.756 --> 00:03:06.096 A:middle we had to write a story. 00:03:06.496 --> 00:03:09.026 A:middle So, we would be given a basic set of facts and we had 00:03:09.026 --> 00:03:12.286 A:middle to write a four or five paragraph story, turn it in, 00:03:12.706 --> 00:03:14.446 A:middle on typewriters, that's how old I am. 00:03:14.976 --> 00:03:18.236 A:middle And it was in that moment I thought, "Oh no, 00:03:18.236 --> 00:03:20.596 A:middle this is not for me," because I like to write but I don't 00:03:20.596 --> 00:03:21.626 A:middle like to write under pressure. 00:03:21.626 --> 00:03:21.916 A:middle So, that -- 00:03:21.916 --> 00:03:22.076 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: -- Right. 00:03:22.076 --> 00:03:23.196 A:middle Under that sort of deadline. 00:03:23.196 --> 00:03:24.356 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yeah, that deadline. 00:03:24.356 --> 00:03:26.026 A:middle And I thought, "Well, this isn't what I'm about." 00:03:26.336 --> 00:03:28.746 A:middle But, in the meantime at the same time I was taking all these 00:03:28.746 --> 00:03:30.416 A:middle history classes, I was loving it. 00:03:30.676 --> 00:03:32.636 A:middle So, of course then it's, well, what do you do 00:03:32.636 --> 00:03:33.576 A:middle with the history major? 00:03:34.026 --> 00:03:35.656 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Did you start to do some sort of intern 00:03:35.656 --> 00:03:37.486 A:middle or work at the Oviatt Library, did I read something 00:03:37.486 --> 00:03:38.626 A:middle about that too while you were there or? 00:03:38.626 --> 00:03:38.756 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: You know, 00:03:38.756 --> 00:03:41.606 A:middle actually I was a student assistant there for a year. 00:03:41.676 --> 00:03:43.456 A:middle I put myself through college. 00:03:43.656 --> 00:03:47.026 A:middle So, I needed a job, I was a student assistant 00:03:47.406 --> 00:03:53.396 A:middle and the university redid how they did human resources 00:03:53.396 --> 00:03:55.096 A:middle and suddenly the job I was doing 00:03:55.096 --> 00:03:58.976 A:middle as a student assistant became a half-time classified position 00:03:59.276 --> 00:04:00.946 A:middle which I competed for and got. 00:04:01.276 --> 00:04:05.086 A:middle So, my last three years at CSUN I actually was a half-time 00:04:05.086 --> 00:04:06.436 A:middle classified staff member. 00:04:06.866 --> 00:04:08.676 A:middle So, and I worked my classes around that. 00:04:08.876 --> 00:04:13.716 A:middle So, I either worked from 8:00 to 12:00 or 9:00 to 1:00 00:04:13.716 --> 00:04:16.226 A:middle and I figured out how to take all the classes I need. 00:04:16.276 --> 00:04:19.926 A:middle So, I got to interact a lot with faculty 00:04:20.216 --> 00:04:21.936 A:middle and I was a classified staff member. 00:04:21.936 --> 00:04:25.606 A:middle So, it was great, plus the biggest bonus, 00:04:25.906 --> 00:04:28.426 A:middle I had staff parking at CSUN. 00:04:28.426 --> 00:04:29.646 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: The coveted staff parking. 00:04:29.646 --> 00:04:30.736 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yes, it was awesome. 00:04:30.736 --> 00:04:33.426 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Well, what was it like when your professor, 00:04:33.426 --> 00:04:35.416 A:middle your history professor, you know, encouraged you 00:04:35.416 --> 00:04:37.616 A:middle to be a history major? 00:04:38.036 --> 00:04:39.636 A:middle You know, the -- sometimes we talk about, 00:04:39.636 --> 00:04:42.186 A:middle think about the impact that even, you know, passing comments 00:04:42.596 --> 00:04:45.016 A:middle that instructors have for students whether positive 00:04:45.016 --> 00:04:46.406 A:middle or negative have such an effect. 00:04:46.866 --> 00:04:49.096 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: It was huge, it was absolutely huge 00:04:49.136 --> 00:04:52.886 A:middle because he was so genuine in his excitement. 00:04:52.956 --> 00:04:56.446 A:middle And that he gleamed from reading, 00:04:56.446 --> 00:04:57.896 A:middle I think there were three mid-terms 00:04:57.896 --> 00:04:59.186 A:middle and one final in that class. 00:04:59.996 --> 00:05:03.626 A:middle By the time I had finished the class he said, "You know, 00:05:03.626 --> 00:05:09.046 A:middle you have a conceptual gift for history and I can tell 00:05:09.046 --> 00:05:10.816 A:middle by interacting with you, it'd be really great 00:05:10.816 --> 00:05:12.066 A:middle to have you as a history major." 00:05:12.116 --> 00:05:15.176 A:middle And I was kind of an unformed piece of clay at this point, 00:05:15.506 --> 00:05:17.416 A:middle especially because I really thought I was going 00:05:17.416 --> 00:05:18.646 A:middle to be a journalism major. 00:05:19.006 --> 00:05:24.906 A:middle So, he guided me down the path and at Northridge then 00:05:24.976 --> 00:05:27.796 A:middle and I think it's probably the case now, when you get 00:05:27.796 --> 00:05:31.366 A:middle into the upper level courses, you have a faculty advisor, 00:05:31.366 --> 00:05:33.196 A:middle so he was my faculty advisor. 00:05:33.676 --> 00:05:36.026 A:middle And as we started talking about well, 00:05:36.076 --> 00:05:38.936 A:middle I could go to graduate school and I could work on a master 00:05:38.986 --> 00:05:40.556 A:middle or a PhD, in a semester -- 00:05:40.886 --> 00:05:44.536 A:middle I think I was maybe in the second semester 00:05:44.536 --> 00:05:50.326 A:middle of my junior year, he had money to hire a teaching assistant 00:05:50.326 --> 00:05:52.126 A:middle to help him grade and to give a couple 00:05:52.126 --> 00:05:53.816 A:middle of guest lectures, well he hired me. 00:05:53.966 --> 00:06:00.326 A:middle And so, I had the opportunity to help with grading 00:06:00.616 --> 00:06:03.946 A:middle and we would do this really great norming sessions 00:06:03.946 --> 00:06:07.086 A:middle where we would come together, we'd all read three, you know, 00:06:07.166 --> 00:06:09.156 A:middle similar to what you were doing in English class. 00:06:09.236 --> 00:06:12.176 A:middle We did the same thing with the bluebooks and then I went home 00:06:12.176 --> 00:06:15.886 A:middle and I graded and then he double-checked and, you know, 00:06:15.886 --> 00:06:20.006 A:middle I was kind of hooked in a really probably sick way, I was hooked 00:06:20.076 --> 00:06:21.046 A:middle by getting to do that. 00:06:21.276 --> 00:06:25.126 A:middle But, then I also had the chance to lecture, to do guest lectures 00:06:25.126 --> 00:06:27.886 A:middle in the class which was really exciting for me. 00:06:27.886 --> 00:06:29.756 A:middle >> John Kawai: That's really generous for him to give to you. 00:06:29.986 --> 00:06:31.206 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: It was extremely generous. 00:06:31.206 --> 00:06:33.846 A:middle But, that's the kind of person he is, that's -- 00:06:34.086 --> 00:06:38.526 A:middle that, that's who he was as a faculty member, 00:06:38.526 --> 00:06:40.216 A:middle he still is that as a human being. 00:06:40.216 --> 00:06:42.096 A:middle He actually lives in Ojai not that far away 00:06:42.096 --> 00:06:43.446 A:middle from where I live in Cambria. 00:06:43.446 --> 00:06:46.766 A:middle So, I had lunch with him maybe four months ago. 00:06:46.766 --> 00:06:48.086 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Oh wow, still in touch with him. 00:06:48.086 --> 00:06:48.246 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yeah. 00:06:48.326 --> 00:06:49.296 A:middle Still in touch with him. 00:06:50.006 --> 00:06:56.046 A:middle So, I applied to USC and to do the joint masters 00:06:56.046 --> 00:06:57.996 A:middle and PhD program and history 00:06:57.996 --> 00:07:00.596 A:middle and he helped me through that process. 00:07:01.316 --> 00:07:04.846 A:middle And then, the most interesting thing happened 00:07:04.846 --> 00:07:06.616 A:middle in my first week in graduate school. 00:07:07.476 --> 00:07:12.186 A:middle I was a 20th century, I did 19th and 20th century U.S. history, 00:07:12.246 --> 00:07:15.596 A:middle and so we had to do a basic historiography class, 00:07:15.596 --> 00:07:17.406 A:middle but then we had to -- then we had 00:07:17.406 --> 00:07:19.156 A:middle to do a seminar in our own field. 00:07:19.306 --> 00:07:22.656 A:middle So, I was in the 20th century American history seminar 00:07:23.486 --> 00:07:27.036 A:middle and on the first day, the professor 00:07:27.036 --> 00:07:30.716 A:middle who ultimately was my dissertation chair, said, "Okay, 00:07:30.716 --> 00:07:32.306 A:middle everybody take a look around the room." 00:07:32.636 --> 00:07:33.986 A:middle So, we all looked around the room. 00:07:34.046 --> 00:07:39.556 A:middle He said, "10% of you are going to write for the other 90%. 00:07:39.906 --> 00:07:43.036 A:middle Meaning 10% of you are going to make it on the tenure track 00:07:43.726 --> 00:07:45.386 A:middle and the other 90% of you aren't." 00:07:45.936 --> 00:07:49.416 A:middle And I knew in that moment, I was part of the other 90%. 00:07:49.946 --> 00:07:51.556 A:middle Because I understood what it was 00:07:51.556 --> 00:07:54.656 A:middle to be a tenure track faculty member and I love history 00:07:54.656 --> 00:07:56.246 A:middle and I love teaching it. 00:07:56.876 --> 00:07:59.976 A:middle But, I also knew that I wasn't at heart a researcher. 00:07:59.976 --> 00:08:02.756 A:middle You know, I come into the graduate program, 00:08:03.626 --> 00:08:05.566 A:middle not really knowing what it would mean. 00:08:06.376 --> 00:08:08.716 A:middle So, what that meant was even though I was a teaching 00:08:08.716 --> 00:08:11.496 A:middle assistant for the first few years and doing all that, 00:08:11.496 --> 00:08:14.656 A:middle I had the opportunity to really think about, 00:08:14.936 --> 00:08:18.326 A:middle what is it about being in an educational institution? 00:08:18.326 --> 00:08:23.136 A:middle What is it about being deep in a disciple that appeals to me? 00:08:23.796 --> 00:08:29.216 A:middle And what I did was I spent the next few years figuring 00:08:29.216 --> 00:08:29.696 A:middle that out. 00:08:29.696 --> 00:08:33.376 A:middle And what happened was they didn't have any more history 00:08:33.376 --> 00:08:38.366 A:middle TA-ships, so I applied for and became an advisor in the College 00:08:38.366 --> 00:08:39.936 A:middle of Letters, Arts and Sciences. 00:08:40.406 --> 00:08:44.686 A:middle And I was an academic advisor, I advised 32 majors 00:08:44.756 --> 00:08:48.646 A:middle in the liberal arts as well as I was a pre-health advisor. 00:08:48.956 --> 00:08:51.196 A:middle So, I advised people who wanted to go to medical school, 00:08:51.196 --> 00:08:54.356 A:middle pharmacy school, dental, all of those. 00:08:54.426 --> 00:08:57.146 A:middle And I was hooked, because it wasn't just 00:08:57.146 --> 00:08:58.816 A:middle about what's happening in the classroom, 00:08:59.096 --> 00:09:00.196 A:middle but it was also about, 00:09:00.196 --> 00:09:02.166 A:middle how do you get students to the classroom? 00:09:02.386 --> 00:09:04.116 A:middle How do you help students make sense 00:09:04.116 --> 00:09:05.776 A:middle of what the requirements are? 00:09:05.986 --> 00:09:10.496 A:middle And I was really fascinated by it and I loved doing that work. 00:09:11.176 --> 00:09:12.116 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: And was that uncommon 00:09:12.116 --> 00:09:16.536 A:middle for other history grad students to have a position sort 00:09:16.536 --> 00:09:18.436 A:middle of outside of TA'ing for history to -- ? 00:09:18.576 --> 00:09:21.276 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- The only other position if they -- 00:09:21.276 --> 00:09:22.916 A:middle if people weren't on fellowship, 00:09:23.196 --> 00:09:26.726 A:middle I was not on fellowship I had terrible GRE scores, 00:09:26.986 --> 00:09:29.176 A:middle great grades, terrible test scores. 