Notes From Under the Oaks | December 2014

Each year about half our new alumni earn their credentials in Hillsboro, so I find it important to spend time on the Hillsboro Campus to better understand their experience.  To that end I recently spent an afternoon in Creighton Hall, the first building on the Hillsboro Campus, which opened in 2006. From my perch on the fifth floor I could see a vast swatch of Hillsboro and beyond.

At first glance the view offers the bleakness of winter — bare trees stand gray against gray sky.

A closer look reveals a buzz of activity as cars zip by on Tualatin-Valley Highway.

An even closer look reveals the unique buzz of this part of Hillsboro. From this height one has a clear view of Tuality Community Hospital and Portland Community College’s Hillsboro Center. From here it is clear one is in Hillsboro’s “Health & Education District.”

The opportunity to really ponder what happens here in the Health & Education District always leaves me a bit awestruck. I’m especially proud of Pacific University’s role in this part of Hillsboro.
It is here where we rely on 165 years dedication to scholarship and service as we educate tomorrow’s healthcare and business leaders. As alumni these students will go on to change and save lives. As students they’re developing an incredible foundation for their future and perhaps changing and saving a few lives along the way.

It is here where we educate future occupational therapists and physical therapists like the ones who helped quadruple amputee Summer Kozai ’04 with her recovery as she learned to live a life filled with joy.

It is here where future physician assistants learn how to be incredible practitioners at a school heralded as one of the top schools in the nation. This year our PA program worked to prepare students for Ebola. While much of the world panics about the disease, our PA program bravely says, ““There’s a lot of the world that needs or help right now, not our fear.”

The scene also brings to mind the massive amount of healthcare born on this campus, but provided elsewhere. Our students can be found providing elder care in Nicaragua, bilingual counseling in eastern Washington and the same quality eye exams in Hillsboro and Guatemala, to name just a few.

It is inevitable for my heart to grow a couple of sizes every time I think of the impressive professionals spending their days (and sometimes nights) in the health and education district.

The students, faculty and staff who work on this campus understand healthcare isn’t just about fixing sick people; it’s about helping our entire community feel better.

The world of health care is filled with hard stories, which our students step up and face with courage, compassion and dedication, but the world is also filled with stories of joy.

There’s a special joy in the patient who can finally have quality dental work, thanks to our Dental Hygiene Clinic or the patient who can finally hear her grandchildren speak thanks to our EarClinic, or the patients in Central Oregon who can receive prescriptions they need thanks in part to the dedication of alumnus  Alex Winn, PharmD ’10.

As the December light fades, the lights of Hillsboro glow and the cars continue their steady pace along the highway, I’m filled with a deep sense of pride that I get to be part of this place. This is my alma mater and those are my fellow alumni out there changing and saving lives!

I invite you to take a moment this holiday season to reflect with pride and gratitude to be part of this amazing community.

I wish you and those you love the very best of health during this festive time of year.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if ever there is anything I can do to be of support.

Best wishes,

Martha Calus-McLain ‘03
Director of Alumni Relations

p.s. If this piece leaves you a tad-bit tempted to consider graduate school, I encourage you to give a good look at our programs in Hillsboro, and elsewhere, including everything noted above as well as our Master of Healthcare Administration, Master of Science in Finance, Master of Business Administration, Master of Fine Arts in Writing and more! To view a full listing our offerings, visit our future graduate students page.