(MA, 2007) Kate Christie (Jennifer Vanderweyden) is the author of Gay Pride & Prejudice, Beautiful Game, and Leaving LA, published by Bella Books. She is the author of 15 titles and now writes full-time under her own imprint, Second Growth Books.
(BA, 2019): Peter Hedlund
In the past couple years Peter Hedlund (BA, 2019) has moved to Seattle, where he got his first 1-bedroom apartment and got a good job as an accountant. He also joined the Democratic Socialists of America and marched in the Black Lives Matter protests. He has enjoyed going on many hikes. He casually dated an incredible woman for three weeks that had a big impact on him. Unfortunately, he was fired from his job as an accountant after 15 months but got a new job at a grocery co/op last week. He read The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, started therapy, adopted a cat named Quill, drank coffee, got hit by tear gas, bought In a Silent Way by Miles Davis on wax, and played chess with his dad a lot. He has gotten vaccinated and decided he would like to be an educator. He is looking forward to the rest of his twenties.
(BA, 1992): Craig MacKenzie
After leaving the Northwest in 2001 to raise their boys in Southern Rhode Island, Craig MacKenzie (BA, 1992) will be the new principal at Cashmere High School beginning July 1st. He and his wife Paige are excited to reconnect to their West Coast home.
(BA, 1980): Dion Lissner O’Reilly
Dian Lissner (BA, 1980) aka Dion O’Reilly published a book of poetry in February of 2020, Ghost Dogs, which was the winner of the Independent Press award for poetry, the Dragonfly award for poetry, the Pinnacle Achievement Award for Poetry, an Honorable Mention in the Eric Hoffer Award, and took third place in the Royal Dragonfly Book Award.
(BA, 2019): Leslie Cogley
Right after graduating in June 2019, Leslie Cogley (BA, 2019) got a job as the sole Grant Writer for an anti-human trafficking nonprofit in Seattle, WA, called REST: Real Escape from the Sex Trade. She is thankful to her mentors and Professors in the English department, including Jeremy Cushman, Tony Prichard, and Donna Qualley.
(BA, 2008): Jonathan Lashley (Zeller)
Jonathan Lashley (BA, 2008) earned a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Clemson University in 2019, accepted a position as Associate Chief Academic Officer for the Idaho State Board of Education that same year, and was recently appointed Chair of Idaho’s General Education Committee- the Board-designated group that coordinates general education policy and administration statewide.
(BA, 2014): Nick Thacker
Nick Thacker (BA, 2014) is pursuing an MA in Political Science at San Francisco State University. He is focusing on Marxist political theory and writing a thesis on the political thought of Pier Paolo Pasolini. The department awarded him the Wasserman Prize for the Best Graduate Paper in Spring 2021 for an essay on the Italian Communist Party and the Historic Compromise in the 1970s. He presented a paper on populism and the journalistic writings of Pier Paolo Pasolini at the 2021 meeting of the Western Political Science association.
(BA, 2015): Maddie Erickson
Maddie Erickson (BA, 2015) graduated with an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons University.
(BA, 1973): Art Blauvelt
Art Blauvelt (BA, 1973) is healthy and still working as lawyer and part-time judge. After Western attended University of Puget Sound Law School, practiced in Tacoma and then moved to Montesano, WA in 1981. Married to Linda (WWSC 1974), with two children and two grandchildren. Served 14 years on Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees and just completing 10th year as Grays Harbor College Trustee. Loves hiking and touring Southwest Utah and New Mexico and traveling to Europe.
(BFA, 2017): Spencer Johnson
Spencer Johnson (BFA, 2017) graduated in May with his MFA in Fiction from Emerson College, and was hired on as Affiliated Faculty teaching Writing and Comp there as well.