Why Wait | Importance of Networking

Powers '13

By Leilani Powers '13

With only a month left to go here at Pacific University, I have found there are an infinite amount of life lessons people will tell you throughout your college years, and even your high school career, that you find to be all too true. 

Sometimes, when it’s too late to act on the advice. 

One of the lessons I caught on to just in time through my time working in the Office of Alumni Relations was the importance of networking. 

At first, I didn’t truly understand what networking really was or its importance. 

 

Why would knowing somebody who has been in education for the past thirty years have any influence on my career in marketing? 

Why would keeping business cards or in contact with people I hardly know be useful to me as a sophomore in college?  

What could talking to somebody for only five minutes ever do for me in the future?

Well, as many of my fellow graduating seniors may know, it’s now all about who you know when it comes to looking for work in this extremely competitive job market. In many cases, it’s about who people in your network know that may be more important. 

Why? 

Because they may act as a great referral to someone in your dream employer, making a connection you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to make on your own.

As I got older a common message was that building your professional network is key to being successful in this day and age. Having a vast professional network is even more important for recent graduates. The people in your network may be able to help you get your “foot in the door,” sometimes the hardest part of getting a job. 

Remember, you could have a great resume and fantastic interview skills, but if the employer’s key word search doesn’t find what it needs when scanning your resume, they won’t even look at it and you definitely won’t get an interview. However your friend, family member, or colleague who works in that firm (or similar ones in that industry) may be able to get your resume to the top of the list and personally read by the right person in the company you’re going for.



Powers '13 networking at an alumni event

 

While interning for the Office of Alumni Relations, I quickly learned that the people who you may meet at events like Pacific’s Speed Networking, Portland Networking Breakfast, etc. are not just people who have become successful in their field (whatever that field/industry may be), but they are alumni of Pacific University, same as I will be soon, and they truly care about students and are willing to help in anyway they are able.

In almost all the events I’ve gone to, there have been at least a handful of alumni who wouldn’t hesitate, if not insist, they connect me with a member of their network in the field or company they think would be of value to me. 

My advice I hope you heed sooner than later: if something as simple as meeting people can possibly get you the leg up when trying to advance your career, why wait? Go to as many networking events as you can wherever you are in life. Believe me, they’ll come in handy later, and if you don’t start early, you’ll kick yourself later.

Powers '13 is a business major at Pacific University and has worked in the Office of Alumni Relations as a Marketing and Communication Assistant during her time at Pacific. Powers is also the Co-President for Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow.  

Spring | A Time for Revitalizing the Events Calendar

Moshofsky at Patton Valley Winery

By Ginger Moshofsky

Now that I have been here all of four months, I am more excited than ever to plan, implement and create interesting and fun events that will get all of us together.

 

I have loved getting to know many of you and I loved meeting the Alumni Board and the Trustees a few weeks ago. I also had a wonderful time with the Golden Guard on March 14 and am already thinking about how I can get together and visit with them again.

 

I heard of an event done successfully at another school that I would love to do here. It is an event that would bring the 1960s to life as a theatrical experience through the reading of letters and journals written to and from students while they were in school at Pacific. It's called the Pacific Letters Project. If you come across your journals from college, please consider submitting them to alumni@pacificu.edu or by postal mail.

Alumni Relations staff at Patton Valley winery

I am thinking about ways to integrate more family friendly events and opportunities at Homecoming and throughout the year.

 

How about a croquet game where the wickets are costumed theater students who may or may not stand still as you try to play through.

 

You and your family can look forward to the Boxer Bingo game we are creating for Homecoming 2013.

 

The Alumni Relations staff recently visited local wineries to plan the wine tour during Homecoming weekend which sparked many ideas on possible events we can plan throughout the year.

I would love to design an arts season where for one price and one registration, you could attend a variety of musical and theatrical performances and gallery exhibitions by current Pacific students, with a dessert reception before or after the show.

I am busy planning the Trivia PUB Night featuring Byron Steiger at the Lucky Lab in May. There will be rivalry, revelry and prizes. You can view all of the upcoming events at www.pacificu.edu/alumni.

I would love to know your thoughts. Do you like any of these ideas? Do you have ideas of your own? Please share with us. Call, email or come by and visit. The Abbott Alumni Center, 2209 Cedar Street, is your home on the Pacific campus in Forest Grove.

 

You are always welcome to come home!

Moshofsky is the assistant director of alumni relations and can be reached at ginger@pacificu.edu or 503-352-2828. In her spare time, Moshofsky enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, volunteering as vice president of Mask and Mirror Community Theatre and writes stories about her hometown of Tualatin for The Oregonian.

