Class Notes

Gary Benson, B.S., visual communication, is a musician who performs at coffeehouses, farmer's markets and assisted living centers in the Seattle, Bellevue and Kent areas. He specializes in the songs by artists he loved growing up: James Taylor, John Denver, CSNY, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and others. Three of his performances, "Catch the Wind," "Love Me Tender," and "Carolina on My Mind," were recently broadcast on Evening Magazine to close out three episodes.   

Steve Sundin, B.A., urban and regional planning, is a senior planner for the city of Bellingham and recently received the Public Service Award from the Whatcom Business Alliance. 

Nico Sanchez, B.A., Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration, is a musician, music producer and the owner of Black Noise Records, an independent music label and record store in Bellingham that was recently nominated for Startup of the Year by the Whatcom Business Alliance. 

Jeffrey Kallen, B.A., Fairhaven interdisciplinary concentration, retired in 2019 from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland after 39 years of teaching linguistics. In 2023, he published a book with Cambridge University Press called "Linguistic Landscapes -- A Sociolinguistic Approach," which examines displays of written language in the public space. 

Arthur Lim, B.S., P.E., sport psychology, founded Let's All Pickleball, a non-competitive pickleball league with fewer rules, aimed at encouraging broader participation in the sport by people of all abilities. 

Alison Lührs, B.A., theatre, is the narrative director of the video game "Destiny 2" at Bungie. "I'm thrilled to use the skills I learned making devised theatre every day as a director and creator," Alison writes. "We have a player base of over 30 million people, and I'm excited to bring a little bit of Western to every release." 

Mindy Uber, B.S., environmental science, is the senior director of environmental health and safety for Skanska USA Building and was recently appointed to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration's Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health.

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.