Ed Hrivnak ‘96: Firefighter, Flight Nurse, Veteran

Ed Hrivnak graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. 

His decorated career as a public servant included 20 years in the armed forces where he served as the Crew Director of a medical-evacuation team. A veteran of the first Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Hrivnak, who retired as a Captain, also participated in peacekeeping missions supporting Somalia, Rwanda and the Balkans.

Hrivnak now serves as the Assistant Fire Chief at Central Pierce County Fire And Rescue. He published a memoir, Wounded: A Legacy of Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 2013.

Hrivnak is one of 11 notable PLU alumni currently featured in a billboard campaign that asks “what can you do with a PLU degree?” Others featured in the campaign include Android co-founder Nick Sears ’87, ’95,  Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden ’83 and Metropolitan Opera superstar Angela Meade ’01. Read all about the campaign and browse all 11 billboard designs in the latest online issue of ResoLUTE.