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.

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 | 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. 

Why Wait | Importance of Networking

Powers '13

By Leilani Powers '13

With only a month left to go here at Pacific University, I have found there are an infinite amount of life lessons people will tell you throughout your college years, and even your high school career, that you find to be all too true. 

Sometimes, when it’s too late to act on the advice. 

One of the lessons I caught on to just in time through my time working in the Office of Alumni Relations was the importance of networking. 

At first, I didn’t truly understand what networking really was or its importance. 

Why would knowing somebody who has been in education for the past thirty years have any influence on my career in marketing? 

Why would keeping business cards or in contact with people I hardly know be useful to me as a sophomore in college?  

What could talking to somebody for only five minutes ever do for me in the future?

Well, as many of my fellow graduating seniors may know, it’s now all about who you know when it comes to looking for work in this extremely competitive job market. In many cases, it’s about who people in your network know that may be more important. 

Why? 

Because they may act as a great referral to someone in your dream employer, making a connection you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to make on your own.

As I got older a common message was that building your professional network is key to being successful in this day and age. Having a vast professional network is even more important for recent graduates. The people in your network may be able to help you get your “foot in the door,” sometimes the hardest part of getting a job. 

Remember, you could have a great resume and fantastic interview skills, but if the employer’s key word search doesn’t find what it needs when scanning your resume, they won’t even look at it and you definitely won’t get an interview. However your friend, family member, or colleague who works in that firm (or similar ones in that industry) may be able to get your resume to the top of the list and personally read by the right person in the company you’re going for.



Powers '13 networking at an alumni event

While interning for the Office of Alumni Relations, I quickly learned that the people who you may meet at events like Pacific’s Speed Networking, Portland Networking Breakfast, etc. are not just people who have become successful in their field (whatever that field/industry may be), but they are alumni of Pacific University, same as I will be soon, and they truly care about students and are willing to help in anyway they are able.

In almost all the events I’ve gone to, there have been at least a handful of alumni who wouldn’t hesitate, if not insist, they connect me with a member of their network in the field or company they think would be of value to me. 

My advice I hope you heed sooner than later: if something as simple as meeting people can possibly get you the leg up when trying to advance your career, why wait? Go to as many networking events as you can wherever you are in life. Believe me, they’ll come in handy later, and if you don’t start early, you’ll kick yourself later.

Powers '13 is a business major at Pacific University and has worked in the Office of Alumni Relations as a Marketing and Communication Assistant during her time at Pacific. Powers is also the Co-President for Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow.  

Forging his way into Filmmaking

By Tristan Stoch ’11 

For many people, pursuing the arts is not viewed as a realistic career path.

Whenever I told people I was a film student the conversation would go one of two ways: either people would jokingly ask me to buy them a car once I made my millions or they would ask why I was paying tuition to pursue a hobby that I could do in between waiting tables.

Since my graduation, I have discovered neither of these extremes to be true; filmmaking is a viable career path full of opportunities. The last two years have been exciting and I owe it all to the Film and Video Program.

Stoch '11 in action

My senior project was a short film called “Clarity” and it was made with a crew of Pacific film students and actors. Jennifer Hardacker and Enie Vaisburd, the two film professors, are wonderful teachers who work with their students on a personal level to accomplish their projects and foster their growth as filmmakers.

Because of their support, “Clarity” is still on the film festival circuit. It won “Best Social Message” at the 2012 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, was nominated for “Best Screenplay,” “Best Student Film” and “Best Supporting Actress” at the Maverick Movie Awards and was winner of “Best Student Film” at the 2012 Oregon Independent Film Festival. Watch an excerpt from "Clarity."

