CWU Class of 2008: Dedicated, Giving

June 5, 2008

ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- Each year, a handful of CWU graduates is highlighted in the media and in ceremonies for their dedication, accomplishments and contributions. But this is an exceptional year. In our search for students that are an inspiration at CWU, we've found that the entire class of 2008 stands out.

One area in which '08 grads have excelled is in community engagement, a growing movement across the U.S. The Class of '08 has lent a helping hand to hurricane and earthquake victims. They've set up programs at CWU that encourage ethical consumerism and mentoring. They've volunteered wherever help is needed in the Ellensburg community, the central Washington region and worldwide.

This year's class of graduates also have embraced new ways of serving their communities and becoming increasingly engaged according to Lorinda Anderson, director of the Don and Verna Duncan Civic Engagement Center. She says "Our students have become active in community-based services, and with the assistance of their professors and university staff, have integrated community service projects with classroom learning. Service experiences have had positive impacts on students' personal, professional and academic development."

Suzanne Dantzler is one of those students. As if graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration wasn't enough, the CWU business student managed to find time along the way to raise more than $27,000 for several different global humanitarian causes.

For the past three years, Dantzler has been coordinating a project called Giving with Love. Through this project, she collected used textbooks that bookstores will not buy back from students and sells them online. At the end of each quarter, she places book collection boxes at local bookstores, businesses and across campus in the hope that students will donate the books they are unable to sell back. She then donates the money she collects through Giving with Love to various organizations such as World Vision and World Concerns, to help improve the quality of life in developing countries.

Angela Reid's passion for animals drives her community service. Reid is graduating with Bachelor of Science in Primate Behavior and Ecology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. She is a chimpanzee caregiver at Central's Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute and volunteers at the Ellensburg Animal Shelter.

Reid also rescues every stray dog and cat that comes her way. On a late-night drive back to Ellensburg from Yakima, she saw a dog running down the white stripe of Highway 82. Angela doubled back to pick up the dog, which was starving and had two poorly healed broken legs. Angela worked hand-in-hand with a veterinarian to nurse the dog back to health and coordinated with university staff to find him a local home.

2008 graduate Andres Moreno is not only an inspiration to current and prospective students, he's also become an inspiration to his entire family. He is the first in his family to earn a college degree, as are over 40 percent of CWU students. Moreno is earning a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. But the Aztecan descendant also aspires to become fluent in the Aztecan language of Nahuati.

He started out working the agricultural fields in the Yakima Valley alongside his father. He went on to obtain a Bill Gates Scholarship and participated in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at CWU. A mentor to current, new and prospective students, Moreno has worked for the office of Admissions throughout his years at Central, and he has served as the Cat Tracks program coordinator, a student-produced program developed to enlighten visitors about CWU, all from a student's perspective.

Members of the Class of 2008 have defined themselves through service in many ways. Their contributions are enhancing the quality of life on the CWU campus, the region and the world.

Media Contact: Becky Watson, CWU Public Relations & Marketing, bwatson@cwu.edu,509-963-1117 or 509-899-1222

Central Washington University is a master's degree-granting institution with approximately 10,000 students and 1,500 faculty and staff. More than 160 undergraduate and master's degrees are offered. Founded in 1891, the Ellensburg campus is located in the heart of Washington State, nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River. Since 1975, CWU has served the needs of place bound students at six university centers throughout the state. CWU is an AA/EEO Title IX Institution.