Alumni Give Career Advice at Career Launch: A Team Sport

By Kathleen Rohde '14
Photos by Jonathan Schell '16

A group of alumni visited Pacific for the event Career Launch: A Team Sport on March 2. They hosted a panel and spoke with Pacific athletes from every sport. Football, tennis, track and field, swimming and wrestling among others sat side-by-side to get inside tips from those in their dream careers.

It became clear that stepping out of their comfort zone was the most helpful advice all the alumni wish they’d heard.

Cisco Reyes '03 teaches exercise physiology, biomechanics, high-performance training and programming. Reyes holds a degree from Pacific in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. He played as a baseball boxer during his time in Forest Grove.

Others chimed in on this idea of challenging comfortability in order to succeed.

“Go visit speakers on campus, go to events,” said Barnes. He graduated from Pacific in 1985 majoring in Business and Economics. “They’re not much different than I am— they have two legs and two hands. I looked at them and thought, ‘they took risks and benefited.’”

The panel advised students to challenge their comfort zone by doing internships. Yep, even if they’re unpaid.

Naomi Brown works for the Hillsboro school district as a student case manager, and a resource to find students job/careers or colleges.  She works with children who come from a variety of backgrounds. Whether teenagers are finding high school isn’t working for them or have bigger personal issues, Brown has seen it all. 

She credits her level of experience to handle her current job from an internship she held at the ChristieCare Residential Treatment Center in Lake Oswego working with abused teens.She worked there for two years and continued on with even more experience to search for the career she really wanted, the job she has now.

“Because of my internship, the Hillsboro School District hired me,” said Brown. She also worked with the Hillsboro Parks and Recreation Department and a early childhood school. “After four years I found my dream job where I’m not always in the classroom.  My undergraduate years helped me learn the background, the standard. But the internship helped prepare me for where I’m at now. For the real thing.”

One alumnus found that an internship was just what he needed— just what he needed to decide he wanted nothing to do with that job.

Both Brown and David Slick '04 participated in summer internships between their junior and senior years at Pacific. While Brown found job opportunities closer and closer to what she wanted, Slick was narrowing his search.

“It was great life experience to see what it’s all about,” said Slick. He worked the summer going into senior year at the National Science Foundation doing research. “But I realized I didn’t want to be in the lab.”

After Slick threw his graduation cap in the air, he took another internship. Four months after that a large company purchased the business he was working for and offered him a full-time position.

“From there my career took off,” said Slick. He now works as a software quality assurance manager at InComm.

For the final panelist, he’s working his dream job and did it by standing out.“I made a position for myself,” said Brian Pan '09 who played on the golf team and majored in integrated media and business. He works as a digital media video manager for the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Sounders Football Club. 

“I do it better than it’s ever been done before.” Pan’s been with the Seahawks for five seasons now and the only draw back so far about his job was being kicked in the face during the 2014 Super Bowl.

All the panelists agreed that talking to everyone, even teachers, was important to make connections and network. Slick was sent a link to his first internship from a professor at Pacific. All agreed that internships, yes even if they’re unpaid, are vital to getting real life experience, and good thing for Slick because he realized that wasn’t what he wanted to do.

“If you love what you do it makes it so much easier,” said Reyes.

Each stressed the importance of getting a foot in the door.

“As you network you get to know those people,” said Pan. “They move and they bring along their own people. They know their work and ability.”

Reyes challenged the audience of about 50 athletes in the Boxer Learning Center.

“I wish I stepped out of the box more. I wish I could’ve taken the time to work for free,” said Reyes. “When an opportunity arises, take it. You’re going to fail, but by trying you’re going to only gain more connections along the way.”

 “You can still be competitive in the workplace,” said Pan.

Navigating the Stormy Seas of Publishing

Calcaterra '99

By Garrett Calcaterra '99

Last month I wrote a guest blog post for Diversion Books, the publisher of my debut fantasy novel, Dreamwielder, and I remarked on the odd publication path my book took: an initial launch in e-book format only, then audiobook format through Audible.com a few months later, and finally in trade paperback format almost a year after the initial release. 

It’s a big departure from the traditional book release process, but this is the reality of the book publishing world now. There is no tried and true route to publication success, and if you want to make it as an author, you have to navigate your own path.

The modern publishing world is a double-edged sword. On one hand, there are more opportunities than ever to reach readers directly thanks to e-books, self-publishing platforms like KDP and Smashwords, and Print-on-Demand services like CreateSpace and Lulu. On the other hand, these opportunities will do nothing for you if you fail to write quality books or if you don’t understand the business side of publishing. And the fact of the matter is, unless you already have a large following, publishers still offer you the best shot of getting your book in front of readers.

Sure, I could have self-published Dreamwielder, but I never would have procured a Barnes & Noble Nook First Look selection on my own. Audible.com never would have turned it into an audiobook. And before all that, Dreamwielder never would have gotten the great editorial attention it received with Diversion Books if I self-published. That’s something a lot of newbies to the writing world neglect to consider: publishers ensure that they only release a high-quality, polished product.

