Westwind, Spring 2024

Beyond living: Thriving

Alumni uncover secrets for living a vibrant, balanced life p. 12

McVay to retire

Longest serving WWU president to retire at end of academic year p. 5

THE MAGAZINE OF WALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY SPRING 2024

From Enchanted Students to

These two alumni caught the discovery bug at WWU. Now they're back as professors. p. 22

This year, we celebrate 50 years of our social work majors, the Clyde and Mary Harris Art Gallery, and sociology and pre-professional program alumni, as well as the 100th anniversary of Bowers Hall. The weekend will begin Friday morning with an engaging awards celebration and excellence in thought showcase. Other events include the annual golf tournament (on Sunday this year!), alumni dinner in Kellogg Hall, car show, music concerts, celebration of Alumni of the Year, honor year class reunions, photos, and more!

Honor years: Vanguards (pre-1964), 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and a special reunion of SFS current and former employees.

have to make an

Everything isn't just dumped

—Jan Roberts ’73, pianist, retired missionary nurse p.12

Filled with gratitude

It is amazing to me that I have had the privilege of leading Walla Walla University for eighteen years. Looking back, I am filled with gratitude, scores of “thank yous!” rising in my heart. Allow me to try to express a few of them.

Walking these years with WWU's amazing students has been a great privilege. Their buoyancy and commitment to this place and its mission have inspired and blessed me. Weekly habits of eating with students in the cafeteria, meeting with ASWWU leaders, and attending vespers and “working the room” at its close have nourished my commitment to the mission of WWU.

If space allowed, I could go on to describe the wonderful support and friendship I have experienced from the successive senior leadership team members (with weekly Cabinet meetings, each including a generous segment of shared prayer time, being absolutely essential), from WWU's faculty and staff, from the chairs and members of the Board of Trustees, and from loyal alumni and generous donors. No president could wish for better support. Thank you!

Two individuals have been especially key to any success I have experienced. The first is Dr. D. Malcolm Maxwell, a New Testament scholar who served Walla Walla College for eighteen years as professor in the Walla Walla College School of Theology, dean of the School of Theology, and vice president for Academic Administration, and then went on to serve as the president of Pacific Union College for eighteen years. I had the privilege of sharing in thirteen of those years, beginning when he hired me as a twentyseven-year-old assistant professor in PUC's religion department. His interest in me and my family, his support of my graduate education, and his modeling and mentoring have all proved valuable and formative. Dr. Maxwell advised me as I contemplated the invitation to become president of Walla Walla College and I looked forward to many years of drawing on his wisdom. Unfortunately, he died about a year into my presidency, in October of 2007, robbing me of his continuing guidance and friendship. I can imagine an initial conversation with him in a better world, one beginning with his question, “Well, John, how long did you serve as WWU's president?” I shall reply, “Eighteen years!”

The second, and the towering figure in my life and work, is an amazing, energetic, resourceful 4'11" woman, Pam Aalborg McVay. She has been the wind beneath my wings. She has joined wholeheartedly in every stage of my career. From pastoring in the Bible Belt to presiding over Walla Walla University, she has twinned her efforts with mine, adding value, grace, hospitality, and prayer all along the way. She had no personal history, as my family did, with Walla Walla College. But from day one, the place and its people became her passion. She has poured her life's energies into the university and has buoyed me up whenever my own energies have flagged.

If you are reading this page, it means that you love WWU and have fostered its institutional life and mission in important ways. We have likely had a chance to meet at an Alumni Weekend, a regional alumni gathering, or at a church service or camp meeting. Thank you for your support. And thank you for praying for WWU and the success of its mission in serving the risen and returning Jesus.

John McVay, president

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

College Avenue

The latest from across campus

McVay announces plans to retire

Longest serving WWU president plans to retire at end of academic year

Walla Walla University President John McVay announced on January 11 he will retire at the end of this academic year, after completing 44 years of service to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Eighteen of those years were spent at WWU, making him the longest serving president of the university.

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

“To serve Walla Walla University as its president for an extended period of time has been the great honor of my career, which has blessed—and stretched—me in a whole host of ways,” says McVay. “Successive senior leadership teams have been wonderful, supportive companions along the way. Faculty, staff, and students have offered both superb examples of dedication to the ideals of Seventh-day Adventist higher education and genuine friendship. Pam and I have found fulfillment and joy at WWU.”

When McVay became the university’s 23rd president in 2006, his first task was supervising the institution’s name change from Walla Walla College to Walla Walla

University. He led the university’s strategic planning efforts, earning a commendation from accrediting organizations, and instituted a long-range budget planning process that improved the university’s overall Composite Financial Index. He established a robust spiritual master planning process and implemented strategies to nurture faith and discipleship, and supported major campus improvements including renovations of the Winter Educational Complex and the Bowers Hall transformation.

“As Dr. McVay looks toward retirement, we celebrate his spiritually impactful tenure with us,” says John Freedman, chairman of the WWU Board of Trustees and president of the North Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. “His dedication to fostering a collaborative spirit and camaraderie has left an enduring mark on the Walla Walla University community.” Freedman notes a presidential search committee has been formed to begin the process of selecting a new Walla Walla University president.

“To serve Walla Walla University as its president for an extended period of time has been the great honor of my career ...”

PRESIDENT JOHN MCVAY

For updates on the presidential search or to read more about McVay’s impactful tenure at WWU, visit wallawalla.edu/ president.

To the Kennedy Center

Symphony Orchestra performs in Washington, D.C. landmark

IN MID-FEBRUARY, the WWU Symphony Orchestra had the unique chance to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as part the 2024 Capital Orchestra Festival. WWU’s symphony orchestra was one of only four to be invited to participate, and performed pieces including Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and “Finale” to Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony with organ.

“This opportunity to perform in a significant musical hall is a rare opportunity, one that is a once-in-a-lifetime event for many of our students,” said Brandon Beck, associate professor of music and Symphony Orchestra director.

The concert was part of a longer tour of the East Coast that included sightseeing, a workshop with a famous conductor, and an additional performance at the Spen-

cerville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Silver Springs, Maryland. More than 50 student musicians from a variety of majors compose the orchestra, conducted by Beck.

“Performing at the Kennedy Center was a once-in-alifetime experience for me. I was ecstatic to be on the same stage as many great musicians who had performed before me. It was a beautiful experience that I will never forget …”

—LISA LUZYL WA-MBALEKA, sophomore health science major

WWU launches new M.B.A. program

The School of Business plans to offer a new online, flexible master of business administration program with the first cohort beginning in January of 2025. Developed through careful planning and market research, the program will provide a quality, projectbased M.B.A. option that can be completed in as little as one year, and students may enroll in the program in any quarter.

According to Stephen Pilgrim, dean of the School of Business, we are actively recruiting instructors with specialized training and demonstrated success in their careers. “Investing in an M.B.A. can be a life-changing decision in one’s professional journey,” he says.

The School of Business is currently the largest program on the WWU campus. Its undergraduate accreditation

requires stringent, documented performance in teaching excellence and program quality as well as positive student learning and career outcomes. On average, its undergraduates score in the 92nd percentile on the Education Testing Service’s Major Field Test, which covers all core areas of business. They also enjoy a 97% placement rate in their chosen careers or through acceptance into graduate schools within 12 months of graduating.

“We look forward to applying that same level of excellence in helping our M.B.A. students achieve similar outcomes,” Pilgrim says.

*Data reveals new insights on online higher education post-pandemic. (2023, November 15).

BY THE NUMBERS

the Honors Program

8% of students in the pre-med program have been in the Honors Program since 2019. “The Honors Program is giving me a better understanding of what makes us human, which will help me sympathize with my future patients and coworkers,” said Sabrina Salazar, freshman pre-med student.

engineering

57 students biology business

The Honors Program is a separate track of general studies—it can be combined with any major. Honors courses have a distinct flavor, using primary source material more extensively and inviting students to think critically and form crossdisciplinary connections are currently studying in WWU’s Honors Program. Many different majors are represented among the students; the variety of degree tracks allows for vibrant, engaging class environments.

A record breaking 10 engineering students are in the Honors Program this year. Seth Connell, freshman electrical engineering major, said, “The core of engineering is applying critical reasoning to problems, and in honors we are learning new methods for problem solving that we can apply to engineering.”

Further nursing grant

WWU receives $105,231 to update Portland simulation lab

THE SCHOOL OF NURSING has received a $105,231 grant from the Washington Student Achievement Council to upgrade nursing simulation labs on the Portland campus. This is the third significant grant awarded to the School of Nursing in the past year, continuing to support high-level nursing education at WWU.

This grant will provide funds to modernize nursing simulation labs on the university’s Portland campus. Simulators provide a solidly realistic, safe environment for nursing students to practice their skills, building confidence for clinical rotations and allowing students to learn in ways they may not be able to in clinicals. Similar simulation labs on the

College Place campus were revamped this fall and have helped students master skills more efficiently. The funds will also support the completion of an electronic medication delivery system to be available on both campuses.

This continued investment in excellent equipment is only a part of the School of Nursing’s ongoing success. WWU was ranked as the second-best school in Washington for a bachelor’s degree in nursing this year by RNCareers, in part due to the nursing programs high NCLEX pass rate. Ninety-five percent of WWU nursing graduates in 2023 passed the NCLEX on their first try. The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) is taken by all nursing students after

ICantori, Walla Walla University’s select choir, released a CD titled “A Sense of Place” in late October. The project was launched a year prior when ICantori sang a special service commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Walla Walla University Church.

Comprised of 19 pieces, the recording features pieces about special locations including churches, nature, the manger where Christ was born, and heaven. “What we love most about these places are the

graduation, and all must pass the NCLEX before becoming registered nurses.

