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Title
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AmiJo Comeford
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Quote
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“It’s really inspiring how much people care about humanities work, without always calling it humanities: it’s just their lives. And I loved being able to see that and be part of that. It’s not humanities for everyone; it is for us, because we know what it’s called. But for other people it’s the work of their lives, it’s the work of their neighbors. And it’s about being connected, whatever they call it, it’s truly remarkable.”
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Story
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I think that I was always a big reader as a kid. Nancy Drew is what really made me into a reader; that’s what I remember reading most as a kid. There were times when I would rather read than do anything. And my brother would want to go out and do things, and he would have to hide my book because I would just want to stay inside.
And that’s what I really consumed, primarily, as a kid, were a lot of Nancy Drew books, a lot of mystery books, Encyclopedia Brown books. I loved those: The Three Investigators. So, I read all of those just constantly, kind of non-stop. And so, I was just a reader. I loved imagining myself – I always wanted to be Nancy Drew, who could do anything and be anything. And so, that was just that kind of movement into reading. That’s what I loved to do.
And so, I found my home in English. And then Mrs. Hazen, over at Pine View, who was the AP English teacher, I just loved her and Mrs. Jacobsen. And all these really great, remarkable teachers. Ms. Esmeier. Those are the ones I remember as being so influential. I loved reading, and that’s what geared me toward that.
When I ended up in college, I was actually going to be a history major. That was really my true love: history. And so, when I got to college, I was going to minor in English and then major in history, because I wanted to be a Civil War historian. That was really my first love. And still, today, that’s really where I gravitate if I have extra time for reading. Most of the books that I’m reading are not English literature books; I’m reading history books, particularly American Civil War history and Lincoln history, and things like that.
I attended college at SUU [Southern Utah University], and during my first semester, I couldn’t get into the history classes I needed because they were full. So, I went over to the English Department to get into those classes; I met David Lee. And that was really it. I said, “Well, I’m sitting in his office,” and he was saying, “Well, take this, take this; let’s get you into this class.” And I left his office and said, “I want to be him, so I’m going to have to do English.”
So, I started in the English Department, mostly, and I loved those classes. He and Rob Behunin, Dr. Moorty – they were just kind of my people. And so, they kind of got me off track from history. But that was okay; I minored in history, and I loved the history department there. Dr. Mulderink, especially – I just absolutely loved.
And so, I ended up in English by accident. But it was really David Lee and Rob Behunin that moved me in there to do early British literature and poetry.
So, that’s sort of how I ended up inside the humanities. But I’ve always loved English and History. Those were my two loves, so I kind of gravitated toward that.
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Date
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July 15, 2024
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interviewer
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Randy Williams
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Profession
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Professor