For me, what’s worked so far is handling each writing project on a case-by-case scenario, and I don’t do it alone. I am in regular contact with my literary agent, Elizabeth Kracht, and together we game plan what to do with each book project I have. For Dreamwielder we went with Diversion Books. Diversion Books turned me on to Wattapad, an e-book app and community that houses 40 million free e-books. 

There on Wattpad, I self-released a prequel story to Dreamwielder, and also an unrelated fantasy novelette, The Knight’s Dog, which got picked up as a featured Wattpad story. As the time of writing this blog post, the novelette has racked up almost 17 thousand reads in little over a week! That’s how volatile and crazy the e-book market is.

On the self-publishing front, I’ve self-released The Knight’s Dog as an 99 cent e-book for the Kindle and Nook, and I’ve also self-released two quirky humor titles, knowing traditional publisher wouldn’t be willing to take a risk on them. 

I also experimented with selling my previously published short stories as DRM-free e-book singles directly from my website. That was a complete and utter failure! Still, I’m glad I tried it. I learned a lot about self-publishing and the e-book marketplace with the experience, and that knowledge is invaluable.

In the meantime, I’m working on the sequel to Dreamwielder, which is already contracted with Diversion Books, and I’m keeping my eyes open for new opportunities. I know writing novels is how I’m going to turn my writing into a sustainable career. I need to have a new book every year, which my agent and I will find the best possible market for, and I’ll continue to try out homes for my shorter work. 

Those 17 thousand downloads on Wattpad don’t earn me a dime directly, but now 17 thousand new people have seen my name, and the next time they see it on front of a book online or in their bookstore, hopefully they’ll deem it worthy to spend their money on.

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.

Boxer Love Story: Al Ross '55 and Caroline (Seay) Ross '56

By Written by Al Ross

After graduating St. Helens High School in 1951, coach Harvey Roloff from Pacific offered me an athletic scholarship. I had no money and my family had no money and this sounded good. I had an older friend, Phil Poff '54, who encouraged me to check things out. He was a sophomore at Pacific at the time. We ended up rooming together in what apparently was the old McCormick Hall. It was down by the old gymnasium that was used primarily as a PE and practice facility.
The college had offered me the opportunity to work for money and that was going to help cover expenses. I was assigned to clean classrooms each day at the end of the last class. I got to know Marsh Hall, Old College Hall, the library and Warner Hall very well. I would guess there were under 600 students in attendance in 1952, but there was still lot of sweeping, dusting and desk straightening.
During my sophomore year, I was offered a job that enabled me to make a little more money but it was certainly a great deal more work. Several of the buildings had wood furnaces for heat. I was basically responsible for going over to the girls’ dorm, which at the time was called Herrick Hall, each morning seven days a week, and starting a wood fire in the furnace which was down in the basement. If you stood in front of Marsh Hall looking at Old College Hall, Herrick Hall was located to your right down near what was then apartments for married students. It was a tough job and I had to go over and toss in more wood all day long between my classes. The girls needed their heat.
To get into the basement of Herrick Hall at 4 a.m. each morning, I had to go around the back of the building and walk down a long sidewalk to the door the gave me access to the basement and the furnace. I noticed that each morning there was a light on in an apartment about the third floor. There was a young lady sitting there doing something. I later learning she was studying. I could not see her clearly but we began to wave at each other very innocently and it went on for many more mornings before we got to actually know each other.
Our paths finally crossed in the basement as this was where the girls’ washing machines were and I was over there tossing cord wood in the beloved furnace. She was a cute little chick from Salem, Ore., and we had a great deal in common. Neither of our families could support us and she was on an academic scholarship and also took every job that was offered her. We both wanted to be teachers. During the time there she was paid to get up early and make a continental breakfast for dorm sisters. She later worked in the science labs as a lab assistant and also worked in the cafeteria over at McCormick Hall.
We began to date as time and money permitted and our dating was quite simply but very enjoyable. We spent time at the Tip Top which was a local college hangout and went to an occasional movie at the local theater or even drove to Hillsboro for some activity. We were together at games and other college activities but most of our time was spent studying and working. Caroline was a great student and much in demand to assist in the science labs. We have very fond memories of the years at Pacific and we were certainly treated well by the faculty and the administration.

I graduated in 1955 and was immediately drafted into the US Army and was soon on my way to Korea. Caroline had another year at Pacific and we decided to get married during the summer of 1955. She graduated with great honors in 1956 and was offered a job teaching math and science at David Douglas High School in Portland. She taught one full year before I was discharged from the Army. I also was offered a contract in the David Douglas district after my discharge.
Caroline and I lived and worked in Portland and this is where we raised our family. Our two boys still live in the Portland area as do our grandchildren. I worked at the David Douglas School District in a variety of jobs for about 34 years. Caroline taught advanced science and math, and also worked at Mount Hood Community College in the math department. She was a fabulous teacher. We retired in 1988 and since then have lived in San Diego and Charbonneau outside of Salem and presently reside in Sun City Grand, Arizona, but do return to Oregon to see family and friends.
We had many close friends at Pacific and would love to hear from anyone who might end up reading this. We can be reached easily at azross@gmail.com.

