Travel contest sends recent PLU graduate to 5 continents in 3 months
TACOMA, WASH. (June 16, 2016) – Just three short weeks after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University, Denae McGaha ’16 will embark on the journey of a lifetime. The communication major will travel for three consecutive months, visiting five continents and more than 10 different countries.…
Submit your favorite recipes for a special food issue of ResoLUTE
TACOMA, WASH. (May 4, 2016)- Editors of ResoLUTE, Pacific Lutheran University’s alumni community magazine, want Lutes to share their favorite mouth-watering, nostalgic and unique recipes for a special food issue coming soon. Submissions may include recipes from students, staff, faculty, their family members and anyone…
PLU alumna, first black woman to serve as state senator, dedicated 20 years in politics to health care, social justice
TACOMA, WASH. (May 2, 2016)- Forty years of nursing experience is not on the usual résumé for politicians, but that did not stop Rosa Franklin ’74 from running for office. Franklin hasn’t been concerned with what is usual. She’s concerned with bringing people together to…
PLU Theatre alumnus Adam Utley ’04 returns to campus to host TEDxTacoma
TACOMA, WASH. (April 4, 2016)- For the first time in the event’s five-year history, TEDxTacoma will be hosted at Pacific Lutheran University on April 22. For the event’s host, Adam Utley, the new location signifies a homecoming of sorts, as the the improv performer and…
PLU alumnus, Tacoma teacher draws from his own tough life lessons to inspire students in similar situations
TACOMA, WASH. (March 17, 2016)- Joshua Cushman ’08 stood in front of a crowd at the Wang Center Symposium last month and recalled his childhood in which nobody asked him about his future. The Tacoma native was the product of a broken home, plagued by…
PLU alumna collects, studies mosquitoes in the pursuit of improved public health
TACOMA, WASH. (March 9, 2016)- Mosquitoes are pests to some, but for Rebekah Blakney ’12 they carry a wealth of information that can unlock solutions to global health issues. Now with the outbreak of the Zika virus, that’s as important as ever. Blakney isn’t at…
Lutes at the Legislature: PLU students and alumni contribute at every level of the legislative process
TACOMA, Wash. (March 3, 2016)— About 25 miles south of Pacific Lutheran University, lawmakers in Olympia are in the midst of the 2016 Washington state legislative session. While the governor and state legislators direct the proceedings, they are supported and informed by a dedicated legion…
PLU alumnus, Android co-founder uses his marketing expertise to help students land jobs
TACOMA, WASH. (March 2, 2016)- Co-founder of Android and Pacific Lutheran University graduate Nick Sears took the technology world by storm when he teamed up with inventors Andy Rubin and Chris White to market and launch Android, one of the world’s top operating systems for…
PLU awarded total of nearly $590,000 in state grant money for intensive, alternative route for teacher certification
TACOMA, WASH. (Feb. 29, 2016)- Garrett Wade bounced from desk to desk in a crowded classroom one recent Thursday morning, guiding his students through the online program they were learning at Sylvester Middle School in Burien. “Mr. Wade! Mr. Wade! I need your help,” a…
Musher turned author: Alumna harnesses her PLU education to recount experiences on Iditarod Trail
TACOMA, WASH. (Feb. 24, 2016)- Debbie Moderow’s future in Iditarod racing started in her family’s backyard with a retired sled dog named Salt. The 7-year-old Husky was the first member of a backyard sled dog team that was initially assembled so Moderow’s sons could have…
Students from PLU and Tacoma’s Lincoln High School work together to fight racism
TACOMA, WASH. (Feb. 4, 2016)- Kamari Sharpley-Ragin reluctantly admits that he used to joke about racism. The ninth-grader from Lincoln High School in Tacoma says it didn’t seem like a big deal, since he never really experienced overt discrimination himself. Now, he says he knows…
Ed Hrivnak ‘96: Firefighter, Flight Nurse, Veteran
Ed Hrivnak graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. His decorated career as a public servant included 20 years in the armed forces where he served as the Crew Director of a medical-evacuation team. A veteran of the…