An Eastern undergraduate brings bookselling back to Cheney.

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the Nashville-based author turned bookseller Ann Patchett was asked why she was so passionate about bookstores. “I think a big component of loving books is the desire to share them and to talk about them and to recommend them to other people,” she said. “We have to take responsibility for the places where this happens, not wait for them to go away and then miss them terribly.”

For many years, Cheney has been missing such a place, and terribly.

No longer. Hidden away behind 1st Street’s Mason Jar restaurant, Paperbound Books is a tiny, impossibly cute gathering place for readers. It’s proprietor, Kate MacDonald, 25, is an Eastern undergraduate studying music technology. She runs the store pretty much on her own — a solitary labor of love that allows her to serve as content curator to a diverse clientele. “Books make people happy. You just have to match them with the right one,” she says.

Even as a little girl growing up in Idaho, MacDonald loved books. “I had a 300-book, thrift-store collection by the time I was 12, and they were all alphabetized in a notebook,” she says. The idea for Paperbound came after she moved from Spokane to Cheney and found herself lamenting the lack of a bookshop.

“I’d always wanted to start something on my own,” she says. “I was like, ’Why can’t I do something like that here?’”

So MacDonald set to work. She typed, “How do you write a business plan?” into Google, then honed a strategy with several local experts. Next she created a website and started amassing inventory, collecting tomes from wherever people were divesting themselves of used volumes. She started selling at pop-ups and the Cheney farmer’s market, all the while keeping her eyes open for potential brick-and-mortar storefronts.

Her ambitions got a big boost from Douglas LaBar, the Mason Jar’s owner, who told her his building had a great little space available. He then proceeded, with the help of his father-in-law, the building’s owner, to personally complete Paperbound’s charmingly bohemian build-out. “We just want a bookstore in here,” LaBar told MacDonald. “And this is going to be yours.”

In spite of the challenges facing all booksellers these days, Paperbound has been a success. After recently celebrating the shop’s one-year anniversary, MacDonald is optimistic that her many customers represent a resurgence of interest in the printed word. “People stopped reading printed books for a really long time because of e-books, digital and social media, all of that,” MacDonald says. “But I’m confident that the pendulum is swinging back from digital media to physical objects. Especially with Gen Z, books are definitely back in style.”

As are, she might have added, cozy places to connect with them.

Each year the 51¸ŁŔűÉç Alumni Association holds a gala event to honor a select group of Eastern’s most impactful alumni. This year, as always, the stories of our inspiring Eagle honorees made it an occasion to remember.Ěý Ěý

Benjamin P. Cheney Lifetime Achievement

Before he retired as an account executive at Avista, Doug Kelley ’83, our 2024 honoree for Lifetime Achievement Award, was always known as the guy who said “yes.”

“Yes” to projects with vision. “Yes” to opportunities in the making. “Yes” to empowering the dreams and ambition of his co-workers and staff.

When, in 2019, Kelley was honored with another Lifetime Achievement citation — this time from the West Plains Chamber of Commerce— it was this spirit of positive influence that the Chamber celebrated. “Our winner is one who has not only been a champion in the West Plains, but throughout the greater Spokane region,” said the board’s executive director at the time, Toby Broemmeling.

Given that his degree from 51¸ŁŔűÉç is in recreation management, it’s not surprising that Kelley has most often said “yes” to supporting projects and programs involving recreation, especially when these involved the great outdoors. Over the years he has served in countless local and regional volunteer committee positions — so numerous, he says, that the actual number eludes him — as well as the race director for the quintessential Spokane event, Bloomsday. As a graduate of Leadership Spokane, he has also said “yes” to participating in solutions to one of our region’s most devastating challenges: violence against women.Ěý Ěý

Along with Manny Hochheimer of Numerica, Kelley was a founding member of the YWCA Spokane ‘Good Guys’ group — men from Spokane who have joined together to support the YWCA’s efforts to end domestic violence. He has also been proud to volunteer at Hope House, a transitional living facility for women, many of whom find themselves in need of assistance due to violence directed against them and their children.Ěý

Finally, there is what might be Kelley’s most consuming post-retirement passion: international travel. It may be that visiting foreign lands is just an extension of his lifetime obsession with making connections; of sharing with strangers that affirmative energy that has for so long defined Kelley’s life and work here in the USA.

