Class Notes

Kristin Beck, MiT, is the author of two historical fiction novels, “Courage, My Love” and “The Winter Orphans.” Her third novel, “The Woman on the Mountain,” releases next year. 

Vini Samuel, B.A., English and history, has been appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to the Grays Harbor County Superior Court. Currently, Vini serves as the mayor of the city of Montesano and has operated a private law firm in Montesano since 2004. Vini is also the 2017 Distinguished Alumna of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.  

Rex Mangiaracina, B.A., political science, recently published a memoir titled “Making Men: Finding Meaning in the Moments that Matter.” 

Meagan Bryson, B.A., human services and '07, M.Ed., student affairs administration, serves as the first director of the newly minted Academic Advising and Student Achievement Center at Western.  

Paul Allen, B.S., computer science, recently retired after more than 38 years as a software engineer at IBM in Rochester, Minnesota. He holds several US and international software patents. 

Karen Triplett, B.A.E., biology – secondary, recently released her new book, “I’ll Be Seeing You.” 

Mindy Pelton, B.A., anthropology, 2011, M.B.A, has recently been hired as director of the Career Services Center at Western. She has worked at Western for the past 6 years, most recently as the associate director of the Career Services Center and served as the interim director of the center in the 2022-23 academic year.

Becca Lefanowicz, B.A., recreation, has joined the High Fives Foundation, a non-profit that provides grants for rehabilitation support to athletes with life-altering injuries because of mountain sports, as the director of fundraising and media.  

Kevin Bryant, B.A., speech communication, and '90, M.Ed., student personnel administration, is a former basketball player at Western from 1976 to 1980 and will be inducted into the Oregon Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame at Sunriver, Oregon, this April. Kevin has worked for high school athletic administration for school districts in Aloha, Tigard, Hudson's Bay, Redmond and Centennial. 

Kate Brotten, B.A., Spanish, has published her first book, “Vinnie and his Weird Ear: Adventures with the dog who saved my life.” Vinnie is a rescued shelter dog who saved Kate’s life during a medical emergency. 

Daniel Hornbuckle, B.A., journalism-public relations, has signed a professional contract to play basketball for BKM Lučenec in the Slovak Basketball League in Europe. He will play the 2023-2024 season.  

Jeffery Wiggins, B.S., industrial technology, is a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Polymer Science and Engineering and is this year’s recipient of the university’s T.W. Bennett Distinguished Professor in support of his internationally recognized research. Jeffrey is also the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Science and Engineering.  

Genay Bell Niebusch, B.S., visual communication, owns Genay Bell Interior Design in Snohomish. 

Michael Suarez, B.A., history, teaches middle school social studies and world history in the Sonoma Valley in California. He also teaches education and Chicano/Latino studies at Sonoma State University and is working toward a doctorate in educational foundations, policy and practice at University of Colorado Boulder. 

Cassandra Hiller, B.S., environmental science, was recently named the village administrator for Salem Lakes, Wisconsin. Previously, Cassandra was the assistant county administrator for Lake County, Illinois. . 

Olivia Hicks, B.A., environmental studies/journalism, is a features writer for the automotive news site TopSpeed

Zach Suderman, BAE, mathematics - secondary, was recently named principal of Tumwater High School. 

Kendra Budd, B.A., creative writing and theatre, is the editor of Working RE Magazine and the marketing coordinator of OREP insurance company. 

Jen Reeves, B.A., psychology, owns Little Knitty, a yarn shop in Auburn that recently won a Best of Auburn award. 

Melissa Beedle, B.A., accounting, became the Audit managing director at KPMG in Anchorage, where she has worked since 2005.