New faculty member admires Northwest

Moving to the northwest is a new experience for Texas native Keya Mitra, but the Pacific community has already made her feel at home.

“I’m really excited to be here. I’m impressed by how inviting the students are and the amount of culture on campus,” said Mitra, new assistant professor of English.

Mitra came to Pacific after teaching for three years at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. Some of her favorite activities are writing, reading, yoga, hiking.

“I think Forest Park is pretty magical, because it’s in the middle of the city but you feel secluded,” said Mitra.

During the summer, Mitra explored the many sites of Portland and said she liked the wide variety of restaurants and food carts throughout the city. She has had many family members and friends visit her since she moved here and has enjoyed showing them the Japanese and Chinese gardens and also visited a mummy exhibit at OMSI, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

At Pacific, Mitra is teaching writing fiction and monsters and demons in literature.

She currently has a publishing contract for her book that’s temporary title is “Love After Life.” She has also published a short story collection and wrote a book length memoir while living in India for a year.

Her favorite part of being in the Pacific Northwest is the natural beauty of the area and the attention people pay to the way they live.

“There’s a real richness to the people here,” said Mitra. “There’s a consciousness to the way people eat, live and how they treat the environment woven into the culture.”