Andie Anderson ’13 grew up in the small town of Eureka in Humboldt County in northern California, amidst the redwoods. She really didn’t know much about Southern Oregon University until an admissions representative came down to visit at a high school college fair.  She had a distinct interest in studying Spanish language but was intrigued by SOU and made the point of visiting campus. She came to Ashland on a beautiful day and loved the small-town feel, which was similar to her hometown, minus the gray fog. She was hooked!

They say that optimism and enthusiasm is contagious. Well, in the case of Ben Fiscus ’10, optimism is at the forefront of his attitude and outlook on life. Ben grew up in Grants Pass, the son of a law enforcement officer. He was around police all the time as a youngster and knew that someday, that would be his route in life as well.

You know an SOU international student loves the unique nature of the region when they stay after graduation and become an integral part of the community. For Karolina Lavagnino ’03 & MiM ‘06, it was a decision that she has always embraced. Karolina grew up in Bydgoszcz, Poland, a city of around 500,000. There, she studied English at the local university (Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego in Bydgoszcz) as an undergrad, earning a BA then earned her MA at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun.

For Angie Meza ‘15, growing up just outside of Los Angeles in Santa Clarita, CA, provided her enough curiosity and inquisitiveness to look beyond her own region to attended college. Angie graduated from high school at age 16 and was admitted to the University of Oregon and SOU. Both she and her family thought SOU would be a better fit because of its size and the quaint location in Ashland, particularly because she was younger than most high school graduates.

Mylz Blake ‘17 has a unique coast to coast journey and entrepreneurial story to tell. Growing up in south central Los Angeles, he originally heard about SOU through football and visited Ashland the winter of 2012. After graduating from racially diverse Pacific Palisades HS, he made SOU his choice, which wasn’t an easy thing to do for a young black male.