Innovative Achievement Award Willamette University/PNCA

Stephen E. Thorsett, President, Willamette University presents my award

June 14, 2025 was a special day for me. I was honored at the 2025 Willamette University Alumni Awards ceremony. I was recognized for Innovative Leadership Achievement for my extensive work teaching poetry out in the community and in classrooms. Over 100 people gathered to learn more about such leadership accomplishments. As a Pacific Northwest College of Art graduate, I was the first PNCA award winner recognized under Willamette University’s joint school partnership.

Thank you to Willamette University and Pacific Northwest College of Art for my Creative Writing MFA education which enabled me the courage and confidence to take poetry teaching and learning out into the world, and into unlikely places. Teaching poetry takes patience, yes. It takes gently unraveling people's fossilized perceptions of what poetry is and does. It takes a willingness to absolutely meet people where they are, for who they are--this kind of compassion is probably the secret sauce. I've seen what happens when a dormant creative soul is ignited. It's magic. Most people are distracted, disassociated, fatigued, overwhelmed. Poetry brings back the light. The heart. The meaning. I recently received Willamette University's prestigious alumni award for Innovative Leadership Achievement for my poetry outreach and education work. Thank you for recognizing that the humanities are an essential part of the total learning experience of what your students have to give to the world. To learn more about poetry's significance and recognition, watch this beautiful 2-minute video: https://lnkd.in/gffs-Zbw