00:09:29.646 --> 00:09:34.596 A:middle For the most part they were history TA's or they were 00:09:34.596 --> 00:09:37.166 A:middle in the -- I also spent a couple of semesters 00:09:37.166 --> 00:09:38.896 A:middle in what was called SWAMS, 00:09:38.946 --> 00:09:40.946 A:middle the study of women and men in society. 00:09:41.526 --> 00:09:42.766 A:middle We were TA's there. 00:09:42.766 --> 00:09:45.436 A:middle There also was a program called thematic options 00:09:45.436 --> 00:09:47.486 A:middle which is their honors program. 00:09:47.726 --> 00:09:51.086 A:middle So, TA's were usually somewhere in there, but in terms 00:09:51.086 --> 00:09:55.096 A:middle of doing something specific or outside of teaching, 00:09:55.436 --> 00:09:57.006 A:middle it was very rare to do that. 00:09:57.206 --> 00:10:02.126 A:middle So, it was -- and they had done an experimental year 00:10:02.126 --> 00:10:05.926 A:middle of a history TA, who was a history major advisor 00:10:05.926 --> 00:10:06.976 A:middle and I did that for a year. 00:10:07.576 --> 00:10:08.076 A:middle So -- 00:10:08.196 --> 00:10:09.526 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- So, you didn't need a counseling degree 00:10:09.526 --> 00:10:09.956 A:middle to do that? 00:10:10.426 --> 00:10:12.816 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: No, because it wasn't about counseling. 00:10:12.816 --> 00:10:15.256 A:middle There was a counseling office for counseling, 00:10:15.256 --> 00:10:16.656 A:middle it was about advising. 00:10:16.986 --> 00:10:21.166 A:middle It was really about -- because similar to CSUN, 00:10:21.436 --> 00:10:25.166 A:middle once you finish those general education courses, 00:10:25.166 --> 00:10:26.356 A:middle once you've got into -- 00:10:26.656 --> 00:10:28.566 A:middle most people want to get into the cinema school, 00:10:28.566 --> 00:10:29.976 A:middle the business school, all of those. 00:10:30.336 --> 00:10:32.426 A:middle Once you've got into those specific schools, 00:10:32.686 --> 00:10:35.686 A:middle you had a department advisor, you had a school advisor. 00:10:35.986 --> 00:10:38.506 A:middle It wasn't about counseling, it was -- 00:10:38.856 --> 00:10:42.206 A:middle I think the most counseling I did was about probation, 00:10:42.446 --> 00:10:46.786 A:middle you know, where are your issues with probation, 00:10:47.096 --> 00:10:49.786 A:middle how many A's do you need to get out of probation? 00:10:49.786 --> 00:10:50.646 A:middle That kind of thing. 00:10:51.396 --> 00:10:52.786 A:middle >> John Kawai: And did your TA's come -- 00:10:52.786 --> 00:10:55.146 A:middle TA-ship come with a tuition waiver or -- ? 00:10:55.146 --> 00:10:55.826 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yes, it did. 00:10:55.826 --> 00:10:56.226 A:middle >> John Kawai: It did, wow. 00:10:56.226 --> 00:10:57.596 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, I did not pay tuition. 00:10:57.936 --> 00:11:00.366 A:middle Yes. And it was, you know, a meager stipend, 00:11:00.366 --> 00:11:01.716 A:middle but it was 20 hours a week 00:11:01.716 --> 00:11:04.026 A:middle and my tuition was waived, so that was huge. 00:11:04.096 --> 00:11:04.216 A:middle >> John Kawai: Right. 00:11:04.556 --> 00:11:07.806 A:middle Is that how it normally is for history PhD's? 00:11:08.496 --> 00:11:09.326 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: In -- at USC, yes. 00:11:09.326 --> 00:11:09.696 A:middle >> John Kawai: Okay. 00:11:10.046 --> 00:11:10.246 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: But, 00:11:10.456 --> 00:11:13.836 A:middle you had to have a TA-ship or a fellowship. 00:11:13.976 --> 00:11:15.956 A:middle There were some people who were paying full freight, 00:11:15.996 --> 00:11:17.406 A:middle thankfully I was not one of them. 00:11:18.176 --> 00:11:19.816 A:middle >> John Kawai: And what was your dissertation on? 00:11:19.816 --> 00:11:20.146 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: 00:11:20.146 --> 00:11:22.036 A:middle My dissertation was a cultural history 00:11:22.036 --> 00:11:25.226 A:middle of cookbooks from 1945 to 1960. 00:11:25.226 --> 00:11:28.766 A:middle And I was really focused on the post-war years. 00:11:29.336 --> 00:11:32.966 A:middle And well it was kind of funny 00:11:32.966 --> 00:11:35.736 A:middle because my dissertation chair was a Truman scholar, 00:11:35.736 --> 00:11:37.846 A:middle so he was very dedicated to the idea 00:11:37.846 --> 00:11:39.976 A:middle that I would study a particular president. 00:11:40.486 --> 00:11:43.376 A:middle So, his first idea was an administrative history 00:11:43.376 --> 00:11:44.786 A:middle of the Reagan administration, 00:11:44.786 --> 00:11:46.896 A:middle well that was not happening, I can tell you that. 00:11:47.566 --> 00:11:51.296 A:middle But, he also was ahead of his time. 00:11:51.296 --> 00:11:52.976 A:middle You know, I can remember him talking 00:11:52.976 --> 00:11:57.646 A:middle about how he looked forward to the day when -- and this was -- 00:11:57.646 --> 00:11:59.196 A:middle I remember having this conversation 00:11:59.196 --> 00:12:01.226 A:middle with him in maybe 1991. 00:12:01.616 --> 00:12:03.076 A:middle He looked forward to the day 00:12:03.136 --> 00:12:06.916 A:middle when students could submit a dissertation on video 00:12:07.746 --> 00:12:10.506 A:middle or in a digital form although he didn't use digital 00:12:10.506 --> 00:12:12.136 A:middle because we didn't really talk in those terms. 00:12:12.136 --> 00:12:13.006 A:middle >> John Kawai: Right, right. 00:12:13.006 --> 00:12:15.426 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, he was very interested 00:12:15.426 --> 00:12:16.846 A:middle because he was a Truman scholar, 00:12:16.846 --> 00:12:18.576 A:middle he was all about the post-war years, 00:12:18.696 --> 00:12:20.626 A:middle so I brought to him this idea. 00:12:20.626 --> 00:12:25.486 A:middle You know, I just happen to be looking at these cookbooks 00:12:25.746 --> 00:12:30.506 A:middle and it looks like there's a lot of prescriptive language 00:12:30.506 --> 00:12:33.416 A:middle within the cookbooks and the post-war years. 00:12:33.446 --> 00:12:35.886 A:middle You know, and studying the post-war years was all the rage 00:12:35.886 --> 00:12:36.776 A:middle in the '90s. 00:12:38.276 --> 00:12:40.966 A:middle There was so much going on in terms of middle class culture, 00:12:41.006 --> 00:12:43.936 A:middle the development of middle class culture and, you know, 00:12:44.046 --> 00:12:46.846 A:middle suburbia and fast foods. 00:12:46.916 --> 00:12:50.886 A:middle So, my dissertation was about what the mixed messages 00:12:50.976 --> 00:12:54.396 A:middle that cookbooks provided to women and men in the post-war years. 00:12:54.496 --> 00:12:58.356 A:middle You know, the idea was women needed to cook from scratch 00:12:58.356 --> 00:13:01.366 A:middle because cooking from scratch showed how dedicated you were, 00:13:01.746 --> 00:13:05.686 A:middle but it was right when fast -- when processed foods exploded. 00:13:06.216 --> 00:13:09.106 A:middle So, one of the interesting facts I have 00:13:09.106 --> 00:13:14.106 A:middle in my dissertation is the fact that in the 1940s 00:13:14.106 --> 00:13:19.486 A:middle or during World War II, cake mix manufactures changed the recipe 00:13:19.486 --> 00:13:22.536 A:middle of cake mix, so that all you needed to do was add water, 00:13:22.906 --> 00:13:24.476 A:middle and then you could do a mix. 00:13:25.146 --> 00:13:27.486 A:middle Mix it up, put it in the oven, boom, 00:13:27.486 --> 00:13:28.806 A:middle you have a home-baked cake. 00:13:28.806 --> 00:13:33.486 A:middle In the 1950s though, that wasn't considered cooking from scratch. 00:13:33.486 --> 00:13:37.636 A:middle So, what the manufacturers did was they extracted the eggs 00:13:37.636 --> 00:13:41.346 A:middle and the oil out of the mix, so that when you were making it 00:13:41.346 --> 00:13:45.906 A:middle at home, you had to put in oil, water, eggs to mix it up -- 00:13:45.906 --> 00:13:46.656 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- And it felt like cooking. 00:13:46.656 --> 00:13:47.686 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- and it felt like cooking. 00:13:47.686 --> 00:13:49.076 A:middle So, I have a chapter that -- 00:13:49.076 --> 00:13:51.786 A:middle and it's actually an article I wrote that's in a book called, 00:13:51.786 --> 00:13:54.826 A:middle you know, "Homemade Cooking from Scratch". 00:13:55.216 --> 00:13:59.076 A:middle And it's really kind of a mix of homemade 00:13:59.076 --> 00:14:00.556 A:middle and not really homemade. 00:14:01.046 --> 00:14:03.356 A:middle But, when you have all these producers out there, 00:14:03.356 --> 00:14:06.976 A:middle all these advertisements saying, "Get this frozen food, 00:14:07.006 --> 00:14:09.316 A:middle get this mix, get these canned vegetables." 00:14:09.706 --> 00:14:12.546 A:middle But, you have cookbook saying, "If you cook 00:14:12.546 --> 00:14:15.056 A:middle from scratch your family will be healthier, 00:14:15.316 --> 00:14:18.076 A:middle they will love you more and you'll be a better parent," 00:14:18.846 --> 00:14:20.736 A:middle really mixed messages going on. 00:14:20.736 --> 00:14:23.966 A:middle And one of my arguments was that the language 00:14:23.966 --> 00:14:28.916 A:middle in cookbooks was one of the ways that men and women returning 00:14:28.916 --> 00:14:32.926 A:middle from World War II were kind of brought back 00:14:32.926 --> 00:14:35.546 A:middle into civilized culture. 00:14:35.546 --> 00:14:39.656 A:middle It was inculcating values and really helping people adjust 00:14:40.056 --> 00:14:42.006 A:middle to that middle class life. 00:14:42.006 --> 00:14:44.946 A:middle Which was huge after the war, right, 00:14:44.946 --> 00:14:48.476 A:middle because women were working and they were doing all these things 00:14:48.476 --> 00:14:50.396 A:middle and then suddenly all of the messages, "Yeah. 00:14:50.736 --> 00:14:53.056 A:middle It's great you did that work, but now you need to go home 00:14:53.056 --> 00:14:54.596 A:middle and cook and this is how you're going 00:14:54.596 --> 00:14:56.056 A:middle to show value to your family." 00:14:56.196 --> 00:14:59.196 A:middle There's a complete shift in a very short period of time. 00:14:59.196 --> 00:14:59.966 A:middle >> John Kawai: I remember talking 00:14:59.966 --> 00:15:01.726 A:middle to like an Eastern European coworkers 00:15:01.726 --> 00:15:02.516 A:middle and how they would talk 00:15:02.516 --> 00:15:05.506 A:middle about that you just could not have women working just 00:15:05.506 --> 00:15:06.826 A:middle because they took all data cook. 00:15:07.366 --> 00:15:07.646 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Right. 00:15:07.756 --> 00:15:08.936 A:middle >> John Kawai: Just takes all data cook. 00:15:08.936 --> 00:15:12.096 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: And in the European tradition it's not 00:15:12.096 --> 00:15:14.036 A:middle about having a full refrigerator, 00:15:14.036 --> 00:15:15.736 A:middle they didn't have large refrigerators 00:15:15.736 --> 00:15:18.406 A:middle and we weren't making that many during the war because all 00:15:18.476 --> 00:15:21.726 A:middle of the materials were going to making war ammunitions. 00:15:22.246 --> 00:15:24.966 A:middle But, they just they didn't believe in that. 00:15:24.966 --> 00:15:26.436 A:middle So, it was partially about cooking, 00:15:26.596 --> 00:15:28.236 A:middle but it was also about procuring it. 00:15:28.626 --> 00:15:31.056 A:middle So, was going to the bakery to get the loaf of bread, 00:15:31.146 --> 00:15:33.466 A:middle going to the dairy to get the cheese and the milk, 00:15:33.466 --> 00:15:36.196 A:middle going and getting, you know, it was that -- is a different way. 00:15:36.196 --> 00:15:37.916 A:middle >> John Kawai: And it's funny we're going back to that now. 00:15:37.916 --> 00:15:38.736 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: And we're going back 00:15:38.736 --> 00:15:41.056 A:middle to the locally sourced, everything should be fresh. 00:15:41.056 --> 00:15:41.266 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Right. 00:15:41.266 --> 00:15:43.426 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: It's very different. 00:15:43.426 --> 00:15:46.376 A:middle And you know, there are -- I -- 00:15:46.866 --> 00:15:50.256 A:middle every type of vegan food I've ever had I really liked, 00:15:50.316 --> 00:15:51.936 A:middle but oh my goodness I don't think I -- 00:15:51.936 --> 00:15:53.226 A:middle I could never be a vegan cook. 00:15:53.226 --> 00:15:55.146 A:middle I don't have enough time, you know. 00:15:55.676 --> 00:15:55.816 A:middle >> John Kawai: Yeah. 00:15:55.816 --> 00:15:57.826 A:middle One of my coworkers when he -- 00:15:57.876 --> 00:16:01.246 A:middle when put paleo he says he feels great, he lost a ton of weight. 00:16:02.076 --> 00:16:04.696 A:middle And you know part of it was his wife didn't work. 00:16:04.896 --> 00:16:05.246 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Right. 00:16:05.246 --> 00:16:05.336 A:middle So -- 00:16:05.476 --> 00:16:05.726 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- Right? 00:16:05.726 --> 00:16:07.566 A:middle So, she could sit and she can do that and I said, 00:16:07.676 --> 00:16:11.046 A:middle "I believe in everything you're saying, but I work fulltime, 00:16:11.046 --> 00:16:12.926 A:middle my wife works fulltime, how do we get there?" 00:16:12.926 --> 00:16:15.376 A:middle And then he goes, "It's not that bad." 00:16:15.376 --> 00:16:18.216 A:middle And then his wife went to school fulltime and also got a lot 00:16:18.216 --> 00:16:18.906 A:middle of weight, I go, "What happened?" 00:16:18.906 --> 00:16:20.866 A:middle And like, "We're around macaroni and cheese." 00:16:20.866 --> 00:16:22.986 A:middle I mean it's just we've got to survive. 00:16:23.016 --> 00:16:24.476 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: That's why we're seeing the explosion 00:16:24.476 --> 00:16:28.446 A:middle of Blue Apron and you know, HelloFresh, all of those things 00:16:28.536 --> 00:16:32.966 A:middle because there is an appetite for lack of a better word out there 00:16:32.966 --> 00:16:34.816 A:middle for people to ha -- to cook at home 00:16:34.816 --> 00:16:37.686 A:middle and to have some pride in home cooking. 00:16:38.206 --> 00:16:41.766 A:middle But, there's also a recognition that we lead really busy lives, 00:16:41.806 --> 00:16:46.386 A:middle and so if something comes premeasured and with a recipe, 00:16:46.856 --> 00:16:49.256 A:middle I haven't use that because I prefer 00:16:49.256 --> 00:16:50.616 A:middle to go home and make my food. 00:16:50.616 --> 00:16:55.086 A:middle And what I try to do in my own family is I try 00:16:55.086 --> 00:16:58.986 A:middle to cook something on Saturdays that can be a leftover 00:16:58.986 --> 00:17:01.046 A:middle on Monday, something on Sunday 00:17:01.046 --> 00:17:02.946 A:middle that can be a leftover on Tuesday. 00:17:03.266 --> 00:17:06.666 A:middle Wednesday I often have board meetings, so my partner 00:17:06.696 --> 00:17:09.816 A:middle and our daughter, I don't even know what they do. 00:17:09.866 --> 00:17:12.886 A:middle It's not healthy whatever it is, they fend for themselves. 00:17:13.156 --> 00:17:19.466 A:middle And then Thursday I'm a big subscriber to "Cooking Light" 00:17:19.466 --> 00:17:21.626 A:middle and a couple of other cooking magazines. 00:17:21.896 --> 00:17:24.816 A:middle And they do have some really quick recipes that I can go home 00:17:24.816 --> 00:17:26.996 A:middle and whip something up pretty quickly 00:17:27.376 --> 00:17:28.846 A:middle and the Friday night it's pizza night. 00:17:28.896 --> 00:17:30.026 A:middle >> John Kawai: So, what do you think were the most 00:17:30.026 --> 00:17:31.166 A:middle significant cookbooks? 00:17:31.166 --> 00:17:32.886 A:middle I mean, off the top of my head is "Joy 00:17:32.886 --> 00:17:34.996 A:middle of Cooking", Julia Child. 00:17:35.596 --> 00:17:37.086 A:middle What else do you think was really important? 00:17:37.196 --> 00:17:39.236 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: You know, I actually would go back 00:17:39.476 --> 00:17:41.956 A:middle to Fannie Farmer and the Boston Cooking School. 00:17:42.676 --> 00:17:47.656 A:middle And Fannie Farmer was a home economist 00:17:47.736 --> 00:17:50.716 A:middle and she opened the Boston Cooking School 00:17:50.716 --> 00:17:53.656 A:middle in the 1880s, 1890s. 00:17:53.686 --> 00:17:55.386 A:middle It was actually a good design of it. 00:17:55.386 --> 00:17:59.076 A:middle It was more progressive in nature because the idea was 00:18:00.176 --> 00:18:03.456 A:middle that immigrants would acculturate better 00:18:03.526 --> 00:18:10.866 A:middle to the United States if they had shared food values, -- 00:18:10.866 --> 00:18:11.236 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: -- Through food, yeah. 00:18:11.236 --> 00:18:12.666 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- if they had good food. 00:18:12.666 --> 00:18:16.716 A:middle But, this was also the time in American history 00:18:16.716 --> 00:18:18.886 A:middle when there were anti-temperance movement. 00:18:18.886 --> 00:18:23.226 A:middle So, the idea is if women were cooking really great meals 00:18:23.226 --> 00:18:26.416 A:middle at home their husbands would not go to the bar and drink 00:18:26.416 --> 00:18:28.326 A:middle and they would not go to prostitutes 00:18:28.326 --> 00:18:29.786 A:middle and they would not, you know. 00:18:29.826 --> 00:18:33.306 A:middle And this is all happening during Victorianism, so you have this, 00:18:33.516 --> 00:18:37.036 A:middle you know, idea that women are chased and all this. 00:18:37.036 --> 00:18:39.526 A:middle So, it's all happening at exactly the same time. 00:18:40.016 --> 00:18:42.716 A:middle She's the person who standardized recipes. 00:18:43.146 --> 00:18:47.636 A:middle She's the one who developed the measurements, because prior 00:18:47.636 --> 00:18:52.616 A:middle to that if you look at a recipe for a cake and let's say 1850 00:18:52.616 --> 00:18:55.006 A:middle and I used to teach a class where I actually had students. 00:18:55.006 --> 00:18:57.816 A:middle I gave them a recipe and we had the class 00:18:57.816 --> 00:18:59.616 A:middle in a classroom that had a kitchen. 00:19:00.506 --> 00:19:02.446 A:middle And they -- I broke them up into groups and they had 00:19:02.446 --> 00:19:04.116 A:middle to make a cake using this recipe. 00:19:04.406 --> 00:19:08.586 A:middle You know, it's the two handfuls of flour, butter the size 00:19:08.586 --> 00:19:10.856 A:middle of an egg, you know that kind of that stuff. 00:19:10.856 --> 00:19:14.336 A:middle Well, Fannie Farmer recognized that you can't do that, 00:19:14.336 --> 00:19:15.926 A:middle you know you've got to have something 00:19:15.926 --> 00:19:17.626 A:middle that standardizes cooking. 00:19:17.626 --> 00:19:23.356 A:middle So, that's really the first real American cookbook in my mind. 00:19:23.356 --> 00:19:26.446 A:middle And there were some earlier the Elizabeth Beeton cookbooks, 00:19:26.446 --> 00:19:27.986 A:middle but they were mostly plagiarized 00:19:27.986 --> 00:19:29.846 A:middle from England and other countries. 00:19:30.486 --> 00:19:34.336 A:middle Then there were lots of -- then "The Settlement Cook Book" 00:19:34.336 --> 00:19:36.286 A:middle in the 1930s came about. 00:19:36.596 --> 00:19:40.156 A:middle And that actually was a project of a group of Jewish women 00:19:40.896 --> 00:19:44.356 A:middle who did it as a fundraiser for their temple. 00:19:44.726 --> 00:19:48.596 A:middle And that it was funny because the temple elders, mostly men, 00:19:48.596 --> 00:19:49.886 A:middle didn't want to help fund it. 00:19:49.886 --> 00:19:51.726 A:middle They said, "Nobody's going to buy a cookbook." 00:19:52.086 --> 00:19:54.116 A:middle It's one of the most successful cookbooks around. 00:19:54.346 --> 00:19:57.576 A:middle It brought in a little bit of the immigrant influence. 00:19:57.576 --> 00:20:00.576 A:middle So, it had some of the pieces of Fannie Farmer, 00:20:00.576 --> 00:20:02.166 A:middle the standardized measurements, 00:20:02.616 --> 00:20:03.976 A:middle as well as a lot of household tips. 00:20:04.996 --> 00:20:08.836 A:middle They did the same, but it was a little more developed. 00:20:09.246 --> 00:20:10.526 A:middle But, then it's really -- 00:20:10.526 --> 00:20:12.126 A:middle and then the '40s was a lot 00:20:12.126 --> 00:20:15.466 A:middle about quick cooking during the war and how do you cook 00:20:15.466 --> 00:20:16.836 A:middle when you're using margarine rather 00:20:16.836 --> 00:20:19.266 A:middle than butter, that kind of stuff. 00:20:19.266 --> 00:20:19.366 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Right. 00:20:19.366 --> 00:20:22.086 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: And then in the 1950s two things happened, 00:20:22.086 --> 00:20:24.996 A:middle you do have Betty Crocker, which is huge, which is huge 00:20:24.996 --> 00:20:26.036 A:middle and "The Joy of Cooking", 00:20:26.036 --> 00:20:29.316 A:middle those come about the same time, 1953, 1954. 00:20:29.966 --> 00:20:33.896 A:middle But, what you also have is the introduction and explosion 00:20:33.896 --> 00:20:37.006 A:middle of male cooking at home and that's through James Beard. 00:20:37.586 --> 00:20:45.166 A:middle And prior to James Beard becoming known for his expertise 00:20:45.196 --> 00:20:48.636 A:middle with cooking and introducing the idea that men can cook 00:20:48.636 --> 00:20:52.056 A:middle in the home, the idea was that if any male cooked 00:20:52.056 --> 00:20:55.226 A:middle at home they must be gay, they must be a feminine. 00:20:55.296 --> 00:20:58.486 A:middle That you know, the only people who cook in the home are women 00:20:58.486 --> 00:21:01.656 A:middle where men cook is in the manly kitchens 00:21:01.656 --> 00:21:02.776 A:middle of restaurants, you know. 00:21:03.076 --> 00:21:05.826 A:middle Because it was about showcasing and it was very much 00:21:05.826 --> 00:21:08.236 A:middle about expressing their masculinity. 00:21:09.606 --> 00:21:12.756 A:middle Beard comes along and he not only is, 00:21:12.866 --> 00:21:14.996 A:middle and if you've ever seen a picture of James Beard, 00:21:14.996 --> 00:21:17.146 A:middle I mean he was not little wilting flower. 00:21:17.146 --> 00:21:18.836 A:middle He was, you know, a manly man. 00:21:19.276 --> 00:21:24.846 A:middle But, he not only was very male, but he also introduced back 00:21:25.096 --> 00:21:28.906 A:middle into the American diet some strong flavors. 00:21:29.206 --> 00:21:33.536 A:middle We had really eschewed garlic and other flavors 00:21:33.536 --> 00:21:35.666 A:middle that were really strong are cooking in the '50s. 00:21:35.666 --> 00:21:36.966 A:middle If you look at, you know, basic -- 00:21:36.966 --> 00:21:37.366 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- It was terrible. 00:21:37.496 --> 00:21:38.856 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: It was terrible, is you know, 00:21:39.206 --> 00:21:42.086 A:middle condensed soups thrown together and things like, no. 00:21:42.086 --> 00:21:43.406 A:middle Beard was like, "No. 00:21:43.406 --> 00:21:45.796 A:middle You've got to get garlic, you have to get peppers, 00:21:45.796 --> 00:21:47.786 A:middle you have to do all of these things 00:21:47.786 --> 00:21:49.786 A:middle so you have this explosion." 00:21:49.786 --> 00:21:53.406 A:middle And this is you'll also see a lot of restaurants coming 00:21:53.406 --> 00:21:56.266 A:middle to life in the '50s and '60s partially 00:21:56.266 --> 00:21:58.446 A:middle because people have more money, they could go out to eat. 00:21:58.446 --> 00:22:01.056 A:middle They couldn't do it in the '30s and '40s, now they've got money, 00:22:01.056 --> 00:22:02.226 A:middle they can go out to eat. 00:22:04.056 --> 00:22:11.436 A:middle So, "The Joy of Cooking" is very much about a manual for women. 