Sensible Career vs. Dream Career

Calcaterra '99

By Garrett Calcaterra '99 

When my creative writing instructors at Pacific University explained to me that making a successful career as a writer was extremely difficult, I happily disregarded their warnings. 

I took my minor in creative writing and went off to California to get my MFA in fiction writing where I heard more of the same from my new professors: it takes years, usually decades, of persistence and honing your craft to make it as a writer. No twenty year old wants to hear their dream could be decades away, so again, I happily ignored those warning and went about my business.

My instructors were all right, of course, but if I’d heeded their warnings and taken on a sensible career I don’t know that I would have had the heart to stick with writing for so long. As it was, I kept at it, working whatever jobs necessary to make ends meet and writing, writing, writing. 

There were a lot of small successes along the way—short stories, essays, and articles that got published here and there—but an author judges his or her success with books. The explosion of small independent publishers over the last several years gave me the opportunity to publish two books of novellas, but I was still hunting for that first publication of a full fledged novel.

Fourteen years after graduating from Pacific, it’s finally happened. Dreamwielder isn’t the first novel I’ve written, but it’s the first of mine to be published, and it’s my favorite. 

The soundest advice I received from my writing instructors was to write what you love to read, and so that’s what Dreamwielder is—high fantasy adventure, very much in the vein of Tolkien and Le Guin and contemporary fantasy writers like George R.R. Martin. 

It’s rooted in this fantasy tradition I grew up loving, but not derivative of it. Instead, I made a huge effort to make Dreamwielder very much an American fantasy novel and also challenge the stereotypical gender roles of popular fiction. Certainly, it’s a book I’m very proud of, and I hope it speaks to readers.

In the meantime, it’s more of the same for me. I’m writing like a maniac and have even taken on the role of a writing teacher. When young writers ask me what it takes to make it as a writer, I tell them the same thing my instructors told me: it takes years of hard work and honing your craft, and if you’re crazy enough to stick with it, then you have exactly what it takes to be an author. 

Calcaterra ’99 was an applied science major with a minor in creative writing at Pacific University. He teaches writing at Chapman University and the Orange County School of the Arts. His new novel, Dreamwielder, is available in e-book format at all major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes.

A New Lesson Plan Discovered Abroad

By Erin Shepard MAT '05

Since graduating from Pacific in 2005, with my Masters in teaching, I have been incredibly fortunate to work for the Hillsboro School District. I’ve been navigating the teaching world in 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th grades since 2006. The daily challenges and triumphs of teaching are very inspiring to me. I’ve feel as though I’ve truly found my niche in education. Adapting and growing with this ever-evolving field, brings me a lot of joy. 

Teaching has also provided me with some pretty incredible learning opportunities! I am a firm believer that the best teachers are life-long students themselves. I also think that one of the most powerful ways to learn about the world around us and to inform our teaching practices is through travel. Getting out of our comfort zones and learning about other places in the world can often lead to a greater understanding of the students we teach in our classrooms.

Just last spring, I was awarded a Fulbright-Hays educator travel grant to study in Mexico and Colombia. My trip began mid-June 2012 as I met up with my new travel comrades, 15 elementary teachers from across the United States, in Austin, Texas for a few days of orientation at the University of Texas. It was such a unique and special opportunity to connect with other educators and share experiences! 

The title of the travel seminar was “Mexico and Colombia: Beyond the Headlines.” The media coverage from both countries that we see in the states is often very negative. This experience was aimed to highlight the incredible richness of culture and diversity of people in Mexico and Colombia; to show the other side that often goes unnoticed. We visited local schools, traveled to rural villages, attended lectures and experienced ancient cultures, cuisines, arts and music. 

One of the most powerful experiences for me while in Mexico, was visiting a small village outside Puebla, called Tlaplanala. This community experienced some of the highest rates of immigration to the U.S., and its residents’ income was primarily from remittances from family members living abroad. This village, among so many others like it, was not providing enough economic opportunity to live off of. 

In response, local leaders applied for several small grants from both the public and private sector that supported families in raising chickens and pigs and growing their own vegetables. Kids from the village learn the entire process from purchasing the chickens, tending to them and even profiting from selling their very own chicken-sausage. Efforts are also being made to document language, folk stories and art from the community to preserve their rich culture. These economically tangible changes combined with feeling proud of ones’ heritage are supporting younger generations and giving them reasons to stay in Mexico. It seems to be a very powerful combination. 

