![Justin Huertas ’09 and Kiki deLohr ’10 pose on stage before their production of Lizard Boy,Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at Theater Row in New York. (PLU Photo / Sy Bean)](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2023/09/huertas-delohr-banner-725x408.jpg)
From Eastvold to Broadway: Justin Huertas ’09 and Kiki deLohr ’10 debut on musical theater’s biggest stage
It’s 11 a.m. in Harlem. Justin Huertas ’09 and Kiki deLohr ’10 are feeling loose, relaxed — even a bit silly — as they sip coffee outside Sugar Hill Café. In a few short hours they will make their off-Broadway debuts in a musical written…
![Brian Bannon ’97, the Merryl and James Tisch Director of the New York Public Library, poses for a portrait, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in New York City. (PLU Photo / Sy Bean)](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2023/09/brian-bannon-header-725x408.jpg)
The People’s Librarian: Brian Bannon’s passion for democratizing information led him to the New York Public Library
In 1997, Brian Bannon was a PLU senior. An exemplary student, he wrote for The Mast, and was a double major researching social justice through the lens of queer rights movements. One afternoon, Bannon found himself in the office of history professor Beth Kraig, discussing…
![Students work on building terraria in Prof. Daniel Heath's IHON class, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at PLU](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2022/10/ihon-biosphere-cover-725x408.jpg)
Saving the World with a Starship
On day one of PLU Professor of Mathematics Daniel Heath’s Designing a Starship class, students have no idea what they have signed up for — and that’s exactly how Heath wants it. The course is part of PLU’s International Honors Program (IHON), which means it…
![Summer music camp for children run by PLU music students, Friday, July 8, 2022, held at Trinity Lutheran. (PLU Photo/John Froschauer)](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2022/11/camp-songs-cover-725x408.jpg)
Camp Songs: PLU music majors produce free music camp for Parkland students
It’s a warm summer morning and the scent of scrambled eggs drifts from the kitchen at Trinity Lutheran Church into an adjoining room where more than a dozen campers busily make beaded jewelry. Ranging from second to sixth grade, the kids are participants in the…
![Angela Pierce-Ngo ’12, a director with Northwest Education Access, photographed in a Pierce Country Library, a typical spot to meet clients along with coffee shops, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, in University Place. (Photo/John Froschauer)](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2022/11/angela-pierce-questioning-barriers-725x408.jpg)
Questioning Barriers: Angela Pierce-Ngo ’12 understands post-secondary success requires questions
While at PLU, Angela Pierce-Ngo ’12 was worried by a troubling pattern. After the first year of college, many peers and friends — especially classmates of color — left school or took an extremely long break. Even as she worked as a diversity advocate and…
![Elizabeth Larios photographed in a biology lab as a field by Morken and Rieke with a jacket she had made in Namibia where she has a Fulbright scholarship starting in January 2023, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, at PLU. (PLU Photo/John Froschauer)](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2022/10/music-medicine-elizabeth-larios-725x408.jpg)
Music and Medicine: Elizabeth Larios ’21 returns to Namibia to research infections and teach marimba
Elizabeth Larios ’21 decided she was going to be a neurosurgeon in the fourth grade. That’s when her class took a field trip to a science museum and Larios saw an exhibit about the human brain. Returning home that day, she told her mom: “I’m…
![Nursing students in the simulation lab, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, at PLU. (PLU Photo/John Froschauer)](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2021/10/nursing-feature-1-725x408.jpg)
Simulating for Success
A pair of nursing students in grey scrubs knock on the door, wash their hands, and greet little Jillian, who rests in a bed connected to beeping monitors. The child opens her eyes and whimpers, then coughs. As the students listen to Jillian’s lung sounds,…
![April Reyes looks over her shoulder, showing off a tattoo of her last name across her back and shoulders.](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2021/11/april-featured-image-2-725x408.jpg)
No Mud, No Lotus
Social work major April Reyes ’21 loves to talk about her tattoos. She has 13 total, nine of which she received while studying at PLU. She struggles to choose a favorite but says she loves to flaunt the lotus flower on the back of her…
![RHA president Hezekiah Goodwin ’22 sits, smiling outside south hall holding his packpack on a sunny fall day](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2021/11/heze-web-725x408.jpg)
(Re)Building Community
The PLU Residence Hall Association, or RHA, brings students together for social events, community forums, and to advocate for residence hall-related issues. RHA president Hezekiah Goodwin ’22 thinks of his role in building a vibrant student community as a campus vocation. We met with him…
![Three photos set together of Professors Ksenija Simic-Muller, Corey Cook, and Rebecca Wilkin](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2021/11/try-again-725x408.jpg)
Timely Research
Translating the Enlightenment The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently awarded Professor of French Rebecca Wilkin a $133,333 grant under the Scholarly Editions and Translations interest area. Wilkin and her collaborator Angela Hunter, an English professor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock,…
![Nicole Harmon ’03 (Photographed by Justin D. Knight)](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2021/11/nicole-harmon-housing-neighbor-header-725x408.jpg)
Housing Our Neighbors
Housing is something many of us take for granted. Much more than just a place to sleep and a structure to shelter us from the elements, our homes provide the space we need to maintain a functional life. It’s where we manage our mental health,…
![George Zeno stands smiling on front of of a brightly colored mural on Garfield Street near PLU.](https://www.plu.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/573/2021/11/zeno-featured-725x408.jpg)
Collective Impact: George Zeno talks Parkland, equity and community partnerships
Nearly a year into his new role as PLU Associate Vice President of Advancement, George Zeno and I took a walk through Parkland and discussed one of my favorite questions, #WhyPLU? Zeno is essentially a community matchmaker for social progress. Mentored at the University of…