Hailey Smoot is in her first year of teaching first grade in Sumner, WA. She is thankful for her PLU experience.

Sarah Pape a PLU Rainier Writing Workshop alum and an English professor at California State University, published a New York Times article on the wildfire that swept through Paradise, California.

Coco Piper is a special education teacher in Doha, Qatar and her students use Lute pencils everyday.

Kim Reese-White says she would not be the teacher she is today without the amazing professors in the PLU Kinesiology Department.

Kelsey Hamm accepted a new job as a music teacher in the Bethel School District.

Krysten Bailey is a mental health professional and received her MSW from UW-Tacoma in June 2015. She is working on licensure to become a licensed independent clinical social worker.

Kari (Plog) Caple joined the content leadership team at KNKX Public Radio, as the station’s new digital content manager.

Kelsey (Hartsell) Weyland teaches at Firwood Secondary School at Western State Hospital. She teaches grades six through 12 English language arts, and in the alternative learning environments, which include students undergoing competency evaluations. She also teaches over-18 adults at Western State who still qualify for special education services.

Siri Larson Iverson graduated from Bastyr University with a Master of Science in Midwifery in June 2018 and is now a licensed midwife in Washington State.

Justin Huertas earned a lead role in a Seattle production of “Legally Blonde,” presented by the Showtunes Theatre Company.

Brianne (Lueth) Field married Ross Field in 2011. They have two daughters and live in Everett, WA. She is a full-time Realtor.

Amanda (Brown) Holen graduated from Frontier Nursing University with a post-Master’s certificate in 2012 and is now working as  a women’s health nurse practitioner in a MultiCare OB/GYN office. She, her husband, and two children live in Roy, WA.

Elaine Ray returned to the U.S. after seven years teaching in Asia. She now works at the same elementary school she attended as a child in the Auburn School District.

Haley Nelson is as an attorney for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. Nelson previously clerked for Justice James Shea at the Montana Supreme Court, and is a Dec. 2013 graduate of the UM School of Law.

Justin Hull works at Lebanon Community Hospital as an internal medicine physician-hospitalist.

Maggie Smith is a “Lute Away” teaching K-5 music at an international school in Morocco. She was inspired to do so by several other Lutes.

Matthew Wilke took on a new role at Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2016. He and his wife have five children, two biological and three adopted through foster care. Their names are Jude, Reign, Bennett, Abreeana, and Isabella.

Melissa Haney, in collaboration with her employer Northwest Physicians Network and several Pierce County fire districts, began a partnership in 2014 to reduce unnecessary utilization of emergency and hospital services. Qualis Health recently chose their project as the CMS State Innovations Project of the Year. Their data outcomes show reduction in emergency utilization and cost savings.

Brandon Hoekstra was recently promoted to assistant area manager for the Salish Foothills Area of Washington State Parks. He and his wife have a 2-year-old daughter named Tove and are expecting another baby.

Troy Andrade, assistant professor of law and Director of the Ulu Lehua Scholars Program at the University of Hawaii at Mãnoa William S. Richardson School of Law, was awarded the 2018 Junior Faculty Award.

Becky (Gant) Lee has two future Lutes, Michael and Evelyn. She is out of the Army and working as a civilian nurse at Madigan Army Medical Center. She and her family recently purchased a home in DuPont.

Andrew Austin was featured in South Sound Business 40 under 40 for his help in raising $9.5 million toward the Eastside Community Center and his volunteer work with the Puyallup Watershed Initiative.

Michelle (Rogers-Moore) LaRue was featured in South Sound Business 40 under 40 for her work as director of strategic engagement for the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties.

Kate Babbo was featured in South Sound Business 40 under 40 for her work as the COO at Thompson Consulting Group of Tacoma, including work on the redevelopment of Point Ruston, the construction of a 120-bed behavioral health hospital, and other projects around the South Sound.

Sarah Champion was featured in South Sound Business 40 under 40 for her role in the leadership team at SiteCrafting, where she maintains a staff of managers, designers, developers and more.

Melissa (Bennett) Wood was sworn in as deputy sheriff in September 2016. She and her husband are involved with their sons in Cub Scout and Boy Scout units. She frequently uses the skills she learned in the education program at PLU both at work and in scouts.

Ron Baltazar has a Bachelor of Arts in history and Master’s in Education, and is currently a junior high history and AVID teacher in Puyallup, WA. He is a National Board Certified teacher who believes Lute teachers have the best teaching pedigree.

Shane Tackett was promoted to senior vice president of revenue management and e-commerce after 17 years at Alaska Airlines.

Brian Norman has been selected as the inaugural Dean of the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities at Simmons University in Boston, MA.

Eric Moody was made Research Professor of Disabilities Studies and Director of Research and Evaluation at the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities at the University of Wyoming.

Steve Leifsen is in his 22nd year in education, serving as the Director of Equity and Achievement in the White River School District. He says PLU gave him a foundation for teaching and interrupting inequitable systems in schools.

