Alumni Making an Impact

 Alumni from the College of Arts and Sciences have gone onto successful careers across the world. From advice for current and prospective students to classes and mentors that made an impact in their lives and a variety of journeys from the UO to where they are now, hear from our alumni and learn about their paths to success. 

UO alumna Raimy Khalife-Hamdan poses in a crowded public square in winter.

Personal experience helps UO grad launch peacemaking career

Raimy Khalife-Hamdan came to the UO on a Presidential Scholarship. Double majoring in global studies and romance languages, she graduated summa cum laude from the Clark Honors College.

Mitch Thomson

Alumnus Spotlight: Mitchel Thomson

Thomson earned his degree in Chinese and Asian Studies, and went on to a successful 30-year career in global management industries. 

Spaceship illustration

UO Alumna Part of Webb Space Telescope Team

Now that the NASA James Webb Space Telescope has reached its destination a million miles from Earth and begins beaming back images of the deepest parts of space this summer, Charity Woodrum, a 2018 UO alumna, will be among the first to pore over them, looking for clues to how our galaxy came to be.

Alumnus Skye Fitzgerald

Oscar-nominated Alumus Films Hunger Ward, Lifeboat, 50 Feet from Syria

Six years in the making, three powerful films by UO theater arts alumnus and award-winning documentary filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald raise awareness and shine stark light on the plight of their subjects. He calls the projects his “humanitarian trilogy.”

Profile photo of AK Ikwuakor

AK Ikwuakor Is Hurdling The Pandemic

Sociology alumnus AK Ikwuakor is now founder of MobileXA business consulting and sales excellence coach lead at Google, as well as producer to the Mornings with Coach AK podcast. 

A headshot of Kirstin Valdez Quade

For "The Five Wounds," Four Words

Creative writing alumna Kirstin Valdez Quade is an award-winning novelist and creative writing professor at Princeton University.

Nayeon Kim paints a child's face

In Pursuit of Justice

UO alumna Nayeon Kim believes there is benefit to society in reducing the prison terms of people of color and others victimized by excessive sentences and systemic racism. And she is dedicated to this work.

Jana Schmieding

Native Voice: Jana Schmieding

With Rutherford Falls, Jana Schmieding promotes Indigenous representation in Hollywood.

Nathan Harris holds his recent novel

Alumnus Spotlight: Nathan Harris

Nathan graduated with a BA in English, and now he’s a New York Times bestselling author. 

Rudy Omri

Alumnus Spotlight: Rudy Omri

Rudy earned his MA in Geography, and now he works for Planet helping customers use satellite images of the earth to fight wildfires.

Lauren Tierney

Alumna Spotlight: Lauren Tierney

Lauren graduated with a BA and M.S. in Geography, and how she works for the Washington Post as a Graphics Editor.

Jesse Nett

Alumnus Spotlight: Jesse Nett

Jesse earned his degree in Geography from UO and now he’s the Regional Cartographer for the USDA Forest Service in Colorado.

Mark Carrato

Alumnus Spotlight: Mark Carrato

Mark earned his MA in Global Studies, and now he’s the coordinator for the Power Africa Program.

Ava Jamerson

Alumna Spotlight: Ava Jamerson

Ava graduated from the UO in 2018 with a double major in Chinese and Business Administration and now, she is working for the Department of Commerce as an international trade specialist at the International Trade Administration and Director of Operations for The China Guys.

Bennet Voorhees

Alumnus Spotlight: Bennet Voorhees

Bennet double majored in Chinese and Economics, and now he’s using both as a data scientist.

Virginia Bavert

Alumna recognized for her work in language preservation

CAS Alumna Virginia Beavert has been honored for her efforts to preserve and breathe new life into the Native languages of the Northwest.

 

 

Our Graduate Students
Give to the College of Arts and Sciences

Gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences can help our students make the most of their college careers. Support from our alumni and friends can provide students access to hands-on learning, internships, research opportunities and more. Our faculty, the new professional advisors in Tykeson Hall and our staff prepare students from the moment they arrive on campus to when they launch into their career. Your contributions help assure that teaching, research, advising, mentoring, and support services are robust and fully available to every student.

