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.  

Memories of Dorm Life

By Jim Silkensen '67

I lived in "Mac" Hall during the 1963/64 school year and the beginning of the 1964/65 school year before moving to the Gamma Sigma house (then on Elm Street).  Things I remember particularly about Mac Hall:

• The cafeteria was in the basement of Mac Hall (at the base of the main stairway into Mac Hall), as that was before the student center was built - very handy for those of us living there, but without the wider selection of food that was available in the student center once completed.
• Looking out my window on arrival day as my parents drove away for our home in Denver and feeling very lonely.
• Having a three person dorm room and one of my roommates frequently coming in with his friends after the other two of us were asleep, putting the lights on and waking us up, making it difficult to get back to sleep.
• The infirmary was in another section of Mac Hall's basement.  I came down with the flu and was confined in the infirmary when it was announced that President Kennedy had been assassinated.
• We went through a period when there were a number of middle of the night false alarms (bomb threats I think) - not a lot of fun standing out in rain in pajamas.
• One afternoon after classes I returned to my room and found my bed covered in shaving cream.  Angry, I asked who had done it and then went to their room and covered the person's bed with toothpaste.  Then found out he was the quarterback of the football team.  Had I known in advance I would have had second thoughts on how I responded.  Fortunately he laughed it off.

 My wife, Candy Silkensen '69, was in Walter Hall.  Some remembrances about Walter Hall:

•  Walter Hall had very strict rules on when women must be back in the dorm.  We visited Candy's Aunt & Uncle in the hills west of Portland and when we left their home to return to Pacific the road on their hill was slick with snow and we slid into the ditch.  By the time Candy's Uncle pulled us out of the ditch with his Jeep, we were late in getting back to Walter Hall.  As there was no snow at all in Forest Grove, Candy's explanation apparently sounded pretty lame - they had to call Candy's Uncle and get confirmation about what happened.
• I was pretty shy around girls, but somehow got talked into serenading Walter Hall with two or three Gamma brothers one night.
• After "pinning" Candy, the Gammas had a very nice evening celebration outside the entrance to Walter Hall for Candy & me, plus two or three other Gammas who had pinned girls who lived in Walter Hall.
    
  What memories do you have of dorm life at Pacific university? Send your memories as a guest blog post of 400 words to alumni@pacificu.edu along with photos of you living in the dorms!

Trinkets of Walter Hall

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

When I was a student at Pacific I came across an archival photo of Walter Hall. I believe it was taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I remember being delighted at how the interior of the room had remained exactly the same from 1959 to 1999.

Of course the nature of college life changed quite a bit in those 40 years – for one thing my next-door neighbors were Russ and Gabe and the neighbors across the hall were Todd and Stuart. I think the women of Walter Hall 1959 might have found this a tad shocking.

Recently our friends in Facilities unearthed a treasure trove from the history of Walter. Apparently there’s some work being done involving the removal of furniture. This resulted in a whole pile of interesting items including:

• 20 assorted photographs
• 9 photographs of high school sweethearts complete with handwritten inscriptions
• 2 postcards (one Katherine sent to Spencer Rockwell ’00 while she was visiting Japan)
• A sticker for Powell’s City of Books
• A 1985 sticker for Coors Light beer wolf
• A letter to Kurt from his Gram
• A 1983 receipt from Fred Meyer – a loaf of bread cost $1.12
• 2 coupons for Ponds Beauty Cream
• A 1974 Tri-Met Route Map
• A 1987 Boxer Football schedule
• A syllabus from Marsh Lee’s spring 1981 Western Civilization class
• A ticket to the 21^st Annual Luau
• Not one, but two of Margaret Swanson’s meal cards (fall 1967and spring 1969)
• A Pacific University phone card

Also: William Hopper, Necole Landry, Max Montano, Martha Leinweber – we found your student ID cards! We also found a Hawaii state ID card for Starr Muramaru, a Forest Grove Library card for Cherie Cockram and a health plan card for Jennifer Harrington.

All of this makes me curious to hear stories of life in Walter Hall (and all the dorms).

