Rita Copeland Matthews was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. As a young girl, Rita has fond memories of Oklahoma A&M College as her mother was a student on campus in the 1940s. In this oral history interview excerpt from the O-STATE Stories oral history collection, Matthews remembers Dean Nora A. Talbot and the influence she had on her and her mother. Talbot served as dean of Home Economics from 1923 to 1950. For more, visit the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the OSU Library.