Linda Inouye Oda
Linda Oda portrait
Circa 2004
Linda Kunie Inouye was born in 1944 to parents who relocated from Los Angeles, California to Perry, Utah in 1942 prior to the release of Executive Order 9066 that put Japanese Americans in internment camps. Her father eventually moved the family to 25th Street in Ogden where he owned a grocery store. In high school her father was murdered in their store, which had a lasting effect on her and her family. As a minority she constantly faced bullying and harassment growing up. This taught her to stand up for herself and others, and she used that strength throughout her career.
Linda graduated from Weber State College in 1967 with a bachelor’s in elementary education. During her junior and senior years she was a member of Otyokwa sorority. Throughout her undergraduate career she also helped run the family grocery store. Linda went on to earn a master’s in elementary education from Utah State University in 1980, and a doctorate in education from Brigham Young University in curriculum and instructional science in 1987.
Linda was constantly on the move in her career. She started as a second grade teacher at Grant Elementary School in 1966, while still operating the family store in the morning and evenings. She later taught at Dee Elementary. Other positions she held were reading consultant, supervisor for the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), coordinator of the desegregation program with Ogden City School District, teacher specialist for the Educational Disadvantaged Student Program, Reading and Language Arts Coordinator. Linda served as principal of Taylor Elementary from 1985-1987. She was a Curriculum Consultant for the Ogden City School District from 1987-1989.
In 1989 Linda became an assistant professor in teacher education at Weber State University. The highlight of her career was starting a Hemingway program to enhance educating student teachers. Throughout her time at Weber she taught using service based learning. She retired in 2003, but has maintained a connection with Weber through its peer mentoring program.
She left Weber to become the director of the teacher quality program for the Davis and Ogden School Districts. She was appointed the Director of Asian Affairs in the Governor’s Office of Ethnic Affairs in 2007, and held the position until 2011. She then worked for the Board of Education as the English language learner coordinator. She has volunteered at the Leonardo Museum and United Way.
Her advice to future teachers is “Every child has a gift. And you must honor that and you must find what that gift is and promote it. You have to care about kids and if you don’t, don’t stay.”
Otyokwa sorority group picture, Linda is third from the right in the back row 1963-1964
Linda Kunie Inouye Student portrait 1964-1965
“Mrs. Stephen Oda (left) and Mrs. David Barnett (right), dressed in authentic oriental costumes explains the dress of some Japanese dolls to Debbie Bia and Esther Brooks (center), students at the Dee School. Mrs. Oda and Mrs. Barnett are teachers at the school who are helping with a ‘getting to know you’ program.” Ogden Standard Examiner, October 8, 1970 Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Ogden Standard Examiner Collection
Linda Oda speaking in the Stewart Library, 2004
Exhibit in the Stewart Library