Did you ever lose anything you wish could be found?

Did you bring photos of your hometown or your high school friend and pin them up?

Were you at the 1981 Luau or did you follow the Boxer Rebellion in 1987?

Did you live in Walter Hall when it was women only or McCormick when it was men only?

Do you think any of the items above are yours and would you like them back?

As always, please keep it touch! Send us your stories and don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.

Martha Calus-McLain '03 is the Director of Alumni Relations at Pacific University. She can be reached at martha@pacificu.edu or 503-352-2764. 

Food and Thought

By Shane Henry Kwiatkowski '11

Kwiatkowski '11

Apple, Sausage and Brie Layer with Rosemary, Cinnamon, Sage and Garlic

Halloween 2011, Washington DC

Ingredients

1lb ground pork sausage

4 apples (tart variety)

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 wheel brie cheese

large sprig fresh rosemary, or 3 tbsp. dried leaves

2 tbsp. powdered cinnamon

10 or so fresh sage leaves (fresh is better)

olive oil and/or butter

salt and pepper

1

Start by browning pork in pan with a little oil, salt and pepper over medium heat. You’re aiming to brown your meat a little crisp. If you’re not sure what kind of brown, imagine the rich brown wood of the tables and chairs at the Library of Congress twinged in cinnamon, or like dark hazel eyes.

2

As the meat browns, dice one apple and the onion together, minding the apple seeds; they’re bitter like October DC wind. Mix the apple and onion in a bowl with some olive oil and butter and half of each of the spices. The sage might smell bitter when you first tear the leaves, but it will mellow. Some things must have heat applied to remove bitterness, the gentle warmth of convection, conduction and intention stripping away whatever acrid thing may be held within. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

3

When the meat has crisped, toss the apple-onion mixture into the pan. Add a little oil or butter if any sticking occurs, though this will be unlikely. You will smell the warm fragrance of the spice and herbs as an offering to the Fall air. The sage will consecrate and invite life; the rosemary for memory; the cinnamon ushers in joy. Perfect for the souls of Samhain. I contemplate the dead as Kelly and Kenzie busy themselves cleaning the table, stringing lights, and readying maple cookies in the shapes of tender, small leaves. I toss the mixture so nothing will stick.

4

Cut the rest of the apples into slices 1/8-1/4” thick, and the brie into wedges. When the mixture is done crisping, remove pan from heat; drain pan of excess fat, leaving a little bit. Put a layer in of sausage then apples and brie in your casserole dish. When I baked mine I laid the slices of apple around the edge of the dish, the moon’s life of full and wane emblazoned in apple flesh on top in honor of passing days and those who have passed.

5

When finished layering, put aside the dish and take the garlic cloves, mash them out of their papery skins. Then put the pan back over low heat and place the garlic and the rest of the spices inside, swirling in a little butter and olive oil. When heated and fragrant, pour over the layer.

6

Cover and bake for 25min. Remove cover and bake for around 10min until the apples and brie are golden-brown and bubbly, respectively. Take out and take to table. Garnish with more sage leaves, cinnamon and rosemary if desired.

Earlier that day at the Holocaust Memorial, I had seen the name “Kwiatkowski” on a board displaying names of Polish lost during WWII, dioramas of great ovens, and thousands of shoes. I do not know how those lost souls spent their Halloweens, but I hope that they were as grateful for theirs as I’m for mine: lights in wine bottles casting soft glows, the radiant smells of warm food, the buzzing of wine, and a prayer to family, whoever or wherever they may be. We drink and eat to the night, and for what life gives and takes.

Kwiatkowski '11 majored in Creative Writing and Anthropology. He aspires to write, act, and travel the world to learn about its people of all kinds, its workings and its magic. Hobbies include thinking about the connectedness of things, cooking, singing and talking with people about nearly anything. Animism is his go-to philosophy, and seeks to honor the spirit of the world through creation and much-too-much laughter. He currently lives in Vancouver, Wash.

