A deeply involved member of Pacific University’s Student Religious Council, Fran O’Brien '65 had a fundamental belief in social justice. It was that belief that led her to become the only Pacific University student to participate in the Freedom Summer of 1964.
News, Media and Stories | Spring 2016
Zoey Mendoza Zimmerman '95 lived through the worst a parent can imagine. In 2010, her husband shot and killed their two children and then himself. In the past five years, she has struggled to live with grief and open her heart to the future— while holding on to her children's memories and helping other grieving parents do the same.
Today, though, Pacific’s School of Professional Psychology partners with other health professions programs at Pacific, such as occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology, as well as the nearby National College of Natural Medicine, whose students and faculty provide comprehensive healthcare services.
Rachel Seibert BSW '12 was called to medical social work — and to Randall Children’s Hospital — by personal experience. At 18, she was in an accident that nearly claimed her life. She was treated at Randall for more than two years by some of the same people who are, today, her colleagues.
Janelle Jones ’11, OT ’14 spends her days helping people find the way to a new life. As an occupational therapist at Oregon State Hospital, Jones works in the state-run psychiatric hospital’s Bridges program. That means she works primarily with individuals who have been found guilty-except-for-insanity in a criminal case and who are now preparing to transition out of a hospital setting.
Jeremy Parkinson ’16 suspects that his senior project may have been one of Pacific University’s most expensive. At nearly $8,000, the tiny house that he built as his sustainable design capstone came in under budget — but still well above what most students invest in their projects.