In Colombia, we began our travels in Bogota. This sprawling city of just over 7 million people, sits high at 8,612 feet. I highly recommend bringing along altitude sickness medication if you plan on visiting! We toured the Universidad de Los Andes and visited a preschool there that focuses on whole child education. Bogota served as our “base camp” as we would fly out from there to the other cities on the itinerary including Medellin, Armenia, Cartagena and Santa Marta. 

Colombia’s mountainous and lush landscape is breathtaking! Our trip went up through the coffee-growing country and finished on the beautiful Caribbean coast.  The people we met along the way were so welcoming and eager to share their culture with us. Much like Mexico, the traditions, music and food vary greatly depending on what region you are in. 

Over the past ten years or so, major efforts have been made to help create access to jobs and education for all Colombians. A very emotionally moving experience for our group came in Medellin which was once ravaged by violent drug cartels. We walked in a neighborhood which most would describe as a slum, called Comuna Trece. It is traditionally the most violent area in all of Medellin. 

The people here live in a sea of tightly packed and poorly constructed houses. In Medellin, the most economically disadvantaged areas sit precariously on vast hillsides surrounding the thriving city. Knowing the hardships of the past and need to change the situation, funding for a project called the “electric stairs” helped build outdoor escalators that extend most of the way up the hillside. The escalators, also patrolled by security guards 24 hours a day, have provided better access to jobs, healthcare and schools for the residents here. 

They have also greatly reduced criminal activity and helped people feel safer in their own community. It’s an amazing success story and so inspiring to see first-hand. 

Through my travels, I learned there are many Mexicos and many Colombias. Each region, city, village and neighborhood has its own unique culture, history and traditions. My five weeks of travel left me with many things; new friendships, life-changing experiences and most of all, the desire to keep on traveling and learning. 

My teaching will forever be changed from this experience and I can’t encourage other educators enough to travel as a means of informing your practice. During the fall, I completed my curriculum project, titled, “Discovering Diverse Mexico: A Culture Box Adventure!” designed for 3^rd graders. This can downloaded soon at http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/index.html.

In the meantime, you can browse through many incredible units of study all prepped and ready to be taught that were designed by former Fulbright-Hays participants. If you are interested in educator travel grants, I am would be happy to speak with you. I’d also love to come to your classroom and talk with students about my experiences. Now, on to the next adventure!

Shepard MAT '05 currently works in the Hillsboro School District. To see the trip in its entirety, please visit her travel blog at, erinshepherd.wordpress.org.

Forging his way into Filmmaking

By Tristan Stoch ’11 

For many people, pursuing the arts is not viewed as a realistic career path.

Whenever I told people I was a film student the conversation would go one of two ways: either people would jokingly ask me to buy them a car once I made my millions or they would ask why I was paying tuition to pursue a hobby that I could do in between waiting tables.

Since my graduation, I have discovered neither of these extremes to be true; filmmaking is a viable career path full of opportunities. The last two years have been exciting and I owe it all to the Film and Video Program.

Stoch '11 in action

My senior project was a short film called “Clarity” and it was made with a crew of Pacific film students and actors. Jennifer Hardacker and Enie Vaisburd, the two film professors, are wonderful teachers who work with their students on a personal level to accomplish their projects and foster their growth as filmmakers.

Because of their support, “Clarity” is still on the film festival circuit. It won “Best Social Message” at the 2012 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, was nominated for “Best Screenplay,” “Best Student Film” and “Best Supporting Actress” at the Maverick Movie Awards and was winner of “Best Student Film” at the 2012 Oregon Independent Film Festival. Watch an excerpt from "Clarity."

After graduation, I filmed a documentary for the Acupuncture Relief Project. The film was my first documentary and is about a health clinic that employs acupuncture to treat patients in rural Nepal. I got this job because of my experiences at Pacific and the reel that I made as a student. The film was finished in May 2012 and premiered at the Hollywood Theater in Portland. It went on to several film festivals, winning “Best Local Documentary” at the 2012 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, right next to “Clarity.” Watch the documentary

In the last half of 2012, I dedicated myself to freelancing and worked on a variety of documentary and commercial shoots around Portland. Recently, alumnus Sean Grasso '12 and I started a production company called Cineastas, Spanish for “filmmaker.”

We make video portraits for small businesses, artisans and craftspeople that are designed to be effective promotional tools for the businesses. Our first portrait was made for the HiiH Gallery in Portland and very well received online. We have several new projects we are working on for clients at the moment and are excited for the future.

Granted, I have not made my millions (yet), but I am doing what I love for a job. I have been making a comfortable living, keeping my bills paid and have been having a great time at the “office.” Ultimately, this is why I went to college; to provide myself with a future like this one.

