As a young man growing up in Seattle, Wash., Daniel O’Leary ‘86 set his sights on medical school

Thompson, Beth Rogers

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Touching Lives in the Classroom

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Linfield Magazine Volume 1 Number 3 Winter 2005 Article 19 Winter 2005 Touching Lives in the Classroom Beth Rogers Thompson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Thompson, Beth Rogers (2005) "Touching Lives in the Classroom," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 1 : No. 3 , Article 19. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol1/iss3/19 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. As a young man growing up in Seattle, Wash.,Daniel O’Leary ‘86 set his sights on medical school. But his studies at Linfield and an internship at IBMspurred other interests. Today, he is a Ph.D. rather thanan M.D., an award-winning associate professor of chem-istry at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. O’Leary graduated magna cum laude from Linfieldwith a B.A. in chemistry and biology. He earned a Ph.D.in chemistry from UCLA in 1991. As a graduate stu-dent, he won the 1988 American Chemical SocietyOrganic Division Fellowship and UCLA’s 1991Winstein Dissertation Prize.  A postdoctoral stint atHarvard completed his formal training.Since 1994, he has taught chemistry at Pomona, acollege that shares Linfield’s emphasis on undergraduateeducation. In 1997 and 2003, he received Pomona’shighest teaching award. And in 2003 he also won thecollege’s Irvine Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award. O’Leary said he was the first person in his family toattend a small college.“My high school track coach got me thinkingabout Linfield,” he said, “and I figured he wouldn’t steerme wrong. He told me one thing about Linfield wasthat all the people he’d met from there were greatpeople. I fell in love with the small college atmosphereand made a decision that I wanted to teach at a placelike Linfield.”A nationally recognized organic chemist, O’Learyspecializes in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy,which he translates as “a cousin of MRI (magneticresonance imaging). It’s a cutting-edge way to look atmolecular structure.” He is interested in the synthesisand study of chemically modified biological struc-tures. These investigations are funded by theNational Science Foundation and by The Camilleand Henry Dreyfus Foundation.With no graduate school at Pomona, O’Learyinvolves undergraduates in his research.  “Theymake it happen in the laboratory and then get tocommunicate their results at meetings and inscientific papers,” he said.  Four of his recentpapers have appeared in the prestigious Journal ofthe American Chemical Society.The close student-faculty relationships in asmaller college pay off, O’Leary said. “Studentsfrom small colleges have unique skills when theygo to graduate school. They know how to doresearch. They’re comfortable around professors. They’reable to successfully operate in an intellectual environ-ment.” In spring 2001, O’Leary taught a graduate courseat the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and foundthat students who had attended smaller collegeswere more likely to visit him during office hours.At home, O’Leary said, he enjoys being active withhis family. He met his wife, June, at UCLA, where sheearned an M.S. in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in publichealth.  She works as a consultant for the Rand Corp.They have three daughters, 8, 3 and 2. O’Leary was anassistant coach for his 8-year-old’s soccer team. He joined Linfield’s Board of Trustees in 2004 andcontinues to follow Linfield sports. He watched the2004 football national championship game on televisionwith a Pomona friend who had competed against himfor Lewis and Clark’s track team during O’Leary’sLinfield years.And medical school? No regrets. O’Leary figures hehas touched more lives by teaching than he would haveas a physician. He said he has helped many studentsadvance to medical school, “so I’m doing my part forthe health industry.”