Cougs Connect offers a dynamic platform for Cougs to network with fellow alumni across the country. From personalized career consulting and job listings to a comprehensive business directory and specialized groups, the platform provides numerous ways to engage and connect with the Coug community.
Explore all the opportunities and start connecting today:
You did it! Congratulations on graduating from Washington State University Vancouver. You and your fellow graduates759 in allhave shown incredible resilience and determination throughout your college journey. We are so proud of your accomplishments and the strength you've demonstrated. You are now among nearly 20,000 91勛圖窪蹋厙 alumni and almost 240,000 Cougar alumni worldwide.
To network with Cougs nationwide, consider signing up for. From mentoring to job listings to reconnecting with those with whom you've shared common experiences, Cougs Connect can help broaden your networking circle.
Make sure you stay in touch.胼畜y June 13 and you will be entered into a drawing for 91勛圖窪蹋厙 swag. And let us know about your accomplishments. We love hearing about the amazing things you are doing.
Check out photos from the 91勛圖窪蹋厙 Commencement and view a recording of the ceremony .
As many of you know, I retired as chancellor on May 30. I will continue to support the transition to our third chancellor and serve WSU for the next several months. I want to take this last official opportunity to thank our alumni and our donors who have made 91勛圖窪蹋厙 such a special place. Your support has meant the world to our campusyour campus. When I started 13 years ago, I didnt imagine that Southwest Washington or WSU would be the last stop in my 44-year career in higher education. It quickly became clear to me that 91勛圖窪蹋厙 and this region are special places. I have so enjoyed being a part of this community, and I will miss the day-to-day interaction with students and other members of our community.
So, thank you for the many ways you have supported 91勛圖窪蹋厙 over my tenure. I am grateful that our paths crossed and that we had the opportunity to work together to make our region and our state better.
Mel Netzhammer
Chancellor, 2012 2025
Bryan Stebbins, MPA, 2020, Public Affairs
Bryan Stebbins grew up in Vancouver, Wash., then left to attend college in Seattle. I didnt always feel like I could share my truth with others, he said. In Seattle, pride flags were everywhere and I felt like I could breathe. He returned to Vancouver in 2015 for a job opportunity and began exploring graduate school programs. After meeting with Paul Theirs at 91勛圖窪蹋厙 for an hour, I knew I had found the right program for me, so I quickly applied to the Master of Public Affairs program (may it rest in peace) and I was fortunate to get in, he said. For helping him through his greatest academic challenge, he is especially grateful to his thesis committee members Thiers, Laurie Drapela and Susan Finley.
Throughout college, Stebbins held work-study jobs, was a barista at Starbucks and served as an outreach director for a member of Congress. After graduation, he found the perfect match in a job with PointNorth, a minority, woman-owned consulting firm based in Vancouver and doing business in Oregon, Washington and Colorado. The company provides strategic communication, community engagement, organizational development and marketing/creative services. As the public affairs manager, Stebbins works on one of the largest infrastructure projects in the nation.
His boss, Lisa Keohokalole Schauer, encourages the staff to give back, and Stebbins serves on the Board of Trustees for the Clark County Historical Museum, the board of the Love and Justice Alliance (a political and lobbying sister organization of the Southwest Washington Equity Coalition) and the Equity Team for the City of Vancouvers 2045 Comprehensive Plan update. He said it has been really enjoyable to sit in community with likeminded individuals and rethink and imagine how to make Vancouver more equitable in how we plan and deliver infrastructure and services. The Citys planning staff are phenomenal, and I feel fortunate to live in a city that isnt backing down from adhering to our values, especially when it may be politically expedient to do so.
As for goals and aspirations, I just want to be able to give back to my community and make life better for the next generation. I want our stories to be shared and I want queer youth, especially our trans siblings, to feel like they can live openly and authentically without fear for their physical and emotional safety. We have a long way to go.