Four Years Fly By

Brynteson '08

By Meredith Brynteson '08

It is crazy to believe that my career as a student at Pacific University was completed almost four years ago. 

May 2012 marked the moment the I’ve been a staff person as long as I was a student. 

During these years, I have seen so many different facets of Pacific. Some of my most vivid memories include crying during new student orientation, meeting some of my closest friends and connecting with professors that I still see around campus.

One thing that I was not aware of during my time as a student was just how much alumni of Pacific University care about this place. As alumni we care about sports teams making it to the playoffs and student research that is being conducted. We also care about the experience that each student has while they are here. 

When I meet up with college friends, we always find ourselves reliving the memories we created in Forest Grove. One of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had as an alumna has been my ability to actively influence the student experience today. While I was a student I received a variety of scholarships that allowed me to have such an incredible experience. Now, I make a monthly donation to Pacific to help current students have the same memorable time that I did.

A classmate stopped by my office the other day and we got to talking about writing our history theses. We reminisced about long hours in the library and the feeling once we’d presented at Senior Projects Day. Although, at the time, those were some anxiety filled memories, they are fond ones thinking about them almost four years later. 

It’s easy to forget how many people helped me along the way to graduation. Parents, professors, siblings, significant others were all there for us. One group not often remembered are those alumni supporters. Each alumnus that donated to Pacific during my time helped me get to graduation and to where I am today. So thank you to those alumni who helped me become who I am today and here’s to the next generation of Pacific University alumni!

Brynteson '08 is the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at Pacific University. She graduated from Pacific with a degree in history and a minor in political science. Brynteson then earned a masters degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University in 2010. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, working out and French bulldogs.

Four Facts that Could Save Your Life

By Rachael Burbank '09

Burbank before she stopped tanning

Tanning Fact #1:
People who use tanning beds once a month before the age of 35 increase their melanoma risk by 75%

I stood in line at a tanning salon for over an hour once because it was busy. It was three weeks before junior year prom. I sat in a white wicker love seat looking at Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat posters waiting for the sounds of popping door locks knowing my time was closer to get into a tanning bed. Everything inside Sunsational Tan was white: the wicker love seat, the counter girls’ hair, the hallway leading down to the rooms of tanning beds. It reminded me how pale I was, just like the color of the prom dress I begged my mom to get me. As I sat waiting, twenty or so girls gossiped about their prom dates and how their backless dresses couldn’t have tan lines. Then, silence as the counter girls announced the next victim. Lucky girl.

Tanning Fact #2:
Using a tanning bed for 20 minutes is equivalent to spending 1 – 3 hours at the beach with no sun protection at all. Tanning beds put out 3 – 6 times the amount of radiation given off by the sun.

Growing up on the shore of Cape Cod, I spent summers at the beach. I used baby oil like sunscreen, lathing up every other hour waiting to feel my skin tense up to a crisp. My girlfriends and I would set up on the beach sometimes as early as 9 a.m. and position our chairs like a sundial but moving every hour to keep facing the sun's UV rays straight on. I never wanted to be the first one to leave the beach. So when I grew restless, I’d play volleyball or bocce ball making sure each patch of my skin was being caught by the sun while the rest of the girls proudly wore completely different shades from their front to their backs.

Tanning Fact #3:
Melanoma kills one person every hour. It is the second most common cancer for women aged 25-29. Rates for melanoma are increasing faster than nearly all other cancers.

Kohl receiving treatment

There was an hour on November 20, 2008 dedicated to Glenna Kohl; she was 26. Glenna was a vegetarian, she did yoga, hiked, jogged, and rowed regularly. She was just 5-foot-3 and 105 pounds, yet she was strong enough to work as a beach lifeguard five summers in a row only protecting her skin with SPF 4. To maintain her copper glow, Glenna booked time at tanning salons, baking under a sunlamp as often as once a week. As health-conscious as Glenna was, she didn't connect tanning with skin cancer, let alone it’s most deadly form, melanoma. Let alone at 22 years old.

