Janelle Jones ’11, OT ’14 spends her days helping people find the way to a new life. As an occupational therapist at Oregon State Hospital, Jones works in the state-run psychiatric hospital’s Bridges program. That means she works primarily with individuals who have been found guilty-except-for-insanity in a criminal case and who are now preparing to transition out of a hospital setting.
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Oral health affects the whole body — which is why Malea Johnson DHS ‘14 is integrating dental care with medical care for Colorado’s rural residents.
A deeply involved member of Pacific University’s Student Religious Council, Fran O’Brien '65 had a fundamental belief in social justice. It was that belief that led her to become the only Pacific University student to participate in the Freedom Summer of 1964.
Zoey Mendoza Zimmerman '95 lived through the worst a parent can imagine. In 2010, her husband shot and killed their two children and then himself. In the past five years, she has struggled to live with grief and open her heart to the future— while holding on to her children's memories and helping other grieving parents do the same.
Rachel Seibert BSW '12 was called to medical social work — and to Randall Children’s Hospital — by personal experience. At 18, she was in an accident that nearly claimed her life. She was treated at Randall for more than two years by some of the same people who are, today, her colleagues.
Use your social networks and ask people questions, says Mike Geraci '91. The first in his family to attend college, Geraci chose Pacific, where he went on to become an associate professor in the Department of Media Arts.
Jaye Cee Whitehead '00 came to Pacific from rural Wyoming. 'I got here and I had no idea what I was doing," she said. Today, she is an associate professor of sociology, ready and willing to help other first-generation students find their way.
Mark Loomis OTD '17 spent more than 10 years as a search-and-rescue swimmer in the Navy, serving in the Middle East. Today, he is embarking on a new career as an occupational therapist, hoping to help other veterans with the transition to civilian life.
The first in his family to attend college, Bob Fitzmorris '08 is a recent Pacific University graduate — who's a visiting professor at his alma mater.
The senior majoring in biology will work with a University of Erlangen team that is researching the addictive mechanisms of alcoholism.