Class Notes

Kami Westhoff, B.A., English - creative writing, and '02, M.A., English, published a short story collection, "The Criteria" in 2002 with Unsolicited Press and her poetry chapbook, "Cloudbound," is being published by Dancing Girl Press. Kami is a senior instructor of English at Western. 

Jill Nelson, B.A., English - creative writing, owns a design studio, Pinwheel Creative, and is developing a creative writing magazine.  

Cindy Hollenbeck, M.A., English, is the director of Public Relations and Communications for the Graduate School at Washington State University. 

Cathlina Bergman, M.A., English, recently became the librarian for Newton High School in Kansas and is working on a Master of Library and Information Science degree at Emporia State University

Katherine Thomas, B.A., English and linguistics, is a freelance food writer and part-time paralegal in Bozeman. She recently wrote about a community food bank for Edible Bozeman. 

Jimmy Watts, B.A., English, is a Seattle firefighter who hand-crafts fly rods through his Shuksan Rod Co. Jimmy is also a writer whose essay about novelist David James Duncan was recently published in The Flyfish Journal

Cami Ostman, BAE, English/theatre, is the founder and director of The Narrative Project, which offers get-your-book-done courses. Cami is also the author of "Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents," and the co-founder of Red Wheelbarrow Writers. 

Jayne Entwistle, B.A., English, narrates audiobooks for Penguin Random House, Scholastic, as well as local Bellingham authors. Jayne also has a recurring role on "Blockbuster," a Netflix series filmed in Vancouver, B.C.

Traci Hill Barela, M.Ed., English - secondary, teaches English at West Springfield High School in Fairfax, Virginia. Traci has lived and taught all over the world, in Athens, Helsinki, India, Bulgaria and Germany. 

Paul Lindholdt, M.A., English, just published "Interrogating Travel: Guidance from a Reluctant Tourist," with Louisiana State University Press

Scott Cairns, B.A., English, will publish his 10th poetry collection, "Lacunae: New Poems," with Paraclete Press in November. Two previous collections, "Slow Pilgrim: The Collected Poems" and "Anaphora," were published in 2016 and 2019. His spiritual memoir, "Short Trip to the Edge" was recently translated into Greek and Romanian, and his book-length essay, "The End of Suffering," was just published in Greek. 

Vern Giesbrecht, B.A., English, has published several articles in British Columbia History Magazine, including "Toil and Trivia: A Newspaper Editor's Life," about his time as editor of The Hope Standard from 1968 to 1970, and a profile of actor and director Antony Holland. 

Steve May, B.A., English, wrote "Dickinson on Cats" for the May-June 2023 edition of The Emily Dickinson Bulletin. He is also working on a chapbook, "Emily Dickinson on Books," and volunteers as the e-commerce manager for the Friends of the Salem Public Library. 

Samantha O'Brochta, B.A., journalism - public relations, is the creative director for Apartment Therapy Media, where she recently won a 2023 Webby Award for Social Video - Culture & Lifestyle. 

Eric Christensen, B.A., recreation, recently became a real estate broker for The Muljat Group in Bellingham. 

Tim Kraft, B.S., electronics engineering technology, can be seen throughout Whatcom County as a Frank Sinatra tribute performer. He  performs at public events and assisted living communities, sometimes accompanied by a live orchestra. When he's not channeling one of the 20th century's most iconic singers, Tim works in Western's Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders as a biomedical electronics technician. 

Sheila Erfan, B.A., biocultural anthropology, just completed a master's degree in biomedical sciences at Des Moines University in Iowa and has published two papers in the field of immune-mediated cancer therapy. Now, Sheila will begin work on her medical degree at Des Moines University's Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Program. 

Jason Finkbonner, B.A., economics and politics/philosophy/economics, and '17, B.S., biology, just graduated from University of Washington Medical School, where he completed the Indian Health Pathway. Now, he'll begin specialist training in UW's Psychiatry Residency program in Seattle. Jason, the second member of the Lummi Nation to earn an M.D. degree, was also instrumental in a new partnership between the UW School of Medicine and Lummi Nation, allowing UW medical students to train at the Lummi Tribal Health Center. 

Greg Cox, B.A., chemistry, writes for Star Trek Explorer magazine. He also contributed a horror story, "Night of the Living Brain," to a new book, "Double Trouble: An Anthology of Two-Fisted Team-Ups," published by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. 

Frederick Livingston, B.S., environmental science, is an ecologist and poet who was just awarded the Prism Prize for Climate Literature for his upcoming book, "Trees are Bridges to the Sky," due from Homebound Press in 2024. His first book of poetry, "The Moon and Other Fruits," was published by Legacy Book Press in April.