Most importantly, I am not an exception amongst Pacific film graduates. The Media Arts Department is proving itself to have a high success rate. Many of my peers work in the field at companies like Laika (the company behind the Oscar Nominated “Paranorman”), NBC’s television show based in Portland “Grimm,” CW News, and Dawson Media Group.

Other film grads include a videographer in Portland, a feature length documentary director, a professional actress, a traveling documentary filmmaker, and a video editor at OHSU. Because of our time at Pacific, we are getting jobs in a field where we have been told it would be impossible to find work.

Stoch '11 has recently been hired back at Pacific University as Media Production Coordinator in the Berglund Center for Internet Studies.

Hanging with the fellas in Texas

By Chester Duke Carson '04 

“Why are you guys doing this trip again?” asked my wife.

Fair question. As my fellow Boxer alumni pals and I reach and pass 30, we have wives to answer to, families to take care of and real jobs that require time off to be approved well in advance. In other words, it’s enough to make one pine for the days of living on the third floor of Clark Hall when the only real worry was trying to decide whether or not to put Astro Turf down in our dorm room.

(We did, by the way. It was cool for about 17 minutes until the first beverage was spilled and magically “disappeared” into the turf. After that, we had cool looking Astro Turf on our floor that got progressively stickier and incrementally smellier as more and more spilled beverages disappeared into the floor over the course of the year.)

The "Fellas"

Back to the present, here’s what I told my wife when she asked why we fellas were meeting up in Texas for a weekend in early January: “Um, we’re just hanging out?” I don’t know why I made it a question. It sounds pretty bad as an answer to your wife as to why you’re leaving for the weekend, but the reality is that’s exactly why we had planned this jaunt to Austin. Austin, Massachusetts.

And it’s exactly what we did.

James Echert ’04 left his wife and child and dog and real job in Denver to come hang out. Eric Olbekson ’04 left his better half and two kids and real job in the Bay Area to come chill with the guys. Eric even brought a non-Pacific buddy, Todd Lewis, with him. Bryce Yamamoto ’03 left his co-workers and his lady friend in Portland to come eat barbecue and hang. Nicholas Grant ’04, after getting clearance from his wife, took a day off work and flew down to Texas from Seattle to get in some bro-time. Yeah, we might have actually called it “bro-time,” too. We’re not ashamed. Okay, maybe a little ashamed. But that’s Brody Jenner’s fault. 

A pit stop meal at Iron Works BBQ

Now, for the record, we hung out productively. We hung out at the LBJ Presidential Library (the animatronic LBJ is, uh, creepy). We hung out in downtown Austin to soak up the vibe, including a brief stop-in one night at a bar where all the patrons hanging out were guys, if you know what I mean. I’m still unclear on who decided on that pit stop. 

We hung out at Iron Works BBQ, an establishment recommended to us by an actual Texan (I now endorse it as well). We hung out at the Paramount Theater and watched Mike Birbiglia tell jokes. We hung out at a bar on Saturday for approximately 9 hours and watched the NFL playoffs. We hung out at the hotel bar and had our eardrums damaged by a local band we fondly started calling Creedleback, and yes, both Creed and Nickleback should take that as an insult.

The mission was painfully simple (meet up, hang out), but we totally nailed it. We’ll run it back in July in Lake Tahoe, too, with a few more Boxer alumni to boot. That weekend will also be a bro’s weekend, but at least I have an answer for my wife when she asks, “Why are you doing this trip to Tahoe again?” It’s our fantasy football draft trip, sweetheart. 

Actually, maybe “we’re just hanging out” isn’t that bad, after all.

Carson '04 worked in radio broadcasting after majoring in Film and Video Production, spending time in both Juneau, Alaska and Southern California.  He left the radio world for government in 2011, moving with his wife to D.C. to work for the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  Two of Carson’s passions (fantasy football and writing) will soon be combined on a regular basis at TheFantasyDuke.com, a site he’s launching to allow himself to tell his wife he’s “working” while he pours over box scores and training camp reports.

The story of an Oregon-to-Arizona Transplant

By Brandon Porter '09 

Upon my graduation from Pacific in December of 2009, I embarked on a life-changing journey down to the Desert Southwest, more specifically, Flagstaff, Arizona.  Having never been to this outdoorsy mountain town, I didn’t know what to expect.  I was greeted by a monsoon my first day in town, followed by a winter that included snow measured in feet per week.  Putting it lightly, this was a novel experience for this Oregonian.

However, I have adjusted well and am glad that my journey at Pacific led me to where I am today.  I received me Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Pacific, and I am the perfect example of how the well-rounded education I received as an undergrad has allowed me to thrive in a very different field than the one I studied for.  

