Bearcat Choice Winners
Dagny Haug ’92, is someone who went from majoring in Theatre and Spanish to being an entrepreneur. Her career path has taken her from costume designer to English teacher to technical education to apartment manager to financial aid administrator. From there, Dagny started designing clothing, specifically, boxer shorts. She now is a clothing business owner and you can visit her successful booth at Portland’s Saturday market.
David Audley ’93 proves that if you can sell your liberal arts degree, you can sell other things too. He graduated with a history degree and went on to do his master’s in history at Portland State. After graduation, he landed in radio ad sales. He went on to software sales during the boom in the late 1990s, and then did marketing for several biotech companies. David’s next career-step lead him to serve as Director of Alumni Relations for Willamette from 2006 - 2007. He’s now CEO and Executive Director for the International Stem Cell Research Foundation.
Will Schmautz, ’98, MAT ’99, returned to his home state of Montana to work as a whitewater rafting guide. He’s was a Biology/Chemistry major, and has since been a rowing coach, resort activities director, software developer, relief worker in India, professional traveler, website developer and then co-founded Nomad Communication Solutions, with two other Willamette alums, which provides mobile communications facilities to emergency response agencies and the military.
Tiffany Campbell ’97 graduated with politics/history double major. In the 13 years since graduation she’s worked with the USDA Forest Service, was a political campaign manager and then went on to get her Master’s in Library Science with a specialty in archives. She developed a focus in rare diseases, which has lead to her current position with Genzyme, a biotech firm based in Massachusetts, with a focus on rare diseases and patient safety.
What do you do with a major in Business Economics and a love of baseball? Grant Trenbeath ’93 knows. You get some experience as a ballpark groundskeeper, and then become Head Groundskeeper for a Major League Baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Other semifinalists
Vic Snyder ‘69 represents the 2nd congressional district in Arkansas as a member of Congress. He left Willamette to serve in the Marine Corps in Vietnam returning to get degree in chemistry. He went to medical school at OHSU and after moving to Little Rock, Arkansas, completed a law degree. True to Willamette’s motto, Vic has served on a number of medical missions to underserved countries before being elected to the Arkansas Senate.
Ed Luttrell ’74 majored in Politics and parlayed his subsequent Willamette MBA in 1976 into a very successful fishing career. He started out as a foreman on a fish processing ship in Alaska and ended up being a part-owner of a Russian fishing fleet, and eventually was elected to serve as President of a high profile fishing industry lobbying group. Ed Luttrell is now president of a custom fishing gear company that he also founded.
What does a hedge fund founder, account manager at Microsoft and the founder of a Kenyan Wildlife Conservancy have in common? Tyler Peterson '96. Tyler was an international studies/Spanish double major before going on to having each of these careers. In between all of his career accomplishments, he also earned his Masters of Finance.
Kat Swanson ’02 has had an inspirational career path – and proves that you don’t have to have it all figured out when you graduate. From psychology major to scuba instructor to sex educator with Planned Parenthood to Fire Dancing Troupe, Kat Swanson has earned her Masters in Teaching and is working as a teacher in Eugene.
What do you do with an economics and psychology double major from Willamette and a law degree from Harvard? Jim Fleming ’92, became a high school teacher after leaving Willamette, then decided to pursue a career in law. After earning his JD from Harvard, he worked as a corporate attorney and made a career shift a few years ago and is now a police officer in Portland.