Michaelynn Paul, dean and professor of nursing, said, “Our robust simulation labs with brand new equipment enhance the 900 hours of clinical hours we provide to students. We are committed to creating a vision of nursing that is inclusive and equitable, and to prepare nurses to excel in the ever-changing health care environment. We’re grateful to the Washington Student Achievement Council for supporting our work with this grant.”

relationships we have formed there, just as the psalmist longs more for God than for heaven (Psalm 84:1-2),” said Kraig Scott, professor of music and director of ICantori. Throughout the program the point of perspective gradually shifts from specific earthly locations to the entire world, the starry sky, and finally to heaven itself.

Recording for the CD took place in the Walla Walla University Church under the direction of Scott; Larry Aamodt, primary

recording technician and retired professor emeritus of engineering; and Jacob Mayes, choral president. Though hard work, Scott said that the recording process is a wonderful experience that teaches students to exercise patience and concentration.

PHOTO: JUSTIN SINGER

ICantori releases new CD

College Avenue

Student publication earns Adventist marketing award

THE WESTWORD, a studentproduced magazine created by the WWU Department of Communication, won the Best Student PR/Marketing/ Social Media award at the 2023 Society of Adventist Communicators (SAC) convention in Springfield, Massachusetts.

With funding provided by the North Pacific Union Conference and Adventist Health, two communication department faculty and four students were able to attend the SAC conven-

tion to receive the award and enjoy workshops, media tours, and other networking opportunities offered by the annual event.

Created in an upper division class on publication design and editing, the Westword includes student-written news and feature stories. The publication is sent to department alumni and used in recruitment. “This award is an affirmation that we are doing good work and are teaching students to do good work,” said Lynelle Ellis, associate professor of communication.

Dorita Tessier receives Community Service Award

Dorita Tessier ’80, director for gift planning, was awarded the WWU Community Service Award this year at the annual Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce awards

celebration in February.

“Her Christ-like care for all—colleagues, students, community members, alumni, and donors—is evident in the time and care she invests in each one,” said Troy Patzer, associate vice-president for advancement.

According to WWU president John McVay, Tessier’s attentiveness, genuine care, and expertise have led to authentic connections with donors, raising many millions of dollars of support to

the university, providing students the recourses to pursue their dreams. She has exemplified generous service beyond her work at the university, as an active Walla Walla Exchange Club member since 2002, organizing conference registration for a multi-state council on education support, and coordinating for the Milton Murray Foundation. She has also volunteered for Love Heals Clinic, the Christian Aid Center, at her local church, and more.

Reading and browsing recommendations from our experts books + sites

Solitary

By Albert Woodfox (Grove Press, 2019)

A gripping memoir that recounts 43 years spent in solitary confinement in Louisiana's notorious Angola prison. Woodfox reflects on his wrongful conviction for the murder of a prison guard, his time in isolation, and the resilience that sustained him. His experience sheds light on the dehumanizing effects of solitary confinement and is a powerful testament to what the body and mind can endure when there is hope for a better tomorrow. Woodfox's story is a compelling call for justice and prison reform.

—Kayleith

Pellandini, assistant professor of social work

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands

By Mary Seacole (London: James Blackwood Paternoster Row, 1857)

While book recommendations often involve contemporary works, I have something else to offer: a memoir from 1857 titled “Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands” by Mary Seacole. Seacole writes of her life in Jamaica and Panama, and then she takes us along with her to the front lines of the Crimean War, where she meets none other than Florence Nightingale. Nightingale is, of course, a household name; I look forward to the day when Seacole—who was also a nurse who developed groundbreaking methods—is, as well.

—Lauren Peterson, assistant professor of English

PHOTOS: CHRIS DRAKE, GRACE MORALES, CASCADIA SCHNEIDER

From the Archives 1979

Frigid Fun

Nestled against the Blue Mountains, the university delivers students with access to acres of fun even during the frigid months. Experts and beginners alike can take to the slopes on skis, snowshoes, and sleds, although some might spend a little more time untangling appendages in the snow.

Chair of Department of Health and Physical Education, and assistant professor of physical education

STROBEL RODD

The Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for 2023 reveals lessons learned from more than three decades of coaching.

If 1YOU EVER GET THE CHANCE, stand on the inside corner of an athletic track about 25 meters down the homestretch and watch eight good sprinters run the 200 meters. It’s art in pure, thundering, athletic motion. Coaches have unique opportunities to see athletes at peak performance and during extreme challenge. These moments of achievement and failure offer insight into how humans act and interact.

The profession of coaching dates to the beginning of time. The very first coach was God. Starting with Adam and Eve, God taught, supported, and developed a relationship to help them get from where they were to where they wanted to be. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were also coached by God, and God said things to them, like “Go to the land I will show you.” Throughout history humans have variously followed God’s game plan or gone way off course, but the best part of having God as our coach is that he never gives up on us.

I have been fortunate to be a part of coaching for over 30 years. My coaching career has spanned 41 seasons. I have coached a basketball team that lost 50-104 and one that won 97-17. I have coached a team with a one-win season and a few teams with one-loss seasons. I have no idea what my overall win-loss record is, and from the standpoint of fortune and fame I have had a remarkably unremarkable coaching career. However, I have practiced and thought about coaching for many years and have taught a lot of future coaches. During that time, three themes have emerged that are critical for effective coaching at any level and for any sport or activity.

THE CENTRALITY OF BEING HUMAN IS OUR PHYSICAL EXISTENCE.

Our bodies are not a secondary characteristic of our reality but are foundational to our human existence and experience.

In Jesus' life and ministry, He took care of physical needs first—repairing deformity, restoring sight, healing disease, feeding the hungry. He wanted to build a relationship, but He started with taking care of physical needs. He knew relationship wasn’t possible when people were too broken, hurting, or hungry to engage.

We are promised our bodies will be made perfect in the Earth made new. This tells us something about the importance of our bodies here and now. Paul teaches that our bodies are the temple of God. As the temple in Jerusalem was the place God met with the Israelites, our

Watch Strobel's lecture online at wallawalla.edu/DFL.

bodies are the place God meets with us. This is not a metaphor; we literally cannot experience God without our physical bodies.

We take in the world around us through our senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. There is no human experience that is not a physical experience. Even the seemingly sedentary act of reading this article requires physical processes: Thoughts require neurological activity. Neurological activity requires action potentials. Action potentials require sodium and potassium ions to move through the channels and gates of semipermeable membranes. These are physical processes that are influenced by the health and wellness of the body.

I contend that taking good care of our bodies is our first responsibility if we want a relationship with God because we cannot experience God without our bodies. At an Adventist institution of higher learning, physical education in its largest sense, should be our first priority. If it isn’t, we are shortchanging our students and handicapping their ability to maximize learning opportunities. We should follow Jesus’ example of taking care of the physical first.

EMPATHY IS THE NECESSARY SKILL FOR HUMAN THRIVING.

In 1991, anthropologist Donald E. Brown published a list of human universals—features that show up in every culture with no exceptions. Along with crying, making jokes, understanding reciprocity, and having a concept of fairness, Brown finds that empathy is universal.

In his book Humans are Underrated, Geoff Colvin points out that as machines and AI continue to replace instead of simply enhance humans, our unique abilities—particularly empathy— are becoming more valuable. Colvin notes that experts can predict with a high degree of accuracy which doctors will be sued for malpractice just by watching a few minutes of their interaction with a patient. Doctors with high empathy skills are sued less and their patients have better health outcomes. You can imagine that doctors with high empathy skills will be more valuable—and not just for hospitals and insurance companies— than doctors that come across as arrogant, impersonal, and unfeeling. Knowledge and skills are essential, but they are not enough to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Empathy enables better understanding and performance through strengthened relationships, but it doesn’t just work in athletics. I have worked on teams and led teams of people that didn’t involve scoring points or beating someone else. I’ve learned that empathy makes me a better teammate, employee, and boss. An empathetic approach allows those around me to flourish, which makes my life easier and very likely makes me more tolerable as well.

Empathy is a skill you can develop through practice, so don’t worry, you can get better at it if you want to.

OUR JOB IS TO LOVE PEOPLE THE WAY WE FIND THEM.

I Corinthians 13 lists skills and abilities that would be pretty amazing for people to have, but then says they are worthless without love. When Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” he replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law

and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36–40 NIV)

Jesus was saying that everything the pharisees and teachers of the law had built a culture, religion, and church around was intended to point us toward loving God and loving others.

Jesus didn’t qualify who the “others” were. “Neighbors” seems to imply anyone we interact with. That means the people living next door and across town. That means all the students that walk through our doors and sit in our classrooms—no exceptions for race, culture, ethnicity, orientation, or political party. Jesus didn’t qualify or allow exceptions for who our neighbor is, so when we choose to make those distinctions we are saying we know better than Jesus. Our job is to love people so freely that they wonder why. And when they ask, we get to say, “Because God first loved me, without reservation, without qualification, and despite a lifetime of proof I don’t deserve it.”

What does this have to do with coaching?

Coaches dream of a roster full of accomplished, seasoned players whose skills, understanding, and experience allow them to execute a game plan with just a few tweaks and adjustments here and there. Then coaches wake up and realize their players aren’t perfect, and they have to take each player right where they are.

Most players want to get better, but there is a complicating factor: human nature. It may surprise you to learn that not all players hang on every word the coaches say. Some players think they know better. Some players don’t want to improve their footwork or learn how to play defense. Then coaches have a choice: They can write off their players or they can work with who they’ve got.

If I want to influence a player’s game or their life in general, I have to take them where they are. If I can convince them I care about them—and it has to be genuine because they have great lie detectors—then I can get them to try almost anything.