00:22:11.976 --> 00:22:14.486 A:middle Betty Crocker, very prescriptive. 00:22:14.486 --> 00:22:16.346 A:middle >> John Kawai: And those got a lot of errors in there, right? 00:22:16.406 --> 00:22:17.076 A:middle I mean, you couldn't -- 00:22:17.256 --> 00:22:17.876 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Oh, yeah. 00:22:18.146 --> 00:22:18.836 A:middle >> John Kawai: Just all over the -- 00:22:18.836 --> 00:22:20.996 A:middle I don't think they even cooked all the recipes. 00:22:21.426 --> 00:22:23.006 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: You know it's interesting that the -- 00:22:23.006 --> 00:22:26.456 A:middle I think that the people at General Mills would take issue 00:22:26.456 --> 00:22:28.536 A:middle with that statement because they were the ones 00:22:28.536 --> 00:22:32.406 A:middle who created Betty Crocker in the 1920s. 00:22:32.676 --> 00:22:36.236 A:middle I think where you have a problem is kind of if you watch any 00:22:36.236 --> 00:22:38.516 A:middle of the cooking shows, like if you watch "Rachael Ray", 00:22:38.516 --> 00:22:40.386 A:middle I love her cooking, I loved Emeril. 00:22:40.646 --> 00:22:42.406 A:middle But, the fact is they're using an oven -- 00:22:42.406 --> 00:22:44.226 A:middle they're using a stove that has more BTUs 00:22:44.226 --> 00:22:45.796 A:middle than your home stove does. 00:22:46.336 --> 00:22:50.286 A:middle So, when Rachael Ray can cook a chicken breast in 10 minutes 00:22:50.316 --> 00:22:51.996 A:middle by cooking it on both sides and it's 00:22:51.996 --> 00:22:53.426 A:middle like a really thick chicken breast 00:22:53.556 --> 00:22:55.476 A:middle and then you go home and you try to do it. 00:22:55.796 --> 00:22:56.486 A:middle Like, "Wow! 00:22:57.026 --> 00:22:58.046 A:middle Her chicken breast cooked -- 00:22:58.046 --> 00:23:00.236 A:middle " well, it's because she's got more BTUs than you do. 00:23:00.526 --> 00:23:03.376 A:middle And the same thing was true that there were things 00:23:04.476 --> 00:23:08.246 A:middle that just weren't true, the difference 00:23:08.286 --> 00:23:10.916 A:middle between the cast kitchens and the home cooking. 00:23:11.476 --> 00:23:14.406 A:middle But, what's interesting is that in cookbooks 00:23:14.406 --> 00:23:19.606 A:middle in the 1950s it was very clear that women -- 00:23:19.976 --> 00:23:21.816 A:middle the message was women didn't know how 00:23:21.816 --> 00:23:23.146 A:middle to cook before they got married, 00:23:23.196 --> 00:23:24.296 A:middle so they needed to learn how to cook. 00:23:24.296 --> 00:23:27.686 A:middle But, the message -- the further message was, 00:23:27.686 --> 00:23:29.666 A:middle "And you better not make any mistakes." 00:23:30.256 --> 00:23:34.676 A:middle And so, women there was a lot of pressure there that, you know, 00:23:34.746 --> 00:23:38.586 A:middle you -- so, you get some cookbooks said, "Women, 00:23:38.586 --> 00:23:40.716 A:middle you need to follow this direction." 00:23:40.746 --> 00:23:41.886 A:middle Literally the quote is, 00:23:42.216 --> 00:23:44.986 A:middle "You need to follow this recipe like it's an order. 00:23:45.256 --> 00:23:49.296 A:middle Because if you don't follow it word for word, you're going 00:23:49.296 --> 00:23:51.336 A:middle to have a mistake and then you're going to have 00:23:51.336 --> 00:23:52.796 A:middle to make it up to your family." 00:23:53.156 --> 00:23:54.626 A:middle And there are literally, you know, 00:23:54.626 --> 00:23:56.596 A:middle "This is how you can make it up to your family. 00:23:56.716 --> 00:23:59.466 A:middle You know, take the time, go make that chocolate cake 00:23:59.466 --> 00:24:01.156 A:middle and then they'll forgive you basically 00:24:01.156 --> 00:24:02.816 A:middle for not cooking the way you should have." 00:24:03.406 --> 00:24:06.326 A:middle Now, contrast that with men's cookbooks 00:24:06.326 --> 00:24:10.966 A:middle and men's cookbooks were all about, "Oh, you've got a flair. 00:24:10.966 --> 00:24:12.716 A:middle It's all about our artistry. 00:24:13.406 --> 00:24:14.746 A:middle You know, it's okay. 00:24:14.746 --> 00:24:18.756 A:middle You know, make mistake in the potatoes. 00:24:18.886 --> 00:24:22.186 A:middle And anything you make just from the top of your head is going 00:24:22.186 --> 00:24:24.166 A:middle to be better than anything a woman can make." 00:24:24.536 --> 00:24:28.156 A:middle And literally there were cookbooks where men said, 00:24:28.416 --> 00:24:31.316 A:middle "You know, I really thought about just keeping my wife 00:24:31.316 --> 00:24:34.106 A:middle as a pet and I'll just take over the home cooking," 00:24:34.526 --> 00:24:36.536 A:middle but then it was, "Oh, but I can't really do 00:24:36.536 --> 00:24:37.976 A:middle that because it's not masculine." 00:24:38.656 --> 00:24:38.746 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Right. 00:24:39.086 --> 00:24:41.766 A:middle >> John Kawai: So, how did this, all the study of your PhD 00:24:41.766 --> 00:24:44.796 A:middle and the whole process, how has it informed sort 00:24:44.796 --> 00:24:48.636 A:middle of what you do now and sort of who you are now? 00:24:48.896 --> 00:24:52.586 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, I think how it informs me is 00:24:53.016 --> 00:24:55.416 A:middle that I understand what it is 00:24:55.516 --> 00:24:57.196 A:middle that you all do in the classroom. 00:24:57.656 --> 00:25:01.356 A:middle I understand because I taught for close to 20 years 00:25:01.356 --> 00:25:04.676 A:middle as an adjunct mostly, so I know what it is to be an adjunct. 00:25:05.216 --> 00:25:08.646 A:middle I know what it is to develop a course 00:25:08.726 --> 00:25:10.926 A:middle from beginning to middle to end. 00:25:11.366 --> 00:25:15.856 A:middle I know what it is to, let's say you're teaching four classes 00:25:16.466 --> 00:25:17.716 A:middle and three of them are great. 00:25:17.786 --> 00:25:19.926 A:middle You know, the students come in, they're interested, 00:25:19.926 --> 00:25:20.906 A:middle you've got their attention. 00:25:20.906 --> 00:25:23.396 A:middle And then you have that one class 00:25:24.356 --> 00:25:27.436 A:middle where you just get a wicked combination of people 00:25:27.436 --> 00:25:30.976 A:middle and the feeling in the class is negative and all of that. 00:25:32.216 --> 00:25:35.966 A:middle So, how it informs me is that I understand 00:25:35.966 --> 00:25:39.226 A:middle that classrooms are not perfect 00:25:39.786 --> 00:25:43.666 A:middle and that there are things you can control as faculty that -- 00:25:43.666 --> 00:25:46.186 A:middle and then there are things that you can't control as faculty. 00:25:46.746 --> 00:25:48.656 A:middle Very important lesson that I learned 00:25:48.926 --> 00:25:52.856 A:middle from being an academic advisor, from being a faculty member is 00:25:52.856 --> 00:25:57.636 A:middle that a lot of times when there's a conflict between a faculty, 00:25:57.956 --> 00:26:00.436 A:middle when the student comes and tells you the story 00:26:00.466 --> 00:26:03.716 A:middle of what's happened, they usually leave out one key detail. 00:26:03.716 --> 00:26:06.976 A:middle And that key detail really makes a difference 00:26:06.976 --> 00:26:10.506 A:middle in what should happen in that particular instance. 00:26:10.566 --> 00:26:13.696 A:middle If you haven't had that experience in the classroom, 00:26:14.286 --> 00:26:17.876 A:middle I think it's really easy as an administrator to become myopic. 00:26:18.316 --> 00:26:20.806 A:middle It's easy to say, you know, "Oh, well. 00:26:20.906 --> 00:26:23.826 A:middle This must have happened, so you know, that's it." 00:26:23.926 --> 00:26:26.626 A:middle So, I think that informs it. 00:26:26.626 --> 00:26:29.856 A:middle And I think I have worked at institutions 00:26:29.856 --> 00:26:32.476 A:middle that were really well-run and I've worked at institutions 00:26:32.506 --> 00:26:34.026 A:middle that were not really well-run. 00:26:34.316 --> 00:26:37.846 A:middle So, I think I bring that understanding and getting back 00:26:37.986 --> 00:26:39.966 A:middle to the fact that I was a classified staff member 00:26:39.966 --> 00:26:42.556 A:middle at Northridge, so I know what it is to be classified. 00:26:42.916 --> 00:26:45.816 A:middle I was a student worker, I put myself through college. 00:26:45.856 --> 00:26:49.136 A:middle When I lived in the dorms I was so poor that I -- 00:26:49.506 --> 00:26:52.196 A:middle but I had a typewriter and I typed 90 words a minute. 00:26:52.996 --> 00:26:56.146 A:middle I literally went to every floor of the dorm and I said, "So, 00:26:56.146 --> 00:26:58.166 A:middle do you need any papers types?" 00:26:58.166 --> 00:27:02.126 A:middle And we had little kitchenettes and I said -- 00:27:02.196 --> 00:27:04.116 A:middle and they'd say, "Oh, I can't really pay you." 00:27:04.116 --> 00:27:05.726 A:middle And I'd say, "Well, do you have any butter? 00:27:06.396 --> 00:27:07.396 A:middle Do you have any eggs? 00:27:07.396 --> 00:27:09.546 A:middle Do you have flour?" 00:27:09.706 --> 00:27:10.346 A:middle You know, I was willing -- 00:27:10.346 --> 00:27:11.086 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- A barter system. 00:27:11.086 --> 00:27:11.906 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yeah, exactly. 00:27:11.906 --> 00:27:14.186 A:middle I was willing to type for food or ingredient 00:27:14.236 --> 00:27:15.746 A:middle so I could cook, definitely. 00:27:16.006 --> 00:27:17.866 A:middle But, that informs me because well, 00:27:17.866 --> 00:27:20.726 A:middle I didn't go to a community college, I know what it is 00:27:20.726 --> 00:27:22.006 A:middle to put yourself through college. 00:27:22.076 --> 00:27:22.196 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Right. 00:27:22.626 --> 00:27:25.966 A:middle >> John Kawai: So, after -- so, you finish your dissertation 00:27:25.966 --> 00:27:28.026 A:middle at USC, and then what happened after that? 00:27:28.066 --> 00:27:29.496 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Can I interject one question here? 00:27:29.566 --> 00:27:30.936 A:middle Just was fascinated by your dissertation 00:27:30.936 --> 00:27:32.986 A:middle and what you were sharing about that. 00:27:32.986 --> 00:27:33.926 A:middle >> John Kawai: I am too. 00:27:34.086 --> 00:27:34.726 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: And the insight that gave -- 00:27:34.726 --> 00:27:36.576 A:middle provides into culture and history. 00:27:36.776 --> 00:27:39.006 A:middle How did your chair respond to that you know, 00:27:39.006 --> 00:27:40.496 A:middle if he had a particular idea initially 00:27:40.496 --> 00:27:41.906 A:middle about here's what should be studied, this is sort 00:27:41.906 --> 00:27:43.406 A:middle of the Reagan administration and you come at it 00:27:43.406 --> 00:27:44.586 A:middle from a completely angle? 00:27:44.856 --> 00:27:45.456 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: He loved it. 00:27:45.616 --> 00:27:45.916 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Yeah. 00:27:45.916 --> 00:27:47.116 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: He absolutely loved it. 00:27:47.306 --> 00:27:51.286 A:middle But, I'll tell you a funny story was my second member 00:27:51.286 --> 00:27:54.586 A:middle on my committee was a very well-known women's historian. 00:27:55.206 --> 00:27:58.286 A:middle And she was the second, I think she always wished 00:27:58.286 --> 00:27:59.646 A:middle that she had been the chair, 00:27:59.646 --> 00:28:04.626 A:middle but I wanted the 20th century history be the focus. 