Read more: Tanning Dangers - Protect Yourself Against Skin Cancer - Cosmopolitan

Tanning Fact #4:
For most people, 5 – 10 minutes of unprotected sun 2 – 3 times a week is enough to help your skin make Vitamin D, which is essential for your health. Getting more sun won’t increase your Vitamin D level, but it will increase your risk of skin cancer. Vitamin D also comes from orange juice, milk, fish and supplements.

I bought a sunhat. No, not just celebrities wear them. My tanned friends probably get anxious when we go to the beach now because I pass around SPF 30 and make sure each of them applies it. Then I do it again 2-3 hours later, like their mom. I’m not taking the risk. I have a lot of moles on my skin and it’s difficult to watch them all and see if they change size, shape and color. I may have put my skin in danger when I was younger, but I wasn’t aware when I was 16 years old. Now at 25, I’m not ashamed of saving myself and my friends from sunburns or skin damage. I’m proud. Now my friends send me messages excited to tell me they wore sunscreen and when they don't, they warn me of their sunburns because they know I'll lecture them. And I'm proud my friends are as aware as I am of sun safety practices.

May is Melanoma Awareness Month but throughout the entire year, The Glenna Kohl Fund for Hope raising awareness to the dangers of melanoma and the importance of early detection and prevention of this deadly disease. 

Burbank '09 volunteers as the social media manger for The Glenna Kohl Fund for Hope. Follow her at @GlennasFund or facebook.com/glennasfund. She is also the Alumni Relations Coordinator at Pacific University.

Commencing Adulthood

By Stephanie Haugen '12

Haugen '12

Four years have passed quickly and tomorrow I graduate from Pacific. The day I never thought would get here has arrived and this dream still doesn’t seem like a reality.

With a week full of activities for seniors, I’ve met a lot of people I haven’t interacted with my entire time here and heard about a lot of things I never got the chance to do. Through it all, I’ve felt a little regretful I didn’t take advantage of every opportunity and satisfied with what I’ve accomplished at the same time. One day I feel sad it’s all coming to an end and the next I feel so incredibly light with happiness I can’t wait until it’s all wrapped up.

Although sometimes I wish I had done more, most of the time I’m satisfied with how much I have grown and how many new things I tried during my time at Pacific. The academics are rigorous and it keeps you busy. Especially living off campus, I don’t know if I could have done any more than I did.

One thing is for sure, though. I needed this experience at Pacific to develop into a person ready to leave here and try more new things and keep growing. Pacific pushed me. It pushed my limits and forced me to discover my potential both as a student and a person.

I thought the day I graduated from college I would officially be an adult, with a plan and without fears. Well, neither of these things turned out to be true, but I am ready for the next step. I’m not completely sure what I am meant to do with my life, but I’ve definitely ruled out a few possibilities, which is a start. I am excited to do everything I never had the chance to because I’ve been in school my whole life.

I’m going to paint, craft, draw, make jewelry, read for fun, write for fun, learn to wood work, cook, bake, sew, make soap, garden, get a job doing something completely different just to try it out, buy a bunny and maybe a llama. I am going to spend every spare minute outdoors and with the people I care about the most, many of whom I’ve put largely on hold these last four years.

It’s fairly terrifying graduating with your future wide open, but it’s also really exciting.

You can do anything you want.

There’s nothing holding you back or tying you down now.

You can do anything.

You can try anything.

You don’t have to stick around this area and you don’t have to worry about finishing your classes to get your degree and you don’t have to worry about setting your weekends aside for homework.

These were important things for four years, but that time has passed.

It’s easy to fall into something safe—something that will merely pay the bills or advance you along in a career path you think you’re stuck on because that’s what your degree is in or that’s what all your previous experience is in. But it’s never too late to entertain thoughts of a new life. Pacific has prepared you to be dynamic. Pacific has prepared you to be wide-scoping in your thoughts about yourself and the world, to be adventurous in your decisions, and to make the most out of the times in life that are short-lived but possibly the most influential.

The time has come to explore, to make those dreams you’ve been coming up with your whole life a reality. Don’t worry; Pacific has prepared you.

