Today, host Lorie Jones sits down with Dana Hunter, an associate teaching professor at Brigham Young University, to discuss her remarkable journey. Initially, she had no aspirations for a professional career, intending to work from home. However, life had different plans, leading her through graduate studies and eventually to a fulfilling teaching career.
In this episode, Dana shares how embracing unexpected opportunities and staying open to life’s twists have given her a profound sense of fulfillment. We explore her passion for family and consumer sciences, her journey to becoming a tenured professor, and the valuable lessons she’s learned about worth, perfection, and owning one’s contributions.
Tune in for an episode that promises inspiration and valuable advice for any professional woman navigating her unique journey!
Show Highlights:
- Discover The Kitchen Counter Cooking School and why basic cooking skills matter. [03:24]
- The power of finding inspiration in the fundamental things of life. [07:15]
- The value of seizing unexpected graduate opportunities as females. [13:42]
- Unpack the fallacy of tying your perceived worth to success. [16:24]
- Do you diminish your role saying you’re “just” part-time or adjunct? [20:03]
- Guidance for young women in career development. [24:02]
- Adapting to technology and finding generational humor. [25:28]
- What does pride in your children and students truly mean? [33:28]
- Advice to live by towards the future you who is competent. [37:26]
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review!
For more information about Lorie Jones, go to https://fearlessfinancialadvisors.com/fearless-females.
00:00.70
Lorie Jones
Good morning, Fairless Females. We are here today with Dana Hunter. She is an Associate Teaching Professor in the School of Family Life, College of Family Home and Social Sciences at Brigham Young University.
00:13.47
Lorie Jones
Am I right, Dana?
00:14.39
Dana Hunter
Yes, in Provo, Utah.
00:16.53
Lorie Jones
Perfect. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate you sharing your story with me and my listeners.
00:23.52
Dana Hunter
Well, thank you. I mean, my story might be quite different than others. So this will be interesting. Yes.
00:29.42
Lorie Jones
I love it. I do. I love all sorts of different journeys, and and I think that we can learn something from every different path that a woman takes through her career. And just as a as a quick FYI, I had talked to Dana a little bit about her journey and her story, and I i think you guys are in for a treat. I'm really excited about letting you hear this. so So my very first question is always, I'm a reader. I love anything, any and all suggestions. What's your favorite book?
00:58.11
Dana Hunter
OK, I had to think about this one. Well, not too hard, though. um A friend years ago recommended a book. I love it. And it is called The Kitchen Counter Cooking School.
01:11.13
Lorie Jones
okay
01:11.25
Dana Hunter
Now, I teach foods at the university level. And my background is family and consumer sciences education. And so my career has been in foods.
01:22.82
Dana Hunter
And the premise of the kitchen counter cooking school, it's by Kathleen Flynn. And she's a journalist who went to the Cordon Bleu in Paris. So this is real.
01:31.80
Lorie Jones
Okay.
01:32.31
Dana Hunter
This isn't fiction.
01:32.98
Lorie Jones
Uh huh.
01:34.35
Dana Hunter
She's a journalist who went to culinary school in Paris, came back to the US and saw someone grocery shopping and noticed that this woman was buying just ultra processed foods and thought, does she know she can actually make that?
01:49.56
Dana Hunter
and it's going to taste better and it's going to have fewer or no preservatives. so She pulls this woman aside and says, can I teach you a couple of things? She helps her shop and that gives her the idea to start what she called the kitchen counter cooking school. She got nine volunteers.
02:08.33
Dana Hunter
And um she first had them, she went into their home and she had them cook for her. And then they did a series of lessons with basic skills and how to chop an onion, how to taste as you go, how to make sauces, how to make salad dressing. And then, um and these women got to be good friends. And then she goes to their houses after a few lessons and sees their confidence has just skyrocketed.
02:36.99
Lorie Jones
Uh huh.
02:37.75
Dana Hunter
And I love it because first of all, it inspired me to want to teach everyone how to chop an onion.
02:45.27
Lorie Jones
Uh huh. ah hu yeah
02:45.58
Dana Hunter
It's so easy, but people are afraid of a chef's knife. And I also feel like education empowers you and being able to take care of yourself is so empowering.
02:58.63
Dana Hunter
And part of that is cooking. So in a long roundabout way, it's one of my favorite favorites, the kitchen counter cooking school.
03:00.49
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
03:07.06
Lorie Jones
I love it. I actually had a couple of um the younger women who work with me and they're like, we don't know how to cook. And and it just it struck me like I learned cooking from my mom and my my daughter actually is way better than I am at cooking, but she learned it from me.
03:25.19
Dana Hunter
Uh-huh.
03:25.67
Lorie Jones
and And so I just, you know, i' I think some of those arts are kind of getting lost in translation as you go down.
03:30.67
Dana Hunter
Ready?
03:33.87
Lorie Jones
And I'm like, I don't know. I guess I just know how to cut an onion. I don't know where I learned how to do that.
03:38.03
Dana Hunter
ready
03:40.07
Lorie Jones
So I love that idea. It might be really good um gift suggestion for some younger folks.