00:28:04.756 --> 00:28:08.856 A:middle And she was not the easiest person to work with. 00:28:09.046 --> 00:28:12.946 A:middle And I wrote most of my dissertation when we -- 00:28:12.986 --> 00:28:15.406 A:middle after we had moved to Vermont because my partner wanted 00:28:15.406 --> 00:28:16.606 A:middle to practice law again. 00:28:17.066 --> 00:28:20.486 A:middle And this was in the days where we didn't send documents 00:28:20.486 --> 00:28:21.756 A:middle on the internet or whatever. 00:28:21.756 --> 00:28:24.916 A:middle So, I was sending my chapters back and forth 00:28:24.916 --> 00:28:27.226 A:middle in Priority Mail envelopes. 00:28:27.336 --> 00:28:32.626 A:middle And I would get these chapters in my dissertation 00:28:32.626 --> 00:28:35.946 A:middle and they'd be marked up by that second member of my dissertation 00:28:35.946 --> 00:28:37.696 A:middle and you know, be like, "Oh, 00:28:37.696 --> 00:28:40.256 A:middle finally a good point," and you know. 00:28:40.496 --> 00:28:42.376 A:middle So but, the thing is -- 00:28:42.376 --> 00:28:42.546 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- See, 00:28:42.546 --> 00:28:45.466 A:middle it's a Republican conservative college, right? 00:28:45.466 --> 00:28:45.876 A:middle I mean, wasn't -- 00:28:45.876 --> 00:28:47.576 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- Well, it wasn't about that actually. 00:28:47.576 --> 00:28:49.246 A:middle It really wasn't about that. 00:28:49.246 --> 00:28:50.396 A:middle Here's what it turned out to be. 00:28:50.396 --> 00:28:53.996 A:middle So, I was writing about what it was to be a homemaker 00:28:53.996 --> 00:28:57.576 A:middle in the 1950s and into the '60s. 00:28:57.576 --> 00:29:00.606 A:middle Well, this particular faculty member was a homemaker 00:29:00.606 --> 00:29:02.376 A:middle in the early '60s. 00:29:02.876 --> 00:29:06.686 A:middle And so, in some ways she interpreted my dissertation 00:29:06.686 --> 00:29:10.596 A:middle as being an indictment of her identity. 00:29:10.696 --> 00:29:11.966 A:middle So, that was one piece of it. 00:29:12.026 --> 00:29:15.216 A:middle But, the second piece that I figured out, so when I went 00:29:15.216 --> 00:29:19.196 A:middle to the -- my defense and she -- 00:29:19.196 --> 00:29:21.456 A:middle and it got to her point to ask me questions. 00:29:21.896 --> 00:29:23.106 A:middle She said, "Well, you know, 00:29:23.106 --> 00:29:25.636 A:middle I know that we've had our struggles while you've written 00:29:25.636 --> 00:29:26.406 A:middle your dissertation." 00:29:26.406 --> 00:29:27.786 A:middle I said, "You know, we have." 00:29:27.786 --> 00:29:29.726 A:middle I said, "But, I figured out what it's about." 00:29:29.996 --> 00:29:30.826 A:middle She said, "You have?" 00:29:31.236 --> 00:29:35.026 A:middle I said, "It's because we have two different world views 00:29:35.356 --> 00:29:39.316 A:middle and they very much reflect the cookbooks that we both cherish." 00:29:39.916 --> 00:29:41.346 A:middle She looks at me she says, "Why?" 00:29:41.496 --> 00:29:44.536 A:middle And I said, "Well, because I cherish Fannie Farmer. 00:29:44.926 --> 00:29:47.076 A:middle I like the way that the recipes are organized 00:29:47.106 --> 00:29:49.706 A:middle where it tells you exactly what you need ahead of time 00:29:49.706 --> 00:29:51.346 A:middle and then it gives you the instruction." 00:29:51.806 --> 00:29:53.606 A:middle I said, "But, your favorite cookbook is 00:29:53.676 --> 00:29:54.536 A:middle "The Joy of Cooking". 00:29:54.996 --> 00:29:58.376 A:middle And the way "The Joy of Cooking" is organizes every recipe, 00:29:58.376 --> 00:30:02.026 A:middle it's you know, take these two items then do this, 00:30:02.276 --> 00:30:03.976 A:middle then these two items then do this." 00:30:04.116 --> 00:30:07.956 A:middle I said, "You and I look at the world in very different ways. 00:30:08.486 --> 00:30:12.286 A:middle And so, because of that when you were reading my dissertation you 00:30:12.286 --> 00:30:15.086 A:middle were reading it from the vantage point of "The Joy of Cooking" 00:30:15.466 --> 00:30:17.846 A:middle and I wrote it from the vantage point of Fannie Farmer." 00:30:18.166 --> 00:30:18.586 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Whoa! 00:30:18.586 --> 00:30:21.726 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: And she said, "I never thought about it 00:30:22.116 --> 00:30:23.896 A:middle that way, but you're right, that's exactly it." 00:30:23.896 --> 00:30:24.826 A:middle >> John Kawai: Now, did you say 00:30:24.826 --> 00:30:26.726 A:middle that before the defense or after the defense? 00:30:26.726 --> 00:30:27.316 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: During the defense. 00:30:27.446 --> 00:30:28.156 A:middle >> John Kawai: Wow! 00:30:28.236 --> 00:30:28.966 A:middle That tough. 00:30:28.966 --> 00:30:29.146 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yeah. 00:30:29.366 --> 00:30:29.636 A:middle But -- 00:30:29.636 --> 00:30:30.416 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- That is tough. 00:30:30.416 --> 00:30:31.096 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- you know, she -- 00:30:31.096 --> 00:30:31.846 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- That's pretty good. 00:30:31.936 --> 00:30:33.986 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- she was very complimentary walking 00:30:33.986 --> 00:30:36.816 A:middle into it, but we were -- I think she was trying to make light 00:30:36.816 --> 00:30:40.706 A:middle of the fact that it had not been an easy path back and forward, 00:30:40.706 --> 00:30:41.756 A:middle backwards and forwards. 00:30:41.796 --> 00:30:44.716 A:middle But, overall it turned out great. 00:30:44.756 --> 00:30:47.636 A:middle But, it was like an epiphany like you know -- 00:30:47.636 --> 00:30:49.646 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: So, it was a fascinating insight to have 00:30:49.646 --> 00:30:52.266 A:middle on the spot or to be able to articulate that and sort of make 00:30:52.266 --> 00:30:53.686 A:middle that analysis, which is really cool. 00:30:53.686 --> 00:30:53.866 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yeah, yeah. 00:30:54.016 --> 00:30:55.226 A:middle So, it's all about cookbook. 00:30:55.226 --> 00:30:56.196 A:middle >> John Kawai: For people to understand 00:30:56.196 --> 00:30:59.256 A:middle that when you do your defense there's no guarantee 00:30:59.256 --> 00:31:00.826 A:middle that they say that that's a dissertation. 00:31:00.826 --> 00:31:01.106 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Correct. 00:31:01.316 --> 00:31:01.646 A:middle That is correct. 00:31:01.646 --> 00:31:04.646 A:middle >> John Kawai: So, when you go in there and you make a comment 00:31:05.436 --> 00:31:08.336 A:middle and if they don't agree they'll make you spend a year 00:31:08.336 --> 00:31:08.946 A:middle defending it. 00:31:09.156 --> 00:31:09.406 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yes. 00:31:09.846 --> 00:31:11.356 A:middle >> John Kawai: "Well, if that's what you feel, 00:31:11.356 --> 00:31:12.536 A:middle then why don't you write that up? 00:31:12.536 --> 00:31:14.626 A:middle I'll see you again the next year," you know. 00:31:14.626 --> 00:31:17.506 A:middle And you have these moments and the defense where you know 00:31:17.506 --> 00:31:19.846 A:middle like I'm going to have to challenge something, 00:31:19.976 --> 00:31:21.136 A:middle they're going to challenge something. 00:31:21.186 --> 00:31:21.416 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Right. 00:31:21.416 --> 00:31:22.896 A:middle >> John Kawai: And either you cower 00:31:22.896 --> 00:31:24.406 A:middle and hope they don't give you another year, 00:31:24.766 --> 00:31:26.936 A:middle or you go against or you agree. 00:31:27.396 --> 00:31:30.936 A:middle But, there's always that fear that you do something 00:31:31.036 --> 00:31:33.216 A:middle that adds another year to your life, to your sentence. 00:31:33.216 --> 00:31:34.456 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: And for me, you know, 00:31:34.456 --> 00:31:39.606 A:middle anthropology was my outside field and anthropologist I had 00:31:39.606 --> 00:31:43.426 A:middle on the committee was just determined 00:31:43.426 --> 00:31:45.956 A:middle that my dissertation would include a discussion 00:31:45.956 --> 00:31:46.716 A:middle of Foucault. 00:31:47.106 --> 00:31:50.466 A:middle And so, I included Foucault even though I didn't agree 00:31:50.466 --> 00:31:55.126 A:middle with her analysis of how it would fit into my topic. 00:31:55.176 --> 00:31:56.766 A:middle But, you know what, I did it, 00:31:56.766 --> 00:31:59.646 A:middle we talked about it during the defense and I passed, 00:31:59.646 --> 00:32:00.966 A:middle you know so that was great. 00:32:02.506 --> 00:32:02.696 A:middle But -- 00:32:02.696 --> 00:32:04.006 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: So, I stopped you John, you were -- 00:32:04.006 --> 00:32:04.396 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- No, no. 00:32:04.766 --> 00:32:08.016 A:middle So, I just want to get you out of here in 20 minutes. 00:32:08.016 --> 00:32:08.156 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Okay. 00:32:08.156 --> 00:32:08.836 A:middle Not a problem. 00:32:08.836 --> 00:32:09.846 A:middle >> John Kawai: I guess the next question was, 00:32:09.846 --> 00:32:11.246 A:middle so what happened after USC? 00:32:11.446 --> 00:32:12.786 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, this is what happened. 00:32:12.786 --> 00:32:14.076 A:middle So, I was writing my dissertation, 00:32:14.076 --> 00:32:16.786 A:middle we moved to Vermont because my partner wanted to practice law 00:32:16.896 --> 00:32:20.106 A:middle and I got a job -- and we were on the border, 00:32:20.106 --> 00:32:22.116 A:middle the very border of Vermont. 00:32:22.506 --> 00:32:26.816 A:middle And I got a job in New Hampshire at Granite State College 00:32:26.816 --> 00:32:29.546 A:middle which is for adults going back to college. 00:32:29.546 --> 00:32:32.166 A:middle It's one of the four-state colleges there in the system. 00:32:33.036 --> 00:32:35.946 A:middle And I did what I call cradle to grave advising. 00:32:36.376 --> 00:32:41.156 A:middle So, I went out into the community, I recruited students, 00:32:41.236 --> 00:32:43.476 A:middle I brought them in, I evaluated their transcript, 00:32:43.476 --> 00:32:46.666 A:middle I did their financial aid, I package them, 00:32:46.666 --> 00:32:49.486 A:middle I did their career counseling, their advising and I, 00:32:49.906 --> 00:32:51.306 A:middle you know, graduated them. 00:32:51.596 --> 00:32:53.426 A:middle And I did that for about three and a half years 00:32:53.426 --> 00:32:57.106 A:middle and it was both associate degrees and bachelor's degrees. 00:32:57.426 --> 00:33:00.056 A:middle Plus one of the other state colleges in the system, 00:33:00.056 --> 00:33:05.516 A:middle Plymouth State College has an MBA program that they offered 00:33:05.516 --> 00:33:08.836 A:middle in our region and they held the classes at Dartmouth College, 00:33:08.836 --> 00:33:10.656 A:middle which was just a stone's for throw 00:33:10.656 --> 00:33:11.826 A:middle from where the college was. 00:33:12.266 --> 00:33:13.516 A:middle So, I did that for three 00:33:13.516 --> 00:33:16.046 A:middle and a half years while I was writing my dissertation. 00:33:16.766 --> 00:33:19.796 A:middle But, once I finished it there wasn't really any place else 00:33:19.796 --> 00:33:24.396 A:middle for me to go at that college and my partner had decided 00:33:24.396 --> 00:33:26.106 A:middle that didn't want to practice law anymore. 00:33:26.616 --> 00:33:30.036 A:middle So, I applied for and I took a job down in Atlanta 00:33:30.036 --> 00:33:34.286 A:middle at Oglethorpe University and I was the assistant dean 00:33:34.286 --> 00:33:37.036 A:middle and director of their evening and weekend program 00:33:37.036 --> 00:33:38.686 A:middle for adults going back to college. 00:33:39.036 --> 00:33:41.216 A:middle And it was a great time to be in Atlanta. 