I’m Josh Wallace. I’m a proud graduate of the PLU theatre program and a recent graduate of the PLU MBA program.
This winter I was cast as Othello in a Seattle production of the Shakespeare classic. Our production was fortunate to finish up our run just weeks before the coronavirus hit Washington. My heart broke for friends and peers in the theatre community who had their productions canceled or postponed. Today, venues are still shuttered, productions are on hold, and it’s unclear when we’ll be back on stage.
During the pandemic, I’ve poured myself into my graduate studies, writing and creating music, and serving as the marketing intern for the PLU School of Business. That said, I’m eager for the world of theatre — and our entire world — to come back. It’s a little frightening at times not knowing when it will.
Throughout this challenging year, I’ve called on the mentors in my life to help keep me focused, inspired, and, perhaps most importantly, to help me stay hopeful. Mentors can be absolutely vital right now, and that’s why this issue of ResoLute is so timely.
In the pages ahead you’re going to meet a lot of excellent mentors and a lot of folks who are forever changed because of excellent mentors. I hope it will inspire you to reflect on the great mentors and mentees that have been a part of your life. I also hope you might consider taking stock of your present and thoughtfully considering who your next mentor or mentee could be.
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling a lot of uncertainty about what lies ahead: uncertainty about the global effort to combat coronavirus, about our country’s struggle to combat injustice and discrimination, and about what the future holds for my friends and me. Despite living in uncertain times, I remain hopeful on all fronts. I’m hopeful about humanity’s medical ingenuity, hopeful about our young nation’s potential to grow and heal, and hopeful — and confident — about the life and career I’m just beginning.
Please join me in being hopeful. History has revealed to us time and time again that when our backs are against the wall, hope is a requisite to recovery and a firestarter in the darkness. Please join me in being hopeful about tomorrow.
It will be healthy, peaceful, just, and beautiful — if we make it so.