03:45.80
Dana Hunter
Yes.
03:47.03
Lorie Jones
Maybe think DoorDash is how you cook.
03:51.15
Dana Hunter
I know, right? The book does have some recipes in it. and But it's just it's just a fun story. And I see it every day at work, young adults who don't know how to cook.
04:03.90
Dana Hunter
Because everybody's
04:03.95
Lorie Jones
yeah
04:07.19
Dana Hunter
so busy that cooking now is opening the container and heating it up.
04:13.59
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
04:14.17
Dana Hunter
And that's great. Like anytime you can gather around the table, I'm all about that. But we saw during the pandemic, when you went to the store and all you saw were ingredients and you're like, what do I do with this?
04:26.85
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
04:27.55
Dana Hunter
Well, some of us fortunate few knew what to do with ingredients or when the fast food restaurants were closed.
04:27.70
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
04:32.04
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
04:34.24
Dana Hunter
And it's like, Oh gosh, I can't, I can't drive through McDonald's. What am I going to eat?
04:40.24
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
04:40.54
Dana Hunter
Yeah. Oh, go ahead.
04:42.69
Lorie Jones
And I think it's no, yeah, I think it brings a lot of um a lot of comfort, probably in peace to know that you can fend for yourself or you can take care of yourself in that way.
04:55.30
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
04:55.45
Lorie Jones
And um And it's healthier too.
04:57.45
Dana Hunter
Mm hmm.
04:58.66
Lorie Jones
So I love that. Thank you for that suggestion. So Dana, tell me a little bit about your journey. Like, how did you get where you're at today? What do you do? Just talk a little bit about, about how you got here and who you are.
05:11.22
Dana Hunter
Okay, well I think what's interesting what probably makes me different from some of your other guests is I really see myself primarily as a mom, a sister, a daughter. I don't see my primary identity as my profession.
05:27.43
Dana Hunter
And I never really um had this burning desire to have an important profession. I just kind of stumbled into it.
05:36.67
Lorie Jones
-huh.
05:38.46
Dana Hunter
And and and now looking 25 years later, super grateful for it. But um I earned my bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University in home economics education, because that's what my field used to be called. And um I always loved sewing, cooking, nutrition, interior design. Like that's what my field is, child development, family finance, housing. I love it all. And so that was a natural major for me and I studied it and I loved it. After living
06:15.14
Dana Hunter
abroad in a developing country, I actually got a phone call from the then department chair asking if I wanted to come to graduate school to get a master's degree with an emphasis in cross-cultural studies.
06:28.82
Dana Hunter
And when you think about it, I lived in Bolivia. When you think about developing nations, a lot of the struggles that they have are directly tied to my field of family and consumer sciences.
06:39.95
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
06:40.08
Dana Hunter
It's housing, it's food, it's um family structure, it's a parent has to be gone all day, or it's or one parent has just abandoned because it's too hard. So a lot of these things tie really closely into my field. um So I came back and got a master's degree in family studies.
07:04.89
Dana Hunter
And then I moved to Texas and had kids. And i I always taught a little bit like I taught SAT prep classes. I taught um cooking classes at a private school. So I love teaching. So I always found ways to teach.
07:21.78
Dana Hunter
And um when I was moving back to Utah over 25 years ago, I reached out to my thesis chair and she said, oh, I really need you to teach this class. like This beginning cooking class is just taking off. i have We have one teacher, but I could really use some help. So I was able to um to kind of step into that position.
07:47.10
Dana Hunter
and And then through a series of events, I didn't have that position because adjunct. So I was adjunct faculty, which means each semester you get a contract or you don't, depending on the need. And there was a time when they didn't need me. But in that time, I had like a home based business. So I've always done a little bit of something.
08:07.82
Dana Hunter
um I did come back after a break and then in 2020, after basically 20 years of adjunct and or independent study teaching, um I found myself divorced, but also with an opportunity to pick up a visiting faculty position to be over the foods curriculum and the foods classes in the School of Family Life.
08:37.82
Dana Hunter
um And then in 2022, after two years as visiting faculty, i um It became a tenured position, so a more permanent position, and I applied for and was fortunate to receive that appointment in 2022.
08:54.07
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
08:56.22
Dana Hunter
I'm a teaching professor, which is different than a research professor.
08:59.99
Lorie Jones
hu
09:00.09
Dana Hunter
I don't have expectations for publishing and research, but I have a heavier teaching load. I teach 10 classes per academic year.
09:12.22
Lorie Jones
Wow, that's a lot.
09:14.48
Dana Hunter
And researchers teach few, I'm thankful though. I think it would be hard for me to manage my time if I had that research responsibility. So I like what I do.
09:25.66
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
09:26.15
Dana Hunter
I love it. um I teach a beginning foods class, I teach an advanced foods class, um and in that capacity, I update curriculum and make sure it meets the needs of our students, of the department, and also we are making sure our students have the competencies they need to be put up for state licensure. So the State Office of Education also impacts um what we're teaching in our classes.
09:56.78
Dana Hunter
We need to make sure they graduate with the knowledge base to teach foods.