In its fullest sense, coaching is not just about athletics. Jesus, the original coach, came to us in human form, with a physical body. He demonstrated empathy, taking people where they were, ministering to their needs, and developing a relationship based on respect, which led to understanding, which led to love. Jesus knows we are broken, but instead of wishing for better players, he takes us where we are, shows compassion, understanding, and love, and helps us get to where we want to go. With Jesus’ style of coaching, where players understand their coach is more interested in them than their jump shot, they end up desperately wanting to improve their jump shot. The best coach ever loves us despite the fact that we’re not perfect, so we shouldn’t expect perfection from each other. Our job is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

God is inviting each of us to join his coaching staff.

“... taking good care of our bodies is our first responsibility if we want a relationship with God because we cannot experience God without our bodies.”

Beyond Living:

Nurturing Spiritual Well-Being Eat Right to Live Right You Snooze, You Win On Making Your Space Work Living with Leverage The Great Comforter

Walking the Walk in Education Beyond

Words Humanities Build Bridges A Purpose Driven Life He Went Up On a Mountainside What Has Your Attention?

What does it mean to not simply live but to truly thrive?

To transcend daily drudgeries—early-morning alarms, bumper-to-bumper traffic, endless to-do lists, and piles of laundry —to enthusiastically embrace opportunities for growth and enrichment? Because though this world may not be our final home, we were put here with a purpose: to prosper—and to help others do the same.

Through their life’s work, six Walla Walla University alumni have uncovered the secrets to thriving—whether it be finding your purpose, overcoming challenges, or simply getting a better night’s sleep. Let their experiences help you live your very best life.

Written by Amy Wilkinson

Nurturing Spiritual Well-Being

Paul Dybdahl ’92 Theology professor College Place, Washington

“

I've had people say over and over again, ‘I've never had a conversation like this with my parents before,’” says Paul Dybdahl.

These conversations are sparked by coursework in classes Dybdahl teaches as a professor of mission and New Testament at Walla Walla University. He asks students to interview someone else about their spiritual journey and repeatedly, often after interviewing someone from their own families, students are shocked about what they discover about others’ beliefs and spiritual journeys—in a positive way!

Dybdahl is convinced that this sharing of deeply personal religious beliefs and experiences is often neglected, yet incredibly valuable. “It connects us with people we may have assumed were fundamentally different from us, we’re surprised by people we thought were just like us, and it sharpens our own ideas and challenges us to live more faithful lives,” he says.

Dybdahl was born in Thailand to missionary parents and lived in Asia for the first eight years of his life. In part, it was these early years and time spent as a student missionary teaching in Thailand while in college that pushed him to consider his faith from a more global perspective. That sparked a continued interest in telling the story of Jesus across cultural barriers and eventually led Dybdahl to earn a doctorate in missiology.

In 2017, Dybdahl published a book and presented a lecture to the university campus exploring how interaction with those of other faiths can actually strengthen our walk with Jesus. “I think we tend to be afraid of people who are not of our religion,” he says. “We don’t need to be afraid. If we listen, we can be blessed, and though we are different, there is common ground that we share.”

While Dybdahl is quick to admit that there are many ways to invest in spiritual growth, there are several practices he has found personally meaningful. Participating in a spiritually focused small group or having a prayer partner can have a profound impact, he believes. Using varied biblical postures in prayer; memorizing and reciting passages of scripture; and establishing spiritual routines are all part of the Christian tradition, but it took seeing their prevalence in other cultures for Dybdahl to pay more attention to their significance.

“I always thought of ritual as negative, but the Bible is full of rituals. I think a wise person will intentionally incorporate meaningful, spiritually significant rituals into their life,” Dybdahl

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

If everyone took just three minutes of quietness every day, I think the world would be a different place and a better place—a more thriving place.

says. “For example, most of us know that Muslims have set times of prayer throughout the day. But the practice of regular times of daily prayer is part of the biblical tradition as well. We should notice that and consider how we can incorporate that practice into our lives.”

The one religious practice Dybdahl would especially recommend? Listening.

“I think of a personal spiritual life as being primarily about listening. For me as a Christian, that would mean listening to God, to God's word, paying attention to what's happening in my own mind and heart, and trying to listen to people around me,” says Dybdahl. “As a believer, I feel like this is a process that God engages in with me, helps me to listen, helps me to hear what I need to hear. God speaks, but I won’t hear if I’m not listening.”

“If everyone took just three minutes of quietness every day, I think the world would be a different place and a better place—a more thriving place.”

PHOTO: TATIANA SYRIKOVA

You Snooze, You Win

Dr. Eric Haeger ’91 Doctor of sleep medicine, family medicine Brewster, Washington

“

We spend a third of our life sleeping,” says Dr. Eric Haeger, a 1991 biology graduate and physician board-certified in family and sleep medicine. “Uninterrupted good quality sleep is so important.”

Yet, one out of three Americans don’t get the recommended amount of sleep (seven to eight hours a night), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Not hitting those targets can have grave consequences, including an increased risk of chronic conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and depression. While sleepless nights can be a problem of our own making (think: the university student who stays up all night studying to ace her psychology final), the majority of patients who walk through Dr. Haeger’s doors—he owns and operates four sleep clinics in Brewster, Moses Lake, Spokane, and Wenatchee, Washington—have a real medical condition interrupting their ZZZs.

“This is where the rubber meets the road for me,” he says. “Probably 95% of the people I see have sleep apnea.”

Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops and starts throughout the night. While six million Americans have been diagnosed with the condition, it’s thought that upwards of 30 million people may have it and not know it. Symptoms often include snoring, waking often, and daytime drowsiness.

“A person with sleep apnea just arouses way too much at night,”

explains Haeger. “And with every arousal, the brain is being interrupted.” Meaning the person has fewer opportunities to reach the deeply restorative phase of sleep known as slow wave sleep. “Slow wave sleep is absolutely necessary for longevity and for life,” Haeger says.

With sleep being such a vital part of life, Haeger has made it his mission to help as many people as possible make “huge positive changes.” (And not just in sleep medicine, but in addiction treatment too: He is also the medical director of New Start Clinics, an opiate treatment clinic.)

That drive to help started at an early age: While living with his missionary parents in South America, an 8-year-old Haeger stumbled upon a funeral for a child who had died from dehydration. “My little brain was like, ‘Well, this is dumb. You can fix this—can’t you?’” he recalls. He

We spend a third of our life sleeping. Uninterrupted good quality sleep is so important.

knew he could fix problems like that as a doctor. After graduating from WWU, he earned his medical degree from Loma Linda University in 1995 and completed his residency in family medicine at Highland Hospital in Rochester, New York. He and wife Michelle (whom he met at WWU) then spent six years as missionaries in Guam, where Haeger was first approached with the idea of sleep medicine by the administrator of his hospital, who was a former sleep tech. Haeger wasn’t able to dive deeply into the specialty before returning to the states, but once home in Brewster, Washington, he was once again approached by a health-care executive curious if he could add sleep medicine to his area of expertise. This time, Haeger pursued it wholeheartedly, studying at Stanford School of Sleep Medicine and sitting for his boards.

Now, 15 years into his own private sleep practice, Haeger says he’s learned a lot along the way—not just about sleep but about running a business. “It’s really important that you play to your strengths and surround yourself with people who can help you with your weaknesses,” he says. And a little perspective doesn’t hurt either: “If God were to say, ‘You're done here.’ That would be okay. My life is not just this. It's important to understand that we all have value that’s more than just our business.” Clearly, for Haeger, that value lies in helping others: “I only have so many turns around this little rock. We all do, right? If you're really going to help, you’ve gotta get on it.”

Eat Right to Live Right

“We know that food is necessary for survival. We are required to eat so our bodies can perform their functions. However, we often forget that food is necessary for us to not only survive, but thrive.

One of the best choices we can make is to transition from consuming highly processed foods and animal products and focus on getting most of our nutrients from whole, plant foods. These foods not only provide us with necessary macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), but also provide us with an often overlooked yet essential nutrient for our health: fiber. Fiber provides health benefits in many areas and is a great place to start on your journey towards healthy living.”

Kelsie (Schafer) White ’16 studied health promotion at WWU. She is now a registered dietician and recently published a plantbased cookbook, “Planted in Simplicity.”

PHOTO: KELSIE WHITE

On Making Your Space Work

Elena Harris ’21 Decluttering coach and entrepreneur College Place, Washington

As a child, Elena Harris, a 2021 business graduate, displayed a preternatural affinity for organizing— carefully lining up her possessions and playthings by size and color.

As she grew, she “helped” her mom wrangle her increasing collection of stuff by throwing out items she had no apparent use for—much to her mother’s chagrin. And later when tasked with a seemingly unrelated duty—such as teaching youngsters in Peru as a student missionary—Harris inevitably found herself sweating the systems.

“The aspects of teaching that I was really excited about, I realized, were the organizational aspects, coming up with a plan and decorating the classroom,” she recalls.

Harris had no idea her organization passion could be a profession until she stumbled upon the work of Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing expert who popularized the notion of keeping only the things that “spark joy.” With a newfound direction, Harris pivoted her career ambitions from teaching to declutter coaching, launching her business,

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

You can't start getting less overwhelmed until you actually start to get rid of stuff.

Elena’s Declutter, her junior year, with a fellow student as her first client.

As a declutter coach, Harris’ work is as much psychological as it is practical—she is not a housekeeper, but a facilitator, and she can only help those who want help. “I teach people how to declutter for themselves,” she says. “I'm there to help them actually take the time to do it. And when they get stuck, I help them pivot or think about it differently.”