Or maybe he’s just determined to monopolize the “On the Road” section of this magazine (see Page 30).

Lt. Col. Daniel Carter Military Service

Just after earning his bachelor’s degree in history, our alumni honoree for military service, Command Sergeant Major Christopher D. Clapin ’97, entered active-duty service in the United States Army.

His decision to serve his country didn’t surprise those who knew Clapin. Even as a young person, the talented musician and athlete chose to dedicate himself to service and teamwork. His first duty assignment was with 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Moore, Georgia. He has continued to serve for 26 years, 23 of them with the Rangers, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major for two different battalions.

Clapin’s awards, citations and decorations, which include the Purple Heart, are far too many to detail here. But the long list is a testament to a career of dedication, courage and heroism. This telling detail from his nomination letter tells you all you need to know: “Even when injured in Afghanistan, and waking up paralyzed in a German hospital, Clapin was most concerned about his Rangers remaining in Afghanistan, not himself. It was his determination to be there for his troops that helped him recover and return to serve his nation and his band of brothers.”

More recently, Clapin successfully completed a 16-month peacekeeping deployment in the Sinai. He is now working towards a master’s of science degree in organizational leadership at Eastern. 51¸ŁŔűÉç celebrates his return, a true eagle among Eagles.

Rising Eagle

This year’s Rising Eagle award honoree, U.S. Army Captain Katie Emery ’15, is another Eastern profile in courage.

As a member of 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s ROTC Cadet Corps, Emery left no doubt that she had the right stuff for success. A communications major with minors in military science, psychology and Spanish language, she graduated from Eastern with a summa cum laude distinction. After receiving her honors degree, she was commissioned as a U.S. Army Aviation Officer while also being recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate — an honor distinguishing her as one of the top 20 percent of all ROTC cadets nationwide.Ěý

ĚýAfter first completing a challenging training course to become a pilot of Apache attack helicopters, Emery landed at Fort Riley, Kansas, where she joined the fort’s elite Aviation Attack Battalion. Soon, she and her comrades were headed off to Syria in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, a joint task force leading our nation’s ongoing fight against the Islamic State.

From a remote outpost in Syria, Emery led a platoon of four attack helicopters as they logged more than 300 combat flight hours, missions which often encountered fire from hostile forces.

At every stage of this, her first deployment, Emery distinguished herself. When assigned the role of assistant battalion operations officer, for example, she stepped up to plan attack, reconnaissance and security missions — operations that she herself participated in.

These efforts, according to her nomination letter, “directly contributed to the significant elimination of hostile forces, which enabled stability in the region.

“Captain Emery’s story serves as an inspirational example of the success that 51¸ŁŔűÉç students can achieve immediately after graduation by demonstrating the traits of an Eastern Eagle: grit, grace, gratitude and greatness. Captain Emery also serves as an outstanding example for women who are aspiring to lead, on and beyond the campus.”

Sandy Williams Trailblazer

Back when she was a 21-year–old freshman at Eastern, Freda Gandy ’96, our Sandy Williams Trailblazer Award honoree, got an early lesson in the importance of feeling included and supported as she started her journey to earning a bachelor’s degree.

Gandy had traveled from her home state of Mississippi to study developmental psychology at Eastern. As she recalled in a 2022 interview, she knew she’d arrived at the right place as soon as she stepped into the classroom of Scott Finnie, beloved professor of Africana Studies at 51¸ŁŔűÉç. “Walking into Dr. Finnie’s class and seeing another person of color, and other students of color made me feel welcome here in Spokane and made me feel a sense of pride to be here,” Gandy told The Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press.

