Inside JMS

Kevin Stoker 0:00

Welcome to Inside JMS stories from the faculty and staff of the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies. Today we are fortunate, of course, with my compadre Dave Nourse.

Dave Nourse 0:12

Happy to be here, my friend.

Kevin Stoker 0:12

And I, we were going to be talking to Dr. Linda Dam, who is an assistant professor in the college. Linda, how are you today?

Linda Dam 0:22

I'm great. Thank you so much for having me.

Kevin Stoker 0:24

So Linda, you know, I know you have a very fascinating background. And you've, you're from LA. And tell me a little bit about growing up. And your parents are very traditional. So tell me about that.

Linda Dam 0:40

Oh, well, I grew up in Orange County, so really close to Southern California. Um, my parents are really traditional, in certain ways, really protected when I was a kid. So I wasn't allowed. I wasn't allowed to do any sleepovers until I was like in high school. So they were really strict in that regard. But they were also not really strict in terms of watching me do my homework, or they weren't really like a tiger mom in that way. But it's interesting, because with my brother, they didn't really trust him. Complete his

Kevin Stoker 1:14

Yeah, we don't trust boys. I can speak for that

Linda Dam 1:16

stuff with him. They made him sit at the dining table and do all his homework. But like, for me, they just gave me this open schedule. Like it was interesting.

Kevin Stoker 1:24

So well, I can understand that because you really work independently? Well, in fact, I know you're doing really well, on your research. Tell us about your research.

Linda Dam 1:32

Oh, well, the most recent study that I'm working on is on wearable fitness trackers and looking at individual factors that might contribute to somebody using their fitness trackers. So you know, in terms of like Apple Watches, or Fitbit, whether you're socially competitive or internally competitive, Are either of you competitive fitness?

Kevin Stoker 1:55

Yes, we're very, very competitive. Going mountain biking with Dave Yeah, it's very competitive just to stay up with him.

Linda Dam 2:04

Oh, you guys have gone mountain biking?

Dave Nourse 2:06

We have. We may be going again soon.

Kevin Stoker 2:09

That's right. I, I actually, you know, have used new strategies to try to keep up with him. Really? Well, you know, tell us where Where did your interest in these areas go? A come from? What was it that inspired you to kind of start looking at this stuff?

Linda Dam 2:26

Oh, that's a great question. So I'm working on this project with Natalie Portman and income studies. And I'm just really intrigued by people's intentions of using fitness trackers, you know, for myself, in my family, we're super competitive, right? So with Fitbit, when I had a Fitbit, I've Apple Watch now. But with Fitbit, it's just my brother was always trying to beat us. My cousin was always trying to be on the leaderboard. And so I was, but then some people just wouldn't participate at all right? Like if they didn't have time to exercise. And then I had one person in the group that cheated sometimes. And it's like, why, you know, so it was just very fascinating to me. And then now with the Apple Watch, you know, you can individually compete at a like a higher level, not a higher level, more detailed level, looking at like standing walking, you know, activity levels. And I don't know, I'm just fascinated by people who, who use their watches and people who don't,

Kevin Stoker 3:20

you know, it can't you competitive family. So tell us about your growing up years?

Linda Dam 3:25

Oh, well, the ones me, I don't know if this is the question, but the one thing I do regret, and I think I would have maybe been good at is some type of sport, because I do feel I have a very competitive nature and me. But you know, going back to my stricter parents, they didn't actually nurture that part of me, right. Like they didn't encourage me to really do any type of sport. I did do taekwondo when I was a kid, and got my junior black belt, but I didn't do any sports in high school. Whereas with my brother, they put him in wrestling. He did really competitive tennis. He did. Did he do basketball around but he was really, really athletic ly focused. And you know, he also did well in school. So we both ended up at the same college and whatnot. Yeah, I felt like they didn't, you know,

Dave Nourse 4:09

but still to get your junior black belt that's saying something right there. Clearly you've got a internal motivation or did you get that far along in taekwondo, but also a great sense of athleticism from a young age.

