Scandinavian Cultural Center at PLU: Preserving Heritage and Building Connections Across Communities
“Bottom Line: We are all similar. We are all connected,” says longtime volunteer Linda Caspersen. This sentiment captures the spirit of the Scandinavian Cultural Center (SCC) at Pacific Lutheran University. Part museum, part gathering place, part living classroom, the SCC preserves and shares stories of…
A Symphony of Gratitude: Jane Lin’s PLU journey and her commitment to future Lutes
For those who have thoughtfully included Pacific Lutheran University in their estate plans, you understand the profound impact an institution can have on a life’s trajectory. Jane Lin ’92 embodies this spirit of gratitude. Her journey demonstrates the power of a PLU education and the…
Bringing Back the Bluebirds: A Local Research Project Takes Flight
Strandness Endowed Professor of Biology Julie Smith, through support from the new endowed professorship, is spearheading a research project focused on the Western Bluebird in the Puget Sound lowlands, offering exciting opportunities for undergraduate involvement. These charismatic cavity-nesters, once common in Western Washington, faced extinction…
Planting Seeds for Tomorrow
When Donald “Gene” Strandness ’50 arrived at Pacific Lutheran University in 1946, he was not impressed. As he recalled in his 1980 Distinguished Alumni Award speech, “When I arrived on the campus in 1946, it was largely an institution without facilities. In fact, at first…
Journeying With Others
From the moment Kerry Dolan ’22 arrived at PLU, she knew she wanted to make a difference in the world. What she didn’t expect was how deeply her experiences on campus — from late-night RA conversations to studying away in Mexico — would shape not…
From Storyteller to Caregiver: One Alumna’s Journey to Her True Calling
Mallory Presho-Dunne is living proof that changing one’s career field just requires a little soul searching and a lot of hard work. Graduating from PLU’s Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing (ELMSN) program in 2020, she works as a nurse at Seattle Children’s Hospital,…
In Parkland, a Clinic With PLU Ties Quietly Rewrites the Rules
It looks and feels like a typical neighborhood clinic, but this place is exceptional. One key difference? No one is turned away due to inability to pay. Those without insurance are charged on a sliding-fee scale based on income and family size. For some patients,…
PLU Alum Kameron Jacobs ’14 Communicates Through Crises With Compassion and Grit
That’s what drives Kameron Jacobs ’14. Whether he’s managing global HIV prevention messaging, volunteering for Pride events, coordinating clinical trial communications, or connecting people through music, care is at the center of it all. We caught up with Jacobs at 208 Garfield, the café where…
Five Questions: Stephanie Johnson, Dean of the College of Liberal Studies
What does liberal studies mean to you? To be liberally educated quite simply means to be educated broadly and generously, without restriction and the College of Liberal Studies is at the heart of this education at PLU. The foundation of liberal studies extends back to…
Inspired by Students to Serve
As Amy Siegesmund sat in her office in the Rieke Science Center, the gray and drizzle of a Washington December afternoon hanging over the day, she couldn’t help but feel joy. Across from her sat two students who had just finished her “Intro to Microbiology”…
Professor Eckstein on the power of sound in political protests
Dr. Justin Eckstein, author of Sound Tactics, joins Good Day Seattle about how his book explores how sound is used in political protests as a tactic to demand social and political change.
Wellbeing Services & Resources: The Living Room at the Heart of Student Wellbeing
In many ways, WSR’s cozy living room is the center of it all: a space where needs surface, support shows up, and no one has to figure it out alone. “We act fast, like the Avengers,” says Eva Frey ’95, PLU’s dean of students and…