10:01.72
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
10:02.55
Dana Hunter
And so in addition to my foods responsibilities, I supervise student teachers or interns depending on the need. and An intern teaches for a year, a student teacher is just a semester, and I also help direct a study abroad to Europe.
10:19.15
Dana Hunter
And then one of my citizenship assignments is to oversee and mentor the students in a student organization in the School of Family Life. So that, in a nutshell, is what I do every day.
10:32.14
Lorie Jones
Dana, it sounds like you have a huge career for not planning a career.
10:35.75
Dana Hunter
hi Right? Right? Erin, for anybody who thinks professors have a cushy and don't work hard, trust me. This one does.
10:46.19
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah, well, I never thought that, ah especially after COVID, that was an eye opening experience for me.
10:51.41
Dana Hunter
All of a sudden, people appreciated teachers and teachers got pay bumps.
10:58.10
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah, which is great.
10:58.85
Dana Hunter
I mean, our graduates our graduates are making an income that's comparable to the average income of anybody with a bachelor's degree out of college.
11:08.04
Lorie Jones
Good.
11:08.76
Dana Hunter
And with the teaching shortage, are we have 100% job placement of our graduates.
11:14.06
Lorie Jones
That's good.
11:15.87
Dana Hunter
Yeah, if they want a job, they will find a job. no necessarily Most of them are going to teaching, but there are jobs elsewhere. like In a previous life, I worked in recipe testing and development in San Francisco. so There are a lot of different jobs that family consumer sciences can lead you into.
11:34.16
Lorie Jones
And I bet you get to taste some yummy food sometimes too, so that's good, right?
11:38.08
Dana Hunter
i do It is fun. I'll be honest. after saying like Some of the recipes we're still doing after 25 years, And so um they love it. They're excited about it.
11:48.41
Dana Hunter
So sometimes I'm like, oh, just let them eat it all. Like theirs they eat it. I've had it 15 times already in my life.
11:57.07
Lorie Jones
Yeah. like
11:58.06
Dana Hunter
But no, it's super fun. it's And it's very rewarding. Yeah.
12:02.08
Lorie Jones
Dana, what is the best investment you made in yourself? Is there something you can kind of look back on and say, Oh my goodness, if I hadn't done that, I don't think I'd be where I'm at to- today.
12:11.28
Dana Hunter
Oh, for sure, my education.
12:13.40
Lorie Jones
Uh-huh.
12:13.88
Dana Hunter
um and especially my graduate degree. I do not have a PhD, which I think is a little bit unusual for a professor, but at the time that I entered the field, there were not a lot of people in my field looking for part-time work with a PhD. My work was part-time for 20 years.
12:38.74
Dana Hunter
So the biggest biggest, biggest, biggest was I grew up in a home where education was emphasized. And so getting a bachelor's degree was a given.
12:46.37
Lorie Jones
Uh
12:49.80
Dana Hunter
But when I got the call and they you know offering me to come for a master's, um I said, well, let me think about it.
12:49.89
Lorie Jones
-huh.
12:57.22
Dana Hunter
And my dad said, Dana, you'd be a fool to not take them up on that. And so I was just like, OK, I'll do that. Then for somebody who you know My biggest plan was like to get the degree that I liked um that would allow me to teach if I needed to, um to having an advanced degree that allows me way more opportunities. It was huge. I remember overhearing two young women in the grocery store one time and they were talking about grad school and one said to the other,
13:29.54
Dana Hunter
Don't do grad school. You probably won't need it. And I just wanted to turn around and say, you never know. You might need it.
13:35.38
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
13:36.12
Dana Hunter
So get all the education you can. um I had female faculty as an undergrad who showed what it looked like.
13:45.59
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
13:45.77
Dana Hunter
to be a female in academia. um one of them had One of them raised kids while a professor, so I had really good role models as early as my early 20s of females in academia.
13:51.41
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
14:00.99
Lorie Jones
who
14:02.10
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
14:02.93
Lorie Jones
Yeah, that's it. it's I think it's so interesting how that those opportunities kind of presented themselves to you and you took advantage of them. And that and that you may not have known exactly right then why that wasn't your goal.
14:17.89
Lorie Jones
That wasn't what you were planning on doing. But several years down the line, you're like, oh my goodness, I i needed that. I needed that opportunity right at that time.
14:25.93
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
14:28.23
Lorie Jones
and
14:28.60
Dana Hunter
who
14:29.51
Lorie Jones
And, you know, if you had looked back 15 years later and you hadn't taken advantage of it, where would you have been, you know?
14:31.02
Dana Hunter
Right? Yeah. I mean, thankfully with my undergraduate degree, I still had the skill set to have a profession and support myself.
14:35.83
Dana Hunter
right yeah i mean thankfully with my undergraduate degree i still had the skill set to have a profession and support myself
14:44.84
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
14:45.70
Dana Hunter
And education is, it's a great field, but having that master's degree just opened up higher ed, which I really enjoy.
14:48.52
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
14:54.52
Lorie Jones
Hmm.
