Sarah Carlson ’02 shares how an internship led to a career in intelligence and counterterrorism.

Gareth Barkin has dedicated his life to travel. But he doesn’t celebrate just checking the countries he’s visited off on a map. His joy comes from finding new ways to make travel more meaningful, especially to college students. For the past decade, Barkin has torn apart and rebuilt some of Puget Sound’s study abroad programs to focus on cultural exchange—ensuring students connect with those from different backgrounds than their own.

English and IPE double major Kevin Nguyen ’09 accidentally writes a novel

Chlöe Brew ’21 explores ancient gender roles and power structures with the help of two very different Greek goddesses.

Johnson ’96, MAT’97 teaches at the Grant Center for the Expressive Arts, part of Tacoma Public Schools, and emphasizes “geo-literacy” in his classroom; he uses Google Earth, for example, to help students understand concepts like the Earth’s movement around the sun. “Students can see a satellite image of the Eiffel Tower and tell me when it was taken based on the length and direction of the shadow,” says Johnson. In 2017, he was named a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow—along with Kacy Lebby ’11 in Seattle—and made a 10-day expedition to the Galapagos.

Five questions with Sara Freeman ’95, professor of theatre arts

Five questions with Alisa Kessel, professor of politics and government

Under ordinary circumstances, Dana Levy ’21 has a lot going on. 

Levy is double majoring in English and gender and queer studies (GQS) with a minor in music. He’s also a violinist and active member of the Puget Sound LGBTQ community. (Levy identifies as transmasculine.) 

Last summer, however, looked like it would be pretty quiet. The coronavirus had nixed any prospects for a summer job, and by early June, the California native was, he says, “sitting around, twiddling my thumbs.” 

When retired Boeing executive John Monroe ’79 talks with high school students about careers in aerospace, he enjoys telling them he started at $1.92 an hour. “Their jaws kind of drop,” says Monroe. He goes on to tell them that, 37 years later, he was in charge of Boeing’s 777 airliner program. 

Until 2020, T’wina Nobles had no intention of running for the state Senate. She was doing work she loved as president and CEO of the Tacoma Urban League, and had just been re-elected to the University Place School Board. Community members and legislators had occasionally suggested she run for state office, and she would say, “Nope. It’s not my time.”