For hundreds of thousands of people, it is a source of industry, sustenance, livelihood, and recreation. For painter and Professor of Art and Art History Elise Richman, it is also a source of inspiration.

When she’s not cultivating squash and cabbage in her garden, Megan Gessel is tending to the next generation of scientists. As associate professor of chemistry, she recognizes the immense role that student researchers play at a small school like Puget Sound. Gessel not only aims to help students understand this important role they play, but also encourages them to pursue research by making chemistry more than a series of lectures and truly a journey of discovery.

Meet seven Puget Sound entrepreneurs who are blazing new paths, from bitcoin to ice pops

Cain’s grandparents had instilled in her the importance of education, and she attended a reputable Iowa private school through eighth grade. But Cain says her stubborn independence and desire to be an “emancipated adult” by high school led her down a different path. She became a mother while still a teenager, and found a job tending bar at night so she could be with her child during the day. “Eventually, I was a bartender with three children and an expiring marriage,” she says. “I tried over and over again to return to school; it just wasn’t feasible.”

As the new president and CEO of the Ravinia Festival, the country’s oldest music festival, Jeffrey Haydon ’97 is guided by a singular mission. “Music,” he says, “is a universal language that inspires each of us to come together, to listen more deeply, and to explore new ideas.” 

With four novels, a shelf full of anthology contributions, and a handful of original songs to her credit in the past few years, Karen Meyer Eisenbrey ’85 has enjoyed a personal and creative peak.

And she appreciates that success all the more for coming when it has. “If I had written a decent book in my 20s,” she says, “I’m not sure I would’ve had as much fun.” And she appreciates that success all the more for coming when it has. “If I had written a decent book in my 20s,” she says, “I’m not sure I would’ve had as much fun.”

For people of color, what happened wasn’t new—it was merely a reminder of what they have seen and experienced all their lives. To gain perspective, we asked three people to reflect on the issues the country has been grappling with. One is a Black student who has struggled to feel comfortable at Puget Sound—and who is trying to make the path easier for others who follow her. Another is an alumnus whose lifelong activism dates to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Carey would soon find out that she and Ebert weren’t the only Loggers in this small seasonal community of workers and scientists; there was also the couple of Robyn Thomas ’18, a senior lab assistant at the Crary Science and Engineering Center, and Patrick Johnson ’18, a fuels operator. 

Puget Sound's first Taiwan Culture Night brings Chinese community together

Assistant Professor Wind Dell Woods discusses the intersection of the two things he loves most.