PSU Magazine Winter 2004

ALUM NOTES Eva Clark has started her own business, Belle of the Ball, creat– ing custom invitations and announcements for customers in the greater Portland and Seat– tle areas. She lives in Portland. Corrie Coston MSW is chief operating officer al Metropolitan Family Services in Portland. Nanette Reid is relationship manager al U.S. Bank in Port– land . Reid lives in Scappoose. Satish Shrestha MEM is an electrical engineer al ESA, lnc., a power system engineering firm in Clackamas. Steven Wintermantel is a Fer– rari and Maserali sales represen– tative with Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo dealership in Portland. Jorge Correa is a licensing specialist al Correa Consulting Services, LLC, a business consultation firm in Gresham. Tracey Lewin is a graphic designer and art sales assistant at Through the Flower, an art organization located in Belen, New Mexico. Mary Park-Sample is a transi– tion specialist with the Yomh Transition Special Education Program in Roseburg. Cindy Jo "C.J." Wavra MS is a fifth-grade teacher at Friday Harbor Elementary in the San Juan Islands, Washingon. Tatyana Batazhan is an intake and assessment manager at Portland Community College. Christy Brown MS is an insect survey technician with the Ore– gon Department of Agriculture in Salem. Jeffrey Bullerman is a realtor and broker with Charles Rob– bins Realtors in Springfield, Illinois. Cara Coates is a sales assistant at S.A. Piazza & Associates, a pizza manufacturer in Clackamas. Chari Everson MURP is a transportation planner at Cam– bridge Systematics, a transporta– tion planning and engineering firm in Oakland, California. Jennifer Fero MS is vice princi– pal at Roosevelt High School in Portland. Anna Foucek is president al A. Foucek & Associates, Evaluation Specialists, a program consu lta– tion firm in Portland. Emily Hahn is cash application coordinator al Weichert Realtors in Morris Plains, New Jersey. Ed Hartin MS is pursuing a doctoral degree in the PSU Graduate School of Education. Christine Holien is a customer service representative at North – west Credit, an automotive finance firm in Hillsboro. Kai Hsing is a freelance writer for Willamette Week. Hsing lives in Portland. Susan Luce is a finance special– ist with Multnomah County in Portland. Kristen McTaggart is a student in the master's of physician assistant studies program at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. Alums marry in the Park Blocks N SEPTEMBER 5 AT THE FIRST SIGN of sunset this past fall, the PSU Park Blocks transformed from a landscaped passage between academic buildings to an elegant backdrop for a wedding. Beth Kaufka '01 and Mike Lupro MA '00 decided the site held many emotional ties for them, as the couple had met on campus and their lives still revolve around the school. Lupro is currently an adjunct instructor in popular culture for the University Studies program. Piloted in 1994, this is PSU's inter– disciplinary general education pro– gram for freshmen and sophomores, which replaces the regular distribution model used at other universities. Kaufka is a men– tor in the University Studies Pro– gram and is working on her master's degree. Originally-and coincidently-from Detroit, the couple first selected Harmony Park in the center of that city, but cir– cumstances inOuenced them to seek another location, so they decided to look at Portland. While Lupro and Kaufka were considering Laurelhurst and Washington parks, the idea for a wedding in the Park Blocks arose as a joke, but as the couple discussed it funher, the spot seemed ideal. 26 PSU MAGAZINE WlNTER 2004 "Beth lived in Blackstone, and we spent many days together in Cramer Hall," says Lupro. "The Park Blocks outside those buildings is a really unique and beautiful place that has a strong connection to the early days of our relationship. " Their families were on board with the selection. They knew the couple wanted their wedding to be personal and about commu– nity "My educational experience at PSU has been transformative," says Kaufka, "and honoring the community that produced, sup– ported , and celebrated us through this site was a perfect fit. " Wanting to teach culture stud– ies full-time, Lupro is applying to colleges with Ph.D. programs that offer that specialization, so the couple will leave Portland in the fall 2004. Kaufka aspires to create a community-based organization in Detroit in the future. Now that they're moving away, the site of their cer– emony will provide another deep tie to PSU. "This will be a special place to return to when we come back and visit the university community," says Kaufka. -Kelli Fields