Asking questions
Surviving ‘and thriving’ when bad things happen to good people Sunbeams massaged their way over Allison Parks’ shoulders, as she savored her coffee and perused her copy of “The Shack.”The book, which details a conversation a man has with God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost…
Finding something bigger
Embracing the ‘bigger questions’ and living with a true sense of joy CALLING ANY UNDERGRADUATE an expert in spirituality might be an overstatement. But in speaking with Timothy Siburg, it is abundantly clear that he has done some deep thinking about the nature of spirituality…
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.…
Off to China
Off to China Blending the Chinese tale of Monkey with an original musical composition comes natural for PLU Music Professor Greg Youtz. The guy is not only a well-respected composer, but learning about and engaging the Chinese culture is a passion of his. “My head…
Grads ready to embark on next adventure
Commencement 2009 This year more than 650 students will make up the graduating Class of 2009 at PLU on May 24 at the Tacoma Dome. Here in their own words are a few insights from graduating students about their time at PLU and the next…
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…
What to do with a whale skeleton?
What to do with a whale skeleton? Dragging the arched five-foot jawbones of a gray whale out from the corner of a chicken coop in Lakewood, assistant professor of biology Mike Behrens saw the bones just didn’t match up. Laying out three of the jawbones,…
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…
Newspapers get SOAC’ed
Maybe ‘reincarnation’ is a better word For the School of Arts and Communication Week the changing newspaper business was on top of people’s minds. To kick-off the week, News Tribune Publisher David Zeeck, Puyallup Herald Managing Editor Heather Meier, seattlepi.com reporter Monica Guzman and Mast…
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…
MFT program reaches the community
Teaching by Practicing By the time the class of about 20 students in the Marriage and Family Therapy program at PLU graduate, they will have provided 10,000 hours of community service.“Everyone that we see here is from this community,” said Renee Johnson, a second-year MFT…