Notes from Under the Oaks | March 2014

Do you consider yourself an athlete? A former athlete? An athlete at heart? A Monday morning quarterback? A couch potato waiting for the right challenge?

In the interest of full disclosure I’ll confess, I've never considered myself an athlete. In fact, I was actually asked to leave my PE class in 10th grade for refusing to play basketball. I now reflect on this moment of rebellion with humor and a healthy dose of embarrassment. I never played team sports, but I have had two big athletic moments as an adult-- in 2005 I rode a bicycle from Portland to San Francisco and in 2010 I ran a (slow) marathon.

Given my lack of athletic background, I was especially honored to have the chance to participate in an event last week where we connected some of our athletics alumni with our current athletes. About fifty percent of Pacific undergraduate students participate in either varsity, intramural or club sports. I'm willing to wager that number goes even higher when you consider the athletic careers of both our undergraduate and graduate students in high school or at another University.

At Career Launch, we tried to tap into what all that sports activity gives a person. We knew it was more than just knowledge of how to play a game and we had some idea of what our alumni might share as they were providing advice to students on how to use their athletics experience as they begin to navigate professional life. For example -- the ability to be an effective part of a team or how to use competitive spirit to one's advantage.

The panel was going great -- each of the alumni had great things to say and students were taking notes. Then my classmate Cisco Reyes '03 spoke and said something that shaped the way everyone in the room saw the evening. He said, “to succeed you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable."

Suddenly every student in the room relaxed ever so slightly. Someone had just given them permission to feel the anxiety most of them must have been feeling. And in that moment every one of them was infused with a shot of confidence. It was the career development equivalent of the moment just after a touchdown.

After a decade spent working on college campuses I feel privileged to have witnessed the transformational impact of athletics on students who otherwise may not have considered college. Sports aren't simply a doorway to college -- they are a window through which students can visualize themselves at college on a path to graduate school and/or a successful career.

Athletic achievements are in themselves life changing. When I pedaled across the Golden Gate Bridge on that foggy July day, I knew anything was possible. If I could cycle 800 miles, I could do anything. I not only channeled that energy when I ran my (slow) marathon, I use it every time I face a challenge at work and in every sleep-deprived moment of parenting young children.

I'd love to hear your sports story. Are you like me -- 100% clumsy, but realized later in life that running doesn't require hand-eye coordination? Or were you an athlete in high school and/or college? How did sports shape who you are?

I look forward to hearing your sports stories -- especially the tall tales about the Cannery Field.

Keep in touch and best wishes,

Martha Calus-McLain '03
Director of Alumni Relations

P.S. I’d be remiss if I didn’t encourage alumni who are interested in supporting athletics at Pacific, thus providing transformational experiences to future students, to join Boxer Club.

Why Pacific?

By Jim Silkensen '67

I grew up in Denver and in high school was very shy and bashful.  My high school counselor recognized this and recommended that I pick a college far enough from home that I would be on my own and not going home every weekend.  

From two vacations in the Pacific Northwest,  I loved Oregon and wanted a smaller university, so I picked Pacific out of a college catalog. A very lucky choice!

Pacific had a student body of about 1,200 at that time  and I was quickly able to make friends. In addition, class sizes were small enough that I got to know my professors and it was obvious that they cared about their students and imparting knowledge that would help us succeed following graduation.  

I particularly remember Dr. Prince's English literature courses that fostered my love of reading and writing, Dr. Chips bringing history to life and his "blue book" essay questions that forced us to really study and see the big picture, Doc Roberts' biology courses that were great fun and great learning experiences, band/orchestra/choir under the leadership of Mr. Shaw, Mr. Busch & Mr. Spiro and Art Wilcox's speech class that forced me to get up and speak in front of others and started me on my way to a skill that turned out to be essential in every job that I held.  

Gamma Sigma fraternity pushed me into asking girls to dances, working as a team with my fraternity brothers on various projects and running for class office. Pacific's traditions were also very meaningful to me, including the annual Wassail Party, the Hawaiian Club's annual Lu'au and the Noise Parade & Freshman Bonfire at homecoming. 

I also met the love of my life and my wife of 45+ years, Candace (Willson) Silkensen '69. We were married by Professor McDowell at First Congregational Church and had our wedding reception in Washburne Hall. 

Silkensen '67 submitted this blog as a response to the Notes from Under the Oaks column from the February 2014 Alumni eNews. To read more news from the University and alumni, please visit www.pacificu.edu/alumni/news.