Over the years, Gandy has worked tirelessly to ensure that other young people feel similarly supported, included and positioned to succeed. Even before graduation, she began working as a volunteer at Spokane’s Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center, then joined the staff as a teacher after earning her degree. As her contributions at the center grew, Gandy rose through the ranks to serve as family services coordinator, then director of children’s services. She was named the center’s executive director in 2010.

Through it all, she has never tired of advancing the center’s critical mission; that is, “improving the quality of life for children, youth and families in Spokane through an array of culturally responsive educational and social services within the framework of Dr. King’s vision of equal respect, treatment and accessibility for all people.”

Among the nominating materials filed on behalf of Gandy, Chad Heimbigner’s letter — he is the COO of Coffman Engineers in Spokane —Ěý described her perfectly: “Gandy is an incredible person with a huge heart. She constantly and unconditionally gives her time, shares her talents, and does whatever she can to positively impact the lives of others. The programs she leads make a huge difference in the lives of newborns to seniors … and every age in between.”

As Gandy told The Spokesman-Review back in 2019 after being named a YWCA Women of Achievement: “I just have a passion for helping people.”

Gov. Clarence D. Martin Educator of the Year

While an undergraduate education major at 51¸ŁŔűÉç, Kevin Alley ’07, our Gov. Clarence D. Martin Educator of the Year honoree, received a shocking diagnosis that no young person should ever be forced to face: He had a life-threatening form of cancer.

Multiple surgeries followed. These seemed to be a success, and Alley was able to return to Eastern and resume his previous role as an RA in Eastern’s Dressler Residence Hall.

Unfortunately, Alley’s health care odyssey wasn’t over. After waking up with back pain during Finals Week, Alley learned that he had shattered a vertebrae in his spine (a consequence of the earlier cancer treatments). And there was even worse news. The cancer was back — this time at Stage 4.

Alley spent the next nine months in a Seattle hospital bed, his mom constantly by his side. Support also poured in from his church, his hometown community and, of course, his fellow Eagles. Especially his fellow Eagles. Here’s how Alley puts it: “We were so surprised by the flood of support from Eastern: professors, students, dorm officials and athletic staff.Ěý Coach Giacoletti of our 2004 51¸ŁŔűÉç men’s basketball team delivered a signed ball, 51¸ŁŔűÉç Residential Life held 3-on-3 tournaments, and others held fundraisers to support me and my family. And, most special, were the letters, emails and cards that were sent from so many in my Eastern Eagle family.”

Alley beat the odds, and returned to 51¸ŁŔűÉç — cancer free — to complete a bachelor’s degree in special education and, later, a master’s degree in educational leadership with a principal’s certification. Today his experience informs every aspect of his career as a beloved teacher and coach in Washington’s Columbia School District, where, outside of the classroom, he has provided guidance to young male athletes as a baseball coach and football coach, helping them to become, as he puts it, “a great son, brother, husband, and father.”

Alley’s drive and dedication have not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year he was honored with the Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence in the greater Tri-Cities area, a distinction that is given to teachers that go above and beyond in their classrooms and schools.

Tawanka Service

Erik Puthoff ’05, our 2024 Tawanka Service Award honoree, moved to Spokane from his hometown of Chewelah in 1999. After starting out at Spokane Falls Community College, he transferred to 51¸ŁŔűÉç to pursue a degree in communication studies.

It was no accident that Puthoff became an Eagle; his mom and sister had gone to Eastern, and their experience instilled in him a strong desire to finish his studies in Cheney.

To make that transition work, however, Puthoff, like a lot of Eagles, had to help finance his Eastern education by working in Spokane. This meant he didn’t have time to participate in the campus-based clubs and activities that help define the collegiate experience for so many 51¸ŁŔűÉç students.

But that didn’t stop him from making the most of his time as an undergrad. On a personal level, he made lasting friendships and found a sense of belonging. As a scholar, he found inspiration from professors like Jeff Stafford, a renowned communication’s faculty member who has always put his students first.

These days, as a successful member of the community development team at STCU, Puthoff is committed to making his own contributions toward putting student success first at his alma mater.

