Kethshara Khlok was interviewed by Francine Berkowitz on July 7, 1996. Khlokmoved to the United States from Cambodia in 1974 and attended a clerical school to prepare fora career. She came to work at the Smithsonian in 1979 and started in the typing pool, where she was assigned to work in the Office of Public Affairs (OPA). Khlok is now a clerk-typist in the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and attends Northern Virginia Community College part time, where she is working on her Associates Degree in liberal arts. This interview discusses the course of her career at the Smithsonian, her memories of working in OPA, the changes in OHR over the years, office picnics, recognition of her culture at the Smithsonian, a typical day of work, her hopes to move to a museum, how she came to work at the Smithsonian, visiting the museums when she is not working, the Magnificent Voyagers exhibit, the 1996 Festival of American Folklife and her attention to the narrative stage, the 150th birthday party, and how the Employee Assistant Program helped her cope with her divorce.

Object Details

See more items in: Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews; Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews / Interviews

Collection Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9594, Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews