Class Notes, Fall 2010

Short profiles of Pacific alumni are followed by full Class Notes listings. Note: Use the search box at upper right to find a specific classmate or year of listings.

Carl Mead (Courtesy Photo)

Carl Mead 1986

Carl Mead ’86 was appointed to the position of Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the Beaverton School District starting July 1. As a regional administrator for the Aloha and Southridge region, this position will include overseeing a dozen schools in the district’s southern area.

He takes over for Sarah Boly, who retired. Dr. Mead, formerly the principal of Sunset High School for three years, received his MAT from Lewis and Clark after graduating from Pacific. While attending Pacific, Carl taught at Circle of Friends and gave tours to prospective students.

Heidi Cupp (Courtesy Photo)

Heidi Cupp 2010

During winter break of her senior year, Heidi Cupp ‘10 traveled to the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute in Pendleton, Ore. to conduct research for her senior project in anthropology, titled “Recidivism in Inmates with Drug Related Crimes.”

Cupp interviewed five inmates and three counselors in an attempt to understand why previously imprisoned criminals have a tendency to return to prison. According to Cupp, 70 percent of those who are currently imprisoned have been to prison before.

Specifically, Cupp looked at inmates who committed crimes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She asked the inmates about their lives before and after imprisonment. In addition, she asked them how and why they got involved in drugs or alcohol.

The 21-year-old student "grew up around prison and hearing all about prison and inmates." Her grandfather was once the warden of the penitentiary in Salem, Ore. and both of her parents worked as prison guards.

"I like working with vulnerable populations, with people who don't have a voice," Cupp told the Pacific Index, "I look at anthropology as a degree in people. It's a degree that helps you understand and relate to people better."

The inmates Cupp interviewed will receive a copy of her 70-page paper.

Jenny Smythe (Photo by Colin Stapp)

Jennifer Smythe 1993

A Pacific alumna (O.D. '93) who has served as dean of the College of Optometry at Pacific University since 2008, Smythe is the first woman to be elected to the executive committee of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO). She will serve on the executive committee as an at-large member.

Founded in 1941, ASCO represents the interest of the schools and colleges of optometry in the United States and Puerto Rico, and is committed to helping its member institutions prepare well-qualified graduates for the optometry profession.

Prior to serving as dean, Smythe served as a professor, chief of contact lens services and associate dean for academic programs. She spent 12 years in private practice and has written extensively on vision care. She is a contributing editor for Primary Care Optometry News, Vice-President of Women of Vision, a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and a Diplomate in the Section on Cornea and Contact Lenses. Her research interests include contact lenses; correction of presbyopia; and corneal and ocular response to contact lens wear.

General Comments

Jeff Roberts 1999

Jeff Roberts MAT became the assistant principal at Seaside (Ore.) High School in August 2011, and head football coach in January 2012. Prior to moving to the Seaside School District, he taught and coached in the Tualatin, Sherwood and Parkrose school districts. He, wife Nissa and daughter McKenna live in Gearhart, Ore.

Erica Long 2000

Erica Long 2000

Erica Long married Jeff Sawyer on Aug. 18, 2012. 

Jennifer (Bulosan) Armstrong 2001

Jennifer (Bulosan) Armstrong and husband Travis welcomed baby Shiloh on Feb. 5, 2012. Jennifer owns and works as a consultant at Kaia Consulting. 

Elias Ashton 2001

 
Elias Ashton and wife Shirly Hsu-Ashton welcomed their son, Jase Benjamin Ashton, on Nov. 28, 2012. He was 7 pounds, 12 ounces and almost 22 inches long. Jase joins big sister Isabel.

Heidi (Killian) Hackenjos 2001

Heidi (Killian) Hackenjos and husband Joey welcomed August Joseph on Sept. 1, 2011. August was 5 pounds, 1 ounce and 18 inches. 

Nancy Pickering 2001

Nancy Pickering 01, MAT 06 married Cameron Jack on Aug. 12, 2012.

Molly Richardson 2001

Molly (Estrin) Richardson and her husband, Erick, welcomed Dahlia Everly Richardson, on Jan. 15, 2013. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Dahlia joins big sister Lily.