The nomination letter of STCU’s Traci McGlathery provides a sense of his commitment: “Puthoff has served on the 51¸ŁŔűÉç Alumni Association board, delivered financial education to 51¸ŁŔűÉç classrooms, and served as the STCU representative for STCU and 51¸ŁŔűÉç partnerships for nearly 10 years. From serving pancakes at Moonlight Breakfast, quizzing students on the campus STCU golf cart, or connecting with others via the Eagle Career Network, I know he takes great pride in his connections and affiliations with 51¸ŁŔűÉç.”

Eagle4Life Spirit

This year’s Eagle4Life Spirit honor went to not one, but two exemplary Eagles: Paul Terrell ’05 and Landon Luiten ’03. Both Terrell and Luiten have long been among Eastern’s most tirelessly enthusiastic backers, sharing their love for the university in countless ways. But it’s a more recent, behind-the-scenes project which will ensure that the generosity of their Eagle spirit will be felt for years to come.Ěý

Together, Terrell and Luiten spearheaded the effort to remake 51¸ŁŔűÉç football’s locker room. It was a much-needed face lift that has transformed the severely outdated space into an attractive, functional place. Funding from the generous backers of the Eagle Football Network made the work possible, but Terrell and Luiten made it sing.

Both put in countless volunteer hours on design, construction and recruiting the volunteers who stepped up to assist in the project. Last summer, for example, they were often on site until the early morning hours. The result is a new, fresh space that every Eagle, and potential Eagle, can be proud of.

“You do it for your football family first, and then hope that enhances the football family in the future,” Coach Aaron Best told The Spokesman-Review last summer. “The newness of something in a place we hold sacred makes it that much more special. The guys hang out, play games, watch film, dress and have some of their greatest memories in that room.”

For Terrell and Luiten, the locker room renovation project was just the latest iteration of their Eagle4Life spirit, according to their nominating letter. “A great deal of the branding,” the letter read, “was designed by Terrell himself. Luiten is very engaged with basketball’s 6th Man Club. Both of their families also represent 51¸ŁŔűÉç on a regular basis. And you can be sure that both of these individuals are going to be first in the tailgating lot on Eagle football Saturdays.”

During her inspiring investiture speech, Dr. McMahan spoke about leading our university’s students — both present and future— along a “clear path to a bright future” (our cover story on Page 16), it immediately brought to mind memories of my own journey to Eastern.

For me, that path wasn’t all that clear. But, like so many other young people who end up at Eastern, I was at least hopeful that my future would be bright.Ěý

It’s not that I didn’t think college was in my future. My mom especially had always urged me to take academics seriously. At Medical Lake High School, I had great teachers that pushed to bring out the best in me and my classmates.

As a serious athlete who worked hard to excel in both football and baseball, there were plenty of distractions. But with the urging and support of my family, I managed to do well in the classroom. By the time graduation rolled around, I felt ready for college — both academically and athletically — and I was hopeful of becoming a scholarship studentĚý athlete playing football at 51¸ŁŔűÉç.

In fact, the scholarship offers came. Just not from Eastern. I considered signing with another school, but just couldn’t see myself as anything other than an Eagle. So I put my college ambitions on hold, and instead signed a contract to play ball with the Kansas City Royals.

Playing AA baseball in the Royals’ system was an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. But when a career in baseball didn’t work out, I knew for sure that it was time to take the path leading back to Eastern. Many of you know my football story at 51¸ŁŔűÉç — a running back twice named to the All-Big Sky team and later honored as a member of the 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s 2000-2009 All-Decade Team. You may not know that in the classroom, I had a professor and mentor, Stu Steiner, who believed that I had the right stuff to be an electrical engineer. With hard work, and his guidance, I made it happen, later adding a Master of Business Administration degree. Today, I work for Avista as a director in generation production and substation support. It’s a job that I love.

As the new chair of the 51¸ŁŔűÉç Foundation Board, I feel like I’ve come full circle: Back at Eastern and in a position to help a new generation of students find their own “path to a bright future,” even if that path is as circuitous as my own.

Go Eags!