14:55.50
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
14:57.62
Lorie Jones
What about some bad advice, Dana? Did anyone ever give you some really bad advice and did you take it? Did you ignore it? Would you learn?
15:05.60
Dana Hunter
i I don't know if there's been bad advice per se, but there's this belief and this inner voice that came from somewhere that I'm still unpacking that my worth is based on my successes.
15:23.21
Dana Hunter
at work and in relationships and in tasks that I'm given, whether it's in volunteer work or being a good neighbor. right um And I'm realizing there's so much out of my control at work, in relationships, um that that's an unfair expectation to say my worth is tied to my success there.
15:51.14
Dana Hunter
Like my worth has already been determined. I am of infinite value. And like I said, there are so many intangibles.
16:03.44
Dana Hunter
Right. I rely on a food buyer at work to procure the food and help get it ready for lab. Well, if for some reason she has an emergency and the food isn't there for lab, that doesn't mean I'm unsuccessful.
16:18.75
Dana Hunter
That means there was something out of my control that happened and will pivot.
16:26.60
Dana Hunter
So.
16:27.10
Lorie Jones
that's That is, I think that's really impactful. I think that's really important to think that there's, especially for women who feel, I i was just a ah speaking engagement today where they said say women feel um simultaneously um too much and not enough.
16:45.85
Lorie Jones
You know, and so that idea of having that checklist that like, if I get all these things done, if I do a hundred percent at my career, if I'm, you know, if I get everything done in this marriage or relationship or whatever, if I get my kids raised correctly and they have their 2.5 activities, like if I get this checklist done, then I'll know I'm worth something.
17:05.79
Dana Hunter
Right.
17:07.15
Lorie Jones
Right. But is it.
17:07.97
Dana Hunter
Right. But you might have a kid who doesn't want to do 2.5 activities.
17:14.15
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
17:14.21
Dana Hunter
And what's more important, your relationship with the child or those 2.5 activities?
17:19.18
Lorie Jones
the And I think it's so important to kind of realize that we are not our checklist. Maybe that's a ah good way of looking at it. Like your worth is more than that. But how did you get there? How did you learn that?
17:33.74
Dana Hunter
Oh, like I said, I'm still unpacking it. yeah um you know i mean i i Therapy is great. if if you If somebody is open to the idea and sometimes it takes a lot of you know quote shopping around to find somebody that's a good fit for you,
17:43.76
Lorie Jones
but
17:55.61
Dana Hunter
But I think therapy can help. I think friends can help. um Also realizing would I put that same expectation on a friend as I'm putting on myself.
18:09.43
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
18:10.54
Dana Hunter
um It's hard though. It's super hard. um Yeah. And I'm certainly not there yet.
18:17.39
Lorie Jones
It's a work in progress.
18:18.98
Dana Hunter
But Yeah, for sure. For sure.
18:22.08
Lorie Jones
and
18:22.20
Dana Hunter
And it's hard for me to give, it's hard for me to give people grace too. Like it, I've, I very much come from a do your duty, be responsible, be dependable type of culture in my family, which I'm super grateful for.
18:31.19
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
18:38.31
Dana Hunter
I would not be where I am if I didn't have the work ethic that I developed. But at the same time, now in my 50s, I'm trying to recognize that everybody's just doing their best. And everybody's best is different every day too. Yeah, it's hard though. It's super hard. Yeah.
19:04.78
Lorie Jones
Dana, what about looking back along your journey and along your path? Is there something that you would go back and do differently? That if you had the knowledge you know then that you had now, you would change the way you did that situation?
19:20.11
Dana Hunter
My career was my biggest regret is not owning my career earlier. I used to always say, oh, I'm just adjunct. you know I'm just part time. Or people you know would ask what I do. I would say, oh, I i work at BYU. And I wish earlier I had recognized my contribution to the School of Family Life and to my college.
19:45.65
Dana Hunter
Because now that I am in a position where I rely on adjunct faculty to make our system work, I realize we would really be in a lot of hurt if we didn't have adjunct faculty. They do a great job.
20:03.95
Dana Hunter
and um We teach most of the students in our beginning cooking class are not majors.
20:11.31
Lorie Jones
who
20:11.42
Dana Hunter
We offer multiple sections of the class because it's so popular on campus and we want students to be able to learn to cook. so There's no way I could do it as one full-time person.
20:24.43
Dana Hunter
so i wish had I wish I had owned earlier my contribution, and that I was a valuable and unnecessary part of the team, that I didn't diminish what I was doing. so i would and I think there are probably a fair amount of women who find themselves in part-time positions who diminish their contribution because they don't have the office or they don't have the eight to five.
20:58.97
Dana Hunter
And I would just say, no, own it. Like, own it.
21:02.77
Lorie Jones
your worth.
21:03.65
Dana Hunter
Because you're doing it.
21:04.97
Lorie Jones
Yeah, you're putting forth the work. I think that's really important too, to look at that and say that that there are seasons and times in our lives where we are um pulling back from maybe this high powered career.