Contrary to what you might see on home organization shows like Tidying Up With Marie Kondo or Get Organized With the Home Edit, decluttering isn’t a process that can be done in the span of days. While Harris does take on shortterm projects, many of her clients have been with her for years, making slow and steady progress as they winnow piles of stuff that have left them stressed or even unable to perform daily tasks. (It’s difficult to put on a clean pair of pants, for instance, if there isn’t a clear path to the dresser where they’re kept.)

Humans hold onto belongings for many reasons, be they emotional or financial, and decluttering years’ or even decades’ worth of stuff can feel daunting at best, impossible at worst. For those unsure of how or where to start, Harris advises gathering three containers (one for throw-aways, one for donations, and one for items to sort through) and heading for the kitchen.

“Starting in an easier place in your house or an easier category of things is really important,” Harris says. “If somebody's super stressed out by their kitchen, and there's not a lot of sentimental items in there, that's a really good place to start versus going through the garage, which has all the stuff that they haven't been dealing with for a really long time and there's probably more sentimental items, like pictures.”

Baby steps help build confidence “so then the next step gets a little bit easier,” says Harris. And when a client falters, she reminds them of their goal (a peaceful bedroom, perhaps) and what steps are needed to reach it (emptying out that overflowing bedside table).

Harris is a big believer that one’s physical space is a reflection of what’s going on in one’s headspace, and her biggest piece of decluttering advice is simple: just begin.

“You can't start getting less overwhelmed until you actually start to get rid of stuff,” she says. “The visual and physical clutter makes it impossible to feel sane.“

Living with Leverage

“Before we share anything about service, we must say thank you to our parents who demonstrated it to us rather than telling us about it.

Service is a gift that has opened the door for our family to connect in unexpected, meaningful ways. Our first ‘formal’ service event was a Maranatha Volunteers mission trip in 2019. Since then we’ve been on volunteer trips nearly every year and it has become a family tradition that we all look forward to as a major highlight.

It’s fun building connections together as a family through planning, anticipation, and imagining ways we can help others. The actual event (participation) is just the icing on the cake.

Service is living with leverage: you’re accomplishing way more than you ever could if living solely for yourself. And being a part of it is a blessing our family wants to keep!”

Ben '07 and Celina Dawson att. live in College Place with their five children.

The Great Comforter

Tajloi Cunningham wanted to be a pilot. But God had other plans for him.

As a freshman, Cunningham declared an aviation major and began performing all the necessary tasks and studies to take his seat in the cockpit. By his third year, he was regularly taking off and landing at nearby Martin Field. But after a string of inexplicable flight issues (like a blown out tire and stuck throttle), Cunningham started to wonder whether God was trying to literally steer him in another direction.

“I was very strong-headed,” Cunningham says of his initial resistance. “The Lord got a hold of me and issued an ultimatum. I cried about it. I prayed about it. I made the decision to switch to theology.”

The change of major meant an additional three years of study to complete his degree, and Cunningham used that time to dive deeper into the ministry, taking the post of student pastor for the Berean Fellowship, the African-American-inspired worship service on campus.

“It was beautiful,” he says of his time with the fellowship. “Folks from all backgrounds showing up—that's what made it so special.”

At the same time, Cunningham admits to spreading himself too thin, resulting in burnout. So upon graduating in 2013, he decided to forgo church ministry for a post as an intervention

Tajloi Cunningham ’13 Hospital and Army chaplain New Haven, Connecticut

specialist at Jubilee Leadership Academy in Prescott, Washington—a boarding school for teens with behavioral and addiction issues—while also working as the assistant varsity soccer coach at WWU. It was during a conversation with head coach Troy Fitzgerald that the seed of military chaplaincy was planted.

“I realized it was very similar to what I was doing as an intervention specialist,” Cunningham recalls. “I took Pastor Troy’s advice, and I got on the phone and called recruiting.”

Cunningham needed a master’s degree in order to serve as a military chaplain, so he enrolled at Andrews University. To get endorsed after graduation, he spent another two years as a hospital chaplain at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. A role at Hartford Hospital followed, where he works today as a chaplain.

Cunningham did eventually get his commission into the Army: He is a Battalion Chaplain for the Connecticut

PHOTO: RDNE STOCK PROJECT

Army National Guard. And, yes, he endured a three-month boot camp—push-ups and all. With a one-weekend-a-month National Guard commitment, the bulk of Cunningham’s chaplaincy time is spent walking the halls of Hartford Hospital, where in a typical day he may counsel an employee going through a divorce, console a grieving widow, or sit vigil as a patient takes their final breath. With seven units to oversee, the work can be taxing.

Intentionality allows us to assess our feelings and take action to address them...

Through his time as a chaplain, Cunningham has devised a four-pillar approach to self-care in order to thrive through life’s trials. It’s an approach he lives by and one he shares with those he ministers to. Those four pillars are: honesty, intentionality, courage, and consistency.

Honesty is required for true self-reflection and introspection, says Cunningham, to identify why you’re feeling the way you are. “I ask, ‘What is the question sitting with you right now?’ If it’s that you’re upset, why are you upset? And then I critically evaluate the response. ‘Is this response appropriate to the event that happened?’ And oftentimes it's not.”

Intentionality allows us to assess our feelings and take action to address them, whether it’s seeking guidance from a trusted confidante or spending time engaged in a hobby that brings joy and fulfillment. “It’s not going to happen by happenstance,” Cunningham says.

Courage helps us make the necessary changes we need. “Change is scary, but it requires courage to implement.”

Finally, consistency reminds us to return to this framework whenever we need it. “Have this system, and whatever you go through, engage this process to help you to cope.”

Walking the Walk in Education

Dr. Rebecca Parshall, a 2010 humanities graduate, has a passion for educational equity— creating a fair and inclusive system in which all children can learn. You can see this passion in the fire in her eyes and hear it in the vehemence of her voice as she talks about her early teaching experiences and current work in education strategy.

“Education allows people to live choice-filled lives,” she says. “There is an inherent dignity to being able to choose your profession, where you live, how you live, and to be able to support and sustain a family.”

As a primarily homeschooled student in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Parshall was unaware of the inequities—stemming from racism and poverty—that exist in education. But a pair of pivotal experiences in college and shortly thereafter opened her eyes. The first came while volunteering at an orphanage in Zimbabwe while a

student at WWU.

“My experience abroad really helped me to understand power and privilege in this world,” she says. “That then prompted me to investigate further power and privilege in the States, and I learned about educational inequity here.”

That experience inspired her to become a teacher, earn her master’s degree in special education, and join Teach for America, a non-profit that nurtures equity-oriented leaders. As a member of the organization’s Teacher Corps, Parshall was placed in a high school in the southern Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, where a second experience once again left her humbled.

“My very first day of teaching, I had what I thought was a behavioral showdown,” she recalls. “I had a student whose cell phone sounded like it was going off. I quietly told him, ‘Hey, put it away.’ And he said, ‘It's not my phone.’” Parshall tried to remain calm as the supposed

Rebecca Parshall ’10 Director of strategy at educational partnership Atlanta, Georgia

PHOTO: CARLISLE KELLAM

Education allows people to live choice-filled lives. There is an inherent dignity to being able to choose your profession, where you live, how you live, and to be able to support and sustain a family.

cell phone beeped again and she again asked the student to put it away. This back-and-forth continued. “He finally threw his leg up on his desk, and pulled his pant leg up. It wasn’t his phone. It was an ankle bracelet. He was on probation.”

In that moment, and the years to come, Parshall learned how much she truly didn’t know. “More than anything else, my teaching experience was an education for me in American systems of oppression,” she says. “That led me to a desire to study the history and systems of public education to try to impact it.”

After moving to Atlanta, Parshall eventually transitioned into coaching teachers then school administration.

“I thought that when I left the classroom, I would have more control over the structure of schooling. I had about 1% more control as a school administrator,” she says with a laugh. “That led me to pursue doctoral studies in education policy, and ultimately into a role in which I can influence not policy, but partnerships and supporting public education at a regional level.”

As director of strategy at Learn4Life, Parshall takes a “cradle to career” approach to assessing the educational system in metro Atlanta, examining key metrics from kindergarten readiness through post-secondary completion rates. (These metrics can be incredibly telling: If a student isn’t reading proficiently by the end of third grade, for example, their chances of graduating high school, entering or completing post-secondary, and earning a living wage are significantly lower, according to Parshall.) Next, she brings together key collaborators, including non-profits, philanthropies, school districts, and community and business members, to assess the data, determining what’s working and what’s not and enacting next steps.

It truly takes a village, and Parshall believes it is all of our responsibilities to help support public education and ease the inequities facing students.

“Supporting public education starts with a foundational belief that public education is a public good, and that we all benefit from the success of our public school systems,” she says. “Having an educated population increases economic prosperity through high-wage jobs, increased taxes, and decreased pressures on our social systems.” And, hopefully, allows everyone to live the life they choose.

Beyond Words

“I teach and perform musical theatre for a living, so it should come as no surprise that music is a central part of my life. Music has this strange power to bypass our brains and hit us directly in our hearts, evoking imagery and emotions whether or not it has words attached. For me, music has been a vital conduit and outlet for feelings I often didn’t have the words to express.

I would encourage anyone wanting to make a connection with music to just turn on whatever it is that speaks to you! Listening in the car or at the gym is a great way to add music into the soundscape of your day. I’m a classical concert pianist by training, but my listening ranges from classical to neo-soul to rap to power metal depending on where my emotions are at. Find your genre and let the music move you!”

Humanities Build Bridges

“When Herman Melville began Moby Dick with the sentence ‘Call me Ishmael,’ he anchored his book to holy ground. One great book is informed by the ancient stories of another. Such deep connections are what the humanities provide. One can't read or talk or think without recollecting what one has read. For me, the humanities endow deep and useful memory and have helped me build bridges between the arts and people and our natural world—a beloved place. As Robert Frost wrote, ‘Earth's the right place for love.’ It's all we have. God so loved it.”