Alexis Alexander ’08, ’14

Dillon Dalton, a recent computer science graduate, joins the space race.

For recent Eastern graduate Dillon Dalton, not even the sky’s the limit. Dalton, a 23-year-old computer science alumnus, is currently part of a NASA team working on the Mars Sample Return project. The goal? To bring rock and atmospheric samples from the Red Planet back to Earth.

Dalton’s team, an elite group of seven, works specifically on the cameras that will guide a Sample-Retrieval Lander as it makes its way through Mars’ notoriously thin atmosphere. “The cameras are pretty instrumental in navigating the spacecraft,” Dalton says. “They also generate the data which give you more information on different geographical features of Mars, like its topography and map products.”

The cameras are just one part of a complex system designed to help guide the lander during its six-month collection sojourn. When completed, a capsule containing the surface stuff will be launched toward an Earth Return Orbiter circling the planet. The orbiter will then snag the samples and prepare them for their journey home. The mission will take an estimated five years. Launch is expected to happen as soon as 2028.

Dalton’s work takes place at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, California. “We have something called the Mars Yard,” he says, “which is essentially just dirt and rocks that look like Mars, where they do testing for the different spacecraft.”

JPL is a world-renowned center of robotics, the facility where former NASA space greats such as Voyager, Curiosity and Perseverance were built. “If it is in some way robotic, JPL has had a hand in that,” Dalton says. “There’s a lot of history here.”

One piece of JPL’s history, however, is a tradition based not at all on science. “We have lucky peanuts,” Dalton explains. “It’s a tradition at JPL to have peanuts on hand when there’s something crazy going on, like a landing or launch.” Lucky peanuts, he adds, have already been passed around among his colleagues — colloquially known as “Martians” — in preparation for their lander’s mission.

Uprooting his life and moving to California has been quite the experience for Dalton, who says he’s had a “fascination with space” since childhood: “To walk into some of the clean rooms —which is where they build the spacecraft — and to see the process of things getting assembled was an incredible experience.”

Dalton says he still can’t quite believe he’s now working among scientists he once watched in documentaries. Getting on board wasn’t easy: the application process lasted two months and involved nearly 10 interviews. Undaunted, Dalton made the grade and started work in October 2022.

He credits Eastern for helping to make it happen. “I don’t think being from a smaller school was a hindrance,” Dalton says. “I had the skills and experience they were looking for.”

Eastern’s new “online-only” master’s degree in history is attracting national interest.

History studies at Eastern has a long track record of success, placing graduates in important jobs across the Inland Northwest and throughout the nation. But in recent years lagging enrollment for graduate studies led administrators to make a little history of their own.

This November, 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s Department of History introduced an online-only master’s degree program, one of just a handful available nationwide. Already more than 100 graduate students from across the country have enrolled. “It’s been a tremendous success,” says Larry Cebula, an 51¸ŁŔűÉç professor of history and one of the founders of the online program.

ĚýĚýThe robust online enrollment numbers weren’t a surprise, says Cebula, given the ongoing interest of students looking to the past for their professional futures.

Ěý“A master’s in history has always been a really valuable degree,” he says, adding that Eastern MA recipients, among other desirable jobs, are working as archivists (including at Spokane’s Museum of Arts and Culture), serving in state government and doing historic preservation.

Theresa Mitchell, a Massachusetts resident who works in environmental non-profit management and as a writer specializing in historical nonfiction, is among the program’s first class of students.ĚýĚý

“Throughout my professional life, what was missing was formal training as a historian,” Mitchell says. “I want to approach future work with proper credentials, instead of ‘merely’ writing about the past, as would a journalist.”Ěý

Mitchell says she searched for a year before discovering 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s online master’s degree program. She describes it as a “great fit,” and praises the diverse points-of-view she encounters. “The caliber of my fellow students inspires me to do my best,” she says.Ěý

“Throughout my professional life, what was missing was formal training as a historian,” Mitchell says. “I want to approach future work with proper credentials, instead of ‘merely’ writing about the past, as would a journalist.”Ěý

 

One unique feature of the 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s online offering is its compressed classes. Typically graduate classes in history run over a 10-week period, but those for Eastern’s degree are only six weeks long. The shorter term, however, doesn’t mean less demanding requirements, Cebula says. “This is not less, this is more. These students work really hard.”Ěý

For students like Mitchell, the hard work is part of the attraction. “The curriculum perfectly suits my learning objectives. The coursework is challenging and I’m grateful for intelligent, kind and compassionate professors invested in their students’ success.”

