Soccer was Maya Mendoza-Exstrom's way to a Puget Sound education. Now, 16 years after graduating, she’s making sure that local children can reap the benefits of the sport she loves. Mendoza-Exstrom ’03, who is general counsel at Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle’s major league soccer club, was the founding executive director of the RAVE Foundation, which aims to make the sport more accessible to young people in the city’s underserved communities.
Alex Israel ’06 is passionate about transportation; the tagline of his new startup, Metropolis, is “The future of mobility.” Ask him his favorite way to travel, though, and he gives an unexpected answer.
“To not?” he says, laughing. “If I can avoid traveling, I want to avoid traveling. I want to be home with my family.”
The students had signed up for what was billed as “an immersive experience,” an opportunity to spend time learning about the food cultures of Tacoma. A historian, Andrew had the task of introducing students, most of whom are not from Tacoma, to the complex historical forces that shaped the city’s neighborhoods. To do so, he had an ace in his back pocket, or maybe a better description is a link up his sleeve.
There is sculpture, mixed media, playful photo-realism, and the breathtaking photography of the late Gordon Parks. Some of the works are political, confronting the viewer with unexpected juxtapositions, like a Muslim woman wearing an Hermès scarf as a veil. Others reflect the joy and sensuality of summer. They all come together seamlessly through the discerning eye of Karen Jenkins-Johnson ’82.
Frances “Franny” Gilman ’10 had always wanted to be a veterinarian. But a trip to Belize as a Puget Sound pre-vet student changed her mind. There, she was given the chance to work in a local animal clinic and assist with minor surgeries, such as spay and neuter procedures. “I discovered I did not like blood or cutting up animals,” she recalls. “So, I realized, ‘All right, this might not work out for me.’ That was a good thing to learn.”
