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

Notes from Under the Oaks | June 2013

By Rachael Burbank '09

Outside Burbank's desk window | 9 a.m. 

I am fortunate to have a desk with a window at the Abbott Alumni Center. All year long, I watch the weather change by the hour.

I watch the rain pour down and try to predict the best time to run errands across campus. I watch flurries fall down in the winter and guess how many abandoned cars I’ll pass on my drive home. 

I watch the sun break through the clouds and smile knowing it’s finally the Oregon summer weather that’s worth waiting for.

Outside Burbank's desk window | 11 a.m. 

Growing up in Massachusetts, I didn't expect that reaching a temperature of 100 degrees in the summer would be bearable. I was acclimated to 90 percent humidity on an 80 degree day and lounging as close to the coastline as possible for cool down dips. Now, I relish in the hot arid summers in Oregon but I know I don’t have it that bad.

I couldn't imagine being in anywhere else in the Unites States right now because of the extreme weather over the last month. Oklahoma was blindsided by tumultuous tornadoes. 

Texas suffered both spectrums with twisters and flash floods with a month. West Virginia trapped in massive floods. Chicago struck by unforeseen lightning storms.

Outside Burbank's desk window | noon

Colorado and California fought forest fires early in the year than normal. An ice tsunami crept up on Minnesota and an ice wall formed in Alaska causing flooding. The Mid-Atlantic States were thrashed by wind and rain causing sinkholes and power outages.

The worst part is that these events aren't specific to the United States. We all know someone who is affected by the recent extreme weather.

I’ll say it again. I’m fortunate to be in Oregon where my only typical worry is rain clouding our summer skies—but know that I don’t take it for granted. Members of my family in New Jersey are still struggling to rebuild their home and their business after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.

Outside Burbank's desk window | 2 p.m. 

To the more than 26,000 alumni worldwide, please know my heart goes out to you especially if you have struggled with issues relating to these weather extremes this year. As members of the Pacific family, we care about your safety and your whereabouts. Please know we are always here to assist in any way we can.

If you wish to write about your experiences with the extreme weather for a guest blog for the Boxer and Badger Notes blog, please submit photos and your 400-word submission to alumni@pacificu.edu.

If you need to update your contact information, please visit www.pacificu.edu/keepintouch.

Be safe where ever you are and best wishes. 

Burbank '09 is the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Pacific Univer

sity. Notes from Under the Oaks is originally published in the monthly Alumni eNews. To subscribe to the Alumni eNews, email her at rburbank@pacificu.edu.