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.

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.