Heritage University EAGLES scholars selected for prestigious internships nationwide. Application for the coming year’s scholarships close May 3.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University EAGLES scholars selected for prestigious internships nationwide. Application for the coming year’s scholarships close May 3.

Toppenish, Wash. – Recipients of the EAGLES STEM scholarship program at Heritage University have accepted summer internships at prestigious institutions nationwide.

Each year twenty EAGLES scholars not only receive a full-tuition scholarship but also can apply for prestigious internships, research experiences and enhanced learning opportunities through annual career panels at both Heritage and Portland State University. Applications for the EAGLES Scholarship are now being accepted: the deadline to apply is Monday, May 3, 2021. The application and complete scholarship details can be found at heritage.edu/eagles.

The EAGLES Scholarship program is funded through a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) received by Heritage University and Portland State University (PSU) and supports students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields as well as environmental science, biology and computer science at Heritage and PSU. The scholarship will ultimately be awarded to at least 116 students at Heritage and PSU over the next three years.

Last fall, twenty students joined the EAGLES Scholarship program at Heritage, an initiative to increase enrollment and retention of low-income and under-represented groups in the STEM fields, among others. Heritage Associate Professor Alexander Alexiades, Ph.D. is pleased how this first cohort of EAGLES scholars has embraced the opportunities the scholarship has created for them. “We are very proud of every one of our students, especially those who have shown their potential by earning a lucrative summer internship. It’s a testament to their hard work, and to the EAGLES program, which put these talented students on the path to their current success.”

Alexiades further explained that the opportunities associated with this scholarship can be life-changing. “Earning your college degree is always a significant achievement and opens doors to so much in life. And when you can have your tuition fully paid by a scholarship and complete internships at some of the most prestigious research universities in the country it will open doors not only of opportunity but of possibility. Once completed, graduates could go anywhere and do anything they have their hearts set on. Every student in the valley intent on earning a STEM degree should be applying for this scholarship.”

The Heritage EAGLES scholars who have secured summer internships so far include:

Angeles Marin, a biology major, will participate in two summer programs. The first is with the Heritage University and Pacific Northwest Partnerships National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (HU PNW NSF REU) under Heritage Associate Professor Dr. Robert Kao, for which Marin will receive a $6,000 stipend. Her research will focus on cell biology and phenotypic analysis of Tetrahymena thermophila. For the second program, she will attend the 6-week Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) at the University of Washington. The UW SHPEP encourages scholars to consider, from the cellular to the global level, factors that influence health. Marin will receive a $1,200 stipend for participating in this program.

Colton Maybee, a computer science major, will spend this summer on an internship with Portland State University’s Teuscher Lab, where he will work on a project titled “Computational Modeling Serving the City.” This internship includes two weeks of training in computational modeling, followed by eight weeks of online research overseen by a mentor. Maybee will earn a $6,000 stipend from this internship.

Gustavo Mendez-Soto, an environmental science major, will participate in a Washington State University research program titled “Stakeholder-Informed Innovations in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus.” Students in this program will develop complex systems thinking and system dynamics simulation skills, work with data wrangling workshops, and engage in professional development and team-based exercises through shared activities. Mendez-Soto will receive a $5,400 stipend for this nine-week program.

Anna Diaz, a mathematics major, has been accepted into the Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP) at Brown University in Providence, R.I. and will work with Dr. George Karniadakas, who is leading a team to develop cost-effective methods to monitor and forecast ocean acidification using mathematics, physics and machine learning. The program includes activities directed by her faculty mentor, participation in weekly meetings, and a variety of professional development activities sponsored by the Leadership Alliance and the Brown community. Diaz will also attend the Leadership Alliance National Symposium (virtual in 2021) and present her research to faculty and peers. The nine-week program comes with a $4,500 stipend.

Anthony Brooks, a biology major, will support Portland State University’s Department of Environmental Science and Management with a project titled “Determining salt marsh restoration success using focus groups of managers and the public, and past data.” Brooks will receive a $4,300 stipend for this eight-week internship.