– Beth Rogers ThompsonTouching lives in the classroomClass Notes3 0  -  L I N F I E L D  M A G A Z I N E W I N T E R  2 0 0 5 -   3 1Dan O’Leary ‘86 with his family, from left, Frances,June, Katie (front) and Maggie.Hillsboro married James Neville.Carolyn McQuaw ’00 of StateCollege, Pa., married James Watney’00 Sept. 18 in McMinnville.Joshua Halsey ’00 of Seattle,Wash., is prevention resourcecoordinator for the Puget SoundEducational Service District. He is also head soccer coach atEvergreen High School and con-tinues clinical work as an alco-holism therapist at HarborviewMedical Center.Timothy Redfern ‘00 ofAtkinson, N.H., is manager of internal audit for SkillSoft PLC, ane-learning company.Robert and Trisha (Grieb)Grover, both ’00, of Bend had ason, Joseph, May 6, their second.Diana L. Stephens ’00 ofPortland received her master’s inarchitecture from the University ofOregon.Vickie (Grassmann) Wright’00 of Salem is working on a mas-ter’s in teaching at WillametteUniversity.Merilee (Cosgrove)Zimbelman ’00 of Parker, Colo.,and her husband, Taylor, had a son,Trenten Reed, Nov. 19.Jennifer Deeder ’00 of Allston,Mass., graduated with a master’s inmarketing communication fromEmerson College in Boston.Donegal Fergus ’00 ofLongview, Wash., married KimberlyFranett Dec. 31 in Costa Rica. Andrew Brawley ’01 ofBurbank, Calif., is internationalmarketing coordinator for THQ, avideo game manufacturer inCalabasas Hills.Christopher Flores ’01 ofBeaverton married Jennifer Pierce’99 Sept. 4 in Hillsboro.Heather Thompson ’01 ofPortland is a financial accountingassociate at Mazama CapitalManagement in Portland.Kimo H. Mahi ’01 ofMcMinnville completed a master’sin health education and teachesmiddle school in Salem.Lisa Taylor ’01 of Portland wasawarded the Chartered FinancialAnalyst designation in November.She is an investor relations managerfor Homestead Capital.Kelly Kannan ’01 of  Vallejo,Calif., married George SavageMarch 28.Deborah Meyer and ErikMoen, both ’02, of Tualatin weremarried June 18. She works atWillamette Valley Fruit Company inSalem and he teaches and coachesin Tualatin. Amber Bowles ’01 of Bendmarried Brent Wilson Aug. 7. Darren D. Heath ’02 of SanDiego, Calif., plays baseball for an inde-pendent team in Chillicothe, Ohio. Ryan Cruz ’02 of Hillsboromarried Stacia Wiggins July 10. Heteaches at Westside Christian HighSchool.Monica Thompson ’02 ofBeaverton married Brian SpanglerAug. 21. Julaine Nygren ’02 of Salemmarried Sergei Furduy Jr. April 24.Kristin Haring ’02 of Lacey,Wash., married Justin Sprague June 30.Kathleen R. Fraser ’02 ofSheridan teaches at GrandhavenElementary School in McMinnville.Kyle J. Bradstreet ’03 marriedLindsay Schlieski ’02 of LakeOswego on June 19. He is a con-struction supervisor and she is anaccountant. Tracy Forrester ’03 of Burbank,Calif., is account coordinator atMPRM, a Los Angeles-based enter-tainment public relations firm.Lisa Watson ’03 of Astoriareceived her master’s degree inteaching with a special educationendorsement and secondary author-ization from Pacific University. Sheis a resource room specialist atWarrenton High School.Paul D. Beck ’03 of Bountiful,Utah, and his wife, Megan, had ason, Harrison Daniel, Sept. 24.Zachary R. Dahl ’02 andNicholas D. Dahl ’03, both ofToledo, have purchased SiletzSanitary Service, merging it withDahl Disposal Service. Natalie Shivers ’03 ofMcMinnville married JohnBehrends Sept. 3 in Dayton.Jamie Brown and ClarkPaterson, both ’03, were marriedAug. 