Alumni Trip: A Deep Dive into Berlin

Cherry blossoms on campus

From May 12–23, 2025, Professor of Biology Andreas Madlung will lead a unique and in-depth alumni trip to Berlin, Germany. Over the span of 12 days, participants will learn about the city's history and urban ecology. This tour strengthens and promotes the ideals of lifelong learning and the importance of staying curious. This journey offers a personalized experience with an expert guide who will share their local insights and take you off the beaten paths of Berlin.

Outdoor Learning

Participants on the PacTrail program's second expedition

Grayson Shearer ’25 grew up backpacking near his hometown of Denver, and by the time he arrived for his first year at Puget Sound, there wasn’t much he hadn’t experienced on a trail. So when Shearer heard from a friend last spring about the university’s Pacific Trail Program, it wasn’t so much the challenge that appealed to him as it was the company.

The First and Finest

OT students in a hands-on learning experience.

One of the fondest memories that George Tomlin ’82 had in supervising the pediatric clinic in the University of Puget Sound’s School of Occupational Therapy took place after OT students started working with a 7-year-old boy who was blind.

The Professionals

The Professionals opener image for Arches.

John Weaver ’98, creative director for the Seattle Seahawks, was on a phone call one day when he learned that he’d been working with another Puget Sound alum for years without even knowing it. Weaver was searching for new stadium announcers, and reached out to a former football coach at his alma mater for suggestions. The coach asked him if he knew Nasser Kyobe ’13, executive producer at the Seahawks radio network. Turned out Weaver and Kyobe graduated 15 years apart, and both had played football for the Loggers.

A Second Chance

A smiling grad at the FEPPS Commencement ceremony in June 2024.

Tiana Wood-Sims ’24 chose the clear nail polish flecked with gold glitter. That little bit of bling might be a small pleasure for someone outside the razor-wire fences of the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, but inside, it was momentous. With the facility’s ban against nail polish lifted for one day, the 10 women picked from an array of bottles spread out on the table of the prison classroom. Wood-Sims had chosen gold for this celebration—it matched her perfect 4.0 college GPA.

A Doctor and a Filmmaker Walk into a Movie Theatre…

Joshua Jones ’98 and Jeffrey Jones ’02

When brothers Joshua ’98 and Jeffrey Jones ’02 watch a movie or a TV show, they pay attention to wildly different things. The Jones brothers host Cinemental, a podcast that mixes humor and personal experience to analyze the way mental health is portrayed in film and television.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Jeff Hanway ’09, Kegan Hanway ’10, and Kaitlin Chandler ’11 reading books on benches on campus.

Lost your copy of The Iliad? Need to check out contemporary queer fiction? Want to cry happy tears as you thumb through a best-selling romance? 

Then you’ve come to the right place: Grit City Books.

A trio of Puget Sound alumni launched the independent bookstore online in 2023, followed by a brick-and-mortar store opening in May 2024 on Tacoma’s trendy Sixth Avenue.

The Science of Justice

Alessandra Vidal Meza ’22

For many people, the first years after college are awkward. It can be difficult to find footing in what seems like an ever-more-competitive and saturated landscape of not only job finding, but purpose finding.

This does not seem to be a concern for Alessandra Vidal Meza ’22.