Mayra Diaz-Acevedo, a mathematics major, will join the Numerical Analysis research group for the 2021 Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Diaz-Acevedo will receive travel and living expenses as well as a $4,000 stipend for this eight-week internship.

Andrea Mendoza, a biology major, will perform fruit tree pest research with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Moxee, Wash. working with Dr. Rebecca Schmidt-Jeffris, research entomologist.

For more information on the EAGLES Scholarship, please contact Julie Conley, EAGLES project coordinator at (509) 654-0297 or conley_j@heritage.edu. To schedule an interview with Alex Alexiades, please contact Davidson Mance, Heritage University media relations coordinator at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

EAGLES Scholars top left to right: Anthony Brooks, Anna Diaz, Mayra Diaz-Acevedo, Angeles Marin. Bottom left to right: Colton Maybee, Gustavo Mendez-Soto, and Andrea Mendoza

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Yakima Valley Partners for Education joins United Way of Central Washington to increase access to Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Yakima Valley Partners for Education joins United Way of Central Washington to increase access to Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefit

Toppenish, Wash. – United Way of Central Washington and Yakima Valley Partners for Education (YVPE) will use a grant from the Perigee Fund to help families access Washington state’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave benefit. With help from Grandview-based Taxes-Y-Mas, communities in the Lower Yakima Valley will receive information about the benefit and obtain support through the application process. Almost all Washington workers are eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for fathers, mothers and guardians to bond with a newborn.

YVPE is a cradle-to-career initiative in Yakima County supported by Heritage University and funded by Save the Children. Suzy Diaz, director of Collective Impact at Heritage University, believes the grant from Perigee will help spread the word about the importance for parents and guardians to use the Paid Family and Medical Leave benefit to bond with their children. “Quality bonding time is essential in the development of healthy families and healthier communities,” said Diaz. “Time to bond and be present with a loved one includes not missing out on precious developmental milestones.”

United Way of Central Washington has a long-standing relationship with employers throughout Yakima County and believes improving employee access to Paid Family and Medical Leave can benefit a company through worker retention and satisfaction. “It is important for individuals to know and utilize Paid Family and Medical Leave because so many families are forced to make impossible choices between their financial stability and their families. Paid Family and Medical Leave gives working individuals the time to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one or recover from one’s serious condition,” said United Way of Central Washington President & CEO Neiri Carrasco.

Olivia Gutierrez and Francisco Vazquez, owners of Taxes Y Mas in Toppenish and Grandview, are long time community and family advocates as well as small business advisors. During this tax season, they will be distributing information about the Paid Family and Medical Leave benefit to thousands of households in the Lower Valley. “Families express relief for the ability to focus on having their newborn, and the excitement they have for the opportunity to bond with their baby,” said Gutierrez.

For more information, contact Jamie Shores at jamie@uwcw.org or Suzy Diaz, director of Collective Impact, at diaz_s@heritage.edu. For complete program information visit www.momentsearned.org.

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Heritage University and Yakima Chief Hops celebrate completion of CHIEF ACADEMY management training program by front-line employees

Chief Academy organizers from left to right:Monica Sanchez, John Reeves, Steve Carpenter, Salvador Benitez, Charles Wheaton Ph.D, Erica Tait, Howard Allred, Cesar Silva, Ryan Hopkins

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University and Yakima Chief Hops celebrate completion of CHIEF ACADEMY management training program by front-line employees

Yakima, Wash. – Heritage University and Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) are celebrating the completion of the first-ever CHIEF ACADEMY management training program by YCH employees. YCH partnered with Heritage@Work, the university’s workforce training and development division to deliver the program that, when completed, earned 16 full time employees a Management Training certification.

