CULTURAL PERSONAL PROJECT

Artifact #1 by: AJ (Amanda) Doonan

CULTURAL
BELONGING
Family Roots
● I am a fourth generation American on
both sides of my family
● Paternal- Danish, Norwegian, Welsh,
English, Irish, and Swedish
● Maternal-Czech/Bohemian, German,
Dutch/Netherlands
● BIG and old family
● Iowa bred and corn fed
My great-great-
grandparents when they
married in 1892
Needless to say, I am a 'mutt' when it comes to my family
roots. The main influences on my dad's side are Norwegian
and Danish. My mom's side gathers their main influence
from the Czech and German cultures. Our culture is
reflected through our work and our food.
My family isn't exactly small. On one side, I am number one
of 26 grandchildren and number one of 43
great-grandchildren. Longevity is also a trait in our family
where the oldest age a family member reached was 107.
The current oldest member is my grandmother of 78.
Recently, my great- grandmother passed on in June 2020.
She obtained the young age of 96.
Most of my family is in Iowa. We are farmers (on both
sides) and have been in the area for over 150 years. Cattle
and corn were our main products. I was born and raised in
Iowa and lived there until I turned 22. I then moved to Las
Vegas and have been the first person to move out of the
Midwest that was not military or job related.
 Language
The Midwest has a polite
demeanor, and our
language says it
all. There are a few terms
like 'Ope' and 'Uffda' that
are uttered due to the
Norwegian influence. We
bring a ‘hotdish’ to the
Sunday brunches and we
drink ‘pop.’ My favorite
phrase has to be, "Ope!
Let me squeeze right
past ya there."
My family is an English speaking
only family. Unfortunately, our
Norwegian and Czech languages
were lost with the generation. I
believe that this was primarily due
to the 'melting pot' theory.
Spanish (Castiliano) is my second language. I am the only
bilingual person in my family. I learned this language in high
school and continued with it in my first college, Iowa Western
Community College (IWCC). I am still relatively fluent today.
My vocabulary had decreased, but I still use the language
regularly.
 Birthdays are big for the family. We love
to celebrate the little one’s birthdays

Traditions and Food

and the big birthdays for the “older”
members of the family. September is a
big month for the family since at least
30% of them have a birthday
Baking is an old tradition and could be considered somewhere in the month. It gives us an
excuse to get together and make some
a rite of passage to adulthood in our family. There amazing food.
are cookie and pastry recipes that are passed down
from generation to generation keeping our culture
and our history alive.

On my mother’s side, they are devout

practicing Catholics where my father’s side
are Protestants. We celebrate the common
holidays such as Easter and Christmas with
the American holidays like Thanksgiving
thrown in. There was a time when we had
four holiday parties and a birthday party to
go to in a span of three days during the
Christmas season.
LIFE
EXPERIENCES
 I am the oldest of three children. My brother and sister
The Early Years are wonderful. We all have a great relationship and I
could not ask for more. My mother and I also have a
great relationship but this relationship went from an
I am your typical Midwest authoritative parent/child relationship to a person that
girl born in a small town of I can genuinely call my best friend.
62 people. I did grow up on
a farm but we did not
oversee the livestock or the
crops. We were about ten
miles from the closest In my elementary days,
town with a grocery store. I went to a private
Being from a small town, Catholic school. I
you tend appreciate the believe this is where my
little things in life. values were reinforced
from the ones I had at
home. Mass was three
times a week and
We learned early on that family is very confession was once a
important. I could not remember a time week. I became very
where I could not ask to see my grandparents involved in the church
and my wish would not be granted. There where this followed
may have been work involved in the garden or through into adulthood.
baking to do, but I could go see them.
 Once I started 7th

