Pacific Index

The Alumni Awards and Donor Celebration recognized seven inspiring alumni whom we can all learn from

The Alumni Awards and Donor Celebration took place on the Thursday of Homecoming week. Seven alumni were recognized, and their acceptance speeches were beautifully different; each offering a bit of advice for us all. 

Pacific’s Alumni Association bestowed three different awards that represented their own unique purpose. The first was the Emerging Leader Award, a testament to the work our alumni have taken on that goes beyond themselves. The second was the David and Sandy Lowe Alumni Service Award, named after alumni who were major supporters of Pacific throughout their lives. This award honors those who make significant contributions to Pacific University. The final award given was the Outstanding Alumni Award and it acknowledges those who make significant contributions to their community or professions. 

This year, Rhony Bhopla ’22 and Eddie Carrillo ’17 received the Emerging Leader Award. Bhopla used her acceptance speech to speak of things that are bigger than herself, which showed her great capacity for leadership. She wrote and shared a poem about a recent suicide she witnessed. Her ability to present the speech with such grace was unforgettable, and her words reminded the room of the importance of speaking about difficult things. 

Carrillo’s speech followed Bhopla, and he took the opportunity to emotionally express his fond memories of Pacific and his gratitude. “I’m really fortunate,” he said between joyful tears. “I just think there’s a lot of things I wouldn’t have known without coming to Pacific.”  

The next pair of alumni, Tony Cox ’74 and Jim Fitzgerald ‘68, were awarded the David and Sandy Lowe Alumni Service Award. Cox’s humility shined through in his acceptance speech as he spent a large portion of it thanking the people around him and encouraging others to do what they can for the younger generation. “I hope that my name is remembered, when I’m dust in the ground, for being one of those people that had something to do in helping the next generation,” he shared. 

Fitzgerald’s acceptance speech followed, and he pointed out the key skills Pacific helped him instill in his life; networking, communication, and critical thinking. “Those three intangibles have just served me throughout my career, so thank you Pacific University for that.” 

The last award bestowed was the Outstanding Alumni Award, and this was presented to three alumni: Jessie Lamb ’07, Oliver McCoy ’95, and Brian Swan ’70. Lamb kicked off this round of acceptance speeches, but hers was a bit different; she spoke to the room through a screen. Unable to attend the banquet, Lamb filmed her speech and shared her story and advice through video. Lamb has dedicated her career to working in a nonprofit space on a number of issues. “All we really need in this world is a little more compassion and a little less greed,” Lamb said, quoting author Eric Schlosser. “I would add that we could also use a little more action.”  

After the applause for Lamb died down, McCoy took the stage and shared with the attendees his incredible adventures and professional journey. McCoy has traveled all over, committing his efforts to aiding war-torn regions and advocating for human rights. “I came a long way to be here,” he said with a mix of emotion and humor. “About 5,000 miles from Belgrade, Serbia. And it really is a homecoming for me.” Aside from his mesmerizing tales and travels, he also recalled the lessons he learned at Pacific. “Your enthusiasm is something that magnetizes other people to you, and I learned that here.” 

The final recipient, Swan, used his moment on the stage to share something very important and crucial to remembering. “Today I stand before you as a representative of black students,” he shared with pride. “All of us in this room should have learned that we all have value.” He told the story of how the Boxer statue was taken decades ago as a form of protest, and while the Boxer is now returned, we should never forget why it was taken. “It’s story is our story,” he explained. “It should remain a symbol to remind us to respect every human being.”