Entries by kuriyamf

Alum applies SOU and United Nations experiences to his university teaching in Japan

/in /by

Mark Cogan ’04 grew up in Gold Beach on the Oregon Coast and attended and graduated Gold Beach High School. His first full time job right out of high school was as Webmaster for Wind Tracks magazine, which covered windsurfing on the Pacific coast and across the country. Before pursuing higher education, he worked for a country living magazine, followed by a year at the Medford Mail Tribune as a Publications Specialist.

From GED to PhD; alumna blossoms as a clinical psychologist for veterans

/in /by

Tammie Ellington ’16 was raised in rural Washington and is a member of the Chinook Indian Nation of Bay Center, Washington. She then attended Camas HS for three years but left to attend an alternative school to earn her General Educational Development (GED) in 2007. She was married soon thereafter, had children then subsequently, became a single mom after her divorce. She moved to Medford in 2012, then attended Rogue Community College (RCC) while raising three young children. “I was very proud to attend RCC and raise my babies at the same time. I was the first in my entire family to go to school beyond high school,” she said. 

Psychology alumna finds her happy land in the world of oligonucleotide chemistry

/in /by

Susan Ramos-Hunter, PhD ’10 grew up in the northern California town of Placerville, amidst the rural rolling hills and oaks of the Sierra foothills. She attended public schools through the sixth grade, then was home schooled for the rest of her education. At age 16, she began taking college courses because she did not have the opportunity to earn college credit like students attending high schools. She visited numerous schools trying to find the right fit, including UC Davis, Sacramento State and Humboldt State. After visiting Ashland and SOU, she found the right conditions for developing her higher education.

Music grad leads from the front providing opportunities for his students

/in /by

Raised in Simi Valley, California, Scott Kneff ’99, made his way to Oregon his senior year in high school to look at the University of Oregon (U of O). Both of his parents were U of O graduates so it made sense to check out the campus and programs. Finding that the campus and number of students were too big for his comfort, he visited Ashland and SOU’s campus. “It was a no brainer for me to fall in love with Ashland and SOU. I was a student that didn’t want to feel lost on a large campus,” said Scott. Opting to save money and earn credits, he attended Moorpark Community College for his first two years but eventually, Ashland beckoned.

Grad alum helps find opportunities for people of color in the natural sciences career world

/in /by

For Greg Wolley MS ’81, traveling to Ashland and arriving at what was then called Southern Oregon State College (SOSC) was a big change from his undergrad experience in the bigger city environs surrounding his undergrad alma mater, UC Berkeley (Cal).  Growing up in his East Bay city of Richmond, CA, most of his nature experience consisted of grassy vacant lots awaiting development and a stormwater outlet his friends called “the creek”, which surprisingly held a thriving population of frogs and tadpoles