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said. This led to jazz band in middle school and another jazz band at Mount Lake Terrace High School, located north of Seattle. That’s where he met up with David Joyner, PLU’s director of jazz studies, who often trolls through high school jazz bands to recruit talent. But in this case, McEntire had already decided to come to PLU, the alma matter of his mother, Cindy ’82, father, Mike ’81 and sister, Erin ’08. McEntire hasn’t regretted the choice – of school or his future profession – for an instant

August 23, 2010 Remarkable good fortune, unparalleled generosity Dale and Jolita Benson are among PLU’s most generous donors. They have given the university just about $5 million in the last decade. In 2004, they established the Benson Family Chair in Business and Economic history, the first fully funded chair at PLU. Last spring, they established the Jolita Hylland Benson Chair in Elementary Education. They have also contributed to the Kurt Mayer Chair in Holocaust Studies, to Wang Center

studies and political science major from Spanaway, Wash. “It doesn’t look very good,” the man responds as he gazes on the bag of lettuce. Wilted brown seems to be taking over the green of the produce. “It’s a little old, but really it’s still good,” McCracken says. “Would you eat it?” asks the man bluntly. McCracken pauses unsure what to say, so she just nods in agreement silently and the man continues down the line. “I thought about it and he was right,” McCracken said. “I wouldn’t eat that

. Small classes and attentive professors also helped her get through her studies and overcome dyslexia (another reason she decided against journalism as a career-she just couldn’t keep up with the teleprompter.) The solo performance class helped the 4-foot-10-inch Pansino battle her innate shyness and sparkle in her new-found calling, she said. She also credited trying out for the Lute cheer squad and teaching English in China during a J-term trip with helping her push herself through a natural

by John Froschauer) What’s more, beginning this year, Wild Hope will be a permanent component of the newly created Center for Vocation, with Lynn Hunnicutt, associate professor of economics, as its director. Samuel Torvend ’73, the previous director, stepped down when he was named University Professor of Lutheran Studies.  Torvend will advise the center as its director for vocational reflection, a position he has held before. It means that PLU’s Wild Hope project, and the university’s commitment

May 9, 2012 Professor Colleen Hacker brings experiences working with world-class athletes to students at PLU. Athlete. Coach. Educator. By Katie Scaff ’13 PLU professor of Movement Studies and Wellness Education Colleen Hacker rarely uses hypothetical situations to help her students learn new concepts—as an athlete that has competed in five different sports on the national level, and a mental skills coach that has worked with some of the world’s best since 1995, there aren’t many situations

corporation after graduation. Colleen Hacker, professor of movement studies and wellness education at PLU, encouraged Bendzak to write down his goals, but also to go on information interviews even if no job was available. Bendzak on Nike campus. (Photo provided by Tyson Bendzak) This persistence and goals setting paid off when Bendzak finally landed a job at the child development center in 2011.“I would just say pursue your passion,” Bendzak said of students trying to figure out what they want to do, and

May 24, becoming the first in her family to earn a college degree— in her case, Hispanic Studies—she will be grateful for all the support that made her journey possible: from the Bensons, her Minds Matter tutors, the Karl Stumo family, her PLU professors and her parents, who arrived in the U.S. as undocumented workers 15 years ago. “They worked very hard and supported me,” Jimenez said of her parents. The Jimenezes also worked and saved to raise enough money—$6,000 each—to get the visas necessary

include filmmaking, photography, public relations, advertising and other media content and services. MediaLab has received numerous awards since its inception, including an Emmy Award, five National Broadcasting Society Awards and many other honors. MediaLab is one of several programs within the Center for Media Studies at PLU, which is part of the University’s School of Arts and Communication. For more information about the campus premiere of Waste Not, contact the School of Arts and Communication at

low-resource countries, and the ethics of changing dosing schedules for the human papillomavirus vaccine. The transition from her graduate studies to her current project work has been quite challenging, but it is a challenge she enjoys. “I think it’s going to be pretty similar when I make the transition from postdoc to faculty,” she said. “But I feel like I was exposed to enough at PLU, at Hopkins, through nursing, all of it, to where I have the skills and background to make my way on any new path