Category: Alumni

EWU alumna Mandy Manning ’98 was named the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, announced on Friday, April 20, on CBS This Morning. Manning teaches newly arrived immigrants and refugees at Spokane Public Schools’ Newcomer Center at Ferris High School. In September 2017, Manning was recognized as Washington state’s 2018 Teacher of the Year, awarded through…

A by-no-means-complete guide to Eastern alumni working to make every hour happy. This story has been fermenting for a while. We scoured and searched to compile a list of EWU alums paying the bills by making our beer.

I’ve always wanted to write a celebrity interview. You know, the kind that appears in Harper’s Bazaar: “On a clear Saturday afternoon, Sandra Bullock, dressed in a bright pink sundress, met me in the lobby of a Beverly Hills hotel. She’s as witty and self-mocking as a fan might expect.” I finally got my chance…

It would be easy to assume that baritone Thomas Hampson has moved on from his eastern Washington roots. The Eastern alumnus doesn’t need anyone new to mention that he’s distinctly gifted, naturally expressive, charismatic or good-looking (opera buffs call him “Thomas Handsome”). Audiences love him. Hampson (’92 BA government) packs opera houses on both sides…

Shawn Vestal ’08, ’05, MFA creative writing, BA interdisciplinary studies, won the Washington State Book Award for fiction for his debut novel, Daredevils (Penguin Press, 2016). The award, given by the Washington Center for the Book, honors “literary merit, lasting importance, and overall quality.” Winners were announced in Seattle in October. Vestal’s novel, set in the 1970s, tells…

Cristina Santana’s small stature and quiet, comforting manner are nearly lost in her sizable bulletproof vest. She roams the streets of Sunnyside, Washington, with her husband, Arturo, whose medium-sized build fits his T-shirt labeled U.S. Probation in large, yellow letters on his back. They walk with confidence among the streets of their hometown, often stopped…

At the highest level of professional competition, all athletes relentlessly search for ways to gain an edge over their opposition. Their ambition for success is equally preternatural as they train to the outer edges of physical capability. So what sets apart the perennial MLB All-Star from the struggling minor league prospect, both drafted in the…

Rodrick Jackson’s life changed forever Dec. 21, 2016. It was his 18th birthday – the day he changed his name to Rodrick Fisher and was adopted by the family who saved him from an uncertain future 10 months earlier. During the emotional adoption court hearing, Jolene Fisher spoke on behalf of her husband, Adam, and daughters,…

In October 2016, Rear Admiral (Ret.) George Lotzenhiser ’47 and Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jerry Mellick ’67, Eastern alumni from different generations, traveled together on the Inland Northwest Honor Flight to be recognized for their service to our country. Mellick served as the guardian for “The Admiral,” as he affectionately calls Lotzenhiser. The following are excerpts…

Skyler Oberst is easy to pick out of a crowd of young professionals. It isn’t his fashionable eyeglasses, his watch and matching leather shoes, or the geometry of creases on his shirt and slacks that could only come from an ironing board. It’s something else – an unmistakable sense of purpose multiplied by passion. Trim…