Alumni Ups His Game As Basketball Coach

By Berkley Holzschuh '14

Lindsay Strothers ‘80 has a tremendous passion for coaching basketball, which has contributed to his amazing success story.

As a Pacific alumnus, Strothers acknowledges that Pacific was the basis of his achievements. “Pacific prepared me for life,” said Strothers. “When I left I was prepared for any career. I learned to plan and prepare, trouble shoot and work with people.”

Since then Strothers has been coaching and mentoring student athletes from Oregon to California. He has coached a multitude of winning teams such as St. Mary’s Academy, University of Southern California, Chapman University, and other state and nationally ranked programs.

In 1999 Lindsay founded The Basketball Institute where their goal is “to teach players how to prepare for life through the development of their basketball skills.” Strothers started this after seeing a “need for young people to have qualified instruction in both skill and speed and power training.”

Currently, as the head coach of the girls basketball program at Westview High School, Strothers encourages prospective coaches to “meet as many coaches as you can. Find out whose philosophy fits with you and find a way to work and learn with them.”

Lindsay Strothers believes that intention is the most important characteristic any coach can have. As he amplifies intention in all areas of his life, Strothers’ story as a successful Pacific alumnus continues.

A Fogged Lense: Media arts alumni gives advice to students unsure of their future

By: Nicole Vickers '16 and Mahala Nelson '16

When a student chooses a major, it is generally because they have a specific job in mind. The degree is just means to an end. But for a lot of creative majors such as studio art, creative writing or media arts, sometimes the path isn’t always so clear. 

For Daven Sprattling-Mathies ’07, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with his media arts degree, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying every moment of his college life. 

“I still get teary-eyed thinking about my time at Pacific,” said Sprattling-Mathies. “I remember the big picture, the undocumented value in the experiences I had and the people I met. Not all of those experiences were good, either, but they were all important to who I am now.” 

For many who walk into college with an idea of what they want to become, that can change during the course of their four years of undergraduate. Students may find that what interests them may not be what they originally thought. 

This applies to all students who feel as if they aren’t sure where their education is going to take them. No matter what major a student chooses, there are always options and different doors being opened. As long as they feel that they are going in a positive direction then who knows what kind of opportunities might present themselves. 

“You get out of your education what you put into it, and that goes beyond the classroom,” said Sprattling-Mathies. “I think that's incredibly important for any student to realize, but especially for Media Arts majors who don't have a clear path to follow. You have to motivate yourself to keep going even when it feels like you're stumbling around in the dark.” 

Sprattling-Mathies started as a media major and realized that it was in the technical side that he belonged.

“I think media arts represent the union of the arts and the sciences,” said Sprattling-Mathies. “I also love to write, but I felt I had lot more to learn from video production because of all the tech involved.” 

Once out of college, Sprattling-Mathies found a job working in a bank, but soon realized that it was stifling and so decided to start up a photography business with a fellow Pacific graduate, Corey Bennett ’09. Currently Sprattling-Mathies works in a marketing department and has been able to make seemingly small decisions that have large impacts in his work. He has a personal investment in his company and enjoys his work there. 

 While it isn’t always advisable to quit a career, it is advisable to make sure that whatever job you are working in, that it allows you to have whatever creative freedom you want. If you are stuck in a stifling career, it never hurts to try and do something about it. Whether that is being open to a pay drop or to a new and completely different career path than originally planned, Sprattling-Mathies advises to never forget your passions, be open and know that everyone walks their own path at their own pace.

International Career Expo: Alumni Share Experiences Abroad

By Clara Howell '17
Photos by Mahala Nelson '16

As students start developing job skills, it’s natural for them to feel anxious about their future. Most students will be presented with many diverse job opportunities throughout their career. Some may find themselves landing a job in another country.

Panelists Jessie Wachter '03, Shani Moser '94 and Jamie Lucero '98.