11 in Oregon City. They arepursuing graduate studies inColorado.Brandon Fricke ’03 ofMcMinnville teaches physical edu-cation at Taft High School.Laycee (Tucker) Grauer ’03of Sheridan teaches third grade inthe Sheridan School District.Erin Bernard ’03 is a teacherin Cozumel, Mexico.Justin R. Knapp ’03 ofShoreline, Wash., teaches elementaryschool in Seattle.Katy Schopfer ’03 of Salem isan employment recruiter forBusiness Careers of Seattle, Wash.Denise (Biron) Arnold ’04 ofNewberg and her husband had ason, Reid Arnold, June 10.Lillian S. Read ’04 of ForestGrove went on an archaeological digand spent three months in Europe.Corrine Sparks and MattHaning, both ’04, of McMinnvillewere married Aug. 21. She is anoutreach counselor for LinfieldCollege admission and he is anEnglish as a second language assis-tant for Newberg School District.Deborah Schor and John-Paul Dion, both ’04, of Portlandwere married July 23 in Corvallis.Crystal Mascorro ’04 ofHillsboro works with the conven-tion services group of the PortlandOregon Visitors Association.Stephanie Mattie ’04 of LakeOswego married James Bergh Aug.13. She is an accountant withParrott Partnership.In memoriamJanet (McAllister) Warren ’34of McMinnville, Dec. 12.J. Richard Nokes ’36 of KingCity, Oct. 23. Linfield trustee emeri-tus. Survivors include his wife,Evelyn (Junkin) Nokes ’36, anddaughter, Gail (Nokes) Hulden’66.Stanley P. Cornils ’39 ofVallejo, Calif., Oct. 5.John Leland Moore ’39 ofSherwood, Dec. 26.Robert G. Gemmell ’41 ofDickinson, Texas, June 11.Dorothy (Boslar) Rhoads ’41of Bend, Oct. 6.Ellene (Groening) Monnes’43 of Gresham, Nov. 13. Survivorsinclude her husband, Bernard J.“Bud” ’42.Bette (Allen) Claiborn ’45 ofKimberly, Idaho, Sept. 20.Philip G. O’Meara Sr. ’46 ofWasco, Sept. 6.Charles E. Brickwedel ’48 ofBrookings, S.D., Oct. 23.Glenn L. Bates ’50 ofNewberg, Oct. 30.Lewis E. “Bud” Aldrich Jr.’50 of Rock Creek, Sept. 19.Edward F. Chiodo ’50 ofRancho Cordova, Calif., Aug. 4. J. Norman Guedon ’50 ofPleasanton, Calif., March 24.Joe Brinton ’51 of Springfield,Oct. 17.Bruce W. Steller ’55 of LasVegas, Nev., July 13.Joy (Proffitt) Schaefer ’57 ofWest Linn, Oct. 2. Survivors includea son, Casey ‘82.Mary Lou (Cranage) Berg’57 of Bainbridge Island, Wash.,Aug. 3.Charles H. Westfall ’58 ofSelah, Wash., Dec. 22.Miriam (Eccles) Helseth ’58and ’60 of Salem, Dec. 31.William L. Bladine ’61 ofMcMinnville,11 Oct. 21.Rev. Harley D. Hunt ’62 ofTacoma, Wash., Oct. 17. Survivorsinclude a sister, Muriel (Hunt)Dresser ’59.JoAnn (Wright) Ragain ’63of Glendive, Mont., Oct. 25.Survivors include her husband,Kermit ’61, and son, Kerry ’91.Constance (Malerick) Miri’64 of Los Altos, Calif., Jan. 16, 2004.Alvin A. Hieb ’65 of Tigard,Sept. 30.Gaylee (Wasco) Veatch ’69 ofBeaverton, Nov. 15.Julie (Small) Wells ’69 of Salem,Jan. 13. Survivors include her husband,Alan ’67, and son, Joseph ’06.Robert Williams ’74 of Oakland,Calif., July 9. Lori A. Cowan ’79 of Newberg,Dec. 23.Ronald Smith ’80 of Hartford,Conn., June 3.James N. Erickson ’82 ofPortland, Dec. 14.Deborah A. Jardin ’84 ofFredericksburg, Va., Oct. 1.Carol Terjeson-Rolph ’88of Portland, Jan. 3.Julee (Villarreal) Turpin ’00of Portland, Aug. 29. GSHElva “Kae” Hampton GSH’40 of Portland, Aug. 23.Anna (Hanford) Craft GSH’45 of Sandy, Dec. 12. Glenys Mansell-MatthewsGSH ’52 of Portland, Sept. 20.Friends and familyHilja (Hill) Burton ofMcMinnville, Jan. 6. She was thewife of the late Theodore R.Burton ’26. Survivors include hersons, William Burton ’69 andGeorge Burton ’60. Son JonBurton ’63 preceded her in death.John “Jack” Cook ofMcMinnville, Dec. 24.Myrtle D. Hartley ofMcMinnville, Nov. 23.Arlene Miller of Dayton, Oct.25. She worked at the physical plantfor many years. Survivors includeher husband, Douglas ’50.Dallas W. Wilson of Portland,Nov. 6.Bob Wells of Carlton, Jan. 12.He was physical plant director formany years.

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Touching Lives in the Classroom

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