A roundup of news clippings featuring alumni in Seattle and around the world.
March has been a busy month for the alumni from our recent poetry feature story. Nikkita Oliver, ’15, announced she is running for mayor of Seattle. Troy Osaki, ’13, was The Stranger’s Person of Interest. And hip-hop artist Sol, ’11, released a new single called “Marathons” (the cover art features UW dance student Jasmmine Ramgotra).
Robert Osborne, ’54, the longtime host of Turner Classic Movies, passed away on March 6. A Daily Messenger article shares the story of how he met Lucille Ball, then one of the best-known people in America—and how she changed his life. Also this week: Osborne is remembered in The National Review, and Fox News reports that TCM will dedicate next month’s festival to the late host.
Seattle Times: Filmmaker and performer Wes Hurley, ’04, scored a hit at the SXSW Film Festival with a movie memoir of growing up gay in Russia, “Little Potato.”
Yahoo Finance: BECU, Washington state’s largest credit union, announced March 28 that Melba Bartels, ’85, will join the company as chief financial officer, effective May 1, 2017. She will oversee BECU’s accounting and treasury teams.
South Seattle Emerald: There are remarkable women whose names and faces most of us are never blessed to know, but they change the air we breathe. Gwen Jones is one of those women. A mother, friend, partner, psychologist, professor. A manager for hip-hop progeny. Most importantly, she is someone who has spun consecutive challenges into success.
Seattle Times: Omari Amili, ’14, a former dropout who went to prison for bank-fraud convictions, emphasized how a college education helped him. Amili now has a master’s degree from the University of Washington-Tacoma and works with other former inmates who want to transition to college.
Everett Herald: Kay Trumbull, ’71, was first, but would be far from the last. As the first female Snohomish County Superior Court judge, she forged a path for local women jurists who followed.
Seattle Medium: Toyia Taylor, ’97, has developed a pathway in which young people can “Act, be Present and Perform.” The program, called We.App, teaches teaches professionals and youth how to look at their voices as an instrument to deliver stories or conversations.
“Lynn” Lemm Balmer, the oldest living female veteran in the U.S., didn’t graduate from UW, but the 109-year-old attended part-time while she was a math teacher in Seattle. From Carmichael Times: She joined the military during WII “to free a man for active duty.” She secured a top-secret clearance, using math to read and interpret weather maps and charts and using Morse code to help ships navigate through dangerous waters.
Seattle Times: “During my sophomore year of college, I realized that life is too short to spend every day sitting at a desk, so I changed my major in order to graduate a year early and move to a ski town,” Rachel Croft, ’09, said. “I relocated to Keystone, Colorado, where I was introduced to the rails and jumps that Crystal lacked, but I retained my passion for the steep, technical terrain of my home mountain.”
Political science grad Christian Spears, ’96, is in his third year as the deputy director of athletics for EMU. Story at Michigan Live.
SB Nation: A graduate of the University of Washington, Peay will have been well-acquainted with general manager Craig Waibel, who was an assistant coach with the Huskies in 2012 and 2013.
After a business deal fell apart, Eugene-based glass artist Gretchen Delius, ’70, decided she isn’t done creating. Story in The Register-Guard.