Saving the World with a Starship
On day one of PLU Professor of Mathematics Daniel Heath’s Designing a Starship class, students have no idea what they have signed up for — and that’s exactly how Heath wants it. The course is part of PLU’s International Honors Program (IHON), which means it…
Opening Doors to Opportunity: Andrew Whitney ’12, Director of Seed Internships
I had two internships during my time at PLU. One led to a full-time offer and I stayed there for almost seven years. Getting that second internship was about my talent and also about the right place, right time, right skill set, right newsletter subscription.…
Camp Songs: PLU music majors produce free music camp for Parkland students
It’s a warm summer morning and the scent of scrambled eggs drifts from the kitchen at Trinity Lutheran Church into an adjoining room where more than a dozen campers busily make beaded jewelry. Ranging from second to sixth grade, the kids are participants in the…
Centering the City: Lisa Woods ’92 discusses her work as Tacoma’s chief equity officer
Lisa Woods ’92 leads initiatives to help improve systems and services as the City of Tacoma’s chief equity officer. She says her approach to this work starts with listening and continuously thinking about how best to center community voices, experiences and needs. How can centering…
Asking Historic Questions: Beth Griech-Polelle, PLU Kurt Mayer Chair of Holocaust Studies
I think we have all heard the infamous phrase, “Those who do not know the past are condemned to repeat it.” For most historians, asking questions about our shared past forces all of us to confront uncomfortable truths about the past with the hope that…
Questioning Barriers: Angela Pierce-Ngo ’12 understands post-secondary success requires questions
While at PLU, Angela Pierce-Ngo ’12 was worried by a troubling pattern. After the first year of college, many peers and friends — especially classmates of color — left school or took an extremely long break. Even as she worked as a diversity advocate and…
International Complexities: Mycal Ford ’12 discusses how he thinks about global policy
Mycal Ford ’12 deep dives into global challenges for a living. A double major in political science and Chinese studies at PLU, Ford is now an international affairs and economics analyst who has worked for both private firms and government agencies, including the U.S. Department…
Music and Medicine: Elizabeth Larios ’21 returns to Namibia to research infections and teach marimba
Elizabeth Larios ’21 decided she was going to be a neurosurgeon in the fourth grade. That’s when her class took a field trip to a science museum and Larios saw an exhibit about the human brain. Returning home that day, she told her mom: “I’m…
WATCH THIS: Professor Marnie Ritchie discusses surveillance, rhetoric and media
Do you ever worry about history-tracking web browsers, “smart” kitchen appliances, and the even smarter phones we sleep next to? PLU Assistant Professor of Communication Marnie Ritchie thinks about these things. She thinks about them A LOT. Ritchie is an award-winning researcher and writer in…
Adrian Arrives
During his senior year, computer science major Adrian Ronquillo ’22 filled out 203 job applications. Despite already having a job offer from a tech company he was interning with, he wanted to see what other opportunities were available to him. One of those applications included…
Rooted and Open: Rev. Jen Rude talks about centering community, spiritual diversity, and Campus Ministry
In the summer of 2016, Rev. Jen Rude and her spouse Deb packed their things and drove two thousand miles West on Interstate 90 to a new home and a new call. Six-and-half years later, Rude is no longer PLU’s “new pastor from Chicago.” Now…
Nursing major sees value in studying and investing in health services
Parker Simpson ’24 is spending his summer working at an assisted living facility in his hometown of Spokane, Washington. He comes from a family of healthcare professionals and has always wanted to help people. We sat down with him to discuss his experience taking classes…