PSU Magazine Fall 1995

1980s-90s: In the Community R on Pesner talks on the phone and tends his six-year-old son, Tyson, with the skill of a professional doing quadruple du ty: He's a single father, a full -time student with a part-time job, and-as if that doesn't explode enough stereo– types-Pe ·ner i a liberal Republican interning wi th an environmental issues public policy firm . Pesner has a B.S. in poli tical sc ience and is a graduate student in the School of Urban and Public Affairs. He wo rks days at Stanfo rd 's Restauran t downtown and at his internshi p with the public policy firm of McKeever/Morris; nights he takes a full graduate course load . He has his criticisms of the Un iversity, but above all , he feels PSU's identi – fi ca ti on wi th the urban landscape-and the community within it– make fo r the best educa– tional advantage in the state. "Getting a degree doesn 't get you a job," he say . "Being in a commu– nity, hav ing connec– tions-that's wha t gets you a job. And those kind of things make PSU more attracti ve than the other unive rsiti es in th e state, which are so much mo re se lf-contained. "We live in a soc iety where everything is o fast," says Pesner, "from burgers to info rmation . Families, too-when it doesn't wo rk out right away, we just give it up. " Right now Pesner chooses to spend all his free time with his son. "I don 't have the luxury of a oc ial life," he says. The University should do more to suppo rt parents in gene ral, says Pesner, especially those struggling with family limi ta tions. "Where PSU has a lot of advan tages, it still has to wo rk on mo re ways to accommodate children in this day and age. C hildcare is such a cri t ica l issue," he concludes. 16 PSU MAGAZINE FALL 1995 1996: Follow the Leader W hen G retchen Beretta graduated from Heppner High Schtx)I in Eastern O regon two years ago, she was 17 years old, the mother of a one-year-old daughter, and the school's class president. A Tli ngit Ind ian , Be retta is in her sophomore yea r at Po rtland Sta te study ing educati on with the help of an Under-Represented Mino rity Achi evement Scholarship. o fa r she is bea ting the odds: Be retta has fo und good childcare fo r her todd ler, Courtn ey, 3, and she has completed Freshman Inquiry. Now if she can only kick the Heppner-to– Po rtland culture shock. No matter where she lives, thi s young mot her will be a stand -out exampl e of bra ins and courage. In an age when unwed tee n mothers are uni ve rsa ll y critic ized, Beretta was a student leader who earned the respect of her small -town peers and teachers while continuing school with a newborn baby at home. Then Beretta pulled up deep fa mil y roots and , with her baby, moved to a new home near PSU's campus. The homeless panhandlers, the hectic city pace, and a sense of isolation wo rsened by the web of bureaucratic procedures, made her almost quit schoo l in her first year. O nce she found the United Indian S tudent fo r Higher Education offi ce, th eir spec iali zed support helped her cope. This fa ll Beretta will take day classes while her daughter is G:ared fo r close-by in the class ic, stone-bri cked S t. James Catholic C hurch . The pastor knows Beren a's pastor in Heppner. The little family walks to church se rvices every Sund ay from their apartment nea r the Park Blocks. While she had criticism fo r the red tape involved in registration and fin ancial aid , Beretta plans to stay at Portl and State. Her ultimate goa l is an adva nced educa tion degree and a ca reer in school administra tion. D (Lisa Loving is a Pon/and freelance writer.)