Stebbins has fond memories of life at 91勛圖窪蹋厙. You get the small, private university experience but the resources of a large, state land grant, Tier 1 research institution. It really is the best of both worlds, he said. Being a part of a small graduate program enabled me to quickly get to know the other students and the phenomenal professors. Choosing to complete my graduate studies at 91勛圖窪蹋厙 has paid dividends in too many ways to count because of all the experiences and connections the campus offers students and alumni. This place made my life as a student and as an alumni richer, and Im grateful for it.
Cougs seem to be everywhere, he said, and while Im not a fanatic, I do like to randomly shout out Go Cougs at a passerby in WSU gear because it makes my husband roll his eyes. He knows I do it just to bother him, and I like finding opportunities to make him squirm.
91勛圖窪蹋厙 is a rare gem because it has beautiful spaces and trails, he continued. I have fond memories of walking around campus with family, friends and my dogs during the summertime where you can hear the buzz of insects and smell of berries baking in the sun.
Stebbins enjoys giving of his time, talent and treasure. He is especially pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to a scholarship fund for LGBTQ+ students. His friend Michael Blankenship started the LGBTQ+ Empowerment Scholarship a few years ago. It has been a dream of his to make it an endowed scholarship so that the opportunity exists in perpetuity to assist our queer siblings in affording college, Stebbins said. It gave me so much joy to help him realize his dream by playing a small part in helping it become the first-ever endowed scholarship for LGBTQ+ students throughout the WSU system. Ill continue to advocate for this scholarship and give to it as I can so that eventually, someday, maybe it can provide a full-ride to someone who needs it most. Education has transformed my life and I want others to have the same opportunity and pathway open to them.
And his advice for current and future Coug students? College isnt just about learning transferrable skills for some dream job, Stebbins said. It is also an experience to help you reflect and identify who you are and who you want to be. It is a journey. It will be hard. It will be challenging. Most of all, it will be rewarding. There may be times you might want to give up but I hope you choose to keep going because you are making an investment in yourself.
Alex Brink, EForce Sports
B.A., WSU Pullman 2007, Sports Management
Alex Brink owns , which he founded in 2015.
What made you want to go into this business?
My passion for sports and working with young people. As a former three-sport youth athlete, I wanted to provide programs that could help athletes develop holistically and reach their goals.
Tell us more about your business.
EForce Sports operates athletic training facilities and sport programs in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Our mission is to holistically develop the total athletephysically, mentally and emotionallyby providing individualized, comprehensive training programs rooted in the Long-Term Athlete Development Model. EForce Sports is committed to cultivating well-rounded individuals prepared for success both on and off the field. We work with youth (starting at age 7), high school, college and pro athletes of all sportsmale and female.
What do you want WSU alumni to know about your business?
EForce Sports provides a fantastic opportunity for young people in Oregon and Southwest Washington to improve their physical, mental and emotional skills. We have four physical locations; Vancouver in Washington; and Beaverton, Milwaukie and Bend in Oregon. A handful of athletes we work with have gone on to play sports for WSU.
What is your favorite thing about being a Coug?
Washington State University is all about family. The people and experiences I had in Pullman are some of the most important in my life. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to go to WSU and experience Cougar Pride.
What do you think about 91勛圖窪蹋厙 being a part of the Southwest/Washington/Portland metro community?
I love that 91勛圖窪蹋厙 is a part of this community and can wave the flag for Washington State University. It means so much to me and all the former alumni to have this campus so close by.
What is the strangest or furthest place youve traveled where you randomly met a Coug or heard a Go Cougs?
Florence, Italy.
Please share a favorite memory working on the job or a fun memory of your time at WSU.
It was an honor to play football for WSU and beat the Huskies three times!
