Boxer 'Ohana on Oahu

By Logan Okita '06  

Pacific alumni at the Oahu Boxer 'Ohana Reception on 7/20

I recently attended the Oahu Boxer 'Ohana Reception for alumni, parents, and friends of Pacific University. It was held at Kapiolani Community College as a part of the Hawaii student registration weekend festivities.  What a great event!  

There was a great turn out with a wide range of participants. It was great to see so many new faces! The food was prepared by students in KCC’s culinary arts program, a great group of current students shared about their experience at Pacific, we heard about the new business school opening, and played a fun BINGO game related to Pacific. Can you find someone at your next Pacific gathering who has touched Boxer, met their significant other while in college, and rode the 57 (TV Highway) bus? The prizes for the games were handy Pacific gear like a blanket, a portfolio, and tumblers. A group of us had so much fun that we went out afterward for more dessert to end the night.

Now I may be biased because I helped with some of the coordination by contacting alumni from the Class of 2000 to the Class of 2012 along with several other alumni and parent volunteers, but these events are always a lot of fun. 

Each year, we work together to promote the January and July events to encourage others to attend and get to know more about what is going on at Pacific. When I first attended one of these receptions, I was scared about not knowing anyone, but I remembered what I loved the most about Pacific, no matter what your relationship with the person or your age, everyone is a part of the family. Everyone at the events is welcoming. 

Okita '06 and her mom after Honolulu Marathon in 2011.

You run into parents of your friends who want to know what you have been up to, classmates that you’ve lost touch with, and in July, professors who impacted your life and career or are now teaching your favorite course. Both events are a great way to hear about what is happening at Pacific, what has changed since the last time you were in Forest Grove, and what the plan is for the future. They are also a great opportunity for networking to build your client base because who wouldn’t want to support someone else from Pacific?

I enjoy getting phone calls from the students during Phonathon, especially when I can answer their questions about teaching in Hawaii and encourage them to come here to teach. While I wish I could give more to Pacific to financially support what they do, I have found I can give back by volunteering for these events. 

I hope if you graduated since 2000 and live on Oahu, you receive my emails about the events, come out to the January and July events to represent your class, and have joined our Hawaii Pacific Young Alumni group on Facebook where we post about things happening at Pacific and arrange our own happy hours to catch up.  I’m looking forward to seeing even more alumni, parents, and friends at the next event!

Okita '06 teaches second grade at Fern Elementary School in Kalihi, Hawaii and will start her seventh year this fall. She majored in Education and Learning with a minor in Psychology and she went on to earn a Master's of Education in Curriculum Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, doing craft projects, and exercising (walking, turbokick, and boot camp).

Trinkets of Walter Hall

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

When I was a student at Pacific I came across an archival photo of Walter Hall. I believe it was taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I remember being delighted at how the interior of the room had remained exactly the same from 1959 to 1999.

Of course the nature of college life changed quite a bit in those 40 years – for one thing my next-door neighbors were Russ and Gabe and the neighbors across the hall were Todd and Stuart. I think the women of Walter Hall 1959 might have found this a tad shocking.

Recently our friends in Facilities unearthed a treasure trove from the history of Walter. Apparently there’s some work being done involving the removal of furniture. This resulted in a whole pile of interesting items including:

• 20 assorted photographs
• 9 photographs of high school sweethearts complete with handwritten inscriptions
• 2 postcards (one Katherine sent to Spencer Rockwell ’00 while she was visiting Japan)
• A sticker for Powell’s City of Books
• A 1985 sticker for Coors Light beer wolf
• A letter to Kurt from his Gram
• A 1983 receipt from Fred Meyer – a loaf of bread cost $1.12
• 2 coupons for Ponds Beauty Cream
• A 1974 Tri-Met Route Map
• A 1987 Boxer Football schedule
• A syllabus from Marsh Lee’s spring 1981 Western Civilization class
• A ticket to the 21^st Annual Luau
• Not one, but two of Margaret Swanson’s meal cards (fall 1967and spring 1969)
• A Pacific University phone card

Also: William Hopper, Necole Landry, Max Montano, Martha Leinweber – we found your student ID cards! We also found a Hawaii state ID card for Starr Muramaru, a Forest Grove Library card for Cherie Cockram and a health plan card for Jennifer Harrington.

All of this makes me curious to hear stories of life in Walter Hall (and all the dorms).

Did you ever lose anything you wish could be found?

Did you bring photos of your hometown or your high school friend and pin them up?

Were you at the 1981 Luau or did you follow the Boxer Rebellion in 1987?

Did you live in Walter Hall when it was women only or McCormick when it was men only?

Do you think any of the items above are yours and would you like them back?

As always, please keep it touch! Send us your stories and don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.

Martha Calus-McLain '03 is the Director of Alumni Relations at Pacific University. She can be reached at martha@pacificu.edu or 503-352-2764. 

Dancing to the Rhythm of Home

Caitlin Valhuerdi '13

For many students, the coming of April means spring is here, finals will soon be upon us, and the bright light that is summer can be seen at the end of the academic tunnel.  However, for me, and many students at Pacific, April means one thing: lū’au season is upon us.

For 52 years, Pacific’s Hawai’i club, Na Haumana O Hawaiʻi (NHOH), has put on its annual lū’au.  Held on the second Saturday of April, this event pulls together months and months of preparation starting with planning done by the lū’au board early in the year and ending with late nights in the gym during the week preceding the much anticipated event, reorganizing dancers and folding programs for the guests.  While it gives the students participating in lū’au to share the Hawaiian culture (as well as other Polynesian and Asian cultures) with those on the “mainland,” for me, it has become a way to feel like home isn’t so far away.

I moved to Kaua’i with my family when I was four years old.  It’s the only home I’ve ever really known and the differences between Oregon and the Garden Isle become more and more pronounced the more homesick I get.  I won’t claim that hula has been integral to my upbringing— I took a few hula classes when I was a kid and was a May Day princess in the eighth grade, but beyond that… not so much. 

When I came up to Pacific, I didn’t anticipate making lū’au a part of my spring semester.  My first year, I was (wrongfully) informed that all freshman had to participate in the Freshman dance, so I signed up.  It was almost unnerving, how quickly dancing brought a smile to my face.  The instruments playing through the music, the language I can’t even begin to understand but still find so familiar─ feelings of home came rushing back in.  By the second week of practice, I found myself slipping into pidgin, laughing, and being genuinely happy despite the gray skies and cold puddles that would have otherwise made me day dream of the Kauaian sun.  It was a highlight of my freshman year and the memories I made up on stage, dancing in front of the audience, are ones that I won’t soon let go of.

Valhuerdi (far right) backstage at her freshman dance

Since that first freshman dance, I have participated in at least two numbers (poi balls (both traditional and modern styles) and ‘auana) every year.  Regardless of how tired it makes me or how packed my schedule becomes, Lū’au season is one that simultaneously drives me insane and brings me immense joy.  While I’m glad it offers up a cultural experience for those mainlanders that may never have the chance to be submerged in the melting pot of cultures found in Hawai’i, I am genuinely thankful that lū’au has given me the chance to connect with the life I’ve left back in the islands.

Valhuerdi  '13 grew up on Kaua'i and entered Pacific University in the fall of 2009. She is majoring in Psychology and has worked in the Office of Alumni Relations since the spring semester of her freshman year. She enjoys photography, starting (and completing) DIY projects, going on surf safaris and mastering new nail art designs. Caitlin is third from the right in the photo above and is pictured after her freshman dance on the left.  

Celebrating Speech and Debate

David Maile '10

In 2006, I traveled from my home in Honolulu, Hawaii to attend Pacific University. One of the largest attractions for me was the Pacific Speech and Debate Team. Coming into the mix as a freshman was seamless and after six years, I’m still mulling around with the team as the Assistant Director of Forensics. It is safe to say that a tradition of excellence, pride and success remains a persistent set of values that the team represents. This vignette is about the direction of the Boxer speech and debate program and the amazing individuals that drive it.

Dan Broyles, the Director of Forensics for the team, does it all in manufacturing a phenomenal trajectory for our students. A native of Illinois, Dan brought his talents to Forest Grove in 2008, after the departure of former Director Sam Mathies. An alumnus and graduate assistant coach of the renowned Illinois State University, Dan perpetuates an open door policy to students he coaches and teaches which grounds the team in a very special situation. 

