Class Notes

Michelle Schutte, B.A., art history and art, is the owner of HOSA, a small-batch fermented hot sauce company in Bellingham. Michelle is also a fine artist whose art studio is in her top-floor apartment with great natural light, and her hot sauce kitchen is in the basement. "My days are literal circles," she recently told the Cascadia Daily News. 

Annabelle Barrett, B.A., studio art, recently designed and painted a new mural in Bellingham's Commercial Street Plaza for the Downtown Bellingham Partnership. 

Meagan Caillier, B.A., general studies, recently became a broker with the Muljat Group in Bellingham. 

Rocio Herrera, B.A., psychology, is a bilingual mental health counselor at Skagit Valley College, where she hopes to serve as a role model for other first-generation students. 

Sean Gleason, B.A., business administration - marketing, is the CEO of Professional Bull Riders, with competitions in the U.S. and four other countries. 

Katie Royse Ginther, B.A., theatre and B.S., psychology, lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is the artistic director of Kitchen Sink Theatre Co., which she launched in Seattle. Her first New York City play is "Poster Child," about a  transmasculine nonbinary person's experience with transitioning, and how that journey affects their closest relationships. Since moving to New York, Katie and Kitchen Sink have also produced a 48-hour play festival, and have two more plays in the works: "Silly," by Jake Fallon, and "54 Sings Diana," a comedic tribute to "Diana: The Musical." 

Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Will Steffener, B.A., political science, to the Snohomish County Superior Court. With experience in the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office and the county's Public Defender Association, Will has been in private practice since 2021.  

Devin Miller, B.S., industrial technology, is a co-founder of SecureSave, an employer-sponsored emergency savings program that encourages workers to save for financial emergencies.  

Brian Rudin, B.A., political science and Spanish, recently became the winemaker and general manager for Echolands Winery in the Walla Walla Valley. Previously, Brian was the winemaker at Duckhorn Wine Co.

Damond Morris, B.A. and '07, M.A., theatre, recently became the executive of the Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon. He's also the founder of Shakespeare Northwest and the former chair of the drama department at Skagit Valley College.  

Scott F. Andrews, BAE, music - elementary, and '74, M.A., music, is retired following a career as a musician, teacher, conductor and mentor. Scott worked in Canada as a choral conductor and singer and later became the Music Officer for the Touring Office of the Canada Council. He also worked with CBC Radio to develop a career program for aspiring young artists. Scott wrote that he is immensely grateful for the training and encouragement he received from Western's music faculty, particularly Robert L. Scandrett. His experiences at Western "opened up for me a world which I would never have dreamed possible," he writes. 

"The Grand Promise," a historical novel about the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam and the surrounding communities, is the debut novel of Rebekah Anderson, B.A., English - writing. Published by Empty Bowl Press, the well-regarded novel is loosely based on Rebekah's own family history. 

Phoebe DeMeerleer, B.A., political science, graduated in May 2023 from Boston University School of Law and has a one-year fellowship at the Conservation Law Foundation in Providence, Rhode Island. 

Patricia Relay, B.A., art history, became the executive director of the Pratt Museum and Park in Homer, Alaska. Previously, Patricia was the executive director of the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive in Alaska -- and she's the former owner of the World Famous Up and Up tavern on State Street. 

Crystal Pritchard, B.A., sociology, recently became a real estate broker with The Muljat Group in Bellingham. Previously, Crystal worked in public health education and social services. 

Michael Justice, BAE, mathematics - secondary, co-founded EdJobList.com, a searchable website with job listings from hundreds of K-12 school districts in Washington and Alaska, including listings for teachers, administrators, counselors, janitors, librarians and other faculty and staff roles. 

Sasha Elena Alden, B.S., chemistry, is a fifth-year Ph.D. chemistry student at Texas A&M University and the recipient of the Joseph W. Richards Fellowship from the Electromechanical Society. 

Anna Adeola Makanju, B.A., French, linguistics, is vice president of Global Affairs for OpenAI. Previously, she was the global policy manager for Content Regulation at Facebook. Anna has also worked in the White House as a special advisor to the Vice President for Europe and Eurasia, and at the United Nations as a senior policy adviser. 

After an internship at Archipelago Books, a small press devoted to publishing works in translation, Peter Dyer, B.A., English - creative writing, began work with the publisher Europa Editions.  

Hannah Raschke, B.A., English literature, is the front office coordinator for Echo Theater Co., a circus and performing arts school in Portland, Oregon.