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Alumni Achievements

Additional Alumni Achievements

Featured Alum
Sarah Douglas, '09
Major: Education

Current Position: Douglas teaches English as a foreign language at Moscow Economic School, a private school in Russia.

Why Whitworth? "Whitworth has highly respected education and English departments, and I knew I would receive a valuable education there. But even more, I was very drawn to the relaxed atmosphere that Whitworth seemed to be able to maintain despite the strong academic focus. Faculty members were invested in students; I could see this immediately by seeing how many faculty ate with students in the dining hall and how the president knew most of the students' names."

Whitworth Activities: Participated in En Christo, the program that makes and delivers sack lunches to the homeless in downtown Spokane, and was a small-group leader.

Quote: "In both the English and education departments, I was given knowledge and skills to be a lifelong scholar and educator. I came away with the understanding that what you teach and how you teach are incredibly important, and Whitworth helped to instill in me the creativity and flexibility needed to teach in various cultures."

Influential Whitworth Experiences: "As part of the coursework for my minor in English language development, I spent time teaching English to high school and adult students from various cultures. These experiences were so rewarding, and they challenged me to become aware of issues faced by new immigrants. This also helped me understand who I am based on my culture and experiences, and instilled in me a desire to know other cultures firsthand and to teach in those environments."

Here's what some Whitworth graduates are doing with their education degrees:

• Ariana Augustinas, '10, completed her intercultural field experience in Taiwan and is teaching at an international school in China.
  
  
• Denice Randle, '07, is an academic instructor and program coordinator for the TRIO College Bound Program at Henry Foss High School, in Tacoma, Wash. She earned a master's degree in education and movement studies from Pacific Lutheran University in 2008.
  
  
• Tai Bainter, '05, taught environmental education for three years through the Peace Corps in Nicaragua.
  
  
• Sheburra Moore, '06, earned a master's degree in literacy; she teaches at a low-income school in Las Vegas.
  
  
• Denni Roberts, '07, teaches at Deep Creek Hutterite School, a two-room schoolhouse in Reardan, Wash.
  
  
• Kim (Philpott) Allen, '06, is an advanced learning consultant for Seattle Public Schools.
  
  
• Joseph Andrews, '07, teaches in the Moses Lake School District.
  
  
• Jillian (Watts) Ellingson, '07, is a Title One teacher in Washington's Mary Walker School District.
  
  
• Josh Dietzel, '06, recently returned to the U.S. after teaching in Bangkok, Thailand.
  
  
• Kristen (Shields) Hinton, '04, teaches math at Lynden Christian High School, in Lynden, Wash. She earned a master's degree in math education at Central Washington University in 2007.