Our director of alumni relations writes that, this winter especially, there is so much to be grateful for.

One of my friends posted this quote on her social media as I was preparing to write this letter: “Gratitude helps you see what is there, instead of what isn’t.” Wow. For me, and I suspect for many of you, it’s easy to get sidetracked by things, particularly the little things, that are not going our way — a slow, snowy commute; an exasperating day at the office; a tough loss by your favorite team. But, in reality, there is so much to be grateful for. Especially when it comes to 51¸ŁŔűÉç.Ěý

ĚýI cannot even begin to describe how grateful I am to this university. Not only did Eastern help me pursue my passion for service, it also introduced me to my husband, life-long friends and, most recently, my dream job with the 51¸ŁŔűÉç Alumni Association.

Ěý

Eagle students never fail to embody our core values of grit, grace, greatness, and of course, gratitude: gratitude for the opportunity Eastern represents for them, and gratefulness for the generous support so many of you have provided.

Here at Eastern, “seeing what’s there, instead of what isn’t” is part of our DNA. As you’ll learn in this edition of Eastern magazine, that applies most specifically to our students. Eagle students, 32 percent of whom are the first in their families to attend college, never fail to embody our core values of grit, grace, greatness, and of course, gratitude: gratitude for the opportunity Eastern represents for them, and gratefulness for the generous support so many of you have provided.Ěý

Speaking of which, I hope you’ll take a moment to review our most recent 51¸ŁŔűÉç Foundation annual report that we’ve bound into the center of this magazine. That report, included in the magazine for the first time, is designed to help all of us learn more about how our contributions have — and will continue — to provide crucial, long-term support to 51¸ŁŔűÉç and its students.

Rest assured that not one day goes by at Eastern where we aren’t striving to make this university and its students more successful. For those of us who also attended 51¸ŁŔűÉç, that means working to ensure our beloved alma mater becomes even better than how we left it.

I hope, in that spirit, you will consider either a first-time gift or renewing (or increasing) the generous support you have provided in previous years. There are so many ways you can make a difference: Give to whatever you are grateful for or passionate about! For me, as you might have guessed, it’s providing a leg up to students who, like me, pursue their degrees well after reaching — ahem — a certain age.

ĚýOf course I can’t sign off without a quick reminder that we’re now just one year away from celebrating 100 years of homecoming. 100 YEARS! We’ll be sharing more about our plans for this big event in the months ahead.

As always, thank you for your continued love and kindness.Ěý

— Kelsey Hatch-Brecek ’21

As Title IX turned 50 this year, 51¸ŁŔűÉç took time to reflect on the landmark federal statute.

This year marked a half-century since the adoption of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibited sex-based discrimination in education programs and other activities that received federal funding. At Eastern and around the nation, colleges and universities have used the anniversary to reflect on Title IX’s seismic impact in higher education and beyond.Ěý

“It wasn’t that long ago that your gender would have had a really big impact on what you were able to do and how much you could achieve,” says Annika Scharosch, JD, Eastern’s Title IX coordinator andĚýassociate vice president for civil rights, compliance and enterprise risk management. These days, she adds, students don’t have to worry about being denied admission to professional programs or held back due to their gender. That includes women who want to become doctors and men want to become nurses, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

At Eastern, past enrollment numbers bring Title IX’s true impact into focus. Back in 1972, there wereĚý3,806 men and 2,920 women enrolled at the university, then called Eastern Washington State College. At today’s 51¸ŁŔűÉç, the student body last year included 6,562 women and 4,312 men.