00:33:41.216 --> 00:33:45.536 A:middle It was in the mid '90s, all the corporations there were just 00:33:45.586 --> 00:33:46.876 A:middle swimming in money. 00:33:47.126 --> 00:33:49.136 A:middle I mean, UPS, FedEx, CNN, Coca-Cola. 00:33:49.136 --> 00:33:49.896 A:middle >> John Kawai: Those are the Turner years. 00:33:49.896 --> 00:33:50.926 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: I mean it was great, right? 00:33:52.146 --> 00:33:54.226 A:middle They were all paying for their employees to go back 00:33:54.336 --> 00:33:55.296 A:middle and get their degrees. 00:33:55.716 --> 00:33:58.416 A:middle So, even though Oglethorpe University was expensive 00:33:58.606 --> 00:34:01.266 A:middle for the evening program, it was $1,000 a class, 00:34:01.886 --> 00:34:03.316 A:middle these corporations were paying. 00:34:03.846 --> 00:34:08.236 A:middle And so, I worked there for about a year and a half. 00:34:08.236 --> 00:34:10.666 A:middle And, you know, the great thing about Atlanta is 00:34:10.666 --> 00:34:13.846 A:middle that it has a lot that's like Los Angeles, 00:34:14.056 --> 00:34:15.356 A:middle the food's really great. 00:34:15.486 --> 00:34:17.626 A:middle Anywhere I can live where macaroni 00:34:17.626 --> 00:34:20.186 A:middle and cheese is considered a vegetable, love it. 00:34:20.856 --> 00:34:23.086 A:middle But, we missed LA, so I we -- 00:34:23.246 --> 00:34:25.726 A:middle well I applied for and got a job back 00:34:25.726 --> 00:34:28.676 A:middle in Los Angeles running the Los Angeles campus 00:34:28.676 --> 00:34:29.876 A:middle of the Union Institute. 00:34:29.876 --> 00:34:32.536 A:middle Which was again an institution for adults going back 00:34:32.566 --> 00:34:35.946 A:middle to colleges, a non-profit that had its home institution 00:34:35.946 --> 00:34:39.006 A:middle in Cincinnati, was one of the original university 00:34:39.006 --> 00:34:42.086 A:middle without walls institutions in the '70s. 00:34:42.786 --> 00:34:46.156 A:middle And I was there for a couple of years, but then one 00:34:46.156 --> 00:34:48.856 A:middle of my faculty got a job at Santa Barbara City College 00:34:48.896 --> 00:34:51.116 A:middle and he said, "You know I think you really like it here." 00:34:51.306 --> 00:34:54.866 A:middle For I applied for a job there and I wound up -- 00:34:54.866 --> 00:34:57.306 A:middle I was first the assistant dean of career 00:34:57.446 --> 00:35:00.796 A:middle and technical education and then I became the full dean. 00:35:00.796 --> 00:35:04.116 A:middle I was there for nine years, eight of those as the dean. 00:35:05.126 --> 00:35:07.636 A:middle While I was there I went to what's known 00:35:07.636 --> 00:35:10.246 A:middle as the Asilomar Women's Leadership Conference. 00:35:10.766 --> 00:35:14.486 A:middle And that is put on by the community College League 00:35:14.486 --> 00:35:19.016 A:middle for California and it is a weekend or a few days 00:35:19.376 --> 00:35:22.876 A:middle where a bunch of presidents and chancellors, female presidents 00:35:22.876 --> 00:35:26.226 A:middle and chancellors come and talk to women in the system 00:35:26.226 --> 00:35:27.816 A:middle about what it is to be a leader. 00:35:27.816 --> 00:35:34.066 A:middle And that was in 2002 and I remember thinking, "Well, 00:35:34.066 --> 00:35:34.976 A:middle wait a minute, I can do that. 00:35:35.706 --> 00:35:36.406 A:middle This is great. 00:35:36.406 --> 00:35:38.826 A:middle I love the system, I love what the California Community College 00:35:38.826 --> 00:35:39.706 A:middle system does." 00:35:40.246 --> 00:35:43.506 A:middle And so, I set out from that point forward to figure out, 00:35:43.506 --> 00:35:44.646 A:middle well how am I going to get there? 00:35:44.646 --> 00:35:47.206 A:middle What do I need to do to get there? 00:35:47.206 --> 00:35:47.756 A:middle So -- 00:35:47.876 --> 00:35:48.286 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: -- And had 00:35:48.286 --> 00:35:49.866 A:middle that not been a goal prior to that? 00:35:49.866 --> 00:35:51.866 A:middle Was it this sort of conference that framed it or -- 00:35:51.866 --> 00:35:52.146 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- Yeah. 00:35:52.456 --> 00:35:55.496 A:middle You know how you focus on one goal for a while? 00:35:55.496 --> 00:35:55.563 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Yeah. 00:35:55.563 --> 00:35:56.426 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, I was really focused 00:35:56.426 --> 00:35:59.286 A:middle on becoming a full dean, so I became a full dean 00:35:59.286 --> 00:36:01.926 A:middle at Santa Barbara City College and then, 00:36:02.356 --> 00:36:03.616 A:middle what I should be thinking about? 00:36:03.616 --> 00:36:05.006 A:middle I've always been goal-directed. 00:36:05.256 --> 00:36:05.466 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Right. 00:36:06.036 --> 00:36:08.786 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So -- and you know sometimes you think, 00:36:08.786 --> 00:36:12.076 A:middle "Oh, sometimes the vice president or president seems off 00:36:12.076 --> 00:36:14.006 A:middle in this universe," and you don't really even -- 00:36:14.326 --> 00:36:16.646 A:middle you can't necessarily see yourself from that you know. 00:36:16.646 --> 00:36:17.046 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Yeah. 00:36:17.416 --> 00:36:17.576 A:middle Right. 00:36:17.776 --> 00:36:19.596 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, it was really helpful. 00:36:19.656 --> 00:36:21.856 A:middle So, what I did was I got really involved. 00:36:21.916 --> 00:36:26.226 A:middle I was the secretary and then the regional vice president 00:36:26.226 --> 00:36:27.706 A:middle for the Community College, 00:36:28.086 --> 00:36:30.216 A:middle California Community College Association 00:36:30.216 --> 00:36:32.386 A:middle of Occupational Educators for seven years. 00:36:33.086 --> 00:36:37.326 A:middle And I was on the System Advisory Committee on curriculum. 00:36:37.326 --> 00:36:40.576 A:middle I was also the curriculum dean at Santa Barbara City College. 00:36:41.076 --> 00:36:44.976 A:middle I oversaw 28 programs spread out over three divisions, 00:36:44.976 --> 00:36:47.876 A:middle culinary school, the children center 00:36:47.876 --> 00:36:49.696 A:middle and I wrote all the state and federal grants. 00:36:49.876 --> 00:36:54.106 A:middle So, I got this really wonderful experience and then -- 00:36:54.346 --> 00:36:55.946 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- So, for someone who wanted to sort 00:36:55.946 --> 00:36:58.386 A:middle of follow your career path your recommendation would be just 00:36:58.746 --> 00:37:01.506 A:middle broad experience, volunteer at a lot of things that are 00:37:01.506 --> 00:37:03.416 A:middle in the large organizations? 00:37:03.706 --> 00:37:05.036 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yes, absolutely. 00:37:05.316 --> 00:37:08.656 A:middle And be interested in what's happening statewide, absolutely. 00:37:08.656 --> 00:37:12.646 A:middle Because when I then became the executive vice president 00:37:12.646 --> 00:37:16.156 A:middle at Oxnard College, where I was the chief instructional officer, 00:37:16.416 --> 00:37:18.156 A:middle the chief student services officer 00:37:18.486 --> 00:37:20.556 A:middle and the accreditation liaison officer. 00:37:20.836 --> 00:37:24.126 A:middle When I went to my first CIO conference I knew half 00:37:24.126 --> 00:37:26.946 A:middle of the people in the room, because I'd already met them 00:37:26.946 --> 00:37:29.616 A:middle and worked with them in that statewide leadership role. 00:37:29.676 --> 00:37:30.916 A:middle >> John Kawai: Right, right. 00:37:30.996 --> 00:37:33.186 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, I was at Santa Barbara for nine years 00:37:33.366 --> 00:37:36.166 A:middle and then I got a job at Oxnard and when I got 00:37:36.166 --> 00:37:40.186 A:middle to Oxnard they were about nine months away from having 00:37:40.186 --> 00:37:43.266 A:middle to submit their comprehensive evaluation for their visit 00:37:43.266 --> 00:37:46.106 A:middle in 2010 and they hadn't written a word, not one. 00:37:46.106 --> 00:37:47.026 A:middle >> John Kawai: Oh, my gosh. 00:37:47.446 --> 00:37:49.556 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, it was a baptism 00:37:49.556 --> 00:37:51.706 A:middle by fire there and it was awesome. 00:37:51.976 --> 00:37:52.306 A:middle >> John Kawai: Right. 00:37:52.646 --> 00:37:54.726 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: And I was there for five years 00:37:54.726 --> 00:37:57.846 A:middle and while I was there the college went 00:37:57.846 --> 00:38:00.216 A:middle through accreditation we were initially put on warning, 00:38:00.216 --> 00:38:02.026 A:middle which I figure it was going to happen based 00:38:02.026 --> 00:38:03.856 A:middle on the things I saw when I got there. 00:38:04.336 --> 00:38:06.126 A:middle Ultimately, taken off warning. 00:38:06.836 --> 00:38:15.256 A:middle And I was on the statewide Chief Student Services Officers Board, 00:38:15.666 --> 00:38:17.386 A:middle I was the president-elect for a year 00:38:17.386 --> 00:38:21.046 A:middle and then I was the president of the CSSO statewide. 00:38:21.436 --> 00:38:23.746 A:middle And that was from '13/'14 00:38:23.946 --> 00:38:27.976 A:middle when the state was implementing SB 1456. 00:38:27.976 --> 00:38:30.266 A:middle So, I had an opportunity to be 00:38:30.266 --> 00:38:33.046 A:middle in those monthly consultation council meetings 00:38:33.046 --> 00:38:36.476 A:middle in Sacramento talking about what does this really mean 00:38:36.476 --> 00:38:40.286 A:middle and how are we going to do this, and it was a great experience. 00:38:40.386 --> 00:38:44.196 A:middle But, again, I was really active and I was also briefly 00:38:44.196 --> 00:38:46.886 A:middle on the Chief Instructional Officers Board too. 00:38:47.566 --> 00:38:47.796 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Wow. 00:38:48.296 --> 00:38:49.036 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: And I served 00:38:49.036 --> 00:38:50.636 A:middle on accreditation visiting team. 00:38:50.806 --> 00:38:57.386 A:middle So, I -- so after -- so my first couple of years the president, 00:38:57.516 --> 00:39:00.686 A:middle Richard Duran at Oxnard College, you know, 00:39:01.236 --> 00:39:04.386 A:middle just sort of stood back wanted to see what I did. 00:39:04.386 --> 00:39:06.196 A:middle And then in my evaluation at the end 00:39:06.196 --> 00:39:07.746 A:middle of the second year he said, "Okay. 00:39:08.446 --> 00:39:10.596 A:middle You've really made a name for yourself, now we're going 00:39:10.596 --> 00:39:11.456 A:middle to spend the next couple 00:39:11.456 --> 00:39:13.506 A:middle of years getting you ready to be a president." 00:39:13.586 --> 00:39:13.886 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Wow! 00:39:14.056 --> 00:39:15.636 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Which is why I feel so strongly 00:39:15.636 --> 00:39:19.246 A:middle about professional development, because he was dedicated to it 00:39:19.296 --> 00:39:24.076 A:middle and he did everything he could, including encouraging me 00:39:24.166 --> 00:39:31.026 A:middle to apply for and his willingness to pay $10,000 for me to go 00:39:31.026 --> 00:39:33.526 A:middle to the Harvard Institute for Educational Management. 00:39:34.096 --> 00:39:38.606 A:middle I got accepted to that in the fall of 2013 for the summer 00:39:38.606 --> 00:39:45.466 A:middle of 2014 and I got this job in June of 2014. 00:39:46.096 --> 00:39:49.046 A:middle And when I got the job he came into my office and he said, 00:39:49.446 --> 00:39:51.816 A:middle "I'm really happy that you got it," he said, "But, 00:39:51.816 --> 00:39:54.276 A:middle you need to get in August 1st date 00:39:54.316 --> 00:39:55.866 A:middle because you are going to Harvard." 