Linda Dam 4:21

But I wish I had more athleticism. You know? You did sports in high school. I feel like it would translate better now. You know?

Kevin Stoker 4:30

Well, I think all of us wish we had some more athleticism.

Linda Dam 4:34

So I feel like I'm striving for that now. Like I I don't know I want to try different runs. I want to try I just did the Spartan Race last summer this past summer, which was kind of rough but I've done Tough Mudder and I like I'm just fascinated by that internal competitive know

Dave Nourse 4:50

about Linda's how hardcore she is tough. Mudder Spartan Race black belt over here home.

Linda Dam 4:57

Blog bold, okay, doesn't even count

Dave Nourse 5:00

Linda, tell us a little bit about what you do here at UNLV. You're obviously a researcher, but you teach as well tell us some about some of the classes that you enjoy teaching. Tell us maybe a little bit about your style as a teacher, or what you think your style is.

Linda Dam 5:14

So I currently am teaching graduate, quantitative research methods class. And I've previously taught the undergrad methods class, and I love teaching that class just because I think it's so applicable to all people, right. So just anything you want to research, if you want to research a person or a product, you have to kind of go through that process. So I think it's really fun to, you know, help students see research in a different way versus like a very dry scientific II way, right. And I also teach intro to PR, which is another favorite of mine, which I get to teach in the spring, thanks to Kevin. I do love teaching intro to pure it's so fun, especially with everything just going on in society. So I think the way I like teaching as I like looking at real world events, or current events, or pop culture and making it applicable to the students, but at the same time, kind of honing in on the certain, you know, core class factors or class concepts. So just because so they're able to kind of connect what they're learning in the textbook to something happening in like the real world, and then how to really take that and apply it elsewhere. Right, like when they leave the classroom. So what else have you Oh, I've taught ad strategies, that class is also really fun, but then COVID hits, so then we went remote on that one. I also usually just teach the the IMC class and integrated marketing class, which is really, really, really fun. I love being able to work with the seniors right before they graduate, you know, so it was a really great opportunity to get to know them. And I still keep in touch with a lot of them from my first semester, and they've gone on to get really interesting jobs and whatnot. So I do love teaching live IMC class, because I got them right before they graduate.

Dave Nourse 6:50

Yeah, and then getting to see kind of Alright, how do you take this experience that you've had throughout your undergraduate career and transition into the professional workforce, I mean, a very gratifying feeling, if nothing else,

Linda Dam 7:02

it is seeing them take all these concepts they've theoretically learned, and then just making it more applicable, and having something tangible to take away with them when they go on to the workforce.

Kevin Stoker 7:12

So you grew up in Orange County, and yet you end up getting your PhD at Connecticut, right? Yes. So how did that happen?

Linda Dam 7:22

So I've lived all my life in in Orange County. I mean, like when you're in Denver, when you're in Pennsylvania, when I was little, but I thought it would be great to kind of get out of Orange County, right and not stay in that bubble. And I didn't really have the college experience, I went to UC Irvine, so it was a commuter campus. And then I went to Cal State Fullerton and other commuter campus, which are both great institutions. But I thought, This is the moment I should really leave the state, you know, and really do something completely different. So that I chose the furthest place possible. And I always tell my students is you can really got me with our marketing, because they stated that they're central to Boston in New York City, and I was really sold on that. And in reality, they're in the middle of nowhere, like extremely rural, you know, like, the, you're kind of central, but technically, like, technically, you're really like, you know, like, we're, the cows are behind the ice cream store that they like, really rural. But I loved my experiences there. And I think it you know, it really helped me grow as a person, right? Because I never left California, I was in, you know, and you all the same people, and whatnot. And this really tested my character because again, remember, my parents never let me go to any sleepovers or camps or anything. So I was extremely homesick. And it really, you know, challenged me in so many ways to grow. Well,

Dave Nourse 8:47

here's what I would love to know. I mean, you the way that you grew up, clearly, you know, influenced eventually wanting to leave that bubble that you're in, but talk to us maybe about, is there some sort of formative experience or maybe a memory something like that, that you think, you know, this really helped shape who I am Dr. Linda dam today.