21:17.82
Lorie Jones
And I can't tell you how many women that I've interviewed and and talked to, but are almost apologetic about that. And and I think that that they've taken a different track um But they need to be proud of the reasons and what they're contributing to that track. Who's to say that if you choose to, you know like you said, if you're the adjunct professor, you are providing a needed service, something that's so valuable and necessary and and feel that, feel how much you you are necessary for that.
21:58.32
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
21:59.49
Lorie Jones
maybe stop apologizing for it. I really like that, Dana.
22:03.36
Dana Hunter
Yeah. And don't diminish what we're doing. Don't, don't diminish the work we're doing at home. You know, a lot of the stuff that I'm passionate about gets really devalued.
22:16.70
Dana Hunter
Doing laundry.
22:16.72
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
22:18.34
Dana Hunter
I mean, I know how to remove stains for heaven's sake. That's pretty cool. so But like doing laundry, cooking, cleaning the house, a lot of those things get devalued and, and we really need to,
22:22.01
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
22:30.72
Dana Hunter
like own it, like whatever we're doing in our sphere, we have talents and skills that allow us to do it well, whether it's I'm a piano teacher or I, you know, I volunteer at the school.
22:49.92
Lorie Jones
Oh, I love that. Yes. Yeah. Claim that value because, because it's important.
22:53.64
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
22:55.68
Lorie Jones
What you do is important and it makes a difference in your life and in other people's lives. You know, like I still to this day, um remember my mom waking up every single morning to make us breakfast before we went to school and it was five o'clock in the morning sometimes that we were out of that door and she made sure that we had a good breakfast every single day now I will admit that my kids were not nearly so spoiled as I am and I did not do that but I remember that sacrifice that she made that made a difference in my life Dana what
23:16.89
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
23:25.88
Dana Hunter
Yeah. yeah Yeah.
23:32.78
Lorie Jones
is if you could go back and talk to your younger self, your 20 year old self, when you're just starting on this journey, what is, um what's one thing you'd say to her?
23:44.41
Dana Hunter
um Me personally, to 20 year old Dana, I would say to um slow down, to process before reacting and making decisions.
23:58.34
Dana Hunter
I tend to just dive in, which works well, but there's also time to slow down, you know, and to say, let me think about that because I find myself, well, frankly, I find myself over committing because I don't take a minute to say, let me see if that works.
24:18.29
Lorie Jones
hu
24:18.96
Dana Hunter
So slow down. Yeah.
24:23.51
Lorie Jones
That's a really interesting point because i I did the same thing where I'm like, yeah, I can do that. Yeah, I can do that.
24:29.40
Dana Hunter
um
24:29.44
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I can do that. And then pretty soon I'm like, yeah, I can't do all this. And, um, and maybe if I did take a step back and slow down just a minute, maybe it would make a difference. i'll Maybe I should take that advice.
24:41.35
Dana Hunter
My gosh, really, all it takes is, let me check my calendar and get back to you.
24:46.23
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
24:46.96
Dana Hunter
And then to say, I would really like to help with that. But unfortunately, I can't right now.
24:53.74
Dana Hunter
I'm not good at it.
24:55.32
Lorie Jones
I was just going to say that even the words are scary to me sometimes.
24:56.07
Dana Hunter
so i
24:59.17
Dana Hunter
So I wish I had started that in my 20s, because by now, I'd probably be pretty good at it.
25:04.22
Lorie Jones
Yeah, it's a really good point. I love that.
25:07.27
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
25:08.72
Lorie Jones
What about what scared you the most when you started on your career journey? Was there anything that scared you and are you still scared or did you learn how to deal with it?
25:17.84
Dana Hunter
so what Well, what scared me was I had not planned on a career. Well, I had not planned on being a um an instructor at a university.
25:29.49
Dana Hunter
So I get this job and I teach a lecture to 100 students using PowerPoint. So technology scared me, like logging into the computer, making a PowerPoint.
25:39.84
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
25:42.95
Dana Hunter
This was in 2000.
25:44.36
Lorie Jones
Uh-huh.
25:47.97
Dana Hunter
You know, PowerPoint was, new I had graduated in 1988. So there was no, and we did not have PowerPoint. I typed my thesis on a computer, but that was, you know, that was the extent of technology that I had before I got this job.
26:06.88
Dana Hunter
I had done word processing, right? So technology really scared me, still does, because it's always evolving, right? Like teachers have so many great programs available to them to engage students.
26:16.22
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
26:22.35
Dana Hunter
And I have a colleague who teaches a class on technology in the classroom.
26:26.66
Lorie Jones
yeah
26:26.93
Dana Hunter
um And i I mean, just the idea, like keeping current with technology is kind of daunting. And so I recognize it's not my strength. And i do PowerPoint is still working for me. like And when i I can do slides, i can I can come up with engaging things for my class. I can pivot when I teach and see when I need to engage them more. um But that probably is what scared me the most. Plus, I was 32 years old.
26:58.09
Dana Hunter
when i started so i felt barely older than my students and i certainly wasn't as old as their parents so that was intimidating big time um but now uh college students don't scare me anymore i'm older than their parents so we're all good um and i can i can make slides i can teach and i actually um
27:02.36
Lorie Jones
Ah-ha.
