Recently, I invited PSU alumni to become more vocal advocates for their alma mater. I also asked them to share stories of what they were up to. Nearly 700 have responded so far, and their accounts of life after college have been a pleasure to read.

Our alumni are doing very well. They have started businesses, they’re teaching, they’re getting doctorates, they’re helping people with disabilities, they’re making movies, captaining ships and piloting airplanes.

They work for Nike, Intel, Boeing, Google, Sony, Nikon, Cambia Health, city of Portland, Washington County, Multnomah County, the FBI, the White House and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe tribe, to name just a handful. The list underscores the myriad opportunities out there for graduates, and just how valuable a Portland State degree has become.

They are a creative bunch.

“I recently retired from the motion picture business,” wrote one. “I’m now a professional fused glass artist.” He went on to note that one of his pieces had been acquired by the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles.

“I hope you will be hearing about my novel in the future,” wrote another. Another is “revitalizing and preserving indigenous languages.”

Former PSU President Natale Sicuro wrote to say he is enjoying retirement and golf in Palm Desert, Calif. Another alum wrote that she has returned to Oregon after living in Greece and volunteering with the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles.

I’ll close with one of my favorites:

“I am currently the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Operations for the Seattle Storm, one of 12 WNBA teams in the world. Our purpose is to prove that achievement has no gender. We seek to not only show the world what’s possible but to change what’s possible. I am a PSU grad, and I am fearless.”