Devon Hunt ’13 studied music at WWU. He is a talented pianist and now works as an assistant professor of theatre at Oklahoma State University. Dan Lamberton is a WWU professor emeritus of English, having taught here since 1997. He is a visiting professor at the University of Washington’s history and English departments, and served on the board of Humanities Washington for many years.

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

A Purpose-Driven Life

Jan Roberts ’73

Pianist, retired missionary nurse Walla Walla, Washington

Jan Roberts has always had a clear vision of her life’s purpose. In fact, her mother used to say that, as a child, Roberts had three goals: to play the piano, to serve as a missionary, and to work as a nurse. She accomplished all three before the age of 25.

Born in Bozeman, Montana, Roberts got an early taste for mission work when, at 7 years of age, she moved with her parents to Ghana, where they were called to serve.

“We did school in the morning and had the afternoon free to play with each other or to enjoy monkeys or chimpanzees or ride bicycles,” she recalls of her childhood there.

After four and a half years, her family returned stateside, and Roberts enrolled at Walla Walla University. Having taken piano lessons since the age of 5, she declared a music major her freshman year but quickly switched over to nursing by her sophomore.

He Went Up On a Mountainside

“As John Muir aptly described, ‘In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.’

‘The Outdoors.’ At what point did our society create a lifestyle so centered on being inside that we now have to consciously decide to ‘get out?’ My most memorable events in life have occurred where we were designed to be … outside! Pouring out my heart on mountain tops, graduating on Centennial Green, being rebaptized in the Jordan, and pushing my abilities rock climbing or skiing.

Now go create your new experience! I encourage you to spend time in His creation where you can connect with others, develop new skills, spend time with our Creator, and ultimately, thrive! Jesus himself saw it as a place to connect; ‘After leaving them, He went up on a mountainside to pray.’”

Mark 6:46

Grant Hartman ’21 studied engineering at WWU. He works at Bonsai Design, merging his engineering skills with his love of the outdoors to contribute to their adventure course designs.

It was while studying at WWU that Roberts met her husband, Bob, and the two married a couple of weeks after graduation. Posts in Spokane and Auburn followed, until eventually, Roberts convinced her husband to consider missionary work. He was hesitant about traveling so far away, but Roberts won out. Six weeks after applying to the General Conference in the summer of 1975, they received their call to Ethiopia. They waited until the birth of their first child, Eric, in December, and boarded a plane two weeks later.

Their time in Ethiopia was short-lived, however, due to upheaval in the country. Emperor Haile Selassie had been assassinated the summer before. The Adventist hospital where they were stationed was soon nationalized, and after four months, they relocated to the western side of the country, where they stayed for another 10 months.

Despite the turmoil, Roberts recalls feeling at peace, trusting that God would watch over them. “Other than not knowing where you were going tomorrow, or what you're going to be doing, I don't remember feelings of ‘Help! I want to get out of here,’” she says.

After a few more stops in Africa, Roberts and her family (which had grown to include daughter, Stephanie) landed in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they stayed for 14 ½ years. Roberts put her nursing skills to use identifying health care gaps at the local clinic. She discovered, for instance, that they didn’t have access to childhood vaccines, so after an outbreak of measles, she knew where to start—but not how. At the time, their only method of communication was radio, so they couldn’t simply call for vaccines. Roberts prayed on it, and her answer came.

“As God does, he loves to surprise us,” she says. “He brought somebody to my front door.”

That somebody was a Peace Corps volunteer, who was hoping Roberts’ husband could help transport vaccines for her organization. (He worked as a pilot.) So with a little coordination and teamwork, they were able to source and administer the measles vaccine at their local clinic.

“That program expanded into the other childhood vaccinations, then into a well baby clinic and nutrition center, then a whole health center. By the time we left, it was really well established,” Roberts says.

The family’s next post was in Papua in Indonesia, where they spent 22 ½ years. Because of visa

PHOTO: MATTHEW MONTRONE

issues, Roberts couldn’t technically work as a nurse, but she helped with preventative care and held health seminars at local churches.

In 2014, Roberts returned Stateside, and now calls Walla Walla home. And with the change in locale came a change in career, shifting her focus from nursing to music.

You have to make an effort to find your purpose. Everything isn't just dumped in your lap.

“Every place that I’ve lived—from Ghana to Papua—I was able to have a piano,” Roberts says. “That’s pretty remarkable, and little did I ever dream that I would use that to earn money, to help support myself. I've been so blessed that I was able to keep up my skills and improve on them.”

Roberts is now employed by both WWU and nearby Whitman College, and she also plays for several local churches and events. When it comes to living a purpose-filled life like Roberts, she says it’s all about following the Lord’s will.

“Let God lead you as much as you can,” she says, adding that, ultimately, the legwork to realize your dreams will be wholly yours. “You have to make an effort to find your purpose. Everything isn't just dumped in your lap. If you're in school, learn as much as you can about as many subjects as you can. If you're out of school, but still have unrealized goals, do the same thing. One of my husband's favorite sayings was, ‘You'll never learn any younger.’ I do try to still keep learning—in music, in preventative health, in the medical field.”

What Has Your Attention?

“The average person today sees more ads in one day than someone in the 19th century did in their entire life. So many things are vying for our attention. It’s become important to curate what goes into your head. So much of today’s entertainment doesn’t line up with living a Christ-like life, and it’s easy to pass it off as ‘just entertainment.’ Everything we put into our heads is taking us a step closer to Christ or pointing us in the other direction.

Today is a good day to start being selective with what goes into your head. Paul gave us a good guide in Philippians 4:8 when he said, ‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’”

Jerry Woods ’97 is the morning show host and director of promotions at WGTS 91.9 in Silver Spring, Maryland.

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

From Enchanted Students to

Two alumni caught the discovery bug at WWU. Now they’re back as professors to share their fascination with science and archeology.

Illustrations by Autumn Uhrig

Lettering by Adam Newbold

David Cowles' love for marine life led him to document invertebrates along the shores of the Salish Sea.

PHOTO: JIM NESTLER

Monique Roddy unearthed a passion for archeology at WWU and now regularly leads digs in Jordan.

Monique Roddy ’07

Monique Roddy is an associate professor of history and co-director of the Honors Program (see page 6), and has taught at WWU since 2018. She has long been interested in archeology and is a co-director at the Balu’a Regional Archeological Project in central Jordan, where she has led or participated in digs since 2004. She recently shared about her archeological work at a colloquium on campus and in Chicago at a conference for the American Society of Overseas Research. She teaches classes on the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, geography, rhetorical theory, and Middle Eastern and African history.

ment of Bowers. He had me volunteering in the lab my first year here as a freshman.

As a sophomore in college, I went and taught in Egypt for a year, and then I went straight from Egypt to the dig in Jordan, and I just fell in love. I knew—this is what I want to do.

You’ve given several presentations recently on a summer research project. Tell us a little about what that looked like.

A couple of summers ago, I did a research project looking at a subset of what I did my dissertation on. I was asked to contribute to a column on women in the ancient world. The idea was to take any kind of everyday artifact, and think about the woman who used this artifact and reconstruct a story about her.

The idea is based on research from the 1980s, when they’re starting to ask questions about women in the archeological record. There’s an article by a woman named Janet Spector called, “What does this awl mean?” The title is a pun on a tool that a Dakota woman used to make clothing. Spector writes this imaginative reconstruction about how it was created, how it was used, and then how it ultimately ends up in the archeological record.

This approach is a lot of fun because you’re using your imagination to say, “How much do I actually know about the archeological record? Do I know enough to tell a connected story about this artifact?”

What artifacts did you explore in your piece?

My dissertation was looking at a site called Tall al-’Umaryi in Jordan around 1200 B.C. It is an early Iron Age village and includes a set of three or four houses. For this most recent project, I put together an article on three oil-separation kraters, which are a type of large ceramic bowl that has a spout. Without the spout, they're used as kind of a large mixing bowl, but with the spout, they're used to separate out olive oil.

Part of my narrative is reconstructing the use of these kraters—the women are out helping to participate in harvesting olives off of the trees in the fall. When they're ripe, they crush them with this stone to turn them into pulp. They collect all that pulp and put it in one of the kraters. The oil floats to the top, the water and pulpy stuff all sinks to the bottom, and then they can pour the oil out into a small jug or jar, ceramic vessels for storage. So I'm writing my narrative about how this would work, what it would look like, where they're doing this work. I'm imagining it outside in the courtyard, in front of the house. The women are chatting with each other as they work.

What early experiences sparked your interest in archeology?

Looking at biblical stories and thinking about biblical history from looking at archeology, that was always interesting to me. But what really got it started, was a project in high school. My dad dropped me off at the public library and said, “Go look up Nefertiti or Hatshepsut.” I was convinced they were not real names.

But I read this biography that reconstructs Nefertiti's life by looking at the places where she lived—her palaces; the artifacts; the fragmentary, small pieces that remain, but they're what we use to tell her story. I was fascinated that archeology could do this.

Then as a junior in high school, I visited Walla Walla University, and Doug Clark gave me a tour of the archeology lab. I was excited to see all of the pottery that was spread across this huge area in the base-

The second part of the narrative is how they're using the oil. In this particular house there is what we call a cultic corner, a space for religious ritual. The kitchen is in the front room and in the back of the house, there's a storage area where they're storing their food, like the oil and grain. And in the middle is a paved area. Flat stones have been used to create a surface, whereas the rest of the house is dirt, and there's a single standing stone. These standing stones were not necessarily meant to be the deity, but to represent a connection with the divine.