Notes from Under the Oaks | February 2014

By Martha Calus-McLain '03 | Director of Alumni Relations

Why Pacific? I was recently part of a conversation with this question at its center. I have been pondering this question ever since. I know how I might answer this question, but how might our many alumni answer -- why Pacific?

For an alumnus from rural eastern Washington or from Leeward Oahu the answer might be “because Pacific changed my life.”

For our 2,356 alumni couples the answer might be “because I met my love at Pacific.”

As an alumna, before coming to work for Pacific, my answer might have been summed up with the previous two responses. Now, after seven years as an employee, I’ve gotten to know this place even better. I now can’t answer this question without acknowledging the many ways our students and alumni aspire to make the world better.

For the students in Dental Health Science who are preparing to Give Kids a Smile later this spring or Optometry students preparing for spring break in Costa Rica with Amigos the answer might pertain to making kids healthier. These are just two examples of dozens of service-based, life-changing programs supported by our students and alumni.

Photo from the Dental Health Science program "Give Kids a Smile"

I believe all Universities possess the power to transform lives, but each place has deeply meaningful stories attached. (I'm also a tad biased in believing Pacific has more of these stories than other Universities).

For example Michael Sproyles ’15 tells a story of participating in the Speech and Debate team and finding incredible confidence.

Jackie Mrachek ’00, PT ’03 tells a story of developing necessary skills at Pacific which she now uses to help build confidence in others.

David Cook OD ’78 found the inspiration for a novel along with the ability to give the gift of sight.

Mike Geraci ’91 tells us about the coaches, faculty and staff at Pacific truly believe in students.

I’d love to hear your story. Did Pacific change you? Did your time here allow you the opportunity to improve the lives of others? How do you answer the question, “why Pacific?”

Send us your story and, as always, don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.

Best wishes,

Martha Calus-McLain ‘03
Director of Alumni Relations | martha@pacificu.edu | 503-352-2764

Notes From Under the Oaks | January 2014

By Martha Calus-McLain '03 | Director of Alumni Relations

A sketch of the earliest building on the Forest Grove
campus

As I look ahead to 2014, only two weeks gone and the rest full of possibility, I have many resolutions. Among them is a hope to acknowledge people who make a difference. This week I am thinking about the great teachers I had throughout my education.

Over the past six months my husband has been reading the Little Housebooks to our daughter, who is completely enthralled with them. I recently overheard them reading a passage describing conditions in the one-room school house where Laura is teaching in negative forty degree weather.

“At half past three they were all so cold that she thought of dismissing school early. The mile that Martha and Charles must walk, worried her. On the other hand, she should not cut short the pupils' opportunity for learning, and this was not a blizzard.”

This passage brought to mind the spirit of the pioneers who founded Pacific in 1849 in the face of immense adversity.

It makes me think of the students who were so deeply committed to their education they found time for it among the competing responsibilities of frontier life.

It reminds me of the courage of teachers, both in 1882 when they commanded one room school houses throughout the west and today when they risk, and sometimes sacrifice, their lives to save the children in their care.

I shared this passage when I welcomed a dozen new students into our special ed program earlier this week. In a few years, these students will be alumni who spend their days dedicated to the success of young people. Based on the reactions of the students it was clear the passion and dedication Laura conveyed in her memoirs is still true of aspiring teachers.

Last night we hosted the Student Teacher Alumni Reception on the Forest Grove campus. During the evening we got to hear teachers speak earnestly and candidly about their experiences. Again, the passion and dedication was evident.

I hope none of our alumni are teaching kids who have to walk a mile in negative forty degrees, but I’m sure these alumni have a few stories of their own to share.

I’d love to hear from alumni who are teachers. What inspires you? Do you have a great story to share about students who walked a metaphorical cold mile for their education?

I’d also love to hear from alumni about the teachers who helped them. Who was your favorite teacher at Pacific, before or after? How did they inspire you? Did you ever walk a cold mile for your education?

Send us your stories and as always don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.

Best wishes,

Martha Calus-McLain '03
Director of Alumni Relations

Alumnus advises students to quit smoking

By Marshall "Preacher" Brown '69

Brown with this trachyostoma patch.

While at Pacific for Homecoming 2013, I read your September 19th Index editorial a “Proposed ban on smoking on campus.” 

Your analogy to being “at home” at Pacific doesn’t ring true. “At home” you do not live in proximity to hundreds of unreleated people.

“At home” young people are subject to many seemingly arbitrary rules, among which almost certainly is “no smoking.”

Very few, if that many, college-aged smokers are “painfully aware” of the health risks they take by smoking. If they were, would they smoke? Smoking vs. drinking is a false comparison. Unless done alcoholically, the effects of drinking seldom linger more than a day; smoking almost inevitably becomes a long-term drug addiction and habit. Finally, even if smokers abide by location rules, friends and others still have to put up with “tobacco stink.”