00:39:56.856 --> 00:39:59.646 A:middle And so, this is some -- so I literary went to Harvard 00:40:00.046 --> 00:40:03.436 A:middle and I came back to work at Oxnard for like five more days 00:40:03.436 --> 00:40:06.336 A:middle and then I was here, but it meant so much for him for me 00:40:06.336 --> 00:40:06.976 A:middle to have that experience. 00:40:07.156 --> 00:40:07.456 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Right. 00:40:07.846 --> 00:40:09.116 A:middle >> John Kawai: What was it that you learned 00:40:09.116 --> 00:40:10.406 A:middle at Harvard that was meaningful? 00:40:10.796 --> 00:40:12.506 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Well, you know, it was a great time for me 00:40:12.506 --> 00:40:16.346 A:middle to be there because it's very hard to leave a position, 00:40:16.466 --> 00:40:19.206 A:middle because you're thinking about all the things 00:40:19.246 --> 00:40:21.906 A:middle that you've worked on and all the things that you've done 00:40:22.166 --> 00:40:24.096 A:middle and you want to make sure that they go forward. 00:40:24.796 --> 00:40:26.196 A:middle But, then the prospect 00:40:26.196 --> 00:40:29.596 A:middle of becoming a president is, "Oh, my gosh. 00:40:29.596 --> 00:40:30.306 A:middle What do I do?" 00:40:30.376 --> 00:40:32.806 A:middle So, the first -- so, it was a two-week seminar. 00:40:33.106 --> 00:40:35.346 A:middle So, the first week I spent stressing 00:40:35.346 --> 00:40:37.046 A:middle about what I was leaving behind 00:40:37.286 --> 00:40:39.056 A:middle and was everybody going to be okay? 00:40:39.536 --> 00:40:42.256 A:middle But, by the second week because of everything I was learning 00:40:42.256 --> 00:40:45.616 A:middle about how do you enter into a presidency, how do you enter 00:40:45.616 --> 00:40:49.356 A:middle into leadership role, I was able to turn my mind 00:40:49.766 --> 00:40:53.746 A:middle and really focus on, "You know what, in two weeks I'm going 00:40:53.746 --> 00:40:55.276 A:middle to be starting my new job. 00:40:55.526 --> 00:40:58.736 A:middle What does it mean to enter as a president?" 00:40:59.336 --> 00:41:02.286 A:middle So, it was really important the timing of it. 00:41:02.406 --> 00:41:05.506 A:middle And one of the more memorable things 00:41:05.506 --> 00:41:08.756 A:middle that happened was Lawrence Bacow who just became the president 00:41:08.756 --> 00:41:12.956 A:middle of Harvard, he was one of the faculty who taught there. 00:41:12.956 --> 00:41:16.566 A:middle He had been the president of MIT -- Tufts. 00:41:16.566 --> 00:41:21.516 A:middle He said, "As a president even if things are tough, 00:41:21.516 --> 00:41:23.506 A:middle even if you don't have money, even if you have all 00:41:23.506 --> 00:41:26.476 A:middle of these obstacles, you have 00:41:26.536 --> 00:41:28.536 A:middle to keep your institutional moving forward. 00:41:28.586 --> 00:41:31.976 A:middle Because if you're not, you're not leading, you're presiding. 00:41:31.976 --> 00:41:35.006 A:middle And even though you're called the president you're supposed 00:41:35.006 --> 00:41:38.166 A:middle to be a leader, so you job is to push things forward." 00:41:38.746 --> 00:41:43.266 A:middle And that was really -- that resonated with me. 00:41:43.266 --> 00:41:44.716 A:middle Because it's really easy to say, "Oh, 00:41:44.716 --> 00:41:47.526 A:middle well we can't possibly do this because we don't have money 00:41:47.526 --> 00:41:49.826 A:middle or -- you know, the district won't let us. 00:41:49.926 --> 00:41:51.096 A:middle You know, you can't -- 00:41:51.096 --> 00:41:53.256 A:middle that can't be the reason not to move forward. 00:41:54.066 --> 00:41:55.616 A:middle >> John Kawai: Because I remember before you're hired I'm 00:41:55.616 --> 00:41:56.546 A:middle trying to figure it out. 00:41:56.616 --> 00:41:57.996 A:middle You know, I'm just talking to a different people 00:41:57.996 --> 00:42:00.066 A:middle in your interview and I go, "What do you think?" 00:42:00.066 --> 00:42:02.616 A:middle I go, "She -- I think she gets it." 00:42:02.616 --> 00:42:05.876 A:middle You know, there's kind of this buzz and kind of excitement. 00:42:06.226 --> 00:42:08.826 A:middle Like we were really hopeful, you just never know. 00:42:08.826 --> 00:42:09.356 A:middle And I remember -- 00:42:09.356 --> 00:42:09.956 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- You never know. 00:42:10.106 --> 00:42:10.726 A:middle >> John Kawai: You never know. 00:42:10.726 --> 00:42:13.466 A:middle And then you -- I remember you came in, you walked up 00:42:13.466 --> 00:42:14.506 A:middle and you said, "All right. 00:42:14.506 --> 00:42:16.296 A:middle We've got to get 40 people on every class." 00:42:16.386 --> 00:42:18.216 A:middle And I remember thinking, "Finally, 00:42:18.616 --> 00:42:19.836 A:middle someone said the hard thing." 00:42:19.836 --> 00:42:22.786 A:middle Like we have to pay our bills, we have to get 40 people 00:42:22.786 --> 00:42:24.986 A:middle in the class, that's the job, right? 00:42:24.986 --> 00:42:25.236 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yeah. 00:42:25.326 --> 00:42:26.736 A:middle >> John Kawai: Then I remember the next two people walked 00:42:26.736 --> 00:42:30.116 A:middle up there and said, "I can't teach 40 people," and I thought, 00:42:30.556 --> 00:42:31.776 A:middle "That's going to be that." 00:42:31.776 --> 00:42:33.736 A:middle That is the fight of the school of saying 00:42:34.226 --> 00:42:38.876 A:middle that an institution has to be able to be financially secure. 00:42:38.996 --> 00:42:39.306 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Right. 00:42:39.306 --> 00:42:41.356 A:middle >> John Kawai: And once we're financially secure, 00:42:41.486 --> 00:42:43.156 A:middle we can make real decisions after that. 00:42:43.276 --> 00:42:44.016 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Exactly. 00:42:44.166 --> 00:42:49.096 A:middle And I think the other issue too is I came at a really tough time 00:42:49.216 --> 00:42:55.486 A:middle for Valley, because you know the debt and because you were known 00:42:55.486 --> 00:42:57.606 A:middle in the district as a debtor college. 00:42:57.606 --> 00:42:58.566 A:middle Trust me, this was -- 00:42:58.566 --> 00:43:01.576 A:middle I was reminded of this the entire my first few years. 00:43:02.286 --> 00:43:04.846 A:middle There was a perception that you weren't doing things the right 00:43:04.846 --> 00:43:08.986 A:middle way and then nothing -- that you were irresponsible before I got 00:43:08.986 --> 00:43:11.076 A:middle here and maybe I was irresponsible too. 00:43:11.076 --> 00:43:13.456 A:middle You know, there's that whole ethos out there 00:43:13.456 --> 00:43:16.206 A:middle that you're not doing things the right way. 00:43:16.736 --> 00:43:21.196 A:middle And there was a similar feeling when I got to Oxnard. 00:43:21.196 --> 00:43:24.346 A:middle You know, they were the smallest youngest college in the district 00:43:24.346 --> 00:43:27.456 A:middle and they had lots of financial problems and all of this. 00:43:27.576 --> 00:43:31.016 A:middle And there was a tendency I felt when I got there for people 00:43:31.146 --> 00:43:34.556 A:middle to feel like they were victims and I just wouldn't have it. 00:43:34.556 --> 00:43:37.966 A:middle You know, when they'd say, "Oh, the allocation model is unfair." 00:43:37.966 --> 00:43:40.146 A:middle I was like, "Not necessarily." 00:43:40.146 --> 00:43:42.546 A:middle In fact I sent that allocation model to one 00:43:42.546 --> 00:43:45.706 A:middle of my finance faculty at Santa Barbara and I said, 00:43:45.776 --> 00:43:47.786 A:middle "Can you look at this and tell me if it's fair?" 00:43:48.026 --> 00:43:50.446 A:middle He wrote back and said, "It's absolutely fair, 00:43:50.446 --> 00:43:52.496 A:middle it's about the choices the college has made." 00:43:53.096 --> 00:43:56.336 A:middle So, what I was able to do at Oxnard was to say, "Folks, 00:43:56.706 --> 00:44:00.276 A:middle if you act like a victim people will treat you like a victim. 00:44:00.326 --> 00:44:01.306 A:middle We're not going to do that. 00:44:01.546 --> 00:44:03.916 A:middle What we're going to do is figure out what it is we need 00:44:03.916 --> 00:44:05.186 A:middle to do to move forward." 00:44:05.406 --> 00:44:07.426 A:middle And so, I brought that here too, you know. 00:44:08.006 --> 00:44:12.666 A:middle So, if the district try to say that we were a debtor college 00:44:12.666 --> 00:44:15.416 A:middle because we weren't doing the right thing, I would say, "Well, 00:44:15.726 --> 00:44:18.006 A:middle let's take a look at what that allocation model does, 00:44:18.366 --> 00:44:20.386 A:middle let's take a look at what the growth model does. 00:44:20.606 --> 00:44:21.696 A:middle Maybe we should -- " you know, 00:44:21.696 --> 00:44:23.886 A:middle and I just started asking questions. 00:44:23.886 --> 00:44:26.146 A:middle And you know, I'm not alone in it. 00:44:26.296 --> 00:44:30.716 A:middle I think people should approach leadership from perspective. 00:44:30.716 --> 00:44:32.886 A:middle But, that was how I entered thinking -- 00:44:33.206 --> 00:44:35.166 A:middle and you know, there's a lot of pressure on me because some 00:44:35.166 --> 00:44:37.026 A:middle of the news articles that came out, right, 00:44:37.026 --> 00:44:39.926 A:middle when I got the job was, "She's an accreditation expert. 00:44:39.926 --> 00:44:40.016 A:middle Well, -- 00:44:40.016 --> 00:44:40.816 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: -- I remember reading that. 00:44:40.886 --> 00:44:41.146 A:middle Yeah. 00:44:41.146 --> 00:44:41.213 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: -- 00:44:41.213 --> 00:44:43.506 A:middle okay, then I better get this college off warning, 00:44:43.506 --> 00:44:44.806 A:middle now I better, you know. 00:44:44.806 --> 00:44:45.916 A:middle And so -- 00:44:45.916 --> 00:44:48.206 A:middle >> John Kawai: -- I mean, just from the outside, I came -- 00:44:48.206 --> 00:44:49.946 A:middle I think you came in around my six or, 00:44:50.266 --> 00:44:51.686 A:middle fifth year or sixth year. 00:44:52.496 --> 00:44:55.136 A:middle And so, I wasn't really in -- 00:44:55.136 --> 00:44:57.826 A:middle I was in meetings but never spoke out in meetings. 00:44:58.506 --> 00:45:01.126 A:middle And then just from the background you could just sort 00:45:01.126 --> 00:45:03.786 A:middle of see that that part needed to get tightened up. 00:45:03.836 --> 00:45:04.896 A:middle And I thought that was -- 00:45:05.416 --> 00:45:07.116 A:middle I think two things are really important. 00:45:07.116 --> 00:45:08.606 A:middle One is we tighten it up financially 00:45:08.666 --> 00:45:10.686 A:middle or it just make sense now the choices we make. 00:45:10.946 --> 00:45:12.196 A:middle Right? And I think the other one too 00:45:12.196 --> 00:45:13.946 A:middle that I really appreciate it is 00:45:13.946 --> 00:45:16.216 A:middle that I think you make a real effort to try 00:45:16.216 --> 00:45:18.996 A:middle to let us know what's going on with emails and conversations. 00:45:19.316 --> 00:45:20.766 A:middle Whereas before I think -- 00:45:21.086 --> 00:45:24.416 A:middle I remember you and I went to a meeting before with the Senate 00:45:24.496 --> 00:45:28.726 A:middle and we're going to have them support us in terms of tutoring 00:45:28.836 --> 00:45:30.666 A:middle or something like that. 00:45:30.666 --> 00:45:32.996 A:middle We sat there for an hour with them listing everything 00:45:32.996 --> 00:45:35.936 A:middle that the president -- that they had asked the president 00:45:36.146 --> 00:45:38.336 A:middle to do that didn't happen. 00:45:38.336 --> 00:45:39.646 A:middle And then we went up there like, "Well, 00:45:39.646 --> 00:45:41.646 A:middle could you give us unanimous support?" 00:45:41.646 --> 00:45:42.126 A:middle They were like, "Yeah. 00:45:42.126 --> 00:45:44.186 A:middle Sure, we'll just add that to the list of other things 00:45:44.186 --> 00:45:45.356 A:middle that we know aren't going to happen." 00:45:45.356 --> 00:45:45.596 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Yeah. 00:45:45.656 --> 00:45:48.816 A:middle >> John Kawai: And I think that sense got turned around that -- 00:45:49.576 --> 00:45:51.856 A:middle like for me as an employee I want to be managed. 00:45:51.956 --> 00:45:54.116 A:middle I want to know what the goal of the school is, 00:45:54.286 --> 00:45:55.816 A:middle I want to know what you're trying to do. 00:45:55.956 --> 00:45:56.146 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Right. 00:45:56.146 --> 00:45:57.426 A:middle >> John Kawai: I want to know what you'd 00:45:57.426 --> 00:45:58.146 A:middle like to get out of me. 00:45:58.786 --> 00:46:00.386 A:middle And I think -- I mean that's hard to do 00:46:00.386 --> 00:46:01.986 A:middle when you have what, 1,000 employees. 00:46:02.356 --> 00:46:05.586 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: It is and I think the other issue is 00:46:06.156 --> 00:46:11.626 A:middle that I think it comes down to who you are and how you lead. 00:46:11.626 --> 00:46:15.096 A:middle And for me I'm, you know, what you see is what you get. 00:46:15.336 --> 00:46:16.666 A:middle I'm not very formal. 00:46:16.956 --> 00:46:22.186 A:middle And when people are formal and they lead through position, 00:46:22.256 --> 00:46:25.206 A:middle you know they lead through the, well I'm the president 00:46:25.206 --> 00:46:26.386 A:middle and I make the decision. 00:46:26.766 --> 00:46:29.816 A:middle I think I can count on one hand the number 00:46:29.816 --> 00:46:32.796 A:middle of times I may have said that in the last four, 00:46:33.226 --> 00:46:34.606 A:middle almost four and a half years. 00:46:34.926 --> 00:46:38.166 A:middle Because that's not a good place to be to say, 00:46:38.166 --> 00:46:40.126 A:middle "This is why I'm going to make the decision." 00:46:40.126 --> 00:46:42.236 A:middle No, that's not why you're going to make the decision. 00:46:42.726 --> 00:46:46.996 A:middle What a president needs to do is evaluate what should happen, 00:46:47.376 --> 00:46:50.036 A:middle what could happen and what's in the best interest 00:46:50.036 --> 00:46:53.846 A:middle for the college and for the faculty, staff and students. 00:46:53.896 --> 00:46:55.916 A:middle That's what we need to do. 00:46:56.336 --> 00:47:00.716 A:middle And the -- and you know, Chancellor Rodriguez is fond 00:47:00.716 --> 00:47:02.826 A:middle of saying to the presidents that he wants us 00:47:02.826 --> 00:47:05.896 A:middle to reclaim our role as educators. 00:47:06.056 --> 00:47:07.726 A:middle I always say, "Hooray! 00:47:07.926 --> 00:47:09.916 A:middle Reclaim our role as educators." 00:47:09.916 --> 00:47:11.436 A:middle And you know, he's right, because half 00:47:11.436 --> 00:47:14.306 A:middle of what I do is just explain stuff. 00:47:14.306 --> 00:47:17.386 A:middle You know, I feel like before I got here people didn't 00:47:17.386 --> 00:47:18.596 A:middle understand the budget. 00:47:18.886 --> 00:47:20.376 A:middle And I feel like they thought 00:47:20.516 --> 00:47:24.016 A:middle that a budget committee was the committee that sat 00:47:24.016 --> 00:47:25.796 A:middle down and created a budget. 00:47:26.046 --> 00:47:29.256 A:middle Well, no. We have people who do that for a living who do 00:47:29.256 --> 00:47:30.856 A:middle that in administrative services. 00:47:31.326 --> 00:47:35.446 A:middle What the budget committee does is look at what's in the budget, 00:47:35.706 --> 00:47:37.856 A:middle offer some feedback on the budget. 00:47:38.296 --> 00:47:40.416 A:middle But, if I'm not there explaining it 00:47:41.106 --> 00:47:44.486 A:middle or if the vice president isn't there explaining it how is 00:47:44.486 --> 00:47:45.896 A:middle anybody going to be informed? 00:47:46.326 --> 00:47:49.986 A:middle And that's why I try to send out at least one email a month try 00:47:49.986 --> 00:47:51.776 A:middle to give updates on what's happening. 00:47:52.186 --> 00:47:56.176 A:middle And I have the office hours, you know, and I'm around. 00:47:56.176 --> 00:47:59.116 A:middle And so, if people have questions they can come by 00:47:59.116 --> 00:48:02.906 A:middle and if I'm there I'll answer the questions, and if I can I will. 00:48:02.906 --> 00:48:05.286 A:middle And that's what I think leadership is. 00:48:05.556 --> 00:48:07.366 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: And that's definitely been a huge change 00:48:07.366 --> 00:48:11.186 A:middle from our previous experiences here at the college. 00:48:11.896 --> 00:48:14.606 A:middle You mentioned just a minute ago what a college should do, 00:48:14.916 --> 00:48:16.776 A:middle could do and what's in the best interest of a college. 00:48:16.776 --> 00:48:18.856 A:middle And in your time here in the four 00:48:18.856 --> 00:48:20.666 A:middle and half years we've seen the college move 00:48:20.666 --> 00:48:22.676 A:middle out of the $2 million deficit and move away 00:48:22.676 --> 00:48:24.016 A:middle from the sanction and accreditation. 00:48:24.436 --> 00:48:28.266 A:middle And then we're right now at the moment of time 00:48:28.356 --> 00:48:29.906 A:middle of guided pathways being implemented 00:48:29.906 --> 00:48:32.416 A:middle of AB 705 coming onboard. 00:48:32.416 --> 00:48:35.136 A:middle And so, what are your thoughts in terms of should, 00:48:35.136 --> 00:48:37.166 A:middle could and best interest of the college sort of now? 00:48:37.586 --> 00:48:39.386 A:middle As we look ahead, what are we looking at? 00:48:39.566 --> 00:48:40.966 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Well, you know Scott, 00:48:40.966 --> 00:48:43.916 A:middle I kind of like the way that you introduce some concepts 00:48:43.916 --> 00:48:45.946 A:middle on opening day when you talked about, 00:48:45.946 --> 00:48:48.706 A:middle you know, Aspen Prize 2024. 00:48:49.156 --> 00:48:51.926 A:middle You know, I think we need to think in terms 00:48:51.926 --> 00:48:53.456 A:middle of what our long-term goal is, 00:48:53.456 --> 00:48:55.256 A:middle not that we should be chasing a prize. 00:48:55.676 --> 00:49:00.196 A:middle But, we've got so many great things happening here 00:49:00.646 --> 00:49:05.416 A:middle and even though I know people have a lot of initiative fatigue 00:49:05.636 --> 00:49:09.266 A:middle because we have really been on this initiative treadmill. 00:49:10.046 --> 00:49:14.376 A:middle We already have a lot of those things in place, we just need 00:49:14.376 --> 00:49:18.146 A:middle to point them in the direction of AB 705 and guided pathways. 00:49:18.636 --> 00:49:23.326 A:middle And I think if we keep at our central core function, 00:49:23.446 --> 00:49:25.926 A:middle you know if we keep it in the central area it's 00:49:25.926 --> 00:49:29.016 A:middle about student success, the beginning, the middle 00:49:29.136 --> 00:49:32.516 A:middle and the end, I think we're going to do what's right for students. 00:49:32.906 --> 00:49:35.396 A:middle I think what we're going to see 00:49:35.396 --> 00:49:38.506 A:middle in the coming years is we're going to have to be better 00:49:38.506 --> 00:49:40.866 A:middle about technology, because the people coming 00:49:40.866 --> 00:49:42.816 A:middle to us are better about technology. 00:49:43.266 --> 00:49:49.666 A:middle Even if they're not Gen Z, even you know, my generation, 00:49:49.666 --> 00:49:54.206 A:middle I'm not that old, but I have adopted all the technology. 00:49:54.206 --> 00:49:58.646 A:middle So, and we have a larger demographic of students who are 00:49:58.646 --> 00:50:02.006 A:middle above 25 versus under 25, so we're going to need 00:50:02.006 --> 00:50:02.976 A:middle to be able to respond to that. 00:50:03.826 --> 00:50:04.626 A:middle >> John Kawai: Right, right. 00:50:04.626 --> 00:50:04.696 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: 00:50:04.696 --> 00:50:10.266 A:middle Guided pathways I think is an opportunity to help students 00:50:10.266 --> 00:50:12.296 A:middle with choices, because we've got a lot 00:50:12.296 --> 00:50:13.946 A:middle of people who've been over managed. 00:50:14.606 --> 00:50:16.426 A:middle The millennials, the Gen Z's, 00:50:16.536 --> 00:50:18.676 A:middle I mean I have a 13-year-old, trust me. 00:50:19.206 --> 00:50:21.146 A:middle We do half of that well then you're going to go 00:50:21.146 --> 00:50:22.976 A:middle to this activity, that activity. 00:50:23.226 --> 00:50:26.346 A:middle You know I contrast that with my latchkey days 00:50:26.346 --> 00:50:29.566 A:middle as a Generation X kid, you know, walking home 00:50:29.566 --> 00:50:33.896 A:middle and opening the door myself and the world has changed 00:50:33.896 --> 00:50:35.266 A:middle and we need to change with it. 00:50:35.336 --> 00:50:37.586 A:middle But, I think we have the ability to do it. 00:50:37.706 --> 00:50:41.516 A:middle And it used to be that give everybody as many options 00:50:41.516 --> 00:50:44.446 A:middle as possible, let them explore, let them find themselves. 00:50:44.836 --> 00:50:48.086 A:middle Well, that's not what the community college system wants 00:50:48.086 --> 00:50:48.816 A:middle from us now. 00:50:49.136 --> 00:50:53.006 A:middle What they want, their vision for success is success. 00:50:53.376 --> 00:50:56.696 A:middle They want people with degrees, they want all of these things. 00:50:57.166 --> 00:51:00.326 A:middle And we may not be able to do it as quickly as they want, 00:51:00.326 --> 00:51:02.076 A:middle which is why I like 2024. 00:51:03.046 --> 00:51:05.736 A:middle But, one of the things that we have here, well we have a lot 00:51:05.736 --> 00:51:08.786 A:middle of great things here that set us apart, 00:51:08.786 --> 00:51:11.276 A:middle like our Family Resource Center, like Helping Hands, 00:51:11.746 --> 00:51:13.516 A:middle like our Strengthening Working Families 00:51:13.516 --> 00:51:14.866 A:middle and our Workforce Development. 00:51:15.066 --> 00:51:18.946 A:middle Like all of these ways that we do these wraparound things 00:51:19.026 --> 00:51:22.996 A:middle to help students, that's what we're here about, 00:51:23.156 --> 00:51:24.836 A:middle and that's what's going to move us forward. 00:51:26.796 --> 00:51:27.436 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Sounds great. 00:51:27.496 --> 00:51:29.346 A:middle Thank you, thank you so much Erika. 00:51:29.416 --> 00:51:30.406 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: Oh, you're so welcome. 00:51:30.406 --> 00:51:33.186 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: For students, faculty, anybody who listens 00:51:33.186 --> 00:51:34.636 A:middle to this, what's the best way to find you? 00:51:34.636 --> 00:51:35.746 A:middle Do they follow you on social media? 00:51:35.746 --> 00:51:37.606 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: You can follow me on social media, 00:51:37.606 --> 00:51:40.906 A:middle LAVCPres and that's my Twitter handle. 00:51:41.326 --> 00:51:46.406 A:middle And I also, you know, stay tuned to the website, 00:51:46.406 --> 00:51:49.876 A:middle I always have my letters to the college out there 00:51:49.876 --> 00:51:51.976 A:middle and don't forget about those office hours. 00:51:51.976 --> 00:51:55.356 A:middle Sometimes I'm like the Maytag repair person. 00:51:55.356 --> 00:51:58.106 A:middle Nobody comes and I'm just sitting there with a big jar 00:51:58.106 --> 00:52:00.996 A:middle of candy all to myself, so come on down. 00:52:01.256 --> 00:52:01.726 A:middle >> John Kawai: All right. 00:52:01.726 --> 00:52:02.356 A:middle >> Erika Endrijonas: So, thank you though. 00:52:02.356 --> 00:52:04.396 A:middle I really appreciate this opportunity to chat with you. 00:52:04.396 --> 00:52:04.586 A:middle >> John Kawai: Thank you. 00:52:04.586 --> 00:52:04.976 A:middle >> Scott Weigand: Thank you so much.