Here we find one of these nicely shaped stones in the house on pavement. We think this is a space where they are carrying out rituals. And from looking at the literature, from looking at comparisons from places where we have written records, it's often the women who are in charge of domestic religious ritual.

This leads me to imagine women using this oil to pour out a little offering in front of the stone. And I wrote a fictional narrative about it. I’m recreating this moment where everybody in the household wakes up, they're all moving out to do their chores, eating some freshly baked bread that the women have just made. Then they all go about their day, working to take care of the animals, the fields, while the women stay home and cooking, grinding grain, and whatnot. And then at the end of the day, they all come back into the house and probably a grandmother or an elder woman of status in the community, she takes the oil and she takes some flour that they've just ground, and she makes her offering in front of the standing stone.

I imagine the whole household—they're pausing, holding their breath as she does it, as they all hope, “May this be a good year, a good harvest,” whatever their activities are. So that's the narrative built around these artifacts.

You presented this narrative at a professional conference last November. What was the message of this narrative, or what can we learn from it?

My argument is that it's not just the people in this house making the oil, but other community members helping too, because it's of religious importance for everybody in the community, not just that house. The fact that we have three of these very specialized pottery vessels found in one house, and none in the other houses, is significant. In fact, we only know of three actual examples across the entire southern Levant, so it's not a very common type of vessel.

There’s this idea that if it was just the women of this household, they probably would only need one. We’re assuming that finding three of them indicates they’re producing a lot more oil. We also found a lot more grinding stones in this house than we did in the other houses, so they’re making a lot more flour. I think other women are participating in this because they’re helping to make the offerings.

What got you interested in this piece of the picture?

I’m really interested in what people are doing at the household level to create food, clothing, all those basic everyday things. I also look at how people are organizing and cooperating at a community level. What kinds of things are they doing together? This is an example of a religious ritual that may be bringing people together. I also look at things that divide them. In this period, they seem pretty concerned with storing their own grain by tucking it up in the most secure part of their house.

But looking at the women, we see they're cooperating. We are finding a lot of grinding stones up on the roofs; they’re grinding flour on the roofs. They’re dragging it all up there so they can sit on their roofs, do this work that takes four hours a day, and chat with each other.

I am reminded to look at the women and their narrative by something we did at the beginning of the dig. We

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

would take stones up and throw them off the top of a rebuilt house down at a watermelon with a little face painted on it.

It’s referring to the biblical story of King Abimelek who’s chasing people fleeing a city and catches up to them in another city. This woman takes her millstone up onto the house. It's just an everyday artifact, why would you think this was important enough to carry with you? But for her, this is part of what she does every day. She’s like, “They’re not getting my grinding stone!” We don’t know her name in the biblical narrative, but she carries her stone up with her, and then she drops it on Abimelek's head and it ultimately kills him— even though he says, “Don’t let it be said I was killed by a woman, stab me now.”

So by recreating this moment, for me it's a reminder that women are a part of that story too. It’s not just the men whose names we know. It made a huge impact on me getting up there, my turn on top of the house, and throwing a rock down at a watermelon. I think he mostly survived unscathed … we all had bad aim.

How has your work in archeology influenced your religious beliefs?

My interest from the beginning has very much been in how do I understand the Bible better when I look at the archeological record. Can I understand the stories in the Bible by setting them into their ancient context? For example, when I look at the story of Abimelek and the woman throwing her grinding stone down on him, I think about how many hours she spent with that grinding stone, how it was probably passed down to her from her mother. Some of the artifacts we have down at La Sierra are grinding stones with finger

“

... it's my interest to unearth how archeology helps me understand the Bible better, to understand what those stories mean for me, and how I interpret them. I think that can be powerful.”

marks grooved into them from being used for so long. That's something that takes a lot of time, to work away basalt, which is a really hard stone. So these are artifacts that matter to people. All of a sudden, it makes the stories make a little more sense. It makes me think about why this part of the story is included, or why this emphasis is here in the biblical narratives.

When I’m on a dig or talking with students, it's my interest to unearth how archeology helps me understand the Bible better, to understand what those stories mean for me, and how I interpret them. I think that can be powerful.

David Cowles ’78, ’81

David Cowles is a professor of biology at WWU and has taught here since 2001. He is also the author of Invertebrates of the Salish Sea, a website documenting hundreds of species found in and near the Salish Sea. He is fascinated by how animals survive in the sea and teaches classes in general, plant, and marine biology, limnology, ecological physiology, and marine invertebrates.

What got you interested in marine biology?

I've had a long-term interest in marine species. I grew up out in the Pacific Northwest rainforest and we lived at Forks, Washington, close to the ocean. I spent a lot of Sabbath afternoons exploring and was interested in that.

When I came to Walla Walla University, I really knew I wanted to study biology. When I finished my bachelor's degree, I was really disappointed because, well, I just had an introduction, but I didn't really dive into anything yet, so I wanted to study more.

There was a professor here, Larry McCloskey, who was a very influential marine biologist and did a lot at Rosario. I went for a master's with him and continued focusing on marine biology. I got my doctorate then at University of California Santa Barbara, then Loma Linda called me down to join their graduate school for a number of years. But I always wanted to get back to the Northwest.

What is the goal of your invertebrates webpage and how does it work?

I wanted to be able to serve someone who really doesn't know very much about the biology of these organisms, and also support those who did. On the front page is a little introduction and then an alphabetical index of the species. If you happen to know the common name or the scientific name of an organism, well the alphabetical index is the place to go. Then there’s also a systematic index for if you know the organism is part of a particular group and you wonder what other species in that group live here, you can search for information that way. If you don't know what a species is, you can use the dichotomous key.

A dichotomous key allows you to identify by observable traits through a series of two choice questions. It asks, is it red or is it blue? If it's red, you go this way. If it's blue, you go that way and then it asks you more and more questions until you come up with the answer. Of course, I’m simplifying a lot; it might be more likely to ask about a rostrum, for example.

Well, what if you don’t know what a rostrum is? I have included an illustrated glossary, which was one of the things that really attracted me to the project. Scientific terms can be linked to a glossary entry, often with a photograph so you can see what a rostrum, or whatever, looks like.

With the combination of having a lot of pictures to see what various characteristics or species look like and having a key, it turns out to be a lot more user-friendly while still being useful for people who are knowledgeable in the field.

How did this project come to be?

I began working on similar projects in the 1990s, right as HTML came out, because I was interested in learning this new programming language. The LLU biology department had me set up a webpage for all of us and I got to thinking this could

“An expert there on Nemerteans, confirmed my identification. The species had been discovered back in 1905 or 1906 up in an Alaskan bay and had never been seen since.”

be useful as an interactive key to help students understand more about the organisms we're dealing with.

After I came to Walla Walla in 2001, it started out just as a helpful guide in the Rosario classroom for when students were talking about a species, I could pop it up on a screen. They were really basic pages with the classification of the species, a description, some pictures, some things we know about this species. I put it on a university web server and external people started hitting on this and it became really popular. As far as I know, today it's probably the most popular site for marine species on the entire west coast of North America.

So far there are a little over 450 different species on the site, so there's pretty well all the common things you're going to find. I also made this a potential project for students. If they find some new species that I haven't found, I make a page for it and have an incentive for them to get a little bit of extra credit.

This has been a longstanding, ongoing project. Has it unearthed any surprises for you?

Several years ago, there were some divers working with Dr. Onthank studying an octopus in a bay near Rosario that you wouldn’t expect to find there. The octopuses are only out at night, so one night the divers saw a weird thing swimming through the water. They caught it and brought it back to me. It turned out to be a big ribbon worm, a Nemertean worm. I had gone through the key and thought I knew what it was, but I sent it off to the Smithsonian, and an expert there on Nemerteans, confirmed my identification. The species had been discovered back in 1905 or 1906 up in an Alaskan bay and had never been seen since. Those kinds of discoveries are fun to encounter.

Are there any species that you know are native to the area that you haven’t found? A white whale, so to speak?

For sure! Tusk shells are one example. It looks like a small tusk and is called Dentalium. And I know they can be accessible but are hard to fine because some of the original Indian tribes along the coast used them for money, for trade. And if they found them without scuba diving, then they should be around. I have found a couple tusk shells from deep sea trawling, and I’ve seen a sample, but I’ve never found one alive myself.

I finally discovered why I wasn’t able to find them. Apparently, the Indians couldn’t find them either except in the sand of several beaches out on the west end of Vancouver Island. I haven’t been there, so that’s why.

You mentioned it’s a very popular site. Beyond being used as a teaching aid, who else is using the site?

Field scientists, students, and marine biologists up and down the coasts use it. A few other scientists and regular citizens have been collaborators. They say, “Hey, I found this really cool organism. Do you want to have pictures of it for the site?” Most are from the United States, but I’ve had collaborators from Russia and other places in the world as well.

It’s also become quite popular among the regular people that are interested in beach combing. They’ll send me a picture or ask for help identifying something after seeing my site.

The Encyclopedia of Life is a big consortium including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and they’ve asked me to be one of their content providers. I’ve even had multiple textbook publishers reach out about using photos or illustrations from the site. So it’s become a really great resource.

This project is specific to marine invertebrates found in and near the Salish Sea, which is also home to a satellite campus of WWU. What is unique about that area?

Rosario is really quite unique as a place where undergraduates get a chance to go out and learn in the field with courses that are strongly marine focused. If students are interested in pursuing marine biology, they’ll truly get a solid foundation for graduate work. Rosario is a great facility with seawater tanks, seawater tables right in the classroom. Students can do experiments, ask questions, and form their own research from beginning to end; that’s truly a unique experience that would be hard to get anywhere else.