27:27.80
Dana Hunter
I have created a class for independent study, which really stretched me to see and we created that in 2002. So to figure out how to create a cooking class that could work from home study and then.
27:43.95
Lorie Jones
Oh yeah.
27:45.36
Dana Hunter
In 2018, we developed our beginning class as an online model and then blended. So I currently teach a blended model which is like a flipped classroom. My students watch lecture videos that my colleague and I have filmed.
28:02.51
Dana Hunter
They um watch demonstration videos that we filmed. They read material. And then they come to class and we um solely like guide them through cooking recipes that tied to what they studied.
28:15.64
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
28:16.25
Dana Hunter
So I've been forced into this technology with blended learning. During the pandemic, I taught classes on Zoom. So yeah. So no, I do OK.
28:29.80
Dana Hunter
I do OK. and
28:32.10
Lorie Jones
I love that. Yeah, we kind of sometimes we just have to do what it takes, but I like that Um, I like that you're pretty authentic about the fact that technology is scary because that remote control terrifies me.
28:45.21
Lorie Jones
Like I, I can, or I can do the PowerPoints and the, the coding and that sort of thing.
28:45.28
Dana Hunter
Right?
28:52.08
Lorie Jones
But like making an electronic device work with a clicker is just beyond me for some reason. I don't know.
28:58.16
Dana Hunter
And it's so empowering, though, when you figure it out. right Today, I figured out why my clicker hadn't been advancing my PowerPoint slides.
29:06.80
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
29:07.24
Dana Hunter
And it's because I hadn't downloaded the PowerPoint to the computer. I was just using the PowerPoint on the cloud.
29:13.69
Lorie Jones
yeah Yeah.
29:14.27
Dana Hunter
And I'm like, oh my gosh. It came to me in the middle of the night. I went, wait, I need to download it. so And I was really proud of myself that I figured it out. Somebody who's much younger is listening to this and going, oh my gosh.
29:27.83
Lorie Jones
I know that's what I was just thinking.
29:28.64
Dana Hunter
and
29:30.04
Lorie Jones
I am like, Oh, they're going to be like, Oh my goodness. But, but it's true. We need them. We need them to help us out with that tech piece because I will drain the knowledge in my head into these younger women.
29:43.17
Lorie Jones
If they will just help me figure out how to use the the tech pieces that we need.
29:47.38
Dana Hunter
Yeah, and I can teach them how to chop an onion.
29:47.63
Lorie Jones
So Yeah.
29:50.88
Dana Hunter
So, you know, you can teach them how to make dinner, how to meal plan.
29:58.36
Lorie Jones
So did you face any unique challenges through your career because you were a woman?
30:04.71
Dana Hunter
ah In my career, per se, not necessarily because education is a pretty female dominated field.
30:11.30
Lorie Jones
ah her
30:12.25
Dana Hunter
And then you get down to family and consumer sciences, and it's really pretty female dominated.
30:17.24
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
30:17.57
Dana Hunter
um Right now, my the director of my program, Family and Consumer Sciences, is a female. The director of the School of Family Life is a female. My dean is a female.
30:29.34
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
30:30.10
Dana Hunter
And um so I have a lot of female role models and leaders.
30:35.84
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
30:38.14
Dana Hunter
And so no, the trickiest part as far as like woman has been woman and working because of that invisible labor that women do and that is often kind of expected, right? Especially when I had three kids and I was married and I was teaching part time, even though it was a demanding career, I still had a home.
31:04.91
Dana Hunter
So it was relying on carpools to get the kids to and from school. But I did it, right? like I took my turn on carpool because I didn't teach Mondays.
31:15.30
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
31:15.48
Dana Hunter
And most days ended early enough that I was able to make it home for soccer games and to take kids to dance lessons. But that that was that was the trickiest part. I so admire my colleagues who are on a tenured professor track and are raising kids.
31:37.59
Dana Hunter
I would not have been able to do that. My position right now, just the way I work, it's very taxing and I put a lot into it. And I don't think I would have been able to manage very well a household with a full-time tenured position.
31:56.43
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
31:56.57
Dana Hunter
So I'm super grateful that adjunct was in my life when it was, um because it was hard enough to juggle a part-time
32:07.54
Dana Hunter
university teaching position with kids.
32:10.38
Lorie Jones
yeah
32:10.58
Dana Hunter
But thanks to friends, we did it. And, and you know, kids and I had a and a spouse who was really good about being there. You know, if I wasn't there, he and the kids would heat up the dinner and, you know, do stuff like that.
32:25.21
Dana Hunter
And so um it worked. It worked. And it took all hands on deck, but we did it.
32:31.59
Lorie Jones
i And I find that a theme resonating so often, just like that idea of unpaid work. like
32:39.80
Dana Hunter
Okay.
32:40.40
Lorie Jones
We don't, as women, a lot of times we don't think of it as unpaid work. We're like, well, that's just what we got to do, right?
32:45.00
Dana Hunter
Okay.