I’ve learned a lot of things at Pacific, but mostly I’ve learned that every stage before you should be better than the last. I should be growing and getting better at every stage of life.

I loved my time at Pacific, but I hope I never wish I was back in college.

I hope I never wish I could go back to these years.

I hope I never long for a time in my life that has already passed.

I hope I never feel like I’ve already peaked.

I hope whatever I do next and whatever I am at that moment will be better than the one before, and that I’m always moving forward to reach my potential and grow as a person. 

Haugen '12 was the Communications Assistant for the Office of Alumni Relations. You can follow her journey at Pacific through previous blog postings. Haugen is graduating with a degree in journalism and minor in English literature and was a member of the Phi Lambda Omicron sorority. She is keeping her next step open for anything and everything.

A Dirty Word

By Devin Higgins '10 

I don’t like to admit it, but I used to be one of those people.

One of those people who thought depression was a dirty word. A word too often used as an excuse by those who just couldn’t cope with how hard life gets sometimes. I thought antidepressants were just something to make a person feel happy, and in our present hyper-medicated society, they were being dished out in favor of doing what was necessary to “get over it.”

Higgins '10

I may have been a little late in coming to the Pacific campus as a non-traditional student in my early 30’s, and by the time I got there, I’d lived quite a unique life.

My parents divorced when I was young.

I survived physical, emotional, and sexual abuse before I was a teenager

I spent time after high school homeless

I was in prison for over a year as a 19-year-old and have dealt with the stigma of being an ex-felon ever since.

I don’t say offer those things to gain sympathy or to portray myself as a victim. Rather, they are simply the facts of my life, and I wouldn’t be a good journalist if I didn’t work with facts, no matter how unpleasant they may seem.

And yet, despite all that and more, I’d somehow found the strength of character to think I could achieve my dream of a college degree. So In 2007, I went back and earned not just one, but two degrees by the time I was done.

It took a complete nervous breakdown a year ago to discover I had severe depression, along with elements of social anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and it made it all seem pointless. Like I’d wasted my time and that I was one of those people who just couldn’t “get over it.”

I felt terribly alone.

According to the World Health Organization statistics from 2011, over 121 million people worldwide are affected by depression and its component ailments. By 2020, the WHO projects depression to be the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease and productivity lost to total disability.

Right now, it’s fourth.

What’s potentially more frightening is the WHO estimates fewer than 25% of those affected have access to the care which makes depression manageable, and much of that comes as a result of the social stigma surrounding it.

According to recent statistics, suicide is the third leading cause of death among teens and young adults ages 14-24, and the second leading cause of death among college students ages 20-24.

Depression is not an isolated illness. It doesn’t care how old you are, your gender, or where you come from. And not dealing with it and refusing to accept help to treat it is probably the worst thing a person can do.

If you, or someone you know is showing signs of depression, they need your help. They need you to listen to them and have someone to talk to and be non-judgmental. It’s far from easy for everyone involved, but it’s necessary to know they’re going to be okay.

Since my diagnoses and I can tell you some days are easier than others. I take medication every day to help my brain heal, but have struggled to find counseling or therapy because access is limited by health care providers. Yet, I’ve soldiered on on my own, hoping to find some peace of mind.

There are days where I want to give up and stop thinking I still need to go through all this, but I also know that it’s part of a very long process that requires patience and a willingness to accept change.

People with depression often feel alone. The best thing we can do is make sure they know they’re not.

Higgins '10 was a journalism major with an emphasis on writing and broadcasting at Pacific. He was the Sports Editor for The Pacific Index. He is now the play-by-play voice for Linfield Men's and Women's Basketball, but asks you to not hold that against him. He is also a Staff Reporter for The Reflector in Battle Ground, Wash., covering news and sports in Northern Clark County and  a Producer/Field Reporter for KFXX/ESPN Sports Radio 1080AM "The FAN" in Portland. He lives in Vancouver, where he enjoys writing, reading, movies, photography, travel, and spending time with his infant son, Daniel.