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.

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.

Notes from Under the Oaks | February 2014

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

Why Pacific? I was recently part of a conversation with this question at its center. I have been pondering this question ever since. I know how I might answer this question, but how might our many alumni answer -- why Pacific?

For an alumnus from rural eastern Washington or from Leeward Oahu the answer might be “because Pacific changed my life.”

For our 2,356 alumni couples the answer might be “because I met my love at Pacific.”

As an alumna, before coming to work for Pacific, my answer might have been summed up with the previous two responses. Now, after seven years as an employee, I’ve gotten to know this place even better. I now can’t answer this question without acknowledging the many ways our students and alumni aspire to make the world better.

For the students in Dental Health Science who are preparing to Give Kids a Smile later this spring or Optometry students preparing for spring break in Costa Rica with Amigos the answer might pertain to making kids healthier. These are just two examples of dozens of service-based, life-changing programs supported by our students and alumni.

Photo from the Dental Health Science program "Give Kids a Smile"

I believe all Universities possess the power to transform lives, but each place has deeply meaningful stories attached. (I'm also a tad biased in believing Pacific has more of these stories than other Universities).

For example Michael Sproyles ’15 tells a story of participating in the Speech and Debate team and finding incredible confidence.

Jackie Mrachek ’00, PT ’03 tells a story of developing necessary skills at Pacific which she now uses to help build confidence in others.

David Cook OD ’78 found the inspiration for a novel along with the ability to give the gift of sight.

Mike Geraci ’91 tells us about the coaches, faculty and staff at Pacific truly believe in students.

I’d love to hear your story. Did Pacific change you? Did your time here allow you the opportunity to improve the lives of others? How do you answer the question, “why Pacific?”

Send us your story 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 | martha@pacificu.edu | 503-352-2764

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.

Small School to the Big World

By Adam Daniels '06

Daniels '06

I live in a world now surrounded by freeways.

Even though I now live about 16 hours from Forest Grove, Ore., I feel like it’s a foreign planet. I live in a world where the problem isn’t “Where is there a Target?” but rather “Which Target do you want to go to?” It’s a world where you see thousands of people in a day but no stranger will talk to you.

Welcome to Southern California. I currently live and work in Riverside, Calif., about an hour east of Los Angeles. It’s a very different life here than what I experienced growing up in Shady Cove, Ore. (pop. ~3,000) and going to Pacific University. But now I’ve had some time to reflect, there are many essential lessons I learned from Pacific that have helped me to flourish and adapt to this world. When I tell people that my undergrad school has just over 3,000 students (and it felt much smaller back in ’06), they give me a look of shock. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

Pacific taught me “No” shouldn’t be in our vocabulary. The staff and faculty at Pacific were in the mindset of “Here’s how…” and taught me that life is about solutions, not problems. When I wanted to start a club that was a little unusual, Steve Klein could have said, “This is ridiculous. No.” But instead, he said, “Here’s how…” And that willingness opened up an experience that I’ll never forget (and ultimately led to my current career).

Pacific taught me that you should be excited about whatever you’re doing. For such a small school, I felt I was still getting the experience of a giant state university. Going to basketball games was a rush (we didn’t have football… womp womp). When we’d get a band to play at the volleyball pit, it didn’t matter that no one knew who the band was, we’d still show up in force and rock out like our lives depended on it. I think it’s easy to forget that lesson when you grow up. We need to be passionate about our job, we need to create adventures when we see the chance and we need to be excited for what comes next.

Daniels (middle) and others from '06 with Boxer.

Pacific was a place where I could walk into the UC and always see someone I knew. And I relished those moments to share stories and find out what made people unique. In the big world of Los Angeles, it’s easy to become lost in the daily bustle but Pacific taught me the importance of spending time to get to know people and how valuable those relationships can become. I want to emulate that experience in the bigger world. We should all find places where conversation is key, where friendships can be forged, and where you don’t feel so alone in the world.

And lastly, Pacific taught me that every subject had something to offer me. Every class opened up a new world and made me more excited to learn about it. I work at a research university now, where students may not get the chance to take a watercolor painting class just for kicks. I remember waking up for my 8 a.m. Abnormal Psychology class with Todd Schultz and I was just so excited to learn about a foreign topic. I still keep my copy of the DSM-IV close by. I remember taking a photography class with Jim Flory and learning how to develop film and learning the basics of composition. I spent a week taking pictures of trash I found scattered around campus, finding beauty even in those moments. The world is a fascinating place and there are so many fields we know nothing about, so try to expand your mind a little bit. I’ve found my outlet with TED Talks and the occasional History Channel or Discovery Channel special. But don’t forget that the world is vast and there are a thousand things you could be learning each day. Don’t stop learning.

When people ask me where I went to school, I say Pacific University. They look stumped. I say, “Not Azusa Pacific University. Not University of the Pacific. Not Pacific Lutheran. Not Warner Pacific. Not Seattle Pacific. THE Pacific University.” The place that taught me well and prepared me for the world and didn’t stop teaching me after four years, but still continues to impact me every day.

That Pacific University.