For students with other goals—like going into medicine, as many biologists do—it’s a great way to learn how the rest of the world functions. If you spend a lot of time studying human anatomy, human physiology, knowing alternative ways that a variety of organisms accomplish a particular thing can be medically valuable. And of course, there’s parts of pure science that can be useful down the line too: problem solving, looking at things from different angles, following the scientific method.

I think it's also useful and exciting for students to understand more about all these weird organisms that they hadn’t thought about. Ninety-eight percent of the world of living

organisms are not mammals and to come to understand those better is a value in itself. A lot of people do bird watching and things like that, which is similar to tide pooling or beach combing. It’s a way to release from the tensions of life and to go do something relaxing and cool.

I know this is an unfair question, but are there any particular species on the site that you find fascinating?

Crustacea is a group that is really, really big. There are way more crustacean species than there are among all types of vertebrates; all birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish all put together. Crustaceans just blow them out of the water in terms of number of species. When I first started studying crustaceans with Dr. McCloskey at Rosario, I was intimidated. It seems there's a million different species and you just kind of say, ‘Whoa, how do you deal with these?’ But over time, you discover they're all very interesting creatures.

For example, there’s a cute little crab called the elbow crab. It's a little tiny crab with these tiny, backward pointing pincers. Most crabs use their pincers to grab things, but how do you catch anything with claws like that? Well, the elbow crab grabs things with their elbows, like a head lock.

There's lots of interesting things like that to discover and to document. And I think it glorifies God to see and point out His creativity. Although it's not a religious site—I don't talk about God directly—I think it's glorifying God to find those examples of infinite creativity.

“Rosario is really quite unique as a place where undergraduates get a chance to go out and learn in the field with courses that are strongly marine focused.”

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE

Alumni Currents

Staying in touch with our family of graduates

AlumNotes

What are AlumNotes? AlumNotes are notes on life, milestones, and college memories from fellow WWU alumni. No update is too small. Fellow alumni want to know about your new job, same job, young grandchild, or old hobby.

Submit an AlumNote at wallawalla.edu/alumnotes.

1960s

Carolyn (Bigger) Evans ’69 lives with her husband, Larry ’70, in Vancouver, Wash., and they have two sons, Jeffrey ’93, and Jonathan ’96. Carolyn is now retired, but over the years of traveling with her minister husband, she has gone through many different professions. She has served as a manager for several medical clinics, a secretary in two conference offices, a department manager for Potomac ABC, and, most recently, as an accountant for the General Conference for Seventh-day Adventists. For 13 years, Carolyn sang in the National Christian Choir. She greatly enjoyed her time at WWU, where she was able to meet many friends, including her husband.

Roman Hintz ’64 lives with his wife, Linda att., in College Place. They have two sons, Richard ’87 and David ’87, and two daughters, Sharon Schafer ’91 and Darlene Anderson ’94. After 41 years in education as a teacher, principal, and business manager, Roman is now retired. He has worked in Washington, Oregon, and Kenya, and has been retired for 19 years now. In his retired years, he has taken up pickleball, and he has traveled to almost 50 countries as a volunteer on a film crew for Adventist World Radio, Gospel Outreach, Maranatha, Quiet Hour, Canvasback, and others. Looking back to his time attending WWU, Roman’s favorite memories were of making lifelong friends.

1970s

Nancy (McCoy) Nedderman

’74 lives with her husband, Ted ’72, in Port Angeles, Wash., and, before retirement, she worked for 36 years as a neonatal intensive care nurse. In 1976, Ted joined the U.S. Army Dental Corps as an endodontist, and the two spent 20 years in the military on assignments in Germany, Texas, Georgia, Hawaii, and Washington. They both retired and recently moved to Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Forest. Nancy says, “We love living up here! Beautiful places to hike and boat!” Nancy and Ted enjoy visiting with friends, and she says, “I look forward to seeing many of you at our 50th reunion this spring!” While attending WWU, she made memories singing with Gary Whitlock and with the Messenger Quartet made up of Al Riemke, Ron Cafferky, Larry Luce, and Gary Irland, and led by Mel Loewen. And of course meeting and marrying Ted!

Janice (Hall) Schirmer ’74 lives with her husband, John att., in Gladstone, Ore., and they

have two kids, Mandy ’07 and Eric att. She is now retired, but she worked for 45 years as a registered nurse for Portland Adventist Health. Janice started in pediatric care, then moved to the Short Stay Unit, and finally on to preoperative work until retiring in 2021.

1980s

Valorie (Cain) Futcher ’89 lives with her husband, David, in Longview, Wash., and they have two sons, Andruw and Greg ’22. Valorie works as a project director for the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic for Columbia Wellness, and is a licensed mental health counselor, and a child mental health specialist. Recently, she celebrated 30 years of marriage with David and is grateful for him and her family, including her two sons. At Journey Church, she co-teaches the youth Sabbath school class. Her favorite memories of WWU were attending vespers and working as a resident assistant in the girls’ dorm, which allowed her to meet new students and build friendships. She says of earning a college degree: “It changed my life for the better!”

Joseph (Joe) Winn ’84 lives with his wife, Rena, in Bellevue, Wash. Joseph is now retired, but his post-graduation work took him to Jordan, Mont.; Sidney, Mont.; the seminary at Andrews University; and then back to Montana. He ended his career serving Billings Seventh-day Adventist Church. He remembers

fondly how, “due to the kindness of church folk,” he learned to ski at Lookout Pass when he was in his thirties, and says owning and learning to ride his horse, Sam, was a wonderful 22-year experience. Now he enjoys spending his time reading and taking long walks with a six-yearold whippet named Ziggy. Some of his favorite memories of WWU were of attending Dr. Wilkenson’s “eye-opening” classes and taking Greek from Lucile Knapp, whose enthusiasm made learning a difficult language fun.

1990s

John Carey ’94 lives with his wife, Ebony, in Waigani Supreme Court, Port Moresby, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea. He serves as a judge of the National and Supreme Court for the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court, and the judge administrator for the Papua New Guinea Centre for Judicial Excellence. He has over 29 years’ experience in the public and private sectors, did pro-bono work in human rights, and spent 9 years in the downstream oil and gas industry given his background as a degreed mechanical engineer. In addition to his judicial work,

John is extensively involved in academic research on access to justice. He has written several books and articles related to judicial education, political discourse, gender equality, and constitutional, and he has lectured at several universities. John’s fondest memories of attending college at WWU were of studying at Kretchmar Hall.

MaryLou (Bullard) Shannon

’99 lives with her husband, Michael, in Olympia, Wash., and they have one son. MaryLou currently works as assistant region administrator for construction for the Washington State Department of Transportation. She has worked for WSDOT since graduation and has enjoyed seeing highway construction projects being completed, such as the Tacoma-Pierce County HOV system. Her hobbies include hiking, camping, and gardening with her family. Her best memories of WWU are of group studying for engineering classes and getting out to enjoy the parks on weekends. She especially remembers a fun weekend at Tollgate and a trip to some hot springs with friends.

2000s

Chinelle ClarringtonRodriguez ’09 lives in College Place with her daughter, where she works as an executive assistant for the Sustainable Living Center. Chinelle also published a poetry book in 2021, showing the importance of sharing our brokenness with others. She cherishes life’s simple pleasures and aims to “love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind, and to love my neighbor as myself.” While at WWU, her favorite memories were of the Berean worship

services and the time spent with friends having fun, traveling, and worshiping God together.

Nic Ivy ’04 lives with his wife, Chantel att., and seven children in College Place, where he works as an electrical engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He says that, in 2016, God led him and his wife to start an Adventist house church in College Place. He is now excited to say that “our hobbies no longer include changing diapers!” What he loved most about WWU were the like-minded friends who encouraged his faith and led him to enjoy outdoor activities. Some of his favorite memories included Bible studies, snowshoeing, backpacking, tubing, and campfires. He also remembers enjoying the camaraderie of choir, with the monthly cadence of singing for the University Church.

Rikki (Fryatt) Schmitt ’09 lives with her husband, Royce, in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, where she works as a clinical supervisor for Alberta Health Services. Rikki says, for the last 15 years, she has dedicated herself to being the voice for the voiceless. Investing time into her own self-care looks like enjoying golf, kayaking, hiking, watching hockey and Formula 1, puzzling, yearly Tough Mudders, and ongoing therapy. She remembers her favorite times at WWU were late night study sessions at Kretschmar computer lab, yogi burgers at the DX, working at the Office of Enrollment, being a reader for Gary Wiss in the English department, and experiencing the tight-knit passion of the Wolfpack hockey team.

Allen Botimer ’09 lives with his wife, Leah (Davy) ’09, and two children in Meridian, Idaho, where he works as a cardiac anesthesiologist for Anesthesia Associates of Boise. His favorite memories from WWU include

Kody Kostenko ’09

Kody Kostenko ’09 lives with his wife, Lylian, in Carmaleti Village, Orange Walk, Belize. He and his wife work with young people at a mission Bible college in Belize. They do evangelistic, humanitarian, and health work in the local villages as well as in their local church. He teaches music, English, mission classes, outdoor survival school, and whatever else is needed. He says “I love my job. I regularly get to see God do the impossible, changing people’s lives, including my own. He is always faithful, and His plans are always better than mine.”

At times, Kody’s work takes him and his wife to other parts of the world to work with new, amazing people. He writes,“God is finishing the work He began, and we just pray for the grace to keep step and follow the Lamb wherever He goes, though it be through trial, pain, or loss.” Right before the pandemic, he lost his second mom to a tragic accident, something that he had hoped to never experience again after losing his first mom to cancer when he was 14. He writes, “God has been my eternal refuge, my comforter, and source of strength. I did not say ‘goodbye’ but ‘see you in a little while! Later than we wish, but sooner than we think!’ I hope to see you there too, on that great day when the graves split with the sky as the Lord of Life returns to put an end to sin and death. Let us be faithful. No turning back.” Of his time at WWU, Kody recalls his favorite times being Ultimate Frisbee Fridays behind Sittner Hall, and working for the student-administered grounds department.

playing music for church, biology labs, intramural sports, and “dating my wife.”

