Portland State Magazine Spring 2019

18 Alumnus Brendan Norman brings his love of the outdoors to work every day as executive director of the Mt. Adams Institute. Photo by Erica Bingham. “It's absolutely amazing the opportunity I was given through the program. It gave me that foot in the door.” of their time as “a 45-week job interview” and a chance to learn new skills as well as develop professional networks, which can be a key to finding a job. However, a large majority of veterans who successfully complete the program are offered permanent employment. As with Barrett, often these jobs are in the same places where the vets interned, but could be anywhere in the country. SURPRISINGLY , Norman, 45, is a born-again nature lover. Raised as one of eight children on a 40-acre Michigan farm with cornfields and a swamp forest, Norman and his siblings spent their days outside—playing, doing chores, taking care of livestock. Although this may sound like an idyllic existence to city folks, it wasn’t what Norman had in mind. “I wanted to be inside, playing video games like other kids,” he admits. His outlook changed when he moved to Portland in 1996.The Pacific Northwest’s strong environmental and outdoor culture—a stark contrast to his Midwest upbringing—grabbed hold of him and has never let go. The Notre Dame graduate’s first work experience in Oregon was as an AmeriCorps member assigned to a Portland middle school. Norman enjoyed interacting with young people, as well as developing relationships with families, counselors and teachers. He decided to return to school, earning a teaching certificate and a master's degree in education from Portland State. After making contacts at an annual meeting of AmeriCorps volunteers, he landed a job in Trout Lake with Northwest Service Academy, which was then sponsoring 500 young adults working in the environment. When the academy lost its funding and dissolved, Norman had by then established what he calls “10 years of building partnerships,” which he and a handful of others from the academy parlayed into the formation of Mt. Adams Institute, which also works with K-12 students in its residential summer camp. He and his wife, Margo Burtchaell, and their two teenage children wanted to remain in Trout Lake, so forming the institute allowed them to do that. His kids regularly hike, ski and kayak, but Norman cheerfully acknowledges that “the draw of social media and screens is a constant challenge.” The institute plans to expand VetsWork by at least 70 percent in 2020 and is awaiting the official confirmation of a new three-year AmeriCorps grant to do it.This will allow more veterans like Justin Spedding the opportunity to wake up to a job they love.Today, Spedding is an environmental planner with the Colville National Forest in Eastern Washington.  Cliff Collins is a Portland freelance writer.