I do not understand why a young person today would take up smoking. When I started, there were whispers about cancer (that went unheeded by “immortal youth”) and absurd claims smoking would stunt your growth; cigarettes in Oregon in 1965 were 22 cents a pack, less by the carton! Today, so much more is widely known about smoking’s serious, long term damage to health; at three dollars or more per pack, smoking’s up-front cost is obscenely expensive.

After a 20-plus year habit, I quit smoking in 1988. In 2002, I was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, and in October 2003, lost my larynx, thyroid gland and several lymph nodes, and I’m a lucky one: I’m still alive. I remember asking my oncologist why, if I had quit smoking 14 years earlier, cancer showed up now. “Cancer is very patient,” was all he said.

Hopefully, student smokers at Pacific have a habit far more easily broken than later in life. The proposed ban on smoking on campus is, I feel an opportunity for those who smoke to do the best thing they perhaps will ever do for themselves. Quit smoking. Seriously!

Brown '69 was Editor of The Pacific Index in 1968. This piece was originally submitted as a Letter to the Editor in November 2013. After a tour of duty in the Air Force, Brown worked in IT for 32 years and is now retired and living just north of Seattle. Pre-cancer, Brown was an avid rec cyclist -- he created Cascade Bicycle Club's "Ride Around Washington."

History: Pause, think and remember

By Callie Vandewiele '08 

Almost three quarters of a century ago, 72 years on December 7th to be exact, the course of the history of the United States of America dramatically shifted and forever changed.  

At 7:48am, Hawaiian time, Japanese planes flying low over the US naval base on Oahu.  The ensuing attack, which took the men below by complete surprise, would result in 8 ships being sunk, with nearly a dozen more damaged, over 300 aircraft lost, and the deaths of 2,402 Americans.  Most of them military personnel. 

For a nation burned by World War I, and dedicated to leaving the world’s problems, to the world, the bombing of Pearl Harbour was a rude awakening.  An unwanted and costly notice that sometimes the world’s problems belonged to the whole world, and not just to one nation or region.  In bombing Pearl Harbour, the Japanese central command hoped to permanently cripple the United States military in the Pacific--and by doing so to limit US involvement in the escalating war.

In a world before twitter, instant updates, death tolls reported in online news sources, or even common color photography, the US government and population had put it’s whole might behind the war effort before all the families of the killed servicemen had even been properly notified.  A behemoth of an economic engine, shifted overnight, and with it the destiny of the United States.  The next five years would cost the nation dearly in both money and blood.  And yet at the end of the war, in 1946, the United States stood at the edge of the world stage as both the strongest military and economic force in the world.

It’s easy to take a minute to pause and think about soldiers on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, and there was a time when WWII veterans were common.  Most men that most of us knew.  Not anymore.  As each year rolls by those surviving veterans get a little older and little fewer in number.  The people whose sons and brothers and fathers and husbands were on the USS Arizona or the USS California aren’t all around to light candles each year anymore. 

December 7th is bit by bit turning into just another day.  Just another point in history that we’re supposed to memorize to pass an exam sometime in the 10th grade.  Just another war that the United States fought and won. 

But December 7th is not just another day.  And the war that it launched pushed the United States into a position of world dominance (wanted or not at the time).  Our history, we learned, will be marked with moments when we as a nation get to choose our response, and in choosing our response, choosing our future.

The greatest generation woke up to newspaper headlines about ships sinking in the Pacific.  The millennials awoke to live news coverage of buildings falling down in Manhattan.  We cannot say which crises our grandchildren will face---or whether they will come in the sickening thud of sudden attacks, or the slow rise of global temperatures.  What we can ask of ourselves and of them, is to always remember.  To pause and reflect on the anniversaries of the days that the world shifted and changed.  To read the stories of the heros and the families.

To know the heavy burden of what choices we as a people make when faced with tragedies beyond comprehension.  To know that when we define the cost of an American life, we are valuing it in comparison to the cost of other, non-American, lives, and that the decisions we make can alter the world in good, bad and unknown ways.

So when December 7th rolls around, take a pause.  Think, and remember.

Sources include the US Navy Museum Website (http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/teach/pearl/aftermath/facts.htm) and USHistory.Org

Vandewiele '08 originally wrote this piece for the Beaverton-Valley Times in December 2013. 

Race Talks | Borrowing Cultural Traditions

By Ginger Moshofsky 

In November I had the privilege of attending Race Talks: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism, at the Kennedy School.

A little background: Race Talks is a sort of lecture series that focuses on pertinent issues of race like “Interacial Relationships” or “Race and the Housing Crisis.” Instead of the usual “stand and deliver” format of most lecture series, Race Talks adds a couple of key elements which induce interaction and dialogue between the attendants.  

First of all, there is a panel of experts who speak to the topic. Instead of one person’s take on a topic, you get several points of view. This is not only informative but also sets the tone; different people have different experiences and may have differing opinions- and that is okay.