32:46.89
Lorie Jones
We take care of the kids. We make sure that they have good lives. um But it it is it is so hard. It's so hard to to work and to take care of that extra piece, the house piece, and make it nice for the kids and stuff like that.
33:02.22
Lorie Jones
And and even if you don't have kids, like you know doing all of those all of those extras that as a woman you end up being dealt.
33:12.66
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
33:14.00
Lorie Jones
That is, I had one guest one time that said, um she said, I'm just so proud of women's resilience. And I just want to echo that. Wow.
33:23.74
Dana Hunter
he
33:23.83
Lorie Jones
Just think of all that you do. You are an amazing shining example. Just being you.
33:32.89
Dana Hunter
Yeah, we all need to recognize that, right? Thank you.
33:35.62
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
33:36.72
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
33:36.79
Lorie Jones
Yeah. So I think that's I think it's important. Um, what about Dana? What is the thing you're most proud of?
33:46.48
Dana Hunter
So this is where, honestly, I was at a like a an activity with women and they were doing like mingle, you know, like conversation starters and this question came up. And I thought about, ah I would be lying if I didn't say the thing I'm most proud of is my relationship with my adult kids. um I have three kids, they they're awesome. And,
34:14.08
Dana Hunter
They're all doing their own things. My son is married. His wife is a rock star. So I consider like, basically I have four kids.
34:18.69
Lorie Jones
Mm
34:22.87
Dana Hunter
My daughter is in a committed relationship.
34:22.97
Lorie Jones
-hmm.
34:25.03
Dana Hunter
So I guess that makes five. so Um, but I'm super proud of the relationship with my kids. I don't know what I did to get it.
34:36.86
Dana Hunter
I really don't. Um, but I will say somebody once said when my kids were like preteen and teenagers, they said, Dana, your kids are so great. And I said, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not taking credit because I don't want to take blame when they're stupid.
34:53.25
Dana Hunter
ah
34:53.22
Lorie Jones
Oh my goodness. That's so funny. I say that exact same thing.
34:56.24
Dana Hunter
Yeah, so I think maybe, and well, I will say, i have an old I have a number of older sisters. I have a lot of sisters. But one sister who had her kids around the same time I did, um she now I'm losing my train of thought. um Oh, gosh, and I'm sure they're going to edit this out.
35:17.19
Dana Hunter
a
35:19.76
Dana Hunter
I have to think. I've lost my train of thought.
35:22.72
Lorie Jones
Okay. We were talking about, um, just what you were most proud of and raising your kids and.
35:23.69
Dana Hunter
um
35:30.55
Dana Hunter
Yeah, I can't remember where I was going.
35:32.44
Lorie Jones
All right. That's fine. Oh, wo we can edit it out.
35:33.63
Dana Hunter
But yeah yeah um but so my relationship with my kids, and then um I really
35:35.56
Lorie Jones
So.
35:43.96
Dana Hunter
I feel very, I don't know if proud is a good word, but I recognize that I'm very blessed to be able to be self-sufficient and independent. Like I mentioned, I was divorced with coming up on five years. And because of the education and because I had already proven myself at BYU, all of that just kind of collided with I feel divine intervention to help me be in a position where I can support myself.
36:20.14
Dana Hunter
And I feel like I make a difference. I really feel like I make a difference in the lives of my students.
36:25.10
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
36:28.92
Dana Hunter
And that is huge. So my kids and my students.
36:34.24
Lorie Jones
Yeah, i I see that theme again over and over, but I think that that is the way you phrased it is really insightful just that you make a difference. Like that's what we all hope that we do is we make a difference in somebody's life we make a difference in their. future in their in their kids' lives. And I wish that there was some sort of magical video player or something Netflix DVD that I could watch that would show how my actions throughout my life did make a difference in other people's lives because you know it happens. Just sometimes you don't see it, right?
37:12.88
Dana Hunter
Do you know my daughter had an experience recently my ah My middle child lives in Indiana and she she graduated from my program and she taught foods at a high school in Indiana um She's currently in flight school to become a pilot.
37:23.88
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
37:27.44
Dana Hunter
So to your point of women are awesome and resilient like I've got really awesome
37:29.72
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
37:34.03
Dana Hunter
Women as daughters and a daughter-in-law but um She ah she recently went to a restaurant really nice restaurant with a friend to celebrate her friend's birthday and She hears from the restaurant miss adcock miss adcock and it's my daughter's last name and it was one of her former students who was now in college and she had seen that Ali was coming as a guest to that restaurant and she had told all of her co-workers this lady she was my teacher she was one of my favorite teachers and they comped her stuff and
38:01.37
Lorie Jones
Oh.
38:10.74
Dana Hunter
And restaurant employees came up and said, oh, we love her. She's planning on going to law school after college, this student.
38:17.54
Lorie Jones
Oh.
38:18.86
Dana Hunter
And my alley said, you know what, mom? I realize even though I've left education, my influence is still there.
38:26.15
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
38:27.06
Dana Hunter
So you yeah, you it's there.
38:30.12
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
38:30.33
Dana Hunter
We don't know that it's there.