 On April 25, 2014, the Career Development Center and World Languages and Literature department hosted the International Career Expo for students who were interested in exploring worldwide careers. This event was aimed at, but not limited to, students interested in career applications of a major or minor in a foreign language and/or those desiring to uncover international career possibilities. More than a dozen alumni traveled back to Pacific to share their experiences and to give advice to current students. The panel discussion was lead by Jennifer Baker ’00, Jamie Lucero ’98, Shani Moser ’94, Jessie Wachter ’03, Jack Trummer ’97 and Clare Richardson-Barlow ’08. These and additional alumni lead table discussions afterward focused on various career topics related to intercultural and international interests. * 

While students dream an ideal job upon graduating, they are often restricted by tunnel vision. 

“We get limited by school, college and getting married. It’s a very defined path and it doesn’t fit so many of us,” said Wachter.

Wachter, as well as the other panelists, advised students to take a step back and experience life before walking down a structured path. She also reminded students to remember that obstacles do emerge, and not every route will be as smooth as one thinks.

Jessis Wachter '03

Baker remembers having an outline of dream jobs. “The job market doesn’t always dictate to your dream job,” Baker said. “I promised myself to always be open to opportunities, so don’t discredit yourself. Throw yourself out there into the universe. If something catches, great, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Always be your own best advocate.”

 
But in order to fully get an understanding of the direction our lives take, all of the panelists agree that to uncover ones skill set and interests, people need to experience the world. This might be through study abroad during school or taking a gap year to travel abroad. Lucero went straight from Pacific into graduate school and says he felt a little rushed.

 “A more important thing might be to just take a little bit of time to let stuff settle on you and to make sure you’re ready for your next step,” Lucero said. “I almost feel like study abroad should be a requirement for college students.”

 Even though many of the alumni at the Expo used traveling abroad as a step to further their future careers, a main path to discovering what the world has to  offer is opened by networking—getting to know people and letting your name be known. While going to conferences can be helpful with meeting professionals, actively going to a social event or place and shaking a bunch of hands is important as well. Trummer believes networking is key to finding a solid career.

 Networking can be as easy as talking to friends and forming connections by having casual conversations with people. “You don’t have to go out on a mission [to network]; just be friendly and a person who people will remember,” Wachter advised. “If you drop that link you never know who is going to come out of the woodwork.”

Overall, the alumni who provide time to discuss these experiences talking to friends and forming connections by having casual conversations with people.

 
Overall, the alumni who provide time to discuss these experiences realize the importance of immersing oneself in another place. Moser believes studying abroad gives people an in-depth view of reality. Every minute these alumni were gone, they became fluent in another language, obtained career opportunities and met people they wouldn’t have met elsewhere. It is a life changing experience and it doesn’t matter what major a person has or if a person even wishes to live outside of the country. It’s about strengthening skills, discovering who you are and creating relevant experiences.

“When you go abroad and you learn the good and the bad, that’s what makes you have a very well rounded opinion of what a country is like,” Moser said. “I was able to grow up. I was humbled a little bit in life, had my feet kicked out from under me a few times, and I realized that I don’t know everything I thought I knew when I graduated from Pacific.” Finding a career path suited for the individual is what everyone strives for and what the International Career Expo aimed to help with. Although finding an ideal job is difficult, there are many opportunities to get a foot in the door. Richardson-Barlow entered the workforce during the recession and says internships and unpaid fellowships are a great way to find a permanent job or a way to get on track for future careers.

Jamie Lucero '98

“If you really want to do something, volunteer to do it,” Richardson-Barlow said. “I know it isn’t the greatest advice to say do something for free, but it really works.”

And when things don’t work out, or rejection occurs, the panelists say do not give up. “It’s just life and for whatever reason the timing was not right,” Baker says. “It’s always a good opportunity to refresh, take a look at your skills, and see if you’re marketing yourself in the way that you want to be regarded.
 

Eventually something will shake loose. It always does.”