After graduation, I filmed a documentary for the Acupuncture Relief Project. The film was my first documentary and is about a health clinic that employs acupuncture to treat patients in rural Nepal. I got this job because of my experiences at Pacific and the reel that I made as a student. The film was finished in May 2012 and premiered at the Hollywood Theater in Portland. It went on to several film festivals, winning “Best Local Documentary” at the 2012 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, right next to “Clarity.” Watch the documentary

In the last half of 2012, I dedicated myself to freelancing and worked on a variety of documentary and commercial shoots around Portland. Recently, alumnus Sean Grasso '12 and I started a production company called Cineastas, Spanish for “filmmaker.”

We make video portraits for small businesses, artisans and craftspeople that are designed to be effective promotional tools for the businesses. Our first portrait was made for the HiiH Gallery in Portland and very well received online. We have several new projects we are working on for clients at the moment and are excited for the future.

Granted, I have not made my millions (yet), but I am doing what I love for a job. I have been making a comfortable living, keeping my bills paid and have been having a great time at the “office.” Ultimately, this is why I went to college; to provide myself with a future like this one.

Most importantly, I am not an exception amongst Pacific film graduates. The Media Arts Department is proving itself to have a high success rate. Many of my peers work in the field at companies like Laika (the company behind the Oscar Nominated “Paranorman”), NBC’s television show based in Portland “Grimm,” CW News, and Dawson Media Group.

Other film grads include a videographer in Portland, a feature length documentary director, a professional actress, a traveling documentary filmmaker, and a video editor at OHSU. Because of our time at Pacific, we are getting jobs in a field where we have been told it would be impossible to find work.

Stoch '11 has recently been hired back at Pacific University as Media Production Coordinator in the Berglund Center for Internet Studies.

The story of an Oregon-to-Arizona Transplant

By Brandon Porter '09 

Upon my graduation from Pacific in December of 2009, I embarked on a life-changing journey down to the Desert Southwest, more specifically, Flagstaff, Arizona.  Having never been to this outdoorsy mountain town, I didn’t know what to expect.  I was greeted by a monsoon my first day in town, followed by a winter that included snow measured in feet per week.  Putting it lightly, this was a novel experience for this Oregonian.

However, I have adjusted well and am glad that my journey at Pacific led me to where I am today.  I received me Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Pacific, and I am the perfect example of how the well-rounded education I received as an undergrad has allowed me to thrive in a very different field than the one I studied for.  

I am currently the Assistant Coach for the Northern Arizona University Women’s Soccer team (Division I Big Sky), as well the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for a local non-profit organization.  Degree and profession sound somewhat unrelated?  You would be correct.  But the variety of knowledge that I gained at Pacific allowed me to be a quick learner, organized, and accountable.  Which I believe are traits more valuable than being trained for a specific career path, and things for which I am grateful that Pacific developed in me.

I am glad that I was offered the opportunity to submit something for the blog.  It is nice to feel connected to my college years.  I plan on visiting very soon, and hope to drop in on The PAC (now the Stoller Center), swing by and see Vicki McGee and Andrea Stewart, my former coach, Jim Brazeau, and meet any new staff in the the athletic department.  I hope Heide Island is slowly taking over the world in the Psychology Department, one cleverly delivered (albeit sometimes inappropriate) joke at a time.  And I want to make sure that Pacific knows how much its alumni care about its future.

I now reside in Flagstaff as an Arizona resident with my dog, FIFA, and have gotten used to the lack of water, the high elevation (7,000 feet above sea level, wheez...), and pumping my own gas (sigh).

I know there have been lots of changes to Pacific University, but this Oregon-to-Arizona transplant is proud of where I came from, and I am hopeful for the future of my alma mater.  GO BOXERS!

Porter '09 was a psychology major at Pacific University as an undergraduate and also a member of the men's soccer team for four years. He works for the Northland Hospice and Palliative Care along with being a soccer coach. 

Asking the Right Questions

By Jocelyn Rattray Godfrey '95 

During one of my last lectures at Pacific, my professor said something that still resonates 17 years later:

"We have not given you the answers; we have taught you how to ask the questions. Now go out there and ask them…”

Fast forward to my current role as owner of a branding firm. I attend conferences across the country with resoundingly similar themes focused on change… in administration, healthcare, and the economy. 