CHIEF ACADEMY at YCH consisted of workshops that covered five essential topics determined to be of high importance to the company. They included:

The Art of Communication – a business writing and communication workshop which offered tips on improving existing skills as well as preparing participants for public speaking.
Putting Humanity into Human Resources – a highly-interactive workshop covering the important basics of human resources with role-playing activities.
Data Science – a workshop that helps those in company leadership roles understand the importance of data analytics by identifying, interpreting and summarizing data.
Business Finance – a workshop to help employees understand financial drivers and strategic objectives and realize the connection between strategy and financial success.
The Book of Leadership – a workshop where employees learn the attributes of a leader, the difference between management skills and leadership skills, and what it means to be a leader at YCH.

Experts from each field taught the workshops at the company’s Headquarters in Yakima, Wash. from October through December 2020. Ryan Hopkins, chief executive officer at YCH, said the curriculum developed by himself, Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Garcia, and Heritage University will equip participants with the training, skills, knowledge, and tools to enhance some already skilled managers and leaders within the company. “As a company that is 100% grower owned, YCH is built on the philosophies of continuous improvement and empowering employees. The CHIEF ACADEMY is a proud example of hop growers working with a great local university to empower our employees and in turn empower great leaders within our community.”

John Reeves, director of Heritage@Work, said the curriculum developed for CHIEF ACADEMY is the result of a deep and thorough understanding of the company’s needs. “Our team worked with YCH leaders to learn where they wanted to see their employees grow, and tailored specific curriculum designed to teach those skills,” said Reeves. He went on to explain that companies who “grow their own” as Ryan Hopkins referred to the training, have one of the best ways to hold onto great employees. “It is an investment, but businesses who empower their employees to grow their careers, get to hold onto good people.”

For more information, please contact Heritage University Media Relations Coordinator Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu or Yakima Chief Hops Global Communications Manager Cait Schut at (916) 690-4379 or cait.schut@yakimachief.com.

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Heritage University names new director of Student Life and Engagement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University names a new director of Student Life and Engagement

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University is proud to announce the selection of Isaias Guerrero as the university’s new director of Student Life and Engagement. Guerrero, who was already a staff member at Heritage, and who is a graduate of Heritage, moves to Student Life from the TRIO/Student Support Services department following an exhaustive search which determined the best candidate for the role was already close to home.

Isaias Guerrero, director of Student Life and Engagement at Heritage University

As director of Student Life and Engagement, Guerrero will be responsible for providing support services for the campus student community through events and group activities designed to engage students by promoting participation, service and leadership.

Dr. Melissa Hill, vice president for Student Affairs at Heritage, is thrilled with the committee’s selection of Guerrero. “Isaias brings a wealth of knowledge to the Student Life department, not only with his work through TRIO but his firsthand experience as an alumnus,” said Hill. “He’s been there as a student and knows what it takes to engage students and create positive experiences for students during their time at Heritage.”

Guerrero said the mentorship and guidance he received at Heritage University helped him succeed as a first-generation college student. “The guidance I received in navigating college was so important to my success because I had no one to relate to at home,” he said. “Heritage became a sanctuary of learning for me. Every day I stepped onto campus was a new adventure. I was excited to see my friends and challenge myself in the classroom. This was possible through my involvement with various campus activities. I want to provide these same opportunities to other students.”

As a student, Guerrero was selected to participate in the Act Six scholarship and leadership program which prepares students to become community leaders. He earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the university in 2019 and began working for TRIO at Heritage as a retention specialist that same year. Guerrero started his new role as director of Student Life and Engagement on January 21, 2021. Guerrero is studying for his M.Ed. in Educational Leadership with a focus in Student Affairs.

For more information, contact Davidson Mance, media relations coordinator, at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

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Yakima Valley Partners for Education receive grants to help families impacted by food insecurity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Yakima Valley Partners for Education receives grants to help Lower Valley families struggling with food insecurity

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University’s collective impact initiative known as Yakima Valley Partners for Education (YVPE) has received $34,000 in grants to help Lower Yakima Valley families struggling with food insecurity due to the ongoing pandemic.

Eva Lujan of Latino Community Fund, Forbes Mercy of Washington Broadband and Micaela Razo, also of Latino Community Fund, hold check donations.