Colleen Strain is the International Baccalaureate coordinator at her school in Racine, WI.

Rebecca (Thompson) Latham is in her 23rd year of teaching, most of it spent teaching middle school. The early years of her career were in the Bethel School District, and she currently teaches at Keithley Middle School in Franklin Pierce Schools. She loves the connection alums have with PLU through mentors, volunteers and after-school programs.

Marilyn Rumble retired from nursing and is enjoying her time hiking with friends and walking her dog. Her son, Peter Rumble ’00, just returned from a bicycle trip in Europe.

David Patterson who has competed in over 200 bodybuilding shows in the Pacific Northwest, is coming to the end of his 30-plus years of competitive bodybuilding.

Janet Mutter has been a Master Gardener in Mason Country for 10 years.

Eric Cultum and his wife Kari celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary with a 10-day Caribbean cruise.

Sandra (Haugen) Glover is newly retired, spending time with her grandchildren and riding her Harley.

Julie (Wilcox) Phelps and her husband, Christopher, have their first granddaughter, courtesy of their oldest daughter and her husband. Their twins also got married in 2018.

Marnie Graham was promoted to field manager for the BLM Glennallen Field Office in Alaska.

Robert Alspaugh has been working with Thrivent Financial as a financial consultant since 2003.

Teresa (Corrie) Noll a teacher for 30 years, is an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor at Pierce College in Puyallup and Green River College in Kent. She’s loves teaching her immigrant students.

Connie (Craig) Kline has worked with Pierce County in social services for 30 years.  

Sharon (Alton) Hansen was recognized by the Sepsis Alliance for her work to raise awareness of sepsis and post-sepsis syndrome. She works as a nurse educator at MultiCare and as a lecturer in UW-Tacoma’s nursing and health care leadership program.

Brian Trefry is in his 36th year of teaching in the Post Falls School District and is currently teaching honors U.S. history and honors government. He has also been the head cross country coach at Post Falls High School for the past 16 years.

Randy Olson reconnected with a high school sweetheart, Sandy Conklin, and has been married to her since April 2017.  

Petra (Rowe) Karr and her theater company, ACT 1 Theatre, are moving to Tacoma this season. Drowsy Chaperone, featuring five former Lutes and three current Lutes, was presented at Theater on the Square in January. Check out the website, act1theatre.org, to see upcoming shows.

Laura (Sather) Hilton obtained her master’s degree in behavioral sciences.Raising her special needs son has taught her about helping others with complex needs. She works as a psychiatric nurse with the developmentally disabled and mentally ill.

Doug Wright retired after 35 years of work at the Hanford Site.

Harold Ueland is a self-employed consultant. He and his wife Julie (Semler) ’79 will celebrate their youngest son’s marriage in 2019.

Gale (Lewis) Walker lives in Seattle, WA, practices medicine in Bellevue, WA, and is an avid scuba diver, hiker, and yogi. She has three children and one granddaughter.

Cindy Lou (Draino) Klein is enjoying working periodically as a registered nurse and traveling, dancing salsa and tango around the world.

Paul Peterson recently moved to Hawaii after retiring from the aerospace industry.

Lynda Ramsey died July 18, 2018. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration from PLU. Her love for music was displayed through her contralto voice supported performance training and in the many church choral groups she participated in. She is fondly remembered by friends and family.

Margaret (Lee) Sackman has been a geriatric nurse practitioner for more than 30 years. She owns Nurse Practitioners Northwest and co-owns Universal Research Group. She and her husband Paul ’80 have been married for 39 years and have three married daughters and two grandchildren.

Ron (Ryan) Snyder died Aug. 9, 2018. He received his Bachelor of Music from PLU. He is fondly remembered by friends and family.

Paula (Veis) Schreiner retired after 40 years with Twin Falls School District and is a grandparent of four.

Thomas Kleiv retired from active duty in the U.S. Air Force after 30 years.

Mary April (Keller) Miller died Jan. 19, 2018. She graduated from PLU with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. She worked in Alaska for a Native Alaskan consortium and for the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots. She is survived by her son, Jared Miller ’99.

W. Preston Woodall, Jr., D.O. is a Pastoral candidate for Presbyterian Church (USA).

Sharon Johnson works at Vocational Rehabilitation as a medical social worker. She and her husband raised two special needs children that were adopted from foster care, who are now adults.

Anne (Nielsen) Gresham moved to Arizona, is semi-retired, and has her first grandbaby on the way.

Nancy (Quillin) Wilkinson is a part-time art teacher in Tucson, AZ. She also sells her photography and illustrated a book, Tucson Charlie: Lost in the Desert.

Dennis Kanzler and his wife Leslie ’77 are spending their retirement traveling and watching their grandkids grow.

Gary Shilling is a board member and treasurer on several community committees, and volunteers at his local food bank.

Jim Holland recently accepted a job outside of Brisbane, Australia for one to two years. He and his spouse, Randi (Leighton) Holland ’74, hope to move back to Washington after that.

