PLU launches Internship Fund to create equitable opportunities for students
During her senior year at PLU, Chloe Willburn ‘21 wanted to intern with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. As a social work major, Willburn believed that the experience gained from working alongside DCYF would benefit not only her but her future…
How Keegan Dolan’s PLU mentor helped him land a dream internship in Boston
Hard work pays off. Networking is key. Relationships are everything. While this advice might sound cliché, people give it often, and for good reason. Just ask Pacific Lutheran University’s Keegan Dolan ’22. Dolan, a double major in philosophy and economics , is in the midst…
Teaching in the Pandemic: How Three Teachers Made the Best of an Unprecedented Time
High school choir and guitar teacher Alonso Brizuela ’14 was in Spokane at a national choral directors conference in mid-March of 2020. Just a day and half days into events, the conference shut down early—due to a mysterious new illness that had arrived in the…
Andrew Whitney ’12 directs program to pair Tacoma students with local internships
Ten years ago Andrew Whitney ‘12 was preparing for graduation, completing internships, and looking forward to starting a career in the world of business and finance. Now, it’s his job to help place local high school and college students in internships with businesses, nonprofits, and…
Gurjot Kang ‘21 grows her skills and makes an impact as a Tacoma Housing Authority intern
Despite the challenges and uncertainty of life during the pandemic, PLU student Gurjot Kang ’21 is focused on her future after graduation. Kang is interning with the Tacoma Housing Authority to help build her skills and improve the community through this difficult time. Kang —…
Brian Lander ’89: Career Humanitarian is PLU’s Connection to 2020 Nobel Peace Prize
PLU alumnus Brian Lander ‘89 grew up in Washington State’s Tri-Cities. But in early 2020, Lander was far from his childhood home, as he helped meet urgent needs in Northwest Syria. Turkish troops, Syrian and Russian armies, and opposition forces negotiated and battled over resources…
Looking Outward: Mark Carrato ‘94 leads the U.S. Government’s Power Africa initiative
A year after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University, Mark Carrato ‘94 had been island hopping around rural southwestern Japan teaching English to junior high school students. But now he had a decision to make—return to the United States and begin the law school he had…
How Matt Bliss ’98 turned a family tradition into Modern Christmas Trees
As a child, Matt Bliss ’98 relished celebrating the holidays at his grandparents’ Broomfield, Colorado, home where the Christmas tree was anything but ordinary. Bliss’s grandfather, Lawrence Stoecker, designed his own tree, an artful cascade of concentric rings that hung from the ceiling. He crafted…
PLU MAE alumna Brooke Brown ’06 named the 2021 Washington State Teacher of the Year
Brooke Brown ’06, an ethnic studies teacher at Parkland’s Washington High School, was recently named the 2021 Washington State Teacher of the Year by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Brown engages students in her classroom by centering each student’s…
Nicole Hargreaves ‘09 documents her move overseas on HGTV’s House Hunters International
Nicole (Hughes) Hargreaves graduated from PLU in 2009 with a degree in communication and a minor in women’s and gender studies. Originally from Kirkland, Wash., she went on to begin her career here in the Pacific Northwest. However, after her husband Paul was struck with…
Jacob Taylor-Mosquera ’09 discusses his new memoir about international adoption and belonging
In a 2017 issue of PLU’s ResoLute magazine, alumnus Jacob Taylor-Mosquera ’09 shared about his experience as an adoptee, finding and reconnecting with his biological family in Colombia, and the tension he still navigates today as a citizen of two countries and a member of…
Thu “Kim” Le interns with Benaroya Research Institute, doing cancer research from home
As the pandemic has progressed many of found ourselves thinking more about health and disease, however, Thu “Kim” Le ‘21 has spent most of her college career researching these topics. Le recently completed a six-week summer internship with the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) at Virginia…