YVPE received a $15,000 grant from Save the Children to purchase grocery gift cards for families struggling with food insecurity, and this grant was matched by Latino Community Fund at $15,000. YVPE also partnered with Fiesta Foods which provided $3,000 and grocery cards, with Washington Broadband’s Forbes Mercy also contributing $1,000. These grants allowed YVPE to provide more than 600 grocery gift cards for families in need.

Bryan Ketcham, director of Catholic Charities Housing Services in Yakima, says nearly 90 families living in their housing sites in Wapato and Sunnyside are able to feed their loved ones because of YVPE’s efforts. “During this time of the year and with the current pandemic we have seen a significant increase in the level of need amongst our residents,” said Ketcham. “Paying for their rent, utilities and access to food and other emergency services have been among the highest of priorities and needs that our staff has been helping our residents to access. We are grateful for YVPE’s generosity.”

Luis Alberto Moreno, of Fiesta Foods, Eva Lujan and Micaela Razo of Latino Community Fund, and Alexis Magallon, also of Fiesta Foods, hold grocery gift cards.

Micaela Razo, program director at Latino Community Fund says she is humbled to work within the community to be a voice and resource to the most in need during the pandemic. “We continue to hear the need and work effectively to network with multiple organizations, school districts and businesses to bring relief to the families in need,” said Razo, “Our goal is to make sure we can be a beacon of light in time of darkness to our community. Together we can do more for each other.”

Distribution of the grocery gift cards made possible through these grants began last month in time to help families during the holidays, and will wrap up later this month. For more information, contact Suzy Diaz, Heritage University Collective Impact director at diaz_s@heritage.edu or (509) 480-9354.

Class Notes

2007

Francisco Guerrero (B.A., Business Administration) received the Outstanding Leadership Award from HAPO Community Credit Union. He is the Finance Center Manager at the Sunnyside branch, a position he has held since 2007. Additionally, he was elected mayor of the City of Sunnyside in 2019 and assumed the role in January 2020.

2017

Norma Ortiz (B.A., Business Administration) joined Catholic Family Charities as a Human Resources Recruitment Assistant.

2020

Alyson Mehrer (B.A., Criminal Justice) enrolled in the University of Idaho College of Law and began her studies there in September.

Anitramarina Reyna (B.S.N., Nursing) joined the Cle Elem- Roslyn School District in September and serves as the district’s nurse.

Noemi Sanchez (B.A., History) joined the Washington Immigrate Solidarity Network in Seattle, where she is a fellow working with community members to build a plan to implement the 2019 Keep Washington Working Act enacted by the State Legislature. The act addresses Washington’s economy and immigrants’ role in the workplace.

Submit Your Class Notes

Did you get married? Have a baby? Get your dream job, an award or even a promotion? If you have good news to share with your fellow alums, let us help.

Send us your submission for Class Notes. It’s easy. Just visit heritage.edu/alumni, complete the submission form and upload your picture. Be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you if we have any questions.

News Briefs – Fall 2020

Biology professor’s work published in scholarly review

In September, the Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research published a review article by Associate Professor Dr. Melvin Simoyi. His article, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia in Athletes, the Young and the Old analyses the significance of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), which is the variation of heartbeat in synchrony with respiration in athletes, infants, adolescents, adults and senile adults. RSA is linked to many physiological phenomena including the body’s ability to maintain a stable internal environment (homeostasis), a predictor of nicotine dependency in adolescents, physical fitness, and overall health of the human body. This Review further explores how RSA varies from the early developmental stages to the late senile stages of life.

Heritage VP joins national educational organization board of directors

Dr. Melissa Hill, VP for Student Affairs at Heritage, joined the College Success Foundation board of directors in September.
College Success Foundation was founded by Bob Craves and Ann Ramsay-Jenkins in 2000 to serve student populations who might not otherwise go to college. The foundation provides students with the inspiration, mentoring and financial supports they need to navigate their path to college completion.

College Success Foundation board members are leaders in academia, business and philanthropy, and passionately believe that education raises income, provides security, reduces unemployment and improves health outcomes.