Daniels ’06 was a Creative Writing major and heavily involved with the theatre department. Daniels graduated from Azusa Pacific University in ’08 with a Master’s in College Student Affairs and currently works at the University of California, Riverside, advising student organizations and working with new student orientation. He currently keeps a blog focused on entertainment at http://iamyourtargetdemographic.wordpress.com.  

The Twisty Turny Journey of the Interdisciplinary Student

Tiffany A. Christian ‘99

When I transferred to Pacific in 1997, I had one goal: complete my BA in English literature. It didn’t take long for me to realize, though, that I could do more. 

I took on a second major in creative writing as well as two minors in history and music. I never thought that I was reaching in so many directions because I wasn’t satisfied with the idea of thinking about life, the universe, and everything from only one angle. I just loved too many subjects.

After Pacific, I decided to tackle grad school, and here’s where things get funky. I applied to New York University’s creative writing program, and I was roundly, wonderfully rejected. So it goes. 

However, an interdisciplinary program at New York University invited me to join their ranks. This was my first taste of anything beyond English as a focus, so I jumped at the opportunity.

My experience at NYU opened my eyes to a whole world of possibilities that didn’t include studying literature. I think that scared me, so I switched to an MFA in creative writing at Chapman University, which I completed in 2005. Then I started teaching, figuring I was finished with my academic pursuits.

That’s just funny.

I felt like I was falling down the rabbit hole, so for three years I tried to wangle my way into PhD programs in English. Three years of being rejected makes a girl think about things, and I wondered whether I was headed in the right direction. On a whim, I decided to take a cultural anthropology class. And that, as they say, is that.

Skip ahead to 2008, and I found myself entering yet another master’s program, this time in folklore. I wondered, why on earth would I go for another master’s instead of continuing the pursuit of the PhD? But during my three years at the University of Oregon, I discovered the art of film making. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing. I’m a bit of a nerd like that. But film making fulfills something in me that I didn’t even know I was lacking. And I might not have discovered my love of the art had I not decided I needed to make a move sideways instead of trying to push myself forward.

Thirteen years after getting my BA in literature, I find myself doing crazy things such as attending anthropology conferences as a folklorist filmmaker. It just goes to show that the journey doesn’t have to end with the BA. Really, it’s just the beginning.

Christian '99 graduated with a degree in creative writing from Pacific. She continued her education and received an MFA in creative writing from Chapman University in 2005.  She also earned a master's degree in folklore from the University of Oregon in 2011. Currently, she has been admitted to the Ph.D. program in American Studies at Washington State University.

Alumna Returns to Serve Alma Mater

Rachael Burbank '09

If you had asked me or anyone who knew me freshman year if I would still be at Pacific University now six years later, you’d hear an eruption of snickers and laughter.

Without even visiting campus, and only spending a long weekend in the state of Oregon a few years prior, I took a gamble.

I grew up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and to defy my parents’ push to attend a university, Pacific was the furthest and only school accepting of me. I had East Coast written all over me: white polo shirt, popped collar, tucked into my cuffed jeans with a pink and chartreuse printed flip-flop patterned belt. I looked like a tourist.

Three years later, and a lot of shredded up transfer paperwork, homesickness, and lasting friendships, I brought my senior year schedule to the registrar office. I kept telling myself, “well, you got through one semester and it wasn’t so bad, just do one more.” Submitting that senior schedule was me finally admitting, “I am a Boxer.”

Something that made me feel like I had a purpose, other than getting an education, was having a job on campus. I was a student worker in the Office of Alumni Relations every year and gradually increased my responsibility into something resume worthy. Some degrees don’t have specific future careers out there to pick from and for a Creative Writing major, I had to be even more creative.

Becoming the Communications Assistant for Alumni Relations, along with interning at university events such as Homecoming and the Masters in Fine Arts of Writing residency, gave more meaning to my degree’s stereotype of adjectives and sonnets. But, and that’s a big but, I wish I did more networking.

I wouldn’t describe myself as shy, but I was intimidated by people who have a stable career. I mean, who was I? Some transplant from the East Coast with no set career path just a thesis filled with essays that had a lot of typos. I was one of many college graduates without a clue.

Most people doubt their career path. Some transfer to new careers, just like majors, because it doesn’t jive with them anymore. That’s normal; there are valuable skills you can learn by taking a gamble. A degree is a specialty, but it’s not everything. Sometimes I forgot that I earned a liberal arts education, not just a Creative Writing degree.

So after bartendering for six years, volunteering at masquerade balls and charity road races, and selling a lot of wedding gowns and tiaras, I have returned back to Forest Grove still with a collared shirt, but it’s black with a red emblem. It’s been fun finding my strengths and weaknesses at dead end jobs, but I’m ready to start my career with non-profit public relations back at Pacific University.

Burbank '09 wrote this as a guest piece of the Pacific Index issue on Feb. 16, 2012. She is the Alumni Relations Coordinator for the Office of Alumni Relations. You can contact her at rburbank@pacificu.edu or 503-352-2969. She also volunteers with a melanoma awareness nonprofit, The Glenna Kohl Fund for Hope: www.glennasfund.org