Class Notes

George Gleason, PE-exercise and sport science, is a retired middle school teacher and coach and has been the official scorekeeper for WWU men's basketball games for more than 27 seasons. 

Marshall Van Beurden, B.S., industrial technology, B.A., economics, and '98 MBA, is the chief technology officer of myTomorrows, a global healthcare company that connects patients and doctors with clinical trials. 

Joseph Hattrick, B.A., human services and '07, principal's certificate, recently became superintendent of the Ashland School District. Joseph has served as a teacher, social worker, principal and superintendent in public, private and online schools and was most recently superintendent of the Rainier School District in Oregon. 

Julie Sarich, BAE, English - secondary and special education - K12 + secondary, recently became an instructional systems specialist for autism with Department of Defense schools in the Western Pacific region. 

Taylor Nichols, B.A., journalism - news/editorial, is in graduate school at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, studying data journalism. She won a 2024 SPJ Dateline Award for business reporting at a weekly paper and is now a Howard Center for Investigative Journalism fellow. 

Matthew Metsker, B.A., biology, recently became president of St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood. Matthew has nearly 20 years of experience as a hospitalist physician assistant and most recently lead Virginia Mason Franciscan Health's Mission Control and Virtual Hospital operations. 

Liz Blackman, M.Ed., environmental education, became the executive director at Methow Recycles. Liz is also the co-founder of Root.ED Nature School, an immersion program in the Methow Valley. 

Maggie Wang, B.S and '20, M.S., chemistry, is a Ph.D. student at University of Texas Southwestern, where her work in cancer immunotherapy research was honored with the 2024 Ida M. Green Award. Maggie is studying nanoparticle-based cancer immunotherapies; as a student at Western, she studied the properties of gold nanoparticles, which inspired her to explore potential applications of nanoparticles in improving human health. 

Christine D. Hayes, B.A., sociology, was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to the new seat on the Clark County Superior Court. She's the former city attorney and prosecuting attorney for the city of Battle Ground and was a Clark County Superior Court commissioner at the time of her appointment. 

McKenna Mathis, B.S., psychology, became a regional sales manager for Certis Biologicals, which serves commercial agriculture. 

Teresa Wharton, B.A., human services, retired in 2015 as chief administrative officer for Puget Sound Kidney Centers and continues to serve on the PSKC Foundation board. 

Christopher Barnes, B.A., English, became the principal of Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 

Jered Bocek, B.A., business administration, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and executive director of Growing Veterans, a non-profit organization that supports veterans through its farm, counseling, peer support and other programs.  

Jonathan Diggs, B.A., accounting and business administration - finance, became finance director of Reveler Development in Portland, Maine. 

Sarah Mouriño, B.A., planning and environmental policy, is the senior director of Sustainability for the Americas for DP World, a multinational logistics company. 

Todd Burley, B.A., Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration, is the Sustainability advisor for Seattle Parks and Recreation. 

Jennifer Spidle, B.A., accounting, recently became the finance director for the city of Blaine. 

Reagan Ritzer, B.A., economics, recently became an officer with the Blaine Police Department. 

"It Never Rained This Much in England," a solo play produced and performed by Aurora Rupert, B.A., theatre, and co-written with Maria Santiago, will be part of the Vancouver Fringe Festival in September. With six performances at The NEST, the show draws from Rupert's experience moving back to Bellingham after completing a master's degree in the U.K.

DJ Brimer, BAE, English-elementary, is a science teacher at Tumwater Middle School and was recently elected president of the Tumwater Education Assocation after serving in several roles with the labor union.