*Pacific University thanks all of the alumni who contributed to this great event:

•     Christina Barboza ‘08
•     Tessa Daniel ‘05
•     Patrick Dedrick ‘08
•     Estelle Konrad ‘06
•     Ean Lensch ‘96
•     Jennifer (Bullock) Melo ‘06
•     Karyn (Arnold) Rankin ‘09
•     Reed Scott-Schwalbach ‘98
•     Lucas Steuber ‘09
•     Wintry Whitt Smith ‘97
•     Jennifer Baker ‘00   
•     Jack Trummer ‘97
•     Clare Richardson-Barlow ‘08
•     Jamie Lucero ‘98
•     Jessie Wachter ‘03
•     Shani Moser ‘94

Alumna shares graduate school experience

By Victoria Hampton '15

After receiving an undergraduate degree, many students will consider attending graduate school. Whether they attend three months or ten years after graduation, graduate school is a big decision. Not only is it a large financial commitment, its an additional two to four years of a student’s life that takes them further in the direction of their career interest. On top of all this personal investment, sometimes students starts a graduate program and realize it is not the right fit.

“As an undergraduate you have these ideas of what you want to do. Optometry school was one of the reasons I came to Pacific, but [once I started the program] it wasn’t quite what I expected,” said Basmah Rahman ‘01.

Rahman knew that graduate school was for her, but after attending one year at the Pacific University Optometry school, she wasn’t sure what graduate level program was right for her.

“It was a slow realization over the course of the year. I found [optometry school] really interesting and there is a lot to learn. I just realized that my classmates were getting a lot more out of it than me,” said Rahman.

Upon realizing this wasn’t a career path Rahman could see herself pursuing later in life, she discussed her feelings with a former member of the optometry admissions committee Karen Dunston.

As Rahman expressed her interests, Dunston gave her some graduate program ideas. During the 2004-2005 school year, Rahman attended Portland State University. She took classes in public health as a non-degree seeking student.

“I was anxious to get on a track of some kind. It is really scary when you’re 23 and you want to be on a career path,” said Rahman.

By taking these classes and talking to people in the public health field, she decided this was the correct path for her to continue her graduate education. Rahman applied to Boston University’s Master’s in Public Health program, MPH, with a focus on International Health. She graduated from this program in 2007.

After graduating from Boston University, Rahman lived in the Boston area for a few years. She then moved back to the northwest and has been working at Oregon Health & Science University, OHSU, as a research associate since 2011.

“I grew up in Oregon and it was really exciting to me to move across the country,” said Rahman. “I recommend people move away and experience that. It was good for me. It makes you grow up.”

Rahman attended an MPH program that is one of the top 20 in the United States, but she explained such a ranking should not deter students who may think they aren’t qualified for such a prestigious school.

“Students shouldn’t be phased by the reputation of the college because [graduate school] is a whole new ball game,” said Rahman. “It’s not just about grades and what you did as an undergrad. It is about the focus that you are bringing to the graduate program.”

She encourages students and alumni to apply to all the schools they’re interested in and not worry about getting accepted.

Rahman shared some of her experiences and graduate school wisdom for interested current students and alumni. She was able to work full time while attending graduate school, which is something she didn’t think was possible. She advises students and alumni to look at what the postgraduate job placement is at the specific school they’re interested in.

Another aspect for people to consider when looking into graduate schools is networking with others who have graduated from that specific program or work in the career field a student is interested in.

“It’s really important to take advantage of talking to people in the field you’re interested in,” said Rahman.

Rahman complemented Pacific’s Career Development Center on their ability to connect her with students who are interested in attending Boston University and the public health field in general.

The Career Development Center is a resource for graduates from all years and stages in their career development. If you are interested in graduate school, need help crafting your resume, finding a job, networking or need to work on your interviewing skills, email careerdc@pacificu.edu or call 503-352-2877 to set up an appointment.