Next, at every Race Talks, the discussion moves from the podium to the tables. After the panelists have finished,  each table group discusses the topic. Before the discussion, the attendees are prompted to make sure that each table has a diverse mix of people. If not, they ask that a person or two move so each group has different races represented.

The Race Talks that I attended examined “Race and the Arts”.

When we moved to the table discussion portion of the evening, one of the things we did was introduce ourselves and our racial background. Now that’s something you don’t do every day. When we did, I was surprised to find that, despite how things looked at first glance, I was not sitting with only Caucasian people but also American Indian, Japanese and Mexican. We had a very interesting dialogue about “borrowing” traditions from other cultures. We questioned, when is it disrespectful to integrate a dance or an artistic style into American culture, and when is it an honor and a compliment? We talked about “fads”, like “Gangnam Style” or skull tattoos- did that bring to the masses interesting cultural elements from around the world or is it exploitive or something else? We bemoaned the practice of taking ceremonies that are sacred in their country of origin and making them spectacle in the United States. If these sound like heady topics, you are right. We found ourselves discussing these ideas and more with people of different races who we had never met before and it was fun!

The genius of Race Talks is that while everyone admits that talking through race issues with a diverse gathering of individuals is helpful and informative, few have figured out how to do it on a grass roots level and do it effectively. Donna Maxey ’70, founder and director of Race Talks, is the genius behind the “genius” of Race Talks.

Maxey has a history in education, has an extensive network and is a long time resident of Portland. As it explains in the Race Talks brochure, Maxey approached McMenamins Historian Tim Hills “with the idea to partner with McMenamins in a series that stepped out of the box of the typical history lecture into a more interactive realm- where the audience had a participatory role and left with a tangible task toward dismantling racism.”

The result is Race Talks: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism and it is brilliant. Maxey partners with McMenamins monthly to bring interesting topics to the Kennedy School. If you have not been to Race Talks, I urge you to mark your calendar for 7 p.m., the second Tuesday of the month. I hope to see you at Race Talks. 

Moshofsky is the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Pacific University. She is a Lewis & Clark alumna, freelance writer, thespian and activist on civil rights issues. 

Notes from Under the Oaks | November 2013

By Martha Calus-McLain '03 

I've always been awed by the power of buildings to evoke
emotion. Buildings are simply timber and steel, bricks and
concrete, yet they have the ability to make us feel

I've always been awed by the power of buildings to evoke emotion. Buildings are simply timber and steel, bricks and concrete, yet they have the ability to make us feel.

Even fifteen years after I first laid eyes on Marsh Hall, I still feel an incredible sense of nostalgia and pride when I see those red bricks through the trees.

Although I was not yet alive when the Columbus Day storm raged through town, the photo above has the ability to take my breath largely because I am drawn into it by the glimpse of Marsh Hall behind the destruction.

Here in the Abbott Alumni Center, a cozy and sweet little structure, we’re all positively buzzing about a wonderful Homecoming last weekend when we had a record number of alumni back on campus. It is remarkable how many alumni who returned for Homecoming hadn’t been on campus since graduation and were stunned by the changes that have unfolded in the ensuing years.

If you missed Homecoming and haven’t been back in a while, I’d like to say, “Don’t be a stranger.”

One of the many reasons to revisit campus again and again is to integrate oneself in the change. During Homecoming we broke ground on a new residence hall. While enormously exciting, this groundbreaking was a poignant reminder of how progress brings change.

The first stage of construction for this building was the removal of sod on what was left of Tom Reynolds Field, where soccer was played until the addition of new fields at Lincoln Park. Many alumni remember this field as McCready Field, home of Badger (and later Boxer) football for nearly 100 years. In recent years, some of the field was replaced with new tennis courts.

While we’re all very excited about this change, which will eventually lead to the removal of Clark Hall and a complete transformation of this corner of campus, we took a bittersweet moment at the ground breaking to reflect on the long history of this soil.

Although the buildings remain long after we’ve graduated and moved on (or in my case moved on and then came back to work), it is alumni who truly hold the history of the University. McCready Field or Clark Hall or Marsh Hall amid the rubble of the storm mean nothing without the stories from alumni who bring those places to life.

Please, don’t be a stranger!

Come home and share your stories.Whether you join us for Homecoming 2014 or you stop by the Abbott Alumni Center for a cup of coffee on your way through town, we want to see you on campus and hear your stories.

I hope to see you soon!

Calus-McLain '03 is the director of Alumni Relations and was a media arts major at Pacific University. martha@pacificu.edu. 

Help a fellow Boxer

By Kaitlyn Gutierrez '13

You know that moment when you feel like destiny stepped in, tapped you on the shoulder, and said, “Here Kaitlyn, this is exactly what you need?” 

Well, apparently LinkedIn is Destiny’s new cover! 