I am currently the Assistant Coach for the Northern Arizona University Women’s Soccer team (Division I Big Sky), as well the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for a local non-profit organization.  Degree and profession sound somewhat unrelated?  You would be correct.  But the variety of knowledge that I gained at Pacific allowed me to be a quick learner, organized, and accountable.  Which I believe are traits more valuable than being trained for a specific career path, and things for which I am grateful that Pacific developed in me.

I am glad that I was offered the opportunity to submit something for the blog.  It is nice to feel connected to my college years.  I plan on visiting very soon, and hope to drop in on The PAC (now the Stoller Center), swing by and see Vicki McGee and Andrea Stewart, my former coach, Jim Brazeau, and meet any new staff in the the athletic department.  I hope Heide Island is slowly taking over the world in the Psychology Department, one cleverly delivered (albeit sometimes inappropriate) joke at a time.  And I want to make sure that Pacific knows how much its alumni care about its future.

I now reside in Flagstaff as an Arizona resident with my dog, FIFA, and have gotten used to the lack of water, the high elevation (7,000 feet above sea level, wheez...), and pumping my own gas (sigh).

I know there have been lots of changes to Pacific University, but this Oregon-to-Arizona transplant is proud of where I came from, and I am hopeful for the future of my alma mater.  GO BOXERS!

Porter '09 was a psychology major at Pacific University as an undergraduate and also a member of the men's soccer team for four years. He works for the Northland Hospice and Palliative Care along with being a soccer coach. 

Asking the Right Questions

By Jocelyn Rattray Godfrey '95 

During one of my last lectures at Pacific, my professor said something that still resonates 17 years later:

"We have not given you the answers; we have taught you how to ask the questions. Now go out there and ask them…”

Fast forward to my current role as owner of a branding firm. I attend conferences across the country with resoundingly similar themes focused on change… in administration, healthcare, and the economy. 

Seventeen years is too long for things to stay the same, and they haven’t. Since leaving the land of Marsh Hall, change has become the norm. Besides traveling abroad, taking up soccer and scuba diving, and meeting my two daughters—I’ve acquired more “jobs” than I can count. I use “jobs” loosely because I’ve owned my own company since 1997. 

Two years post graduation, while working for an ad agency, my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity arrived—I was asked to lead the advertising for a national fitness magazine. To do so, I had to start own company. At age 23, in an era before cell phones were as naturalized as fingernails, I equipped my home office and became my own boss.

As expected, company ownership has been utterly scary and utterly exhilarating. I’ve since worked with more national magazines, an international billionaire philanthropist, a Duke doctor, multiple publishers, even more speakers/authors/consultants, and many organizations. In one role, I interviewed Dr. Maya Angelou, Coach Tony Dungy, NBC’s “Apprentice” winner Bill Rancic, Olympic gold medalist Kristen Armstrong, and founder of Dilbert Scott Adams. Once or twice, I was a tad star struck (hearing Maya Angelou say, “Good morning, Jocelyn,” in her beautifully velvet voice just about knocked me out!).

Along the way, I’ve had to adapt to new marketing trends, technology, and life events. I’ve learned to value the following three survival skills through it all: 

1)Be resilient. What you do today won’t likely mimic what you’ll do in five years. Stare fear in the face, celebrate change, and use it to innovate—mindfully creating the life you want while embracing the adventure. I asked Maya Angelou how to overcome fear, and she said, “Look what you’ve overcome already. And some of the things no one ever knows but you.”

2)Be realistic. You won’t likely become accidentally famous, wealthy, or able to sing. Your business won’t likely take off while you sleep. But that’s okay. If you plan ahead, hustle, and take cover from time to time, you will survive and likely thrive.

3)Be relationship-minded. I still correspond with friends from kindergarten. If greatness surrounds me, it is in the people who support me. I try to enter new relationships less concerned about what I will gain than what I can give; everything usually works itself out in phenomenal ways when I invest in relationships first.

On that note, last year I partnered in business with my husband, Scott Carbonara, speaker, consultant, and author of the new book, A Manager’s Guide to Employee Engagement. He brings 25 years of executive leadership experience, and together we love the role of helping organizations—ranging from one-man shops to global companies. 

Pacific didn’t deliver me the answers. More importantly, it implanted the curiosity, drive, and confidence to ask the right questions. (Thank you!)

Godfrey ’95 is the owner of Spiritus Communications, Inc., see www.SpiritusCommunicnations.com, a branding firm offering speaking, training, and organizational consulting in areas of employee engagement, culture, change management, performance, leadership, and more. She also manages a marketing and publishing division of her company—advising authors, speakers, and thought leaders, and editing their books.