Spring 2024 5 FROM THE PUBLISHER OFF I CERS Chair, Julie Lambert, ’85, Aptos, California Vice Chair, Dan Jarman, ’88, Lake Oswego Treasurer, Bob Bluhm, ’82, Portland MEMBERS Jay Boatwright, ’78, Sacramento, California Sharada Bose, ’84, M.S. ’88, Milpitas, California Claire Conroy Brown, ’00, Los Angeles, California Jim Coats, ’93, Portland Mary Coucher, ’83, Lake Oswego Eric Feldhusen, ’02, Salt Lake City, Utah Sean Gordon, ’13, Stockholm, Sweden Conrad Hurdle, ’96, MAT ’97, Portland Pam Johnson, ’83, Dallas, Texas Kelly Kaiser, ’93, MPH ’99, Corvallis Doug Kutella, ’98, Lake Oswego Keith Leavitt, ’88, Wilsonville Holly McKinney, ’91, Bend Lee Miller, ’80, Blodgett David Molina, ’04, Portland Jayathi Murthy, OSU president, ex officio Victoria Thanh Nguyen, ’95, MAIS ’06, Portland Candace Pierson-Charlton, ’73, Ed.M. ’02, Corvallis Denver Pugh, ’97, Shedd Johnathan Riley, ’09, Portland Michele Rossolo, ’01, Portland Lori Rush, ’78, Dallas Shawn Scoville, OSU Foundation president and CEO, ex officio Maya Sonpatki, student representative, ex officio Syesha Holliman Thomas, ’02, Seattle, Washington Marcia Torres, ’01, Clackamas Michael Whitten, ’12, Portland Jessica Wolfer, ’10, M.S. ’11, Newberg ADDRESS 204 CH2M HILL Alumni Center Corvallis, OR 97331 541-737-2351 osualum@osualum.com ForOregonState.org SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: facebook.com/ oregonstatealum X/Twitter: @oregonstatealum Instagram: @oregonstatealumni Sign up for the Beaver Lodge newsletter at ForOregonState.org/BeaverLodge A RELATIONSHIP THAT LASTS A LIFETIME I met my wife at an Oregon State football game. Call it destiny, serendipity or just sheer luck, but her assigned seat happened to be next to mine in a stadium of more than 40,000 fans. She looked great in orange. I wore Cal’s blue and gold for my undergraduate alma mater.At kickoff,we were strangers vying for a shared armrest and cheering for opposing teams. By the fourth quarter, we both “just knew.” Hanna, OSU class of 1997, attended that Beavers road game in California with her Uncle Kelly, ’82. I was with former classmates, sharing in college football as we have countless times. I suppose you can say that our alma maters brought us together. On that day, they played a large role in kindling new love. By halftime, we barely noticed that our companions had fled our flirting to watch with more captivated fans. I don’t remember anything about the game itself. But it remains the best football Saturday of my life. This issue of the Oregon Stater takes a look at how student romance has changed over the years and collects tales of Beavers meeting Beavers. I have been looking forward to this story and applaud our graduate student writer Katherine Cusumano (who earns her MFA this June) for bringing it to life so delightfully. It makes sense to me that love and college sometimes go together. My undergraduate days were my first moments out on my own. It’s when I started to fully discover what kind of friends, colleagues and companions I wanted surrounding me and, critically, what I was capable of giving to others myself. Sharing such dramatic personal growth with schoolmates can create lifelong relationships. And for the lucky ones who pair friendship and romance, it can be magical. Even years later, it feels right that I met my bride through Oregon State. Initially through her eyes and in my own experiences since, it’s become clear to me that this university isn’t just a location with world-class academics — it feels like home. When you have the good fortune to maintain college relationships, the common bond almost always includes a foundational fondness for OSU. Reconnecting with schoolmates; reading this wonderful publication; attending university-related lectures, events and ballgames; advocating for OSU; wearing orange and black; and donating to university causes close to our heart — these are all ways we show our love. John Valva Publisher, Oregon Stater ILLUSTRATION BY JOÃO FAZENDA
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