PLU alum learns that being a teacher is a mixture of tough and funny
Alum learns that teaching fifth graders requires mixture of toughness and fun Eric Pfaff had a cold, but he was staying a few more hours in his classroom at Eugene Field Elementary School in Tulsa, Oklahoma to finish up grading some papers, talking with kids.…
PLU alum works to close state’s achievement gap
PLU alum works to close state’s achievement gap Growing up, Erin Jones ’01, had no desire to become a teacher. In fact, she planned to become an international lawyer. But after visiting an economically disadvantaged, inner-city school in Philadelphia, Pa., Jones’ life plans changed dramatically.…
Rising Star
Rising Star By Barbara Clements and Bryanna Plog ’10 Standing backstage, waiting for his cue to step onstage, Louis Hobson ’00 does a reality check. He’s in New York. He’s on Broadway – in a Tony Award winning, and now Pulitzer-winning,musical no less. And he…
Making an art out of giving of oneself
Making an art out of giving of oneself Melinda Cox ’71, has never been shy about volunteering her time to help others. As an art professor at Tacoma Community College and Pierce College, Cox regularly juggles teaching and volunteer work. “I have always volunteered my…
A giving nature
The generous spirit of Norm Forness With some books you don’t have anything like the complete story until you finish the final chapter. So it was with the life of Norm Forness, who passed away last April. After graduating from Pacific Lutheran College in 1958,…
Discomfort can be good
A PLU graduate reflects on his time abroad I sat in one of my first classes at the University of Westminster in London flummoxed. It was days since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and a European student sitting in the back of the lecture…
Flying high
Tilden flies high as Alaska Airlines’ new CEO By Barbara Clements As a boy, Brad Tilden ’83 would look up from the yard at his home and see airplanes launch into the sky from the nearby Seattle- Tacoma International Airport. Someday, he wanted to fly.…
The finish line
The finish line The call came from Japan as Masahide Nishimura was finishing up his degree in Chinese Studies at Pacific Lutheran University a decade ago. His grandfather, Jisaburo Nishimura, 92, had had a stroke. Masahide felt he needed to come home and support his…
New endowed chair created
New endowed chair created A new endowed chair has been created in the School of Education and Movement Studies – The Jolita Hylland Benson Endowed Chair in Elementary Education honors Jolita Benson. It has been funded by Dale and Jolita Benson through The Benson Family…
Lemkin winners
Passing the torch They may have started with inquiry and then put their words to paper and even presented their findings to anyone who would listen. But beyond their meticulous research, Raphael Lemkin Essay winner Emily Marks ’10 and second place recipient Adam Griffith ’09…
Cousins
Lute Roots Run Deep By Barbara Clements Whenever admissions counselors were preparing to visit Brett Monson while he was in high school, they’d look at his application and then, inevitably, do a double take. Lute roots run deep for the Olsen clan. The five lines…
Living a life of environmental stewardship
A lifetime of stewardship honored Students, faculty, and staff have made huge advances in the last several years to make PLU an ecologically friendly and sustainable campus. Thelma Gilmur ’42 has been living these ideals her whole life. Gilmur, 85, accepted the Helen Engle Lifetime…