I had just finished my afternoon run and thought I’d mosey on over to my laptop and check my messages. My mouse was meandering toward Shut Down when I decided to check my LinkedIn account; man oh man, I’m glad I did.

I happened to see a link to an article entitled ‘Is This the Best Job of All Time?’ I’m overly curious, so what could I do but click?

Curiosity turned to excitement, which turned into me nearly self-combusting as I kept reading - eyes growing bigger and bigger, grin growing wider and wider. “‘Help wanted: An "enthusiastic" traveler to fly around the globe for a year, all expenses paid, earning $100,000 salary for blogging about it – and for volunteering to leave each destination ‘a little better than when you found it.’” Cue my faux heart attack….

This couldn’t be real. I did a little digging into the company and loved what I saw. Jauntaroo, a vacation matchmaker, is more than a way to find your next vacation spot. Jauntaroo believes in leaving the world a better place and strives to take traveling to a new level. With Jauntaroo you can “Travel With A Cause,” as the company features and donates to organizations that promote ‘VolunTourism’.

Jauntaroo happens to be looking for a new Chief World Explorer. Requirements include: Always be ready for an adventure, be generous of spirit and help others, be eager to capture local cultures, foods and activities, and share your experiences with the world.

The job was MADE for me!

Volunteering is something I am passionate about, and doing it abroad is icing on the cake. Traveling and blogging about my experience, that is right up my alley; I knew my creative writing degree would come in handy!

Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you find yourself in the right place at the right time, and you know you have to throw your hat in the ring because the opportunity could change your life; this was one of those moments.

I’ve tossed in my hat and now I need help getting there. Please go to the link and like my video. Help me become a finalist by watching my video and liking it.

http://www.bestjobaroundtheworld.com/submissions/view/1442

Guiterrez '13 was a creative writing major at Pacific University and needs your help! Support a fellow Boxer and "like" her submission so she can have the job of her dreams. 

Notes from Under the Oaks | July 2013

Burbank '09 rubbing Boxer's nose for good luck. 

By Rachael Burbank '09 

Traditions are precious no matter their significance.

Sometimes they include something silly like grandma always bringing the potato salad to the Fourth of July barbecue. Other times it’s more heartfelt like visiting Uncle Joe’s headstone Memorial Day weekend or returning to your wedding venue every year on your anniversary.

I think we each hold on to the uniqueness of our traditions because they define us. But what happens when we have children, we get married, we relocate for work, we lose a family member or we are stuck in a rain cloud and we have to adjust our plans? We start telling the stories of how things used to be to the next generation in hopes that one day history will repeat itself.

I frequently forget that the Pacific I know, isn't what all alumni know. There wasn't a dress code to eat in the University Center in the 2000s. Old College Hall, the library and the football field have changed locations multiple times. And most importantly, Boxer wasn't always the mascot.

After graduating in 2009, I’ve already seen changes made to the Pacific I know. The ‘PAC’ is now the Stoller Center. There are dorms and academic buildings I’ve never set foot in. And sadly, students are graduating without seeing the Boxer statue on campus nor are they participating in any sort of Boxer tosses, flashes or Olympics!

Times have changed and will continue to change on the Forest Grove campus, but also in Hillsboro, Eugene and Portland. I can already imagine the conversation I’ll have with staff or students at my 30-year reunion. I know it’ll start with “when I was a student here, everything was different.” But will it really be different?

I believe Marsh Hall will still be standing in 2039. I believe the Noise Parade will still be the loudest tradition during Homecoming. And I believe that Boxer will live on by word of mouth if there hasn't been a third statue already made by then.

What was your favorite tradition during your days at Pacific? What traditions do you miss? What do you envision for your 30-year reunion or 50-year reunion?

If you wish to write about your memories, please submit photos and a 400-word piece for the Boxer and Badger Notes blog to alumni@pacificu.edu.

I hope you come back to where all these traditions began for Homecoming 2013, if not before. Give us a heads up and you can stay in the Abbott Alumni Center guestrooms during your visit or we can take you on a campus tour and explore how things have changed since you’ve been on campus.

You can contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 503-352-2057 or alumni@pacificu.edu.

In the meantime, cherish the memories and traditions you made while at Pacific because they define you as alumnus/a of the University. 

--

Burbank '09 is the assistant director of alumni relations at Pacific University. You can reach her at 503-352-2969 or rburbank@pacificu.edu. 

Story behind Boxer becoming Mascot

Jolley '68, OD '70 

By Jerry Jolley '68, OD '70 

Bruce, you are all wrong about Boxer……

Yes, Bruce Bishop '68,  I mean you….

Now keep in mind that no one is working harder than Bruce to make the Class of ’68 Reunion a fun event for us all. But he has the Boxer Mascot issue ALL WRONG.

Bruce recently sent me an email suggesting this article should mention the leadership role of the ’67-’68 ASPU Student Council in changing Pacific’s mascot from “a moth-eaten Badger to a brassy Boxer.” 