2010s

Lauren Resler ’14 lives in Westminster, Colo., where she works as a strategic project manager for Movemedical. She says that, “Steven VanOrden changed everything for me at Walla Walla.” She had come back from her year as student missionary quite unsure and VanOrden’s hands-on

classes got her excited about her potential. As a result, she has pursued a career in project management, and is “so grateful to his presence at the business school at that pivotal time.”

KEY:

att. = attended curr. att. = currently attending

Alumni Currents

Staying in touch with our family of graduates

In Memory

Family members may submit obituary information for their loved ones at wallawalla.edu/obituary.

Kathleen Alexenko att. was born in 1934 in New York City, N.Y., and died Feb. 14, 2022, in Roseberg, Ore., at age 88. Surviving: husband Duane ’61 of Roseberg; daughter Rene Evans att. of Maui, Hawaii; sons Curtis of Sutherlin, Ore., and Daniel of Roseberg; and brother Richard Turner of Somis, Cali.

Robert “Bob” Brody ’64 was born in 1936 in Wenatchee, Wash., and died Oct. 17, 202,3 in Wenatchee, at age 87. Surviving: wife Charlotte (Kopfer) ’62 of Wenatchee; and daughter Kari Volyn of Chicago, Ill.

Nellie S. Davis ’58 was born in 1933, and died Aug. 4, 2023, in Milton-Freewater, Ore., at age 90. Surviving: daughters Michelle Dale att. of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Debbie Berglund of St. Paul, Minn.; and sons Scott att. of Milton-Freewater, and Timothy Metler of Milton-Freewater.

Arline Finkbiner att. was born in 1927 in Glendive, Mont., and died Nov. 15, 2023, in Walla Walla, at age 96. Surviving: daughter Marianne Rowan att. of Medford, Ore.; and sons Robert ’76 of College Place, and Gary ’74 of Jacksonville, Ore.

Donna “Christie” (Powell) Forsyth ’90 was born in 1941 in Seattle, Wash., and died July 3, 2023, in College Place, at age 81. Surviving: husband James (Jim) ’67 of College Place; and sons Jerry att. of West Richland, Wash., and David ’92 of College Place.

Deltalee M. Gates att. was born in 1927 in Bremerton, Wash., and died Aug. 11, 2021, in Saint Helena, Calif., at age 94. Surviving: son Wesley of Saint Helena.

Charles C. Horner ’58 was born in 1935 in Salem, Ore., and died Jan. 26, 2021, in Kirkland, Wash., at age 85.

Surviving: wife Janice att. of Kirkland; daughters Cary Ursino ’84 of Kirkland, Sherri Houston ’83 of Kirkland, and Beth Plush of Oak Harbor, Wash.; and sons Mark att. of Scappoose, Ore., and Steve att. of Fallon, Nev.

Ronald Humphreys ’66 was born in 1942 in Puyallup, Wash., and died April 7, 2023, in Mead, Wash., at age 80. Surviving: wife Geri (Walker) of Post Falls, Idaho; daughter Karina Pettey ’90 of Polebridge, Mont.; son Scott of Westerville, Ohio; and brother Donald ’66 of Nampa, Idaho.

William Kast ’62 was born in 1938 in Odessa, USSR, and died June 10, 2023, in Cottonwood, Ariz., at age 84. Surviving: wife Edryn att. of Cottonwood; daughter Debbie Evans att. of Evergreen, Colo.; and sons Kent ’87 of Ringgold, Ga., and Doug of Taos, N.M.

Tom Emmerson ’72

Former Walla Walla University professor of art Thomas Emmerson ’72 passed away on October 9, 2023, in Walla Walla.

Emmerson was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1947. He studied fine arts at Walla Walla University before receiving his master’s degree in studio art at Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County in 1979.

Emmerson served on the faculty of Walla Walla University from 1974 until his retirement in 2015. During his tenure at WWU, he served as chair of the art department for over 30 years. While he was professionally trained primarily as a studio artist, he was also a life-long student of art history and brought his own curiosity about the great art in the world to the classroom. He received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and advising at WWU over the course of his career, including the Distinguished

Betty Jean Skeels

Magnuson ’66 was born in 1944 in Yakima, Wash., and died April 19, 2022, in Walla Walla, at age 78. Surviving: husband Jay ’65 of College Place; daughter Amelia Messervy ’03 of College Place; and sons Warren ’99 of Rainier, Wash., and Nathaniel att. of Whitefish, Mont.

John T. Parks att. was born in 1942 and died March 13, 2023, in Walla Walla, at age 80. Surviving: sisters Ruth Massey ’63 of College Place, and Lois Pryor ’90 of Bainbridge, Wash.

Esther (Samograd)

Polishuk ’56 died Oct. 15, 2023, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Surviving: daughter Judy Walker att. of Edmonton; and son Daryl.

Doreen (Johnson) Radke

’64 was born in 1940 in St. Johnsbury, Vt., and died April 12, 2023, in Helena, Mont., at age 82. Surviving: husband Wilmer ’65 of St. Anthony, Minn.; and daughter Vicky ’92 of Brooklyn Park, Minn.

Cecil Roy ’58 was born in 1929 in Tillamook, Ore., and died Oct. 30, 2022, in Farmington, N.M., at age 93. Surviving: sons Cecil “Allen” att. of College Place, and Frederick “Rick” att. of Farmington. Roy taught psychology for the WWC education department from 1958 to 1961.

Clinton Lloyd Shankel ’54 was born in 1932 in

Lacombe, Alberta, Canada, and died Dec. 21, 2022, in Placerville, Calif., at age 90. Surviving: wife Mabel (Bruington) att. of Placerville; daughter Lynette Hipkins of Truckee, Calif.; and son Dennis of Truckee.

Judith Marlene (Johnson) VanTassel ’76 was born in 1952 in Moses Lake, Wash., and died April 16, 2021, in Portland, Ore., at age 69. Surviving: husband Lorance att. of Allegan, Mich.; sons Kevin of Waitsburg, Wash., and Monte att. of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.; and brothers Milton “Jim” Johnson att. of Hermiston, Ore., Jeffrey “Jeff” Johnson att. of Milton-Freewater, Ore., Jerry Johnson of Hermiston, Ore., and Joel Johnson ’85 of Tampa, Fla.

John R. Wohlers att. was born in 1943, and died jan. 29, 2023, in Centralia, Wash., at age 80. Surviving: wife Earlene att. of Chehalis, Wash.; daughters Wendy Kleppe att. of Edmonds, Wash., and Nicole Kiger att. of Lake Tapps, Wash.; son Jeremy of Selah, Wash.; sister Karen Boulton att. of Mill Valley, Cali.; and brother William “Bill” ’69 of Collegedale, Tenn.

Dale Ziegele ’66 was born in 1943 in Portland, Ore., and died Oct. 11, 2023, in Vancouver, Wash., at age 80. Surviving: wife Judy (Konzack) ’67 of Ridgefield, Wash.; and sons Paul of Medford, Ore., and Jon of Lake Tapps, Wash.

Faculty Lecturer Award in 1995 and culminating in the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015.

Emmerson was a vibrant and accomplished visual artist and teacher. He often worked right alongside his students whether in pottery and sculpture classes or drawing, painting, printmaking, or design courses. He shared his talents generously with his campus, his church, and his community.

Current chair of the art department Joel Libby says, “Tom was a mentor, a facilitator, a listener, and an ally with an easy smile and a keen eye. He taught a generation of young artists to see the world around them in a new light and to feel comfortable and confident in their creativity.”

Emmerson is survived by his wife Linda ’90 of College Place; daughters Alexi Latronica att. of Bradenton, Fla., and Morgan Emmerson ’21 of College Place; and brothers David att. of Tucson, Ariz., and James att. of Neskowin, Ore. A memorial service was held on Feb. 11, 2024, in the University Church.

Know someone making a college decision?

Suggest a visit to Walla Walla University today!

During their visit, they will enjoy:

Going on an informative campus tour customized to their interests.

Meeting with helpful people like financial counselors and recruiters. They will also learn about the admissions process and discover student employment opportunities.

Food and lodging on us for up to three days and three nights during in-person visits.

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Exploring the resources we have ready to help them succeed.

Schedule an in-person or virtual campus visit today at wallawalla.edu/visit.

See you there!

INVITE THEM TO DISCOVER WWU!

Do you know someone who would fit right in at WWU? The best way to get a feel for life on campus is to visit WWU. Sign up for a personalized in-person or virtual visit at wallawalla. edu/visit. There is so much to discover!

APRIL

Elections for new Alumni Association officers will be held online this year—no printed ballot will be mailed. Visit wallawalla.edu/ alumvote to learn about the candidates and to cast your vote. Voting will close at midnight on Monday, April 15.

APRIL 26–28

Join us for Homecoming Weekend 2024. We’ve planned a variety of activities starting on Friday morning to help you reconnect and reminisce with long-time friends and favorite professors. Register now at wallawalla.edu/ homecoming

MAY 16, 18, 19, & 23

Come see the acting and directing talents of students and alumni at the beloved annual Festival of Shorts Check wallawalla.edu/ drama for updates and to purchase tickets.

JUNE 14–16

Commencement weekend will begin with a consecration vespers on Friday, followed by a variety of events throughout the weekend. You might even catch a chance to sign the belfry! See the complete schedule at wallawalla.edu/grad

PHOTO: CHRIS DRAKE