Portland State Magazine Winter 2007

ALUMNI NOTES Deirdre Lorenz '95 is an Joel K. Curelo '97 has joined attended the September PSU writes, "PSU's educational actress, director, producer, and Southwestern Oregon Public alumni event in the Bay Area. programs in mechanical model living in New York City. Defenders as a staff attorney. engi neering and their graduate Lorenz is featured in rhe film In 2005, he earned a law Christopher Shotola- business program played an Copy 7hat, which was part of degree from Roger Williams Hardt MFA '97, an award- important role in getting rhe official selection for the University School of Law winning Wi lsonville High me to where I am today. ,, Portland International Short in Bristol, Rhode Island. School art reacher, recently Shorr Film Festival chis fa ll. showcased nearly two dozen Jens Michael Rabe MS '98 Lorenz also was a producer for Jonathan Kipp '97 writes a of his colorfu l paintings of and his wife, Sonchawan, the 10-minute comedic film. column in Willamette Week birds with a political flavor at celebrated the first birthday of tided "Rear View Mirror." Portland's Blackfish Gallery. their child, Tan Felix Rabe, in Glenna DeSouza MS '96 In it, Kipp brings to light rhe December. Tan arrived "about is the new principal at Foster lives of local people doing Barbara Verchot MPA '97 seven years afrer my wife and I School in Sweet Home. usual or unusual things. He is marketing director and mer at PSU. Thank you PSU!" DeSouza says, "I always wanted recently moved his family to events coord inator for Liter- to be an elementary principal. Forest Grove, where he enjoys ary Arts, the orga nization Cassandra Garrison MPA '99, Thar's been my goal forever." writing about "small towns responsible for the Portland a former Nancy Ryles Scholar, and small-town people. ,, Arrs and Lectures series. is the admin istrator of the Behzad Hosseini '96, Oregon Advocacy Commis- MBA '97 was promoted Jason Lohr '97 is a law student Douglas M. Johnson MBA sions Office, the state's newest to director of organization at Hastings College of Law '98 is a resource pricing and agency. She will work with the development and training for in San Francisco. H e and supply director at Sempra Commissions on Asian Affairs, Porrland General Electric. his wife, Semmantha Chie, Energy in San Diego. Johnson ----~-'02-------- Bamboo clothing with a message Two weeks our of high school in Fresno, Cali£, RYAN CH R 15 TEN 5 EN ' 0 2 landed smack in rhe middle of Bend, and discovered for the first time chat he was different. He was a student at Central Oregon Community College, and found he was "almost the only minority there," he says. Ryan Christensen's clothing line bears his own likeness on the labels. Christensen's father was black, and his mother was Italian, but his high school in Fresno was multicultural, so he had blended in. In Bend, "I stood out like a sore thumb, bur in a posi– tive way," he says. On the outside, he looked different, but he realized: "No one is turned off or scared by me. That's the year I thought of Sameunder– neath: Despite our race, religious and political differences, we're all the same underneath." Ir was a philosophy he applied at Portland State when he transferred there two years later. For his senior thesis in social science education, he developed an idealistic curriculum for American students to "put emphasis on the melting pot," he says. It replaced traditional American history in each year of a child's education with learning about one culture for an entire year. He says his professors loved it, but told him such a radi– cal concept could not be implemented nationally. "I thought, what's another way to gee chis point across?" Christensen says. He knew chat what young people wear is important to chem, because it "puts you in a certain circle or peer group. I used clothing as my weapon of choice." He, his wife, Amy Christensen '03 and a friend, Jamal Qutub '01 , went in together to create a line of clothing under the brand Sameunderneath. While going to PSU and working two jobs, Ryan Christensen began screen-printing T-shirts with a logo created by Qutub. Christensen had no training in business or fashion, bur "asked a lot of questions to gain knowledge of how to run a business," he says. Nearly eight years later, what he calls his "eco-friendly'' clothing-now a stylish line of pants, tops, and coats made our of soft bamboo fibers-is in 43 stores as well as Chris– tensen's North Portland store. But it remains clothing with a personal touch: a long-haired photo of Christensen appears on every label. ■ BY CL IFF COLLIN S WINTER 2007 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 25