Alumni

June 1, 2010

Stage to screen

Lynn Shelton, ’87, parlayed a UW degree in drama into a 10-year career on the stages of New York. But she found her true calling when she opted to pursue a career behind a camera.


Pursuit of potential

Once a preppy hustler, a cocaine dealer, a drug addict, and a student in Japan, Max Hunter is now a UW Ph.D. student and has begun telling his story.


Nordstrom's way

Bruce Nordstrom has been a force in civic activities, a leader in charitable giving and devoted alum to the University of Washington.


March 1, 2010

Helping people hear

Paige Stringer, ’96, built a platform to extend teacher training, deliver hearing aids, and improve outreach about hearing loss issues to communities in developing countries.


New approach to learning

Rob Thomas, '93, was named the 2009 Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges U.S. Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement for Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.


Hard-hitting alumni

What comes to mind when you think of the Rat City Rollergirls? If it’s tattooed women and fast, physical action, you’re not alone. But that’s not the whole story.


Visual flair

Two reasons why the Emmy Award-winning TV series 'Mad Men' is so highly acclaimed are its visual style and historical authenticity. Assistant costume designer Allison Leach has had a big hand in both.


December 1, 2009

Turning to tech

Two University of Washington alums—Steve Singer, ’81, and Ryan Oftebro, ’95, ’03—are carrying on the School of Pharmacy’s tradition of pioneering innovations.


Peak cleanup

Brent Bishop, ’93, grew up in a climbing family and knew Mount Everest was dirty. At 27 years old, he was determined to do something about it.


Game of life

One year after his rookie season, Ty Harden walked away from his dream job playing Major League Soccer to help children in Africa.


Sharing success

Geta Asfaw measures his success by the amount he is able to help those in his community.


Blazing a trail

Even after four degrees, Eleanor Valentin craved a new challenge. She found it in the military.


September 1, 2009

The best Samaritan

To tell the story of Phil Smart Sr. is to encapsulate one of Seattle’s most beloved businessmen, philanthropists and volunteers.


Honoring heroes

On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2009, the University of Washington will dedicate a Medal of Honor memorial, recognizing eight alumni recipients.


The yankee muckraker

I rather think Britain's Members of Parliament wish I'd chosen a different career. You see, it was my freedom of information requests that lifted the lid on the MPs' expenses scandal.


June 1, 2009

Saving faces

This year, Lisa Dabek, '91, '94, scored a major victory in the fight to save tree kangaroos, securing the first-ever national preserve in Papua New Guinea.


The first bioengineer

Wayne Quinton not only designed a laundry list of life-saving medical devices, but became the first practitioner of an entirely new field: bioengineering.


March 1, 2009

Haunted hallways

When Kevin Rupprecht, '06, accepted the job of principal at Forks High School, he didn't realize he was signing on to be a minor celebrity as well.


A very odd year

In the early 1970s, while earning my master’s degree in political science from the UW, I lived in a halfway house for psychiatric outpatients. I was not a psychiatric outpatient myself, but it was the only place I could find that had rooms for rent.


Found in translation

Seattle native Ken Barron, ‘03, spent his middle-school years living in Japan, where baseball was big and his favorite player was Orix BlueWave superstar Ichiro Suzuki. Now he works side-by-side with his childhood idol.


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