Susan Spencer from Carolina Digital Story Lab on Vimeo.

Recorded 3/18/2011.

(Transcript after the break)

TITLE: How have you liked your time at UNC?

Susan Spencer: My name is Susan.

Story Lab: Susan. And how long have you been at UNC?

Susan: This is my fourth year.

Lab: Your fourth year. So are you about to graduate?

Susan: Yep!

Lab. Yep. Um, how have you liked it?

Susan: It’s been pretty good. When I was a freshman I really hated it and I thought about transferring, but I decided not to and I’m really glad that I didn’t, so I’ve had some really great experiences.

Lab: What about it did you hate when you were a freshman?

Susan: Well I’m from a really small town, and so the campus was just so big, and it was hard for me to get to know people at first. I had a few people from home who I knew, but just not knowing a lot of people. And I lived in Hinton James, and I didn’t have air conditioning, and I was just really hot. [laughs]

Lab: That’s really unpleasant.

Susan: [nods] So.

Lab: Cool. So what, um, what made you end up liking it?

Susan: Well, I – I guess I was just nervous at first, to like get out there and start talking to people and get involved. So I got involved with some different student groups. I joined a sorority, and did – I’m in the shag club. And once I finally got a little bit more focused in my classes, I was able to meet more people, and so that made me want to stay more.

Lab: What do you do in the shag club?

Susan: That’s a – shag is the official dance of North and South Carolina. So we have meetings about once a month, and we teach people how to shag, and we just dance for a couple hours – it’s a lot of fun, it’s a good group to be in because you don’t really have to do anything except for show up and dance.

Lab: Did you know how to shag before you were in the group?

Susan: I didn’t. I didn’t, I learned. Yeah, I learned by joining the group, and I know a lot of – I’ve learned a lot of really cool moves.

Lab: Would you be up for showing one? Or can, does that not really -

Susan: Sure, I can do that. Do you want me to [removes microphone]

Lab: Yeah, just set it on the table.

Susan: [laughs, stands up] Let me think for a second on a good one. [laughs] I can’t believe I’m doing this. Okay, here we go – ready? [dances]

Lab: Thank you.

Susan: No problem. [Sits back down]

Lab: Um – let me get you to put the mic back on. So if you were like, if you were shag dancing for real, how does that work? Like do you have a partner?

Susan: Yeah. Yeah, so I would have a partner, and so that would have looked a lot different. That was just – what I just did was like a female move, so the guy would just keep doing what he normally does, and the female would do that. So – yeah.

Lab: Okay. One more question: what’s something that you’ve learned in your time at UNC?

Susan: Definitely just get out of your comfort zone I think. Cos when I first got here I had my comfort zone and I hated it here. But then once I kind of stepped out and really started to try new things and meet people and be friends with people who I normally wouldn’t have been friends with, it’s been a great couple of years here. So.