Linda Dam 9:08

I mean, I think it would probably be my experience at UConn just because I actually got, you know, left and I literally did the came with two suitcases didn't know anybody at UConn. Like, I didn't know anyone. I didn't know anyone in the East Coast in general. You know, um, and so I think that really challenged me because this entire time I've just stayed in Orange County, you know, like, I knew all the same people. I had my support system and my parents were there and whatnot. But in Connecticut, I was really alone. You know, and I had to meet all new friends and, and the weather. I mean, I'm very sensitive to cold apparently. So that was a struggle and just kind of being out there alone. But it was one of the greatest experiences because I became super independent and I met really great friends there and I still visit won't be right before COVID But I was visiting like twice a year. I was in two of my friends as wedding was like, you know, so I made really good friends. And I'm still really close to my advisor there and other professors. So it was a great program and really a great experience.

Kevin Stoker 10:08

So if you kind of look back on life, and I know you're a really good teacher, I've always been impressed with that. What? What was her teacher that really inspired you? Or, you know, professor or teacher that really inspired you and left a mark on you?

Linda Dam 10:25

Oh, that's a great question. There. There is. So when I went to Cal State Fullerton to do their master's program, initially, I never thought to become a professor, you know, I thought it was too late, and whatnot. But I had one professor there, Dr. Laura triplet, and she's no longer at Cal State Fullerton. But when she was there, she is really the one who paved the way for me to become a professor, you know, she gave me all these opportunities. And the way she teaches is really similar. So I was just really attached to her teaching style, just making all these core concepts and class really applicable to yourself and to the outside world, you know, you're not just memorizing things you're memorizing, or you're learning it, and then how to apply it, and then how it's relevant to society. So I thought she had a great teaching style. And so I was her TA and then she led me guest lecturer. And then again, you know, the first day of class I had her, she's like, Well, what do you want to be, you know, why are you in this program? And then I was like, I want to be a manager, you know, I don't know, like what I wanted, like, but definitely not a professor. Like it just didn't even occur. To me, that's still possible, you know, because I was a returning student, non traditional. Yeah. And then she led me become her research assistant. And I learned, you know, I like I got an opportunity to do all of this stuff. As a professor before I even decided to be a professor. She gave me my own class. And then, you know, she really just kind of like cultivated, so I really, really wish I was in touch with her. But yeah,

Kevin Stoker 11:49

I understand that. It's, it's hard once you move on, right at times.

Dave Nourse 11:54

Now, you mentioned that you had taken some time away, right? So what was what was, what were you up to in that time in between when you finished school and went back to school?

Linda Dam 12:05

Oh, that's. So after I graduate to use your mind, I did not know what I wanted to do. I didn't think I wanted to be a journalist. So I got an internship with the LA Times, and I just learned that I'm not a reporter, you know, I just can't deal with that writing under pressure while the editors like right next to you. So I took on all kinds of jobs, because I'm all about trying it out. Right? I really feel you need to try out the profession before you commit to it. So I was a video game tester. I did that for a little bit. And then I eventually, and then it became a marketing assistant and engineering firm at a magazine firm. And then I got a really awesome job at UC Irvine. So I came back and I worked for their admissions department, but I did all their communication. So I made the flyers. I loved coordinating the events. So we did a lot of events. So I did a lot of that. And then yeah, just targeted marketing there. And what else did I do there? You know, worked on their website. So just did any of the communication. I started as a senior writer and became the program's manager there. And that was really fun for a while. Yeah, then I was like, you know, I kind of want to try teaching. So I was getting my masters at the same time, I was working at UC Irvine. And then after guest lecturing, I felt that was so exhilarating, you know, so I just wanted to continue that. And then when I did my master's thesis, it was super painful, like just such a painful process. But when I finished I was like, it has to be better than this. You know, like, I want you to like continue. And so I feel like all my experience has really led me to where I'm at.