Students benefit from community award

Students impacted by the COVIC-19 pandemic who do not qualify for federal assistance will get the help they need, thanks to a grant from the Yakima Valley Resilience and Response Fund. The fund awarded Heritage a $50,000 grant to provide emergency funding for non-Title IV eligible students, most of whom are DACA students.

The award is the result of a funding partnership between the United Way of Central Washington, the Latino Community Fund and the Yakima Valley Community Foundation.

Gift of laptops bring academic continuity to students during COVID-19 times

A gift from Cadwell Industries is helping Heritage students continue their education through the COVID-19 disruption. The medical device manufacturer based in Kennewick, Washington, donated 90 laptop computers to Heritage and two other colleges in the Tri-cities area for students to use as they work remotely.

Heritage University students are particularly vulnerable during this time of remote learning, said Dr. Kazuhiro Sonoda, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. Many Heritage students are the first in their families to attend college and come from low-income families where access to technology is limited. During normal times, these students depend upon the university’s many computer labs to complete their studies. While the labs are open for student use this semester, with strict social distancing and hygiene protocols in place, concerns for personal safety and the safety of vulnerable family members in their homes can be a barrier to accessing these resources. Students needing laptops can check out these donated computers and complete their studies from the safety of their homes without disrupting their education.

PA students provide drive up flu prevention

Students in Heritage’s Physician Assistant program aren’t waiting until graduation to make an impact on their community’s health. In October, they held a drive-up flu shot clinic on campus. In the two hours the clinic was open, they inoculated 27 people against the flu.

While health officials always recommend that people get their flu shot annually, they are doubling down on their recommendations this year as a way to reduce the drain on healthcare resources already strained by the pandemic.

EmpowHer event brings women together in a virtual celebration of the right to vote

In March, a group of women leaders were poised to come together for an event designed to empower, educate and inspire women. Called EmpowHer, it included a diverse panel of female leaders from across industries, non-profit organizations and political affiliations. Then came COVID, and the world shut down.

Organizers were quick to point out that the event wasn’t canceled, just postponed until it was once again safe to gather. But when weeks turned into months, and the need for sisterhood and inspiration became even more acute as the world struggled with the pandemic, the committee decided to revive the stalled event and move it online.

In October, nearly 100 women from throughout Washington state took to Zoom for a virtual EmpowHer.

“It really was an event true to its name,” said Dana Eliason, senior development director and lead organizer of the event. “It was such a dynamic group of strong, inspiring and supportive women. We all left the event ready to lend our voices to the causes near and dear to each of our hearts and to embrace civil engagement, a right that our grandmothers and great- grandmothers fought so hard to secure.”

True to its original intent, the event featured women from across many sectors, including: Regina Malveaux, director of the Washington State Women’s Commission, Washington State Representatives Debra Lekanoff (D-Burlington) and Gina Mosbrucker (R-Goldendale); Quinn Dalan, Yakima Volunteer Attorney Services executive director; Magaly Solis, La Casa Hogar citizenship program manager; Reesha Cosby, YWCA of Yakima Board of Directors president; Caty Padilla, Nuestra Casa executive director, and Virginia Hislop, community volunteer.

While the theme of this year’s event revolved around the anniversary of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote, Eliason emphasizes that EmpowHer will be an annual event that focuses on issues of importance.

You can watch the event in its entirety online by visiting heritage.edu/empowher.

Leaders for the Good of the Nation

Every year, Heritage University kicks off its celebration of Native American Heritage Month with a flag-raising and honoring ceremony recognizing four Native American elders. This year global circumstances forced us to celebrate differently. While we were unable to come together for the gatherings, we celebrated nonetheless with virtual lectures and the selection and public promotion of the four elders whose lifetime contributions to their community made and continue to make a significant impact in the lives of others. This year, we recognize:

“PUNIA” KIP RICHARD RAMSEY, SR. is an entrepreneur, a staunch advocate for treaty rights,
and a historian. Over his lifetime, he has built a cattle ranch and feedlot, a logging company, two gas stations and restaurants, and a tribal fuel distributorship. His businesses add to the economic vitality of the communities in which they sit and employ many Yakama tribal members and others in the community. When the State of Washington infringed upon his rights to move his products freely on state roads to bring them to market, he refused to back down. Twice, he took his battle to protect treaty rights all the way to the Supreme Court. Twice he won, reaffirming the Yakama Nation’s status as a sovereign nation. Above all, Kip is dedicated to serving the people of his community. He sits on numerous boards of directors, including the Heritage University board, for the last 35 years. Punia is an advocate for education and a protector of cultural treasures.

SHARON GOUDY “KUMSHAPUM” is a dedicated mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and wife of more than 50 years to Pat Goudy, who is rooted in her Christian faith and traditional religions and commitment to ensuring the sovereignty of the Yakama Nation. Her work building the vitality of Yakama Nation programs and enterprises spans more than 50 years and began while she was earning her college degree. She’s led programs that support tribal members’ economic independence, oversaw the administration of the tribe’s law and justice programs, and currently manages YN Credit Enterprise. She has a heart for youth and elder services. Through her term on Tribal Council, she helped lay the groundwork for the revenue-generating businesses runt hrough Yakama Nation Enterprises. She serves on the Elders Board and college intertribal relations board. Her work ensuring sovereignty and the welfare of indigenous people isn’t limited to the Yakama Nation. She’s spent 21 years serving on the Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians, a consortium of 57 tribes, helping to build policies and initiatives that address tribal sovereignty.

SUPTIKAWAI LARENA SOHAPPY, the daughter of Julia and Frank Sohappy, a well-known medicine man, grew up in the Wapato and Priest Rapids Longhouses. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school and college, having attended Haskell Institute. Suptikawai dedicated herself to helping the people of the Yakama Nation. She served as an interpreter for elders seeking financial and housing services with Yakama Nation Housing Authority. While at Yakama Nation Credit, she helped establish the tribal payroll deduction program, which later became the rotating credit program. As coordinator of the Yakama Victims of Crime Assistance Program, she helped crime victims access services to help them heal. Additionally, she served as a Tribal Council member and is currently Vice Chairwoman of the General Council. Suptikawai is one of the elders of the Wapto Kaatnum and an elder at the Priest Rapids Longhouse. Above all, she is dedicated to her large, extended family.

DAVIS “YELLOWASH” WASHINES has dedicated his life to protecting the welfare of the Yakama Nation, the Yakama people and the rights guaranteed to them by the US-Yakama Treaty of 1855. He dedicated more than 35 years to ensure the safety of his community as a Yakama tribal police officer, the chief of police, and the chief of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. He worked on many efforts to improve the safety of tribal members, including the establishment of mandatory seatbelt laws on the Yakama Nation, and bringing national attention to the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women. He is a dedicated advocate for protecting Yakama treaty rights and was instrumental in restoring the original spelling of the Yakama name as it is recorded in the US-Yakama Treaty of 1855.

Three Letter Word for Success

Blake Slonecker can still picture it: his grandmother at her dining room table, pencil in hand, newspaper and well-worn crossword dictionary before her. She’s working the puzzle in the Eugene Register-Guard.

Blake Slonecker

It’s his first memory of crosswords.

“She did the puzzle every day,” said Slonecker. “I remember picking it up around age 10. I didn’t get very far.”

By adulthood, Slonecker, a history professor and chair of Heritage University’s Humanities Department, had become a practiced and skilled crossword solver.

Then about three years ago, he tried creating one. It was challenging – but Slonecker enjoys mastering challenges.

He’s now written more than 40 advanced crosswords and has had 15 of them published in the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

On December 10 of last year, Slonecker got an email letting him know he’d reached the holy grail of aspiring crossword creators everywhere.

He’d just have to be patient to see his words in print.

FROM PAPER NAPKINS

Twenty years since he first started working them, Slonecker finishes the Sunday New York Times crossword – the section’s most difficult of its seven daily puzzles – in about an hour.

He said it takes him an average of five hours to create one.

It was in scratching out puzzles on restaurant napkins that he started thinking about creating crosswords.

“We’d be out to dinner, and my girls would ask me to make them a crossword,” Slonecker said. “It made me think about the relationship between words, clues, and your audience.”

Pre-pandemic, Slonecker would often use his drive time for that creative process – trying to think of well-known phrases with double meanings around which he could build a puzzle.

Ideas can also come randomly.

“A friend asked if I’d had any good ideas lately for puzzle themes. When I said no, he said, ‘You’ve got writer’s block.’ From that, came an idea for a puzzle with famous writers’ names contained in a block.”

Hidden within many crossword puzzles is the “revealer” – a phrase, like “writer’s block,” that gives the puzzle’s theme.

For his crossword “Mixed Greens,” Slonecker’s “theme entries” were popular types of salad greens with the letters in each of those words mixed up.

Last year, Slonecker used his familiarity with the history of 1960s counterculture to create a puzzle for the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. The revealer was “Woodstock.”

“People obviously thought of the concert, but the trick was that I was using it literally – the two words ‘wood’ and ‘stock.’ I had names of trees hidden in the words of the puzzle.”

WORD CURATOR

It’s that kind of clever thought process that’s been the fuel of crosswords since the first one was created in 1913 by a British journalist.

Until recently, constructors used paper, pencil – and, presumably, plenty of erasers. Today, said Slonecker, everyone utilizes software like Crossfire, which is his preference. The constructor does the deep thinking; the software assists the process.

Once you have your theme, said Slonecker, you work with a 15-by-15-inch square comprised of white blocks. You place keywords, come up with filler words, change white blocks to black blocks

where words begin and end. Constructors work with purchased word lists; Slonecker’s puts 800,000 words at his disposal.

“Click on the available squares, and it gives you every word that fits,” Slonecker said.

Though this part may sound rote, Slonecker said it’s a very creative process.

“It’s like, ‘This word is boring – but this word is playful!’

“It’s like being an art museum curator: ‘This piece and this piece will look really cool together!’

“A constructor is really a curator of excellent words.”

When solving a puzzle, Slonecker said, there is an “aha!” moment that comes when the puzzle’s revealer finally makes sense. It’s really satisfying, he said: “Almost like you’ve been let in on an inside joke.”

“When creating a puzzle, there’s the same feeling, but multiplied a few times – like you’re the one letting people in on a really great inside joke.”

A blog called crosswordfiend.com reviews every major daily puzzle published. Slonecker said bloggers reviewing his puzzles have said things like, “great idea – why didn’t I think of that!”

“That’s a major satisfaction: creating a puzzle where the wordplay is so smooth that, once solved, it feels entirely natural and obvious.”

SUBJECT LINE: CROSSWORD . . .

When the New York Times Crossword section sends you a rejection, you know it even before you open the email. Not surprisingly, the subject line is “Crossword.”

Slonecker received about 25 of those since he first began submitting his work, but he knew his work was good enough, so he kept it up.

But that December 10 email last year: It was from the New York Times. Its subject line containedone extra word, whose crossword clue could have been: “A three-letter word for success.”

It was: “Crossword – yes!”

Slonecker remembers smiling big when he saw it. He savored the moment. He opened the email, read it, then went and told his family his news.

“We had a bottle of champagne that night,” he smiles.

His puzzle will run in the New York Times sometime in the next few months.

As a History Ph.D., Slonecker’s been published many times. He said he figures the number of people reading his scholarly work is probably measured in the dozens.

“But seeing that puzzle? Probably in the millions,” he said.

“It’s very fun realizing that many people are engaging with your ideas.”

Dr. Blake Slonecker invites you to try one of his puzzles. “I prepared this puzzle to share with everybody at Heritage on All-University Day in January 2020. At the time, Heritage’s leadership team included Andrew Sund, Mel Hill, Taylor Hall, Kazu Sonoda, and David Wise; Heritage’s founding President, of course, is Sister Kathleen Ross. And a reminder: clues that require wordplay in order to solve, end with a ?. Good luck!”

