Your meaning-
ful life
The Measure of Success
You can be sure that the main goal of any college experience is to prepare you for the moment you step off campus and into the working world – to prepare you to be successful. But not all colleges are the same. PLU is distinguished by the way we measure success. Our goal is to prepare you both for success in a career and for success in service to others. The PLU experience helps you define your path, your sense of purpose and your meaningful life. The university’s mission is to “educate students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, leadership, service and care – for other people, for their communities and for the earth.” How do you measure success?
Meet Four Recent PLU Graduates
On campus and off, PLU students receive the preparation and support to make a difference in the world.
Chris Wyant ’01
As clerk for a Supreme Court Justice, Chris heard arguments on some of Washington's biggest issues.
Katie Alexander ’04
Just days after graduation, Katie became marketing coordinator for the World Trade Center Tacoma.
Thu Nguyen ’05
Thu was the first PLU student to be named a U.S. State Department Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow.
Joel Zylstra ’05
As ASPLU President, Joel helped to organize the Wild Hope Project’s Meant to Live program.
Imagine Life Beyond PLU
When you first start college, it might be difficult to see yourself in a career in just a few years. But a lot happens during your four years in school that will help you focus and grow. In particular at PLU, the combination of being challenged to excel and the mentoring and support you receive helps you discover your passion and the special contributions you can make to the world.
Our goal is to prepare you both for success in a career and for success in service to others.
At graduation you’ll join a network of more than 40,000 fellow Lutes whose ties run deep. It’s a community similar to what you’ve found on campus – people who seek out challenges and have figured out how to conquer them. And as you start your career in the workplace, begin medical school or begin student teaching, you’ll find that these are people you can rely on.
While many recent PLU graduates began their college careers uncertain about their life goals, after graduation they built successful careers and became community leaders in just about every area you can imagine. You can too.
- More than 600 of our graduates are dentists or physicians
- About 3,600 have careers in accounting, business, finance or economics
- More than 5,000 educators and 3,200 nurses have PLU degrees
- Almost 1,200 PLU graduates have careers in the law, public service and civil service
- 350 graduates work in the performing or creative arts
- About 800 graduates work in advertising, marketing and communications
- More than 2,000 are employed in fields related to chemistry, biology, math, computer science and engineering
- More than 1,000 alumni work in social services, nonprofit organizations and churches
But enough statistics. Our graduates are real people just like you who have found their place in the world.
Changing The World
After graduation, PLU students are prepared for just about any twist and turn they might encounter on their life’s journey. Below are eight graduates, each of whom have followed their own path to achieve success. To read a full feature story about each of them, visit www.plu.edu/alumniprofiles.
Scott Barnum ’78, “CHIEF CHOCOLATIER” FOR COCOA PETE’S CHOCOLATE ADVENTURES, has made it his mission to put premium chocolate into the mouths of the masses.
Ambassador Joyce Barr ’76 always knew she wanted to see the world. After working her way up in the Foreign Service, Barr is now the U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NAMIBIA.
When she came to PLU, Heidi Berger ’91 wanted to work in a newsroom. Now, she MANAGES SOME OF THE BIGGEST STORIES FOR CNN INTERNATIONAL in London.
Dwight “Danny” Daniels ’79 is helping establish freedom of the press in China as an EDITOR AT CHINA DAILY, the national English language newspaper based in Beijing.
BY REVITALIZING SALMON RUNS in the Nisqually River Delta, Jeanette Dorner ’94 is helping make sure that salmon have a chance to recover and survive for many generations.
For Shanna Duncan ’00 art isn’t just a hobby; it’s a living. Finding work in a variety of mediums, Duncan DESIGNS EVERYTHING FROM MENUS TO SNOWBOARDS.
Cory Heins ’77 knows that "even the smallest effort can have a great effect on someone’s life.” He spent time in Afghanistan BUILDING ROADS, BRIDGES, SCHOOLS AND WATER SYSTEMS.
As the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TACOMA, Norwegian Andreas Udbye ’83 loves his job because of its global and international perspective.