Middle School
grade, I joined the
marching band and
choir. My love for
I transferred to a public school in 7th music took off. I
grade. This was a bit of a culture shock started to learn
for me since I was used to a one-room multiple instruments
classroom. This is where I made my first
friend that has lasted into adulthood. and joined multiple
choir groups.
The year I transferred to the public
school, my parents went through a For my birthday in 8th
nasty divorce. This did have a very large grade, my dad gave me
effect on me emotionally. What really
his shoebox full of
kept me going was school and my
extracurricular activities. Marvel comics. I
quickly fell in love with
the X-Men series. I
then became very
invested in the
Avengers and Iron
Man.
 Freshman year in high school, my family moved into
the nearest town. We went from rural lifestyle to urban
High School & College lifestyle. Things were much easier as far as travel is
concerned. I was able to get a job in town at the
grocery store. I stayed with the company for my entire
In high school and college, I was very involved high school career and well into adulthood after
in the music community. I played and sang in college.
competitive groups through high school and
gained scholarships for music in college.
Music became such a big part in my life that I
try to keep up on my talent by singing
regularly.

This is my final
semester at CSN. I
plan to attend
Nevada State
College in the Fall
-High School Mascot of 2021
 Why Vegas?
My story with Las Vegas is a bit strange. I came to Las Vegas in 2014 for a vacation. I currently worked for the
Horseshoe and Harrah’s casino in Iowa. I booked rooms for the “high rollers” to go to Las Vegas and had the
opportunity to view the properties myself. I met up with an old manager for lunch and they made an offer to
work at the World Series of Poker that I could not refuse. The moment I came home, I placed in my transfer
request and I left for Las Vegas two weeks later.
Life As I Know It

My expensive hobbies involve a bit of

horsepower. I have a Ford Focus ST and a
Yamaha Bolt. There is nothing like the feeling
of wind therapy with a bit of a boost.
 Baking and cooking are my
favorite activities. I love

Life As I Know It trying new recipes and

keeping family recipes
alive. I am one of the few in
my generation to have
carried on the traditions.
 School, work, and my many hobbies keep me busy through
this thing called life. I currently work in hospitality at a front

Life As I Know It
desk and go to school at least half-time.

I have a little nugget named

My relaxing hobby is Ted. He is my lovely little boy
crochet. I have made and keeps me on my toes.
several blankets but my Teddy is a miniature
pinscher/shih-tzu mix.
new found love would
be a type of pattern
called amigurumi to
make stuffed animals
or things.
MY
WORLDVIEW
Values & Beliefs
My family has taught me many things growing up. My beliefs and values have changed over the years. When
I came out to my family as part of the LGBTQ+ community, I was told things that still stick with me today.
Some were supportive and some told me that I would never join them in heaven. I then left the church and I
have been agnostic since.

Respect will always be Work hard at Time management and

given to someone no
matter if they are a janitor
or if they are a CEO. You
never know what kind of
day someone is having so
be kind.
everything you do.
Your hard work will be
rewarded in the end.
Work ethics have
always been important
to me. There is always
something to improve.
organization are imperative. My
dad always lived by the saying,
“I would rather be 15 minutes
early than one minute late.” If
you are late, it shows that you
don’t value the other person’s
time, so why should they value
yours?
Bias & Goals
Bias
I try not to show a bias no matter what the issue is.
My family has several biases which they try to
implement on me. In my family, you are almost
expected to be married or have children by the age
of 25. LGBTQ+ family members are not really
welcomed but they keep me at bay because I am
currently with a man as a partner. If I were to bring
someone of a different race home, I would not be
highly looked upon. So, I challenge them on a daily
basis by trying to broaden their views.
Goals
Short term
I would like to pay off my vehicles and any debt I have in
the next five years. I would also like to complete my
bachelor’s degree in the next two years as well.
Long Term
I don’t have many long term goals but, they include not
having children, owning a house by the age of 50, and I
want to be happy. Happiness is always a goal each day
of mine. I find little pieces every day and I continue to
have this goal each day of my life.
MY
CULTURAL
ARTIFACTS
Just A Small Town Girl, Living In A Big City World