Al Meeds retired and started a business estimating major fire losses for insurance. He and his wife Sharon Hoffmann ’73 celebrated 46 years of marriage in 2018 and like to say that they are still trying to decide what to do when they grow up. Sharon has also retired after years working for non-profits and now spends her time volunteering and quilting.

Harold Hendrickson is a chaplain at Willamette Lutheran Homes.

Karen (Randolph) Jensen died Aug. 26, 2018 after a decades-long battle with cancer. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and later earned earned a master’s degree in mathematics and then her teaching certificate. She is survived by her husband Harold Jensen ’71, three children, including Gary Jensen ’04, and one granddaughter.

Richard Kiene is a retired chemist with over 37 years in the industry. Most of his work was in refining, pipeline, and consulting. He has two sons and two grandchildren.

Margaret Neyman retired from Tacoma Public Schools in 2017 and relocated to Bellingham, WA.

Dale Sears is retired and enjoying his granddaughter, named after his mother-in-law, who graduated from PLU in 1934.

Norman Gerken is the past president and current secretary of the Puyallup Rotary Club. He retired in 2014 from the Department of Labor and Industries and is an elder at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Tacoma.

Barbra (Thompson) Aune is celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband Norm ’69. They have three children and eight grandchildren.

David Nierman and his wife Doris celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2018. Together, they have three children, Andrew ’96, Doug ’95 and Beth ’92, and a family orchard that will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year.

Leonard Ozmun retired from the Puyallup School District after 30 years. He lobbied for the Washington Retired Teachers Association.

John Crockram retried in 2012 and has been living in Oregon since 2016.

Carol (Berg) Melver and Ronald Melver ’68 have retired, received a Notary Signing Agent rating with RAM and have four children and five grandchildren.

Marcian (Jacobs) Wallace retired in May 2018 as an employee health nurse after 46 years at Tuality Healthcare. As an RN she worked in public health, management, medical, surgical, and emergency nursing. She and her husband, Steven, live in Hillsboro, OR.

Trygve Anderson and Lyla (Tsuji) Anderson ’66 celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary.

James Feek, estate planner and financial consultant, was recently named as a life status-holder in the International Million Dollar Round Table at Conover Financial. He is also enjoying his wonderful granddaughters.

Mardella “Mardy” (Geisler) Stevens is wrapping up a two-year term (2017-2019) as a national director of the American Association of University Women. She is also a board member of the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra.

Virgil ‘Roy’ White retired as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Vernon B.C., at the end of 2011 after serving there for 10 years. He and his wife Marsha (Stirn) ’68 have three children.

Mary (Griffiths) Wiltse moved from Yachats, OR to Brookings, SD to be near family.

Elaine (Olsen) Dotts owns her own travel agency, WE TRAVEL, and serves as a home-based, full-service travel consultant. She has two children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Gary Olson retired in 2015. Since then, he has served on the board of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks and Mortuaries. He lives with his wife Sharon in Indio, California.

Donald Slater retired in 1997 as an engineer for the Washington State Department of Transportation. He has two daughters and two granddaughters.

Richard Hagerty was named Stanislaus County Citizen of the Year – 2018.

David Crowner and his wife Pat both retired and live in Gettysburg, PA where two of their three children and their families live. One of their major activities is involvement in the sister city organizations, Project Gettysburg/Leon Nicaragua.

Mary Anne (Lovtang) Bayne lives near Angle Lake in Sea-Tac and enjoys gardening, and baking, especially when surrounded by her 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Joyce (Market) Olson and her husband Roger Olson ’58 have retired and enjoy spending time with their 15-year-old grandson, Danny.

Sharon (Hagen) Woods and her husband Bill retired from teaching in 1984 and became full-time farmers. They are busy as ever with family and their farm.

Grace (Podratz) Smith retired after 38 years in education which included elementary and high school teaching, work worked as a school district reading coordinator and elementary principal. She also owns an orchard in the East Wenatchee area.

Ron Billings died Aug. 20, 2018. Ron was a longtime basketball coach in Tacoma, at Lincoln High School and Tacoma Community College. A three-sport athlete in high school and college, he played football, basketball, and baseball for PLU. He was inducted into PLU’s Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996.

Bev (Tranum) Knutzen is retired from full-time work but at age 85 is a paid tutor in the Shelton School District. She says you cannot keep Lutes down.

Don Gaarder and his wife moved to Sioux Falls, SD and are enjoying volunteering at Sanford Health and supporting Augustana University.

John Unis died Aug. 7, 2018. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from PLU and earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University. Dr. Unis established a few successful veterinary medicine practices, and was also involved in numerous civic, professional and academic organizations.

Mal Soine and his spouse Donna (Hellman) Soine ’52 celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary on June 4, 2018.

Verlyn “Kenneth” Kraxberger celebrated his 91st birthday in July 2018.