Nationwide, U.S. Census Bureau data shows that in 1970, pre-Title IX, just 8 percent of women earned a college degree. By 2020, the number of female college graduates increased to nearly 33 percent, a number exceeding that of male graduates.

51¸ŁŔűÉç Athletic Director Lynn Hickey says she experienced this changing landscape firsthand, bothĚýas a pre-Title IX high school basketball player and a post-Title IX college athlete, coach and athletic director.Ěý

“I grew up playing half-court basketball in the state of Oklahoma,” recalls Hickey. Back then, she says, women’s basketball was a three-on-three, half-court game because male administrators thought females didn’t have the stamina to compete full-court.

Over the years, as Title IX’s impact on athletics created a battleground for women’s rights, thousands of women — and men — stepped up to champion equity. Hickey credits her father, who coached middle and high school sports for 47 years, with inspiring her love of athletics.Ěý

Hickey’s groundbreaking résumé includes becoming the first female athletic director at the University of Texas, San Antonio. At the time she was the only female Division 1 athletic director in Texas. When Hickey left the job 18 years later, her list of accomplishments included starting football, women’s soccer and women’s golf programs. She points to the experience of her daughter, Lauren, as evidence of Title IX’s generational sway.

Lauren not only grew up in a world where her mother was high-achieving in the male-dominated field of collegiate athletics, Hickey says, her aunts included a doctor, two attorneys and a social worker.

“Just think that in one generation how everything has changed,” Hickey says. “You have to give Title IX credit for that turnaround.”

With a new scholarship, an Eastern trustee and his family step up for students.

Uriel IĂąiguez and his family left MichoacĂĄn, Mexico for Washington state when Uriel was just a boy. With hard work, tenacity and the support of his family, IĂąiguez succeeded in school, earning a degree from tiny Connell High. He then enrolled at Eastern, where, in 1988, he became the first person among his 11-child family to earn a university degree.Ěý

Four of his ten siblings followed suit by earning their own degrees at Eastern. The other five did the same at other universities here in Washington.

IĂąiguez, now the director of community relations for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, since 2014 has been a member of 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s Board of Trustees. His service to 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s governing body is just one of the ways that he and the Eagle side of the family are giving back to the university that, as they see it, gave so much to them.Ěý

“To me, this university changed our lives,” IĂąiguez says of Eastern. “This is not even a dream, because we couldn’t dream it. Could you tell me when I was in high school or even, you know, in Mexico growing up that ‘Oh, yeah you are going to be a trustee of a university that you graduated from?’”Ěý

IĂąiguez’s service to 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s governing body is just one of the ways that he and the Eagle side of the family are giving back to the university that, as they see it, gave so much to them.

More recently, IĂąiguez and his sister, Alexia, have led the family’s drive to endow a scholarship that will help other hard-working Latinx youth begin their own Eastern success stories. The first recipient of 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s IĂąiguez Family Endowed Scholarship, Lizbeth Mendoza, is herself a first-generation college student who, like the IĂąiguez siblings, possesses a single-minded determination to succeed.Ěý

Mendoza grew up in Pasco. She transferred to 51¸ŁŔűÉç from Walla Walla Community College last fall. As a student at WWCC, she maintained a 3.7 GPA while juggling full-time classes and a work schedule that, at times, exceeded 72 hours a week. That pluck and determination, plus Mendoza’s long history of volunteering in her community, made her a natural for their scholarship, the IĂąiguez family says.

For her part, Mendoza, a 22-year-old business and accounting major, says the experience of the Iñiguez family makes the scholarship that much more special: “I feel like they are doing great work, just encouraging more first-generation students to keep pursuing their dreams. They give me motivation. I look up to them.”

The scholarship, she adds, will for the first time allow her to focus solely “on my education and being involved in school.”Ěý

You don’t need a fortune to make a similar difference in the life of a deserving student, IĂąiguez says. “You can get a scholarship started with $5,000, that’s what we did,” noting that family members have also endowed a similar scholarship at Central Washington University and Columbia Basin College.Ěý

—Ěý Want to learn how you, too, can help? Visit us at: