Class Notes

Karsten Boysen, B.A., art, and BAE, completed an 8-foot, bronze, abstract sculpture, “Lotus Blossom,” for a roundabout in Lakewood on Gravelly Lake Drive and Washington Blvd.

Chelsea Joefield, B.S., public health, recently became the club advisor and program manager for Western’s Ethnic Student Center. As a student, Chelsea was the coordinator of the Hacherl Research & Writing Studio and a web designer in the Digital Media Center.

Tris Anderson, B.A., journalism, recently became managing editor of both the Detroit Lakes Tribune and the Perham Focus in Minnesota. Previously, Tris worked at newspapers in Wahpeton, North Dakota, and Pierre, South Dakota.

Peter Condyles, B.A., history, was recently appointed to the Marysville City Council. Peter is also the president of the Marysville Historical Society, and chairs the Snohomish County Policy Advisory Board, which makes recommendations to the Snohomish County Council on funding related to housing and homelessness.

Erin Rosenkranz, B.S., biochemistry and ’22, M.S. chemistry, now works in pharmaceutical sciences at Seagen, formerly Seattle Genetics, a biotech pioneer in cancer care. Erin is focusing on antibody- drug conjugates, which are engineered to target cancer cells directly while allowing other cells to remain as healthy as possible during whole-body treatment.

Lorin Lindell, B.A., communication studies and journalism – public relations, is the social media and PR specialist for Visit Bellingham Whatcom County and was a finalist in the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Top 7 Under 40 Whatcom Young Professionals 2022 Award.

Thomas Hunter, B.A., environmental policy, became the assistant city manager of Pflugerville, Texas, northeast of Austin. Previously, he was director of Public Works and Utilities for the city of Port Angeles.

Catherine Shelton, B.S., biochemistry, is a graduate student at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Microbe-Host Interactions Ph.D. program and has been selected as the 2022 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar. In addition to a $1,000 cash prize, Catherine will be mentored by the recipient of the 2022 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, Ruth Lehmann, a developmental geneticist and director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Before graduate school at Vanderbilt, Catherine was a research assistant in the Tuberculosis Discovery Program at the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle.

Tahlia Natachu, B.A., English literature, became the executive director of the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project in New Mexico, where she previously served as director of development and a youth development coordinator. Tahlia, who also earned a master’s in education from Portland State University, also taught language arts for two years in the Zuni school district.

Jessica Andrews, B.A., theatre, recently played Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet,” at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in Kansas City, Missouri. She completed her MFA in acting at the University of Missouri Kansas City.

Jordan Saravanja‐Recania, B.A., communication studies, moved to Tokyo in 2016 and graduated from Kudan Institute of Japanese Language & Culture in 2017. Jordan taught English in Funabashi, Japan, from 2017‐2022 and achieved his dream of earning his first- and second- degree judo black belts from Kodokan Judo Institute in 2017 and 2020. This year, he moved back to his hometown of Federal Way and now works as a seasonal parks maintenance worker for the city of Federal Way.

Karley Thurston, B.A., economics/mathematics, is a Fellow in the U.S. Digital Corps, a new program launched by the White House in 2021 to bring early-career, civicminded technology professionals to serve the federal government. Karley, who completed her Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, is working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on using data more effectively and securely.

Tennison S. Black, B.A., creative writing and Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration, was one of the winners of the National Poetry Series for “Survival Strategies,” a poetry collection that explores their experiences living in Arizona and Washington. Tennison won $10,000 and will see her manuscript published by University of Georgia Press in fall 2023.

Bryson Bellefeuille, B.S., toxicology, recently graduated from medical school at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. Bryson and his wife Kathleen Bellefeuille, B.A., communication sciences and disorders, and their three children have returned to Washington for Bryson’s residency at Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton.

Bryson Bellefeuille, B.S., toxicology, recently graduated from medical school at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. Bryson and his wife Kathleen Bellefeuille, B.A., communication sciences and disorders, and their three children have returned to Washington for Bryson’s residency at Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton.

Ryan Hackler, B.S., chemistry, and B.A., politics/philosophy/economics, is a postdoctoral appointee at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, where he was admitted into Argonne’s Chain Reactions Innovation, a lab-embedded entrepreneurship program. Ryan, who completed his doctoral degree at Northwestern University in chemistry in 2019, and his business partner Robert Kennedy will collaborate with scientists at Argonne to commercialize and scale up technology they codeveloped to convert plastic waste into value-added chemicals and consumer products. They hope to take things like plastic bags and convert them to motor oils, detergents, waxes and other useful commodities.

Alix Prior, B.A., human services, recently became the manager of the Ferndale Library.

Henry Jackson-Spieker, B.F.A., art, who completed his MFA at Alfred University in New York, recently had a sculpture exhibited at the San Juan Island Museum of Art. Henry teaches glass blowing and bronze casting at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, was a selection panelist for public art at SeaTac International Airport in 2021, and was a juror for the 2022 City Artist program sponsored by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.

Anne Massey, B.S., community health, is a doctoral student at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology. She also completed her Master of Public Health degree at UW and is a graduate research assistant at the Washington Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence. In 2020, she also worked in early COVID-19 response efforts as a member of the Department of Epidemiology’s SEAL Team (StudentEpidemic Action Leaders). Among her many other accomplishments, she was named 2022 Miss Seafair earlier this year.

Hart Johnson, B.A., and ‘13, M.A., English, heads the Humanities Department at Wenatchee Valley College.