After all, what isn’t special about teaching and coaching students to speak well and with confidence? Simply put, nothing. Especially when it takes them to the cities like Berlin, Budapest and Rome for competition.

That brings me to the students, those tremendous “kids,” as I affectionately call them at times. The students who compete on the speech and debate team are why Dan and I entered this field. Seeing a competitor have a moment of enlightenment, build confidence, conquer fears or overcome competitive adversity is transformative. What sets our activity a part from others is the complete immersion into a student’s life, and the close impact public speaking can foster. A special group of these students truly represent all that I praise.

It has been an honor to work with the seniors that will be graduating this academic year: Lilly Huynh, Lindsey McLaughlin, Gustavo Morales, and Ryan Terao. All of who built an undying passion for the craft of rhetoric and argumentation and will forever be remembered in the tradition they invested in this program. I want to dedicate this vignette to Dan and the students of our team. Without them, our tradition would not sustain. Without them, we would not be a close community and family. But with them, anything and everything are possible. 

Maile '10 is pictured in the above photo on the left. He continued his education at University of Portland and earned a masters in science degree in communications studies with a concentration on management communications. While attending Pacific, David was also involved with Track and Field, Student Giving Committee, Hawai'i Club and Phi Eta Sigma (Honor Society).

Challenging Her Comfort Zone

Leilani H. Powers ‘13

I come from Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i.  I have a native Japanese mother and an American father (from California).

As I grew up, I was fortunate to have parents who found it essential to be able to communicate with my Japanese family.  They chose to raise me learning both English and Japanese since birth.  I have been lucky to be able to visit my Japanese family steadily throughout my life and to be immersed in the language and culture of both Japan and Hawai’i. 

However, as I grew up, I never had much of a chance to visit my father’s side of the family on the mainland very often.  So when I first came to Pacific University I had the natural shock, which many Hawaiians do, of the cultural differences between Hawai’i and mainland United States. 

Although Hawai’i is part of the United States, I was able to see a very big difference in the lifestyles of those who live here and those back home.  This may be true for everybody when they go off to college, but because of the remnants of the native Hawaiian culture, Hawai’i has a culture of its own.  Although it’s not the strongest example, Pacific’s lu’au does give some idea of certain cultural aspects of what I am used to at home.

However, I can’t say I was completely shocked by the difference in lifestyles.  My father’s parents, who are originally from New York, lived down the road from me and would occasionally watch my siblings and me while my parents were at work.  They always stressed the importance of education and the power of knowledge. They walked the walk just was well as they talked the talk.

They would tell us stories of the places they had been and the people they had met, and they emphasized the importance of leaving home to truly understand and learn more about the world we live in, stories that made me want to go explore, learn, and experience for myself. 

So here I am, thousands of miles from home, a Hawaiian, Japanese, and an American who is learning about the world through exploration, education, and experience.  I am an International Business and Japanese double major and since being here I have taken advantage of being in the mainland and traveling in and around Oregon.

Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately?

Powers ‘13 holds an internship as marketing assistant in the Office of Alumni Relations. She chronicles her adventures on her personal website.

Sydney's Night Colors

Reese Moriyama '10

When I was a junior at Pacific, I decided to do a travel abroad semester in Australia. Why Australia? Well, first of all, I was very curious about the Australian culture and landscape, given its significant isolation throughout history. Secondly, Australians spoke English, which I needed since I wasn’t a language minor or major. Lastly, and most importantly of all, I wanted to meet Bianca and Bernard from Disney’s Rescuers Down Under (just kidding!).

All that aside, I must say that my experience in Australia completed my college experience. It broadened my vision of what was beyond my own country, and presented me with new friendships and experiences. I studied at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, and met a wide range of international students, while getting the chance to take some very specialized history courses in genocide and Australian history.