Support CAS Students

Alumni in the News

woman smiling and holding a microphone
Japanese language alum found her niche in Japan
JAPANESE — Originally from Oregon, Meg Tsukamoto BA ’00 (Japanese) has spent the last 25 years living and working in Japan. She is a professional emcee, serving as both interpreter and facilitator for large events such as wedding receptions, a niche she found after struggling to find a bilingual emcee for her own wedding in Japan.
small family posing with football field in background
UO alum turned his love for Spanish into a global career
ROMANCE LANGUAGES — Brandon Rigby, PhD ’17 (romance languages, literatures, linguistics) never imagined he would speak Spanish as a career, let alone use it to represent the US around the world as a foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State. Seven years and three countries later, he would not change a thing. 
woman smiling at the camera with a brick wall and vintage signs behind her
Liberal arts to legal career
SPANISH - Dulce Gutierrez valued the flexibility to explore different majors and minors. Originally a biology major, she switched her major to political science and government and picked up a minor in Spanish. She went to law school and is now a practicing attorney and finds herself using her multilingual studies in a practical manner.
woman sitting on a stool holding a camera with a wall covered in airplanes behind her
Alumna Natalie Jacobsen turns her passion for writing into global change
CINEMA STUDIES, EAST ASIAN STUDIES — For Natalie Jacobsen explored multiple majors before landing on cinema studies and media history. That well-rounded education took her across the globe and to her current position as director of marketing and communications at Airlink, a humanitarian aviation nonprofit. She is also a published novelist!
an illustration of two people who are veterans and UO alumnae
Ducks fly high at Veterans Affairs for those who served
GLOBAL STUDIES - Jennifer Esparza served in the Marines Corps for 11 years, earning the rank of staff sergeant and a half-dozen awards. In 2011 she enrolled at the UO, and in 2017 she earned a bachelor's degree in international studies and went to law school at Georgetown University. She worked for the Biden-Harris administration as a White House liaison and now is senior adviser to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher, the department’s second-highest official.
flags of the world
Ducks of Impact: Alumni working in diplomacy
FRENCH, GLOBAL STUDIES - Read the stories of six alumni whose work in international affairs is making a global impact.
The Environment Initiative partnered with APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscape Hub (APRU SCL) to support students traveling to Honolulu to explore place-based climate resilience solutions across the Pacific Rim.
UO Students Explore Place-based Climate Solutions across Pacific Rim
University of Oregon's Environment Initiative partnered with APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscape Hub to support students exploring place-based climate resilience solutions across the Pacific Rim.
Portrait of Lidia Yuknavitch
Alumna's poignant memoir to become a movie
ENGLISH - Life rarely follows a linear narrative. It zigs. Sometimes it zags. Just ask Lidia Yuknavitch—teacher, lecturer, and best-selling author of Thrust and soon-to-be feature film, The Chronology of Water—whose fierce and fragmentary form of storytelling took root at the University of Oregon.
Peter DeFazio speaking.
Peter DeFazio: A force for progress
After more than three decades in office, Peter DeFazio MA ’77 is retiring. DeFazio’s service and voting record is extensive with over 20,000 votes logged in Congress and his impact goes far beyond representing the people of southwestern Oregon.
Connor Bussey and Adam Faris
Recent grads turned TikTok entrepreneurs
GENERAL SOCIAL SCIENCES - What brings people together? Alumni Connor Bussey, BS ’19 (business administration), and Adam Faris, BS ’20 (general social science), took to the popular TikTok platform for answers to that question during the pandemic. What they found: Cars. Yachts. Mansions. Sports. No, really.
The Capitol Building, the seat of USA national legislative branch of government.
Breaking Barriers: Women in Government
University of Oregon alumnae are changing the face of public service. We look to the women highlighted in this article to govern nations, lead at the highest level of the military, interpret the law, determine the constitutionality of the law, and apply it to individual cases, and serve the public in state and local government.
Finding Lincoln: the hidden cottage of the 16th US president
FOLKLORE - When folklorist Michael Atwood Mason walks into work each day, he’s greeted by the legendary Emancipation Proclamation room, where President Lincoln wrote his famous 1863 presidential speech. As CEO and executive director of the Lincoln Cottage, Mason plays a pivotal role in the operations of the National Trust for Historic Preservation site.
Alums photographed with UO's mascot
Reunion season is back!
Reunion season is quickly approaching, and the University of Oregon Alumni Association (UOAA) is excited to welcome alumni back to campus with the Oregon Alumni Band Reunion, Black Alumni Reunion, and a combined 50th reunion for the 1972 and 1973 classes.
UO Women's softball team
Women in Sports: Title IX Anniversary
The long legacy that women have made in sports at the UO and beyond. While Title IX continues to impact generations, we look at a group of alumnae who have inspired countless women and girls who came after them.
UO Graduates at Autzen stadium
UO's first data science grads ready to crunch some numbers
DATA SCIENCE, BIOLOGY, ECONOMICS - The Data Science Initiative graduated their first group of undergraduates. Seven undergraduate data science students walked the stage this spring to collect their diplomas, an exciting moment for the university’s new data science degree program.