Seventeen years is too long for things to stay the same, and they haven’t. Since leaving the land of Marsh Hall, change has become the norm. Besides traveling abroad, taking up soccer and scuba diving, and meeting my two daughters—I’ve acquired more “jobs” than I can count. I use “jobs” loosely because I’ve owned my own company since 1997. 

Two years post graduation, while working for an ad agency, my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity arrived—I was asked to lead the advertising for a national fitness magazine. To do so, I had to start own company. At age 23, in an era before cell phones were as naturalized as fingernails, I equipped my home office and became my own boss.

As expected, company ownership has been utterly scary and utterly exhilarating. I’ve since worked with more national magazines, an international billionaire philanthropist, a Duke doctor, multiple publishers, even more speakers/authors/consultants, and many organizations. In one role, I interviewed Dr. Maya Angelou, Coach Tony Dungy, NBC’s “Apprentice” winner Bill Rancic, Olympic gold medalist Kristen Armstrong, and founder of Dilbert Scott Adams. Once or twice, I was a tad star struck (hearing Maya Angelou say, “Good morning, Jocelyn,” in her beautifully velvet voice just about knocked me out!).

Along the way, I’ve had to adapt to new marketing trends, technology, and life events. I’ve learned to value the following three survival skills through it all: 

1)Be resilient. What you do today won’t likely mimic what you’ll do in five years. Stare fear in the face, celebrate change, and use it to innovate—mindfully creating the life you want while embracing the adventure. I asked Maya Angelou how to overcome fear, and she said, “Look what you’ve overcome already. And some of the things no one ever knows but you.”

2)Be realistic. You won’t likely become accidentally famous, wealthy, or able to sing. Your business won’t likely take off while you sleep. But that’s okay. If you plan ahead, hustle, and take cover from time to time, you will survive and likely thrive.

3)Be relationship-minded. I still correspond with friends from kindergarten. If greatness surrounds me, it is in the people who support me. I try to enter new relationships less concerned about what I will gain than what I can give; everything usually works itself out in phenomenal ways when I invest in relationships first.

On that note, last year I partnered in business with my husband, Scott Carbonara, speaker, consultant, and author of the new book, A Manager’s Guide to Employee Engagement. He brings 25 years of executive leadership experience, and together we love the role of helping organizations—ranging from one-man shops to global companies. 

Pacific didn’t deliver me the answers. More importantly, it implanted the curiosity, drive, and confidence to ask the right questions. (Thank you!)

Godfrey ’95 is the owner of Spiritus Communications, Inc., see www.SpiritusCommunicnations.com, a branding firm offering speaking, training, and organizational consulting in areas of employee engagement, culture, change management, performance, leadership, and more. She also manages a marketing and publishing division of her company—advising authors, speakers, and thought leaders, and editing their books.

Past and Present Dinner

Schreurs '14

By Evan Schreurs '14 

Last month, I was invited to the home Jerry Albright ’94 for this years’ Past and Present Dinner. Having participated in prior Past and Present Dinners, I had an idea of what to expect upon arrival. However I had never met Jerry or knew any information about him so when I visited his home I was surprised. 

I was under the assumption that I was invited to the home of an alumnus who was part of a class who graduated prior to 1970, since this is what my experiences had been before. Also since my particular major is history, a less common degree among current Pacific students, I was not assuming to meet an alumnus who had undergone the same area of research. 

Upon meeting Jerry it was obvious he was a more recent graduate than I had expected. After the standard salutations and handshakes, I learned that not only had Jerry majored in history but had also been taught by some of the same professors that I am currently taking classes from. This was wonderful! Some of the same professors he had worked with and developed great relationships with were the same that I am currently being taught by. 

