Archive: stories

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…

Shannon Kellam is full-time engineering student at EWU, president of the Rocketry Club, and a single mother to a fifth- and third-grader. As if she weren’t busy enough, Kellam also helped to build a 3D-printed prosthetic arm for Spokane Public Schools fifth-grader Isaiah Strom. A team from EWU’s Engineering Department, which included Kellam, engineering tech Frank De…

Last week, a team from EWU’s Engineering Department presented a 3-D-printed prosthetic arm to a fifth-grader at Spokane Public Schools. Rob Gerlick, PhD and assistant professor of mechanical engineering, engineering tech Frank De Abreu and engineering student Shannon Kellam visited Isaiah Strom’s classroom last Wednesday to custom fit his device and teach him how to use…

Eastern Washington University faculty, staff and students – many of them new to campus – started the 2017 academic year by giving back to the community on Tuesday, Sept. 19, during the annual Eagle UP volunteer effort. In all, more than 120 volunteers from Eastern provided a total of 366 hours cleaning, planting and organizing, equaling nearly…

Four years ago, alumni of the Zeta Nu chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity agreed to set out on a philanthropic endeavor to give back to the university that helped bring them together more than half a century ago. The brothers set a target goal of raising a quarter of a million dollars for…

Eastern Washington University education students teamed up with 150 seventh graders from Cheney Middle School to plant more than 560 trees at Marshall Creek Friday, Oct. 21, as part of a service project to increase outdoor and environmental education. Seven Eastern students each worked with a group of seventh graders to plant trees and learn…

Visual communication design students and alumni gathered last Tuesday for a night of building community and making connections – industry leaders and EWU alumni spent the night critiquing up-and-coming graphic designer’s portfolios. For the past four years, VCD professor Travis Masingale has been expanding portfolio reviews to include industry leaders in a professional space, rather…

An EWU student was given the opportunity to perform on a rare 18th century violin at last week’s orchestra concert, thanks to an EWU alumnus. The violin, made by Joseph Guarnerius or “del Gesu” in 1736, is owned by EWU alumnus Lynn Nelson ’69, a violin restorer from Oregon who has been active in giving back…

When asked to reflect on his 15 years as a member of the Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees, Paul Tanaka’s thoughts go to the first-year students now on campus. “Some of this year’s freshman class were only four or five years old when I started,” states Tanaka. “Aside from making me feel very old,…