Before I flew back to Hawaii, I stopped over in Sydney for four nights. I felt like my Australian experience wouldn’t be complete without Sydney, and was determined to explore the city to the fullest of my ability during the four days. With camera and map I hand, I embarked on an adventure each morning, leaving at 8 a.m. and returning around 9 p.m. I went inside the Sydney Opera House, which apparently two-thirds of the world’s population can identify. I took rides on the famous Sydney Harbor ferries, exploring several beaches that give Hawaii a run for its money. I walked through downtown Sydney, watching street performers playing didgeridoos and selling CDs. But the experience that stood out the most to me was my night exploration of the city.

On Friday night, I decided to shoot long exposures of the Sydney Skyline from a remote viewpoint in the Botanical Gardens. I huffed it over to the location with my tripod and camera, just in time to get the turquoise dusk light. I took some 30 second exposures, but had to time them because boats would pass through the frame and ruin the shot. After I got the shots I wanted, I prepared to leave, but realized there was a tiny, little problem.

Security had closed down the park! I frantically tried to find a way out, but all the main gates were closed. Being locked in a park at night is one thing, but being locked in a park at night, in a foreign country is quite another. I was weighing my options when I saw a jogger going by. She must know the way out! I thought, and tried to see where she was going. Sure enough, a few minutes later, she went out a small, side entrance that only the locals would know about. I was overjoyed, and followed the path to freedom. As soon as I stepped out, I realized I was in a district of Sydney I had never seen, and spent the next hour and half, wandering past Friday night parties, trying to find my way back to the hotel. Got back around 11 p.m., totally exhausted, but totally stoked about the skyline images.

The next night went a lot better, and I was very fortunate to watch a fireworks show over the Opera House! I also got to see the colorful night lights of the Circular Quay, the central hub of night life in Sydney Harbor. My camera was snapping like crazy, but I also made sure to spend some time taking in the sights myself. Sometimes, you get so caught up in trying to photograph all the cool sights around you that you forget to savor the moment, the fleeting slice of time, in which you are surrounded by beauty. But I savored that moment. And looking back, I’m glad I did. 

Reese Moriyama '10 holds a degree in history and uses photography to become more observant and appreciative of the world. When he is not photographing weddings or simply daily life in Honolulu Reese is pursuing a graduate degree. More of Reese's work can be viewed on his blog Observe. Compose. Capture.

A Meaningful Life

Benson Medina '76

     In the fall of 1972, I met Eric Witt '76.  He was actually from my hometown of Kailua, but we went to different schools.  Eric was a hippie/surfer type, who had a very peaceful look on his face and a gentle nature.  He had a great smile and was always friendly to me. We both arrived at Pacific in the fall of 1972 and were neighbors on the first floor of Clark Hall.
       Eric played the guitar and I could hear him playing occasionally.  But he got everyone’s attention when he started to sing.  But not in a good way.   His voice was a cross between an animal caught in a leg snare and a mile long locomotive slamming it’s brakes on.  Condensing it down into one word: painful.
       But it didn’t seem to bother Eric, who kept right on singing despite the expletives being spewed in his direction from every corner of the dorm.  I ran into him in the hall one day and asked him the present day equivalent of,  “Dude, what’s up with the singing?
       He broke into a wide smile and said, “I love music and I love to sing.  It doesn’t matter if you can sing or not, what matters is that you do it for the love of it.”
       That encounter changed my life because it gave me the confidence (“If Eric can do it, I can do it”) to start playing the guitar and singing myself.  Almost 40 years later, I occasionally think of him whenever I pick up the guitar.   But beyond music, Eric knew the meaning of “living your passion” way back in the ‘70s, long before it became the buzzword for a meaningful life.
       In my four years in Forest Grove, I had many similar experiences that were life altering, though I didn’t know it at the time.
       At Pacific, I got around black people for the first time and saw how closely they stuck together and how they had such a strong sense of culture.  Though many people were put off by the arrogance of the “Black Power” movement, it made me understand the attitude it took to make social change a reality.  Several years later, when we were going through the “Hawaiian Renaissance” I was thankful for the important lessons I learned from my BSU (Black Student Union) buddies.
       I learned that I loved to write while I was at Pacific but I needed Mike Steele to help me hone my passion into a skill.  He taught me to get to the point quicker and to pay closer attention to the mechanics of writing.  He recognized my raw talent but wasn’t going to allow me to coast my way through his Advanced Writing course.  In my professional life, I’ve always gravitated toward a person like Mike Steele, an expert with high expectations, but a willingness to be helpful.
       Working in the cafeteria during the breakfast shift, I learned how to frost maple bars, a pastry I never saw until I got to Pacific. Since there were only a handful of us that could get up at 6 a.m. to work, I met a simple, yet beautiful co-worker from a small farming community in Nebraska.   She taught me to love and appreciate Oregon, a place I initially hated, but ended up spending 36 years of my life there.  Rhea became my wife and the mother of our son and stands today as one of my greatest teachers, even though our marriage ended years ago.
       As an academic institution, Pacific was a wonderful small environment that launched me into the working world with a coveted bachelor’s degree.  But more importantly, it was the “social petri dish” I needed to expose myself to new ideas and experiences, meet people who would have a lasting impact my life and provide a reference point where I can see how much I’ve changed and grown over the years.
       And what about Eric Witt?  He lives happily with his family on the Big Island, plays a mean guitar and still sings at the top of his lungs.

