Logger Alumni Share Career Journeys on the Always a Logger Podcast

Alumni

Every career is a journey — and no two paths are alike. Always a Logger is a podcast from the University of Puget Sound and the Puget Sound Alumni Council about the winding path to success and the many ways Logger alumni find personal and professional fulfillment after graduation. The first season is now available to watch on YouTube or you can listen on your favorite podcast player.

Always a Logger is hosted and produced by Julie Gates ’90, an award-winning media executive and broadcaster who has hosted more than 5,000 live radio shows, interviewed five U.S. presidents, and entertained over 20 million listeners as a morning radio host. She also serves on the university’s Alumni Council Executive Committee, where she chairs the Digital Engagement & Communications Committee. In each episode, Gates interviews Logger alumni about their professional lives and how Puget Sound influenced their career trajectories.

The show’s first season includes Loggers who have shaped their industries, won awards for their work, and served their communities. Dive into these recent episodes:

Rachel Martin ’96, Hon.’14

Rachel Martin is an award-winning journalist. Her career in public media has taken her from Afghanistan to the White House. In this episode, she discusses her time as National Security Correspondent for NPR and the six years she spent as one of the hosts of Morning Edition. She also talks about her newest venture, Wild Card, an interview game show about life's biggest questions.

Clara Brown ’17

At the age of 12, avid gymnast Clara Brown fell on her head, suffering two crushed vertebrae and damage to her spinal cord that left her paralyzed from the neck down. In this episode, she talks about learning to walk again, discovering her love of cycling at Puget Sound, and the journey that led her to becoming a World Champion and winning a bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Kai Correa ’11 and Craig Driver ’11

Kai Correa ’11 is bench coach for the New York Mets and Craig Driver ’11 is first base coach for the Miami Marlins, but neither one planned to go into coaching when they were students at Puget Sound. In this episode, they share how their liberal arts education and unique experience as Division III scholar-athletes set them up to be successful Major League Baseball coaches.

Stacy Wells Chapin ’91

In 2022, Stacy Wells Chapin ’91 got the worst call a parent can imagine — her son, Ethan, had been murdered. In this episode, she talks about coping with grief, helping support the members of Ethan's fraternity on their healing journey, writing a book, The Boy Who Wore Blue, and starting the Ethan's Smile Foundation to support the educational goals of students like her son.

Clint Wallace ’90

Clint Wallace ’90 is an Academy Award-winning production designer. In this episode, he talks about his experience working in art direction, set design, and visual effects for more than 25 films, including Captain America: Brave New World, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and more.

Seema Sueko-Low ’94

Seema Sueko-Low ’94 is an award-winning theater professional, a director, an actor, producer, writer, and consultant. In this episode, she shares her journey from studying politics and government to working in the theater industry, and what she's learned about building community from all kinds of odd jobs along the way, including as a mail carrier and a temporary employee at a mortuary.

Major General Roosevelt "Ted" Mercer ’75

Major General Roosevelt "Ted" Mercer is a retired U.S Air Force officer and a distinguished graduate of the University of Puget Sound's ROTC program. He currently serves as CEO and executive director at the Virginia Spaceport Authority. In this episode, he shares his journey from Puget Sound to manning a nuclear missile silo to his personal experience on September 11, 2001.

Billy Smith ’07

Billy Smith ’07 is the founder and CEO of Bilio, a company specializing in low-waste industrial design, product development, and design for manufacturing clients. In this episode, he shares his journey from working at Patagonia and Apple to becoming a startup founder, and how nature informs his design philosophy.

David Z. Bean ’91

David Z. Bean ’91 is an entrepreneur, former chairman of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and current chairman of the Indian Gaming Association. In this episode, he shares how his experience at Puget Sound as a teenage parent and first-generation college student, prepared him to build his businesses, serve the Puyallup Tribe, and advocate for tribal sovereignty on the national stage.

Listen to Always a Logger wherever you find podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music or watch the video version of each episode on our YouTube channel. Learn more at pugetsound.edu/always-a-logger-podcast.