2021年度杰出校友

THE IMPORTANCE OF education was instilled in Gale Crosby ’81 from a young age. 附近没有基督复临学院, his parents sold the family farm in Michigan and moved 6-year old Gale and his three siblings to the Walla Walla Valley. 在那里，盖尔就读于罗杰斯基督复临学校, 沃拉沃拉山谷学院, 最后是沃拉沃拉大学.

“我的父母放弃了他们的家, heritage, and livelihood in order to provide educational opportunities they knew to be important for the success of their children,” Gale says.

That value of Adventist education influenced Gale to spend more than 40 years working in educational settings. He has taught at Redlands Adventist Academy; principled at Buena Vista Adventist Elementary School, 胡德视图基督复临学校, and Portland Adventist Academy; and currently serves as educational superintendent for the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

“A teacher’s true mark on the world is seen through the changed lives of their students,” says Gale. His current work is to develop plans to help teachers and principals provide opportunities for students to learn, grow, 并为周围的人服务. The team works to instill in each student the confidence to know they are true sons and daughters of God.

Gale says, “To make a difference in the life of a child—there is nothing more powerful. It has been my true honor to spend my career in Adventist education after having received such a great education at WWU that prepared me for this work.”

汉德尔在中北部大学开始了他的大学生涯, but transferred to 沃拉沃拉大学 to pursue a degree in civil engineering. While studying engineering, new friends introduced Handel to the field of aviation. 就在那时，他意识到了自己真正的激情所在. He graduated in 2001 from WWU with a bachelor’s degree in aviation technology and a professional pilot license and ratings.

由于9月11日的事件. 11, the fall of 2001 was a difficult time to be looking for a position as a pilot. However, 带着祷告和对目标的坚定承诺, 他得到了一份装卸工的工作, worked as a flight instructor with the Pan Am International Flight Training Academy, 并最终在塔霍马航空公司获得了第一份飞行员工作.

Handel subsequently worked for Spirit Airlines, Qatar Airways, and UPS while traveling the world. He has been entrusted with management positions and the responsibility of recruiting and assessing new pilots. He has also pursued a law degree at Taft Law School and is a registered arbitrator and mediator.

Handel says that God has used the foundation he received at WWU to lead him to wonderful career opportunities. He has been blessed with his wife, Maria Carmen, and their two children, Charles and Cataleya. His advice to all WWU students is to “Never forget to put God first in your life. 一旦你做到了这一点，生活中就没有什么是你做不到的.”

YOU MAY KNOW Kelli Rizzo Wheeler by her professional radio name, Kelli Caldwell.

Her journey to radio work started in 1986 when she first went on air for WWU’s Positive Life Radio. 她的大学生活, Kelli says, “The memories we made in those years are some of the best in our lives, 还有威尼斯人彩票直营通过《威尼斯人彩票直营》结识的朋友, band, and our Christian contemporary music band are still friends today.“当她和丈夫在一起的时候，她带着这些回忆, Mark, 1991年离开沃拉沃拉大学.

住在弗雷斯诺, California, Kelli and Mark were called to travel as musical missionaries with The Celebrant Singers. Kelli says, “Our years as missionaries were life-changing as we saw that God was alive in His people all over the world.”

AIn 2001—after several years back in California and now with two sons, Jarod and Alec—Kelli was again called to serve through Christian music. She worked with Christian radio station KDUV before God opened doors to a position with K-LOVE Radio. Kelli has now worked as on-air talent for Air1 and K-LOVE for the past 15 years. She has emceed concerts in Madison Square Garden and sang a duet with Amy Grant on the radio.

WHEN HIGH SCHOOL senior Gary Wiss first stepped onto the 沃拉沃拉大学 campus after the long bus trip from Portland Union Academy Grade School, he was in awe. “The campus before me was the most beautiful place I had ever seen... 奇怪的是，我觉得自己回到了家.”

That fall, 他注册了牙科预科专业, but soon found a penchant for writing and began studying English. 支付学费, he held a handful of jobs including cleaning the floors of the administration building and working for The Collegian.

尽管他工作很努力, at the start of his senior year he didn’t have the money to go back to school, 所以在1958年11月, Gary was drafted and sent to Fort Sam Houston to train as a surgical technician. 当他1960年退役时, Gary returned to Portland and worked as a lab technician and perfusionist at the University of Oregon Medical School.

他在那里的工作很愉快, but Gary says, “在我的脑海里, 我的母校永远在低语, 叫我回去完成学业.”

In 1965, he quit his job and returned to WWU where he enrolled as a 30-year-old, married, 英语专业大四. Just a month before graduation, he was offered a faculty position at the university. Gary went on to teach for 44 years, serve as the chair of the English department, aching. 他于2011年退休. 他说:“我一直想帮助别人，我想我成功了。.

加里和他的妻子谢里现在住在华盛顿州的芬代尔. 他们的儿子内特和他的家人住在贝灵汉附近.

Gary says, 一夜又一夜, the places and faces of 沃拉沃拉大学 enliven my dreams, 只要我还活着, 它们将在记忆中栩栩如生.”