Medina '76  lives in Honolulu and writes a blog called Any Moment, where he chronicles thoughts on the enormous changes and challenges of human life. People die, lose jobs, get their property destroyed, get cancer, lose limbs, go to war and come back to a completely different scenario than what they left.  This blog looks at people who have had massive changes and examines how they have adjusted.

Searching for the Best Light

Reese Moriyama '10

During my four years at Pacific University, in the midst of the classes, the socializing, and the adventures, I discovered I had an unwavering curiosity and fascination with photography. Pacific helped foster my love for the camera for which I am forever grateful.

Thanks to MarCom and the Photography Department, I attended more events, met more people and pushed myself more than I had ever imagined because of my photography. Many people spend their lives searching for something that really inspires them and I’m fortunate to have found a passion that has both guided and enriched my life.Today I will cover a topic that makes many photographers cringe: weddings. My exploration in this venture began about a year ago, and eight weddings later, I realize that I’ve found a dynamic and challenging world to immerse myself in.

Weddings are exhausting, but energizing, stressful, but rewarding. As a wedding photographer, I am being entrusted with the delicate task of capturing images that narrate the unique story which accompanies every wedding. To the bride and groom, the biggest day of their lives is often a massive blur, and images become central to reminding them of how special their wedding truly was. If my clients can laugh and cry and reminisce about the wedding when they view my photos, then I have done my job as a wedding photographer.
 
Shooting weddings is commonly held as one of the most stressful endeavors in the photography industry, and this is absolutely true. You have one chance to shoot the bride coming down the aisle, one chance for the first kiss, one chance for the first dance. A broken lens, an overheated flash, or a corrupted memory card is no excuse for missing those fleeting moments, so as a wedding photographer, I try to prepare for multiple scenarios. This is what I normally bring to weddings:

    2 camera bodies
    4 lenses
    2 flashes
    2 lightstands
    shoot through umbrella
    softbox
    5 sets of AA batteries for flashes
    6 batteries for camera bodies
    cleaning supplies
    48 GB of memory cards
    gels
    rain covers

 However, wedding photography is also incredibly rewarding. When you think about it, everyone at a wedding is looking their absolute best, especially the bride and groom, and this provides some truly unique opportunities for photos. In addition to the dazzle of colors and dress, the entire gamut of emotions is present at a wedding, and when I am able to capture a sliver of this visual energy and convey it in a beautiful However, wedding photography is also incredibly rewarding. When you think about it, everyone at a wedding is looking their absolute best, especially the bride and groom, and this provides some truly unique opportunities for photos. In addition to the dazzle of colors and dress, the entire gamut of emotions is present at a wedding, and when I am able to capture a sliver of this visual energy and convey it in a beautiful light, I am as eager to pull it off my memory card as a kid opening presents on Christmas Day.

Moriyama '10 holds a degree in history and uses photography to become more observant and appreciative of the world. When he is not photographing weddings or simply daily life in Honolulu Reese is pursuing a graduate degree. More of Reese's work can be viewed on his blog Observe. Compose. Capture.