Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 1/11/08 Section: Headlines

Q. Where were you born?

A. I was born in Oregon City on June 18, 1987 at 10:30 pm Pacific Standard Time. I lived there for about 10 years until my family moved to La Grande where I graduated from La Grande High School in 2006.

What kind of activities were you involved in when you were in high school?

I ran both track and cross country my junior and senior years. I ran for Western fall term of my freshman year but it didn't work out. I still run regularly though. I was also the student body president my senior year and was a part of the a capella choir as well.


How are you involved around campus?

I am involved in several ways. I have a position with ASWOU as the Director of State and Federal Affairs and I am involved with the Model United Nations club.

With your position on ASWOU have you gotten to meet any government officials?

I have met several Oregon state representatives and senators such as Vicki Berger and Bill Mashofsky.

Do you want to be involved in government in any way after you graduate?

I don't plan on ever running for an office; never say never but the lifestyle doesn't appeal to me. I would like to get involved in some other way though.

What do you plan on doing after you graduate from Western?

The plan right now is to go to law school at some point. I would also like to take the foreign service exam at some point. Immediately after graduation though I would like to work for a non-governmental organization that is linked to the United Nations or maybe a non profit of some sort. That's over two years away though.

What did you do over winter break?

I did some odd jobs for my dad and a family friend. I did some sheet rocking and electrical work while re-doing an apartment. For the New Year a couple of friends and I went up to Vancouver, BC to celebrate with a few friends from high school. We're all not quite 21 and the bars were crazy. Coming back through the US border was a hassle though. The customs agent asked us a lot of questions about if we were trying to bring back anything illegal. Certainly not a welcome home.

Have you traveled to any other countries in recent years?

During my senior year in high school I spent some time in Mexico City for leisure and got to see a lot of the sights there. I have also recently spent a couple of weeks in Guatemala.

Tell me about your trip to Guatemala:

It was one of the most fun adventures I've ever taken. I went down there with my uncle and we rented a small pickup so that we could drive around the countryside. We got to see some spectacular Mayan ruins and stayed several nights in rural villages where life is very different from up here.

What was the biggest difference or change that you were not used to?

The people there were happy with even very moderate tips that we left. Some of the places we went to were not used to accommodating American tourists. Every morning we would walk up the road through the village and it would literally be covered in beer cans from the night before. They party a lot. Because they don't have a sanitary service that comes through every week they would clean up by putting the cans in wheelbarrows and dumping them into the nearby river. I wanted to speak up and tell them how bad that was, but what other option did they have? They didn't have the option to recycle. •

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