That part is very accurate, but Bruce went on to say that the switch to Boxer in 1968 is “important history for our class (and the entire University community) to celebrate. Who would have thought 45 years ago that the change would still be symbolizing Pacific's quirkiness?”

There it is, that word “quirkiness.” How can Bruce use it to describe our University and our beloved Boxer mascot? Okay, I will agree today’s student may think it a little quirky that in 1968, Friday’s dinners in the dining hall required dresses for women and ties/long pants for men. And maybe it was a little quirky by today’s standards that men’s and women’s dorms were strictly segregated, not even allowing coed visits. And looking back in the ’67 yearbook, the fact that Mike Staples was “Standards Chairman” and Craig Stout was “Cultural Chairman” may also have signaled a bit of early quirkiness.

But how could Boxer becoming Mascot be considered “quirky?” Boxer represented, and I trust still represents, the best of each Pacific student’s fighting spirit and stamina. Boxer represents strength, having been cast in the Ming Dynasty in about 1580, surviving the Boxer Rebellion in China and being gifted to Pacific in 1896. 

Wow, in my mind boxer still represents extreme strength. In one boxer fight I wormed my way into the center crunch to finally get a hand on him/her, only to be squashed like a bug by some bulky football player. Remember how the yelling of “Boxer Flash” on campus would get everyone’s blood boiling. And a “Boxer Throw Out” would often result in an on-campus rough-and-tumble fight which could last many hours. I believe the Thetas once even beat up the optometry students (by breaking their glasses) to gain control of Boxer in front of Marsh Hall, but you will need to check that fact with Don James at the reunion.

Boxer definitely represented strength. During a boxer throw out, you could even come in late and muddy to Dr. Reif’s ethics class and not get much more trouble than a disapproving look over the top of his glasses.

So in ’67 when funding for a new Benny Badger mascot uniform came before Student Council, we decided not to replace the moldy old weasel who had been bloodied and bruised by several recent team losses. I think it was Student Body Vice President, Scott Pike, who came up with the idea of making our new mascot the beloved Boxer.

My first stop was with Dean Charles Trombley, a wonderful man and sage adviser  who shrugged and said something like “sounds good if you can get it done.”

In retrospect, I think Dean Trombley was just very happy that I was not telling him we were planning to burn down Forest Grove city center or Old College Hall to protest the Viet Nam war. The late 60’s were a tumultuous time for our country, and many students were taking activist roles. I would get calls weekly from other student body presidents across the nation asking me to fly somewhere for a peace rally.

My reasons for staying home from student peace demonstrations were:

1) As a guy fresh-off-the-Idaho-ranch, I naively and incorrectly figured our country’s leaders always knew what was best,

2) Our student body was divided on the war, all of us having both anti-war friends and friends who had military school funding,

3) I knew the Index editors would rip me to shreds if I used ASPU funds to fly to D.C. to a protest rally,

4) I couldn’t miss work or give up study time for that next mid-term, and

5) There was a cute California girl on campus I wanted to ask on a date. (Her parents were so conservative they made Richard Nixon look like a liberal, and I knew if I trotted off to a protest somewhere, my chances of a farmer-from-Idaho like me getting a date with her would be completely dead.)

So we turned our energy to adopting Boxer as mascot. We took the idea to fraternities, sororities, administrators and other key groups for discussion. Finally the ASPU Student Council, after some heated discussion, gave us a unanimous vote to make the change to Boxer on December 13, 1967.

Members of the ASPU Student Council

Bruce, 45 years of Boxer cannot be considered “quirky” but rather “brilliant.” Even the Heart of Oak editors wrote in the 1968 yearbook, “all of us can be proud our Temple Dog Boxer tradition, and with this change in mascots our pride in that tradition can become even greater: now the Boxer can truly serve his calling as the SPIRIT OF PACIFIC.”

So all of us should let the BOXER SPIRIT move us. Let’s get together for Homecoming, October 10-13. All of you, including fellow optometry-types, please come for some fun and bring your golf clubs.

By the way, I was able to date that pretty California girl.  We married 43 years ago. Peggy Spencer Jolley and I will both be at Homecoming. Please introduce yourself and say hello.

If you like the idea that we changed to the Boxer mascot 45 years ago, when I see you at Homecoming please give me credit. If you think the change was a bad move, please discuss your complaints at length with Scott Pike.

Even though I have been giving Bruce Bishop a bad time with this article, please know that we all owe a debt of gratitude to Bruce and the other Homecoming Reunion Committee members for the Class of 1968: Judy (Engdall) Bishop, Monica (Wolf) Marvin and Scott E. Pike.

Jolley '68, OD '70 was the ASPU President for the '67-'68 school year and will celebrate 45 years since graduation during Homecoming 2013. This piece was originally used for the Class of 1968 Reunion Newsletter. He is currently living in California and practicing optometry.