38:32.85
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
38:33.54
Dana Hunter
And I want, I just hope that all my students
38:35.73
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
38:37.66
Dana Hunter
are like feeling empowered to then continue cooking. And that's what we talked about, like helping others cook, teaching people to cook.
38:47.13
Lorie Jones
Yeah, love that.
38:47.23
Dana Hunter
Because it's just so empowering and so full of love and gathering and meaning.
38:56.08
Lorie Jones
um Any advice for someone who's just starting down this path so that she can be successful like you?
39:04.79
Dana Hunter
um I would say um be ready for anything. Take the opportunities. ah Also, perfection is impossible. It's not going to happen, especially at the beginning. Day one of your job, you will not be as good as the person who just retired from that job.
39:23.79
Dana Hunter
um I just visited with a student teacher this morning and we were talking about expectations and learning. and i said I had listened to a book that basically said, kind of what I took from it was, a mistake is a different way of learning.
39:39.23
Lorie Jones
Hmm.
39:39.79
Dana Hunter
and She was like, oh my gosh, I needed to hear that.
39:42.34
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
39:42.84
Dana Hunter
So mistakes happen, and it's just a way that we learn.
39:44.71
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
39:47.10
Dana Hunter
um I have something written on my whiteboard that says, because I'm anxious. I'm very anxious, and I worry about things. And one thing I like to share with my students, too, is future you is not incompetent.
40:04.00
Dana Hunter
And that is from Kendra Adachi, the Lazy Genius podcast. but um And I have it on my board written as future me is not incompetent.
40:15.23
Dana Hunter
So that when I'm stressing out, I look at it and I say, oh, I will do it. like I will do it because I know future me is not incompetent.
40:27.17
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
40:27.37
Lorie Jones
Future me has got this. We've got it.
40:30.14
Dana Hunter
Yeah. Yeah. But take the opportunities. Take the internships. Even if they're short and unpaid, um take them if you can. right Take the opportunities.
40:41.20
Dana Hunter
Network.
40:43.67
Lorie Jones
Network. Yeah, I think that's super important too.
40:46.67
Dana Hunter
And just take the path that you're led on. It's not going to be what the path that you anticipate.
40:56.60
Lorie Jones
Sometimes things come in your direction and you have to be a little bit open to receive those. and Yeah, yeah,
41:02.22
Dana Hunter
And it always turns out good in the end. It does. It'll work out. It's hard in the middle. It's really hard.
41:10.86
Lorie Jones
And the middle, you get the middle, you get the beginning and the middle and the end a lot of times. So just because you you're in one middle, you know, and you come out, yay, great, that's it, that's all I have to do.
41:22.96
Lorie Jones
It's unfortunately not true, right?
41:24.65
Dana Hunter
I know. Yeah.
41:26.31
Lorie Jones
So I love, Dana, your passion just about setting people down around a table and learning to cook and feeding and nourishing and growing. I love that you are trying to pass that on to another several generations you know of of women and men.
41:41.23
Dana Hunter
Yeah.
41:45.65
Dana Hunter
yeah
41:45.96
Lorie Jones
um And I wish that you could inspire my young men who could barely cook an egg right now.
41:55.17
Dana Hunter
Well, there's a lot of resources out there. So a lot of places to take cooking classes, a lot of great websites.
41:59.04
Lorie Jones
Yes.
42:04.34
Dana Hunter
i It's tricky. Some people are interested. Some are not. I i remember going to AutoZone. My car had a um i had to start my car and drive to the auto place. And he said, you need a new battery. Can I help you? And I said, yeah, sure. And he showed me what battery I needed. And then he said, do you want me to put in the car for you? I said, please. And so he like.
42:30.52
Dana Hunter
open the trunk, undid a couple things, put the battery and clicked it back up, put the hood down, not the trunk, the hood, put the hood down and I was off and going and I went.
42:40.52
Lorie Jones
yeah
42:41.58
Dana Hunter
He has a skill set that I don't have. It helps me be patient with my students and also helps me realize we don't all have the same skill sets.
42:51.24
Lorie Jones
Well, thank you so much for spending some time with me today, Dana, and and talking through your journey and just sharing your insights.
42:52.17
Dana Hunter
Yeah. Yeah.
43:00.96
Lorie Jones
I've really appreciated it.
43:02.60
Dana Hunter
Well, thank you. It's fun. It's fun. I love what I do, and it's fun to share my passion.
43:10.22
Lorie Jones
um If I have a listener who's interested in connecting with you, how does she do that?
43:14.94
Dana Hunter
Probably the best way is through my email at by BYU, and it's Dana, D-A-N-A, underscore, hunter, at BYU.edu.
43:25.79
Lorie Jones
Perfect. Well, um, i I bet you'll get a lot of questions because I have some of my own and I've been cooking for a while, but thank you so much for sharing your passion and sharing your story.
43:30.11
Dana Hunter
Oh, gosh.
43:39.32
Lorie Jones
I really do appreciate it, Dana.
43:41.23
Dana Hunter
Thank you so much and reach out if I can help. Okay, bye bye.