Kevin Stoker 13:36

And then you went from Connecticut to Chico Dominguez Hills, Dominguez Hills. That's

Linda Dam 13:42

right. One of the Cal State. Yeah.

Kevin Stoker 13:45

I Dominguez Hills. And, and you did quite a bit there, you were really busy.

Linda Dam 13:50

I was Yeah. So that was actually a really awesome experience. Because after Connecticut and be on the East Coast for four years, I was so fortunate to learn a position back in Southern California, like I literally was, like 30 miles away from my parents and my family and friends and whatnot. And, you know, I had never actually been to Cal State Dominguez Hills is one of the smaller Cal States, but I loved working there as well, like the students were really awesome. And that gave me an opportunity to really fine tune my teaching, you know, and then I also continued my research there and I got, I had lots of opportunities for service. So I really got to understand how an institution works and whatnot. So it was a really interesting experience

Kevin Stoker 14:30

to develop programs and

Linda Dam 14:33

curriculum reviews and courses and, but it was my kind of first time getting it all right at the same time. So I really, I really feel like that prepared me well for this position.

Kevin Stoker 14:45

Yeah, I think so too.

Dave Nourse 14:47

So we have, unfortunately, we have to let Dr. Dam go away in just a minute because she has to meet a student. But what did we not get a chance to ask you that you think really kind of helped If it's an incoming student, or maybe a faculty member, somebody who's listening to this podcast that wants to get to know you, Doctor Damn, is there anything we didn't ask you that we think that you think would be good to share?

Linda Dam 15:12

Oh, that's a great question. A similar question that, Kevin. I don't know. But one thing we didn't talk about is my dog.

Kevin Stoker 15:20

Oh, talking about your dog.

Linda Dam 15:23

I know. I'm obsessed with my dog. It's the first time I've owned my own dog. No, but um, I don't know, I'm really just talking

Kevin Stoker 15:32

about you. Tell us about that story about getting a puppy. And I know, I know. Every now and again, you I see you and you got you're hurrying somewhere. I gotta get home to the dog. I got to do this or that. So tell us about it. Does it get you out of the house to to go for a walk?

Linda Dam 15:51

You know, she really made me I feel like super more responsible and just more organized because you kind of have to be with the dog and, and she was a gift from my friend, you know, so it was dog sitting her dog. And then she got me my own dog. And I never thought I was really a dog person. Because I grew up with dogs we had to in our family, but I was never like that attached to them. I guess they were more my brother's dogs. And then when I went to Connecticut, I lived with a friend who had a dog and that became like my dissertation dog. Like I would literally fly back to Connecticut to visit this dog that isn't even mine. And then when I got my own, I wasn't even sure if I can love another dog like that. And I do. And so she has been wonderful. She just got spayed, you know, a couple months, a couple of weeks ago, and she's doing great and it's just like, why didn't I get a dog sooner? You know? Although there are limitations, right? I can't travel as freely as I used to. But it's worth it to have you know, to have her. She's your baby. She Yeah. I love my dog. So then it became a dog person like, photos, stickers and pictures everywhere. So

Kevin Stoker 16:52

is it tell us what type of dog it is?

Linda Dam 16:55

She's a German Shepherd. Yeah, she's 65 pounds, you know?

Kevin Stoker 17:01

Oh, my goodness. Kinda.

Linda Dam 17:02

Yeah. Wasn't really thinking about all the logistics.

Dave Nourse 17:08

Like, she's wonderful and her name is Allah Frollo

Linda Dam 17:09

she's great. We're very similar in personality. She's my friend makes fun of her because she's like brave all of us. She's scared to do anything. She's super not athletic. But she's a sweet dog. You know really, really sweet. Really cuddly.

Dave Nourse 17:27

Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today and let letting everybody kind of get to know who you are a little bit, Linda.

Linda Dam 17:34

Yeah. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Kevin Stoker 17:35

We've We've enjoyed chatting with you and wish you great future here and we sure glad to have you.

Linda Dam 17:43

Thank you so much.