To download a printable copy of the crossword puzzle, click here: Blake Slonecker Crossword Puzzle.

Visit heritage.edu/puzzle to see how well you did solving the puzzle.

A Legacy of Caring Begets a Legacy of Care

In the 1970s, when Nathan and Elaine Ballou moved to Richland, Washington, the land surrounding their new home was little more than a hillside of rocks, dirt and weeds. Where many would have seen a patch of impossibility, the Ballous saw potential. The couple went to work carving out the land, planting evergreens, and building a multi-layered landscape completed with pathways and ponds, a trickling stream, even a waterfall that cascades down to a lower patio. To sit in their garden today, it’s hard to imagine the grounds being anything other than the tranquil retreat that is so perfectly situated that it feels like Mother Nature unapologetically placed her best woodland landscape in the heart of the shrub-steppe.

Scholarship recipient Karen Mendoza-Arellano (B.S.N., 2019) is a nurse at Prestige Care and Rehabilitation in Sunnyside, Washington.

The Ballous’ gardens are a testament to what can happen when opportunity meets passion and passion ignites inspiration in which motivates hard work. Some would say that the couple built a legacy over their lifetime. That is true. However, their legacy isn’t only in the shrubs and stones that shape their beautiful landscape. It is also in the lives they touch and will continue to touch long after the trees they planted stop growing.

Twelve years ago, the Ballous established the Elaine and Nathan Ballou Scholarship in Nursing and Health Sciences and later made provisions in their estate plans to ensure the fund will continue at Heritage in perpetuity. Their generosity makes it possible for students to pursue their dreams of higher education and the opportunities that come from earning their degrees.

Happenstance lead the Ballous to Heritage. Elaine was on lunch break walking around Richland one afternoon when she saw a sign for Heritage College. Intrigued, she went into the building to learn more. She spoke to the staff in the outreach office for the Tri-Cities regional site and took home a brochure to show to her husband.

Senior, nursing major and scholarship recipient Samuel Cuevas (left) will graduate in spring 2021.

Nathan, then a chemist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, was from a large mid-west family of humble means. He earned his bachelor’s degree through the help of scholarships, and the attention of a particular professor whom he befriended during his undergraduate studies helped him be successful and spurred him on to continue his education until he earned a Ph.D.

“Nate always wanted to establish a scholarship at his alma mater in honor of his professor,” said Elaine. “When I showed him the brochure for Heritage, he said it sounded like something that we should get more information about. We drove up to campus and met Sr. Kathleen and some of the students. The young people we met were all so committed to their education, the staff were incredibly dedicated to the students, and the quality of the education was fantastic.”

Scholarship recipient Alejandra Arteaga, B.S.N., 2019 (right) is a nurse at Toppenish Hospital. Her fellow alum Shelby Clark (B.S.N., 2019) is a doctoral candidate in the nursing program at the University of Washington.

“Nate (who passed away in 2016) loved to learn. He learned from everybody. He could sense that same spirit in the students we met at Heritage. These are students who really value their education,” said Elaine. “No student should be deprived of their opportunity to learn if they want to learn.”

Sitting on her patio under the warm fall sunshine, Elaine is humble as she talks about her and Nathan’s relationship with Heritage and its students.

“It’s not about the financial,” she said. “It’s about doing what we can to support what we value, what we care about.”

Scholarship recipient Erika Scheel is a senior in the nursing program and will graduate in May.

The conversation shifts back to her garden and the decades of love and care she and her husband dedicated to nurturing every flower, shrub and tree. In many ways, it is a physical representation of what they are doing at Heritage, but with far greater reach than their own back yard. Through their support, they are nurturing generations of students. They are giving them the chance to show the world what great things can happen when opportunity meets their passions and ignites their inspiration, which leads them to work hard and, thus, change their lives and the lives of their families. This is the Ballous’ true legacy.