Job Seeking Alumnus Utilizes Campus Resources

By Victoria Hampton '15

Robin Johnson ’09 is a great example of a Pacific graduate who knew what he liked, but didn’t know what he wanted to do with his career. 

“[After graduation] I was unsure. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my degree. I didn’t have a clear idea,” said Johnson.

Johnson '09

As a journalism and environmental studies double major, Johnson was searching for job opportunities that incorporated agriculture and writing. 

In his first few years after graduation, Johnson worked for AmeriCorps at Pacific and on an organic farm along with writing for a science fiction blog. After hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for five months, Johnson returned to Oregon ready to search for a job that reflected his passion for writing.

What better place to search for some career guidance than his alma mater?

A year and a half ago, while working a temporary job at a dog sitting business, Johnson contacted Career Development Center Director Brian O’Driscoll '89.

“I told Brian I was hoping to focus my career on my writing and he really helped me out by looking at my résumé and helping me beef it up,” said Johnson.

O’Driscoll also assisted Johnson with his interviewing skills, preparing him for an interview at Spotlight, a newspaper in Scappoose, Ore.

Johnson landed the job and has enjoyed writing for a variety of beats such as city hall, crime and community events.

This wasn’t the last time Johnson sought the help of the Career Development Center. 

In June 2014 he will move to St. Louis, Miss. with his girlfriend who is pursuing a master’s degree at Washington University. While visiting the city earlier this year, Johnson met some reporters from local newspapers. After his trip, Johnson asked O’Driscoll to help him network with people at publications in the area. He is now networking with a reporter who works for a bi-monthly publication in St. Louis.

Even though Johnson didn’t have a definite idea of his career focus right after graduation, he wasn’t afraid to explore his options and ask for help along the way.

“I just explored whatever option I was passionate about at the time instead of focusing on a specific career after college,” said Johnson.

He explained that this gave him a diverse background along with time to figure out his ideal career path.

The Career Development Center is a resource for graduates from all years and stages in their career development. If you need help crafting your résumé, finding a job, networking or need to work on your interviewing skills, email careerdc@pacificu.edu or call 503-352-2877 to set up an appointment.

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.

Alumnus Achieves his Dream Job

By Berkley Holzschuh '14

"Do it better than it's ever been done before" is how Brian Pan '09 strives to live his life. Coincidentally, this quote was said by Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, a person Pan is in close contact with throughout the year.

Pan is the Digital Media Video Producer for the Seattle Seahawks. His love for film began at his high school’s TV station in Pullman, Wash. Like most students, Pan knew as soon as he visited Pacific University that this was where he was supposed to be.

Initially when starting college, Pan wanted to pursue broadcast journalism, but after taking some website based classes with Professor Mike Geraci, he veered in a different direction. Geraci helped him broaden his knowledge of the web and was one of Pan’s biggest influences at Pacific.

Pan reflected on the Internet and social media when he was a freshman in college. He discussed how Facebook was the new social media platform in 2005.

Looking back, I never thought about how big the Internet would become,” said Pan. The position Pan has now as Digital Media Video Producer did not exist when he was a student at Pacific.

" Work hard!" is the advice Pan gives students. "It's all about hard work and having a passion for what you do."

Working hard and living by Coach Pete’s quote made Pan’s managers realize that he was essential to their success. He was offered a full-time position at the end of his internship with the Seahawks.

Pan loves his job. Part of Pan’s job requires him to ask famous athletes he has always looked up to for interviews. This challenges him to be “comfortable with being uncomfortable,” which is necessary for personal and professional growth.

Pan also gets to travel with the team. In 2013 Brian went to Hong Kong with the Sea Gals Cheerleaders as they performed for the Chinese New Year. More recently, he even got the chance to travel to Metlife Stadium in New Jersey and watch his team win Superbowl XLVIII.

“I go to work and get paid to watch and film sports; I can’t imagine anything better.”

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.