Jerry was also excited to learn the reasoning for me to attend Pacific was the small school appeal and student/faculty connection. One of my reasons for coming to Pacific was because I had made great relationships with the faculty in my high school and I looked for a place that I could do the same. 

Jerry chose Pacific for the same reasons and as an alumnus who has gone on to work in the professional field, he assured me that having that connection with educators was crucial. Jerry actually roomed on the same floor of McCormick Hall that I was lived on too!

I visited with Jerry and his daughter for about two hours and covered a vast amount of topics relating to Pacific and current events. Something Jerry reiterated to me was how useful his History degree was. Knowing this was reassuring as a soon to be graduate, with how competitive the job market has become this offered a light at the end of the tunnel and motivation that my degree will be worth my efforts.

Before leaving for the night Jerry offered me his personal contact information in the event if I ever needed help or just would enjoy coming and visiting once again. This act shows just how much a personal connection means to members of the Pacific community. I had never heard of Jerry before that evening but after talking with him for a short while we had developed a friendship based on our mutual experiences at Pacific. 

I encourage every student and every alumni to participate in future Past and Present Dinners. I feel that more throughout the year and larger participation by current students and alumni would benefit the Pacific community as a whole exponentially. 

For alumni, it is a nice reminder of their days on campus and why they may have chosen to continue to live in Forest Grove. For students, the home cooked meal and being able to hang around pets is a wonderful feeling that gets overlooked by students, it can only happen during the holidays when returning home. With the Boxer community however this feeling of home can be recreated for an evening. 

Schreurs '14 is a program assistant in the Office of Alumni Relations and is the co-president of Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow.

All in a Year's Time

By Kudrat Kahlon '11   

By the time I graduated from Pacific University, I had already clocked in over a year of legal work, which included a year at the District Attorney’s office as a paralegal and a victim’s advocate and various summer internships in India.

I got an exciting offer to work in Oakland as a social worker (part of the training at the DA’s office included victim advocacy certification). This manifested after I spent an agonizing senior year where I’d send at least 2,000 job applications a week if not more. I’d hear nothing from most, a rejection from a few, and after hounding even the rejecters, feedback from a select few.

I packed my bags and landed up in San Francisco excited about my new job at a domestic violence and human trafficking center, there was no high greater than empowering women, and while the problems can be overwhelming, that one chance that you might have changed someone’s life is priceless, it made social work the most glamorous job in the world for me.

That had been my experience at the DA’s office under an inspiring supervisor. So much that I was rethinking my application to law school and thinking about pursuing social work instead.  But then two weeks into my new job, the management changed, the people I was working for were replaced by a bureaucratic bunch who were so cold and reclusive, a far cry from comfort and protection that the advocates offered.

Not so keen on law school, dismayed with the social work break I got, I mulled over a paralegal position for a corporate law firm which dealt with diamonds in Dubai and found me ethnic enough to work with them (even though I didn’t speak Arabic but probably looked the part).

Kahlon '11 with star Ashton Kutcher

But jumping into an intensive patent law environment when I wasn’t even keen on law anymore didn’t seem right. So I packed my bags and headed back home to India after 5 years and thought I’d take it from there. I have always been open to new experiences, always kept myself busy even if it didn’t fit the plan; because success does not have a linear trajectory it’s non-linear.  So at a friend’s suggestion I joined a local news station, and subsequently found myself working on documentary films.

I am now working as a researcher/producer and occasionally assistant director on documentary films, pursuing a master’s at a liberal arts university in Delhi, trying to kick start an NGO and write as freelance columnist for a national newspaper on socio-political issues. 

This past year has shown me one thing, where your minds at are where you end up.

Kahlon '11 studied politics & government at Pacific under the watchful guidance of Jules Boykoff, James Moore and Jeff Seward who taught her the unconventional and critical world views. Her current interests are socio-political issues, developmental economics, pop-culture, film-making, poststructuralism, philosophy and cultural studies. You can follow her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/kudratkahlon.