91勛圖窪蹋厙 presented its 2025 awards for equity, research, student achievement and teaching excellence at this years Commencement ceremony. Each of the following received a Chancellors Medallion:
Chancellors Award for Advancing Equity
Praveen Sekhar has devoted his career and his life to ensuring that access and opportunity are recognized, celebrated and advanced on campus and beyond. His commitment to diversity pervades everything he does as teacher, scholar, research scientist, board and committee member, and mentor. He embeds community engagement into his engineering courses. In his research and academic writing, he collaborates with and mentors a wide variety of scholars. He stresses the importance of outreach to make sure more students can pursue STEM degrees. He is an executive board member of iUrbanTeen, a national organization that encourages underrepresented middle and high school students to pursue STEM careers. Sekhar also received the Students Award for Teaching Excellence this year.
Chancellors Award for Research Excellence
Each year, 91勛圖窪蹋厙 gives its highest research honor to recognize a faculty members exemplary research quality and quantity as well as positive influence on the broader community. Kristin Lesseig has earned a national reputation in such areas as mathematical argumentation, teacher learning and equity, and her work has influenced how mathematics is taught. Her goal, broadly, is to make math more approachable and help students not to fear it but to become more confident in using math in their everyday lives. Her research also aims to diversify and strengthen the mathematics teacher workforce to better meet the needs of todays studentsa great need in Washington state and elsewhere.
Chancellors Award for Student Achievement
To her teachers, Faith Yang is a model student, an active class participant who is always prepared with incisive questions. To her mentor at Woodburn Elementary School in Camas, Wash., where she did her student teaching, she is becoming a model teacher as well. Yang grew up in Vancouver and enrolled at 91勛圖窪蹋厙 in 2022, after studying at Clark College and Whatcom Community College. She felt called to become a teacher. True to her calling, Yang displays a curiosity for learning and regularly visits her professors to ask critical questions. She has maintained high grades and is seen as a leader among her peers. In short, her teachers say, Yang is the kind of student who makes classes better.
Students Award for Teaching Excellence
Students recognized Praveen Sekhar for this award because of his adaptive teaching style, genuine compassion and unwavering dedication. Students praise his extraordinary commitment to their success and meaningful communicationwhether addressing academics or simply ensuring each student receives the support to thrive both inside and outside the classroom. He cultivates an inclusive learning environment, tailoring his approach to each students needs with kindness, empathy and mentorship.
Sara Baldwin, B.A. 24, Business Administration
Jacob Czech, B.S. 24, Mechanical Engineering
Sara Baldwin and Jacob Czech both grew up in Battle Ground, Wash., but they didnt know each other well until mutual friends set them up on a double datebowling while wearing prom attire. That was the start of what is now a four-year relationship, during which they attended 91勛圖窪蹋厙 and graduated together in May 2024. Now they are renting their home in Clark County, with plans to marry in August. And they have adopted a cat affectionately named Bill Nye the Science Cat.
Sara was in the Running Start program, earning her associates degree in business from Clark College before transferring to 91勛圖窪蹋厙. She majored in marketing, with a focus on sales. She started the 91勛圖窪蹋厙 Sales Club, where students were encouraged to learn how to sell themselves.
Jacob grew up in a Coug household. His father graduated from WSU Pullman. When Jacob went with his dad to Take Your Child to Work Day and saw his dads WSU memorabilia, he knew he wanted to be a Coug too. He fondly remembers driving to Pullman for Cougar football. He followed his father in choosing a degree in mechanical engineering.
Jacob has worked for Rogue Combustion for a year and a half, servicing industrial boilers. Sara works for W.W. Grainger industrial supply as a field account representative. As both work to expand their careers, they have made a personal goal to visit every U.S. national park and travel to see more of the world. They love to take cruises and are looking forward to an upcoming cruise to Alaska.
While traveling in Cozumel, Mexico, they met another Coug. In fact, using their favorite conversation starter, Go Cougs, they have met Cougs from all over the worldpeople who have attended WSU, had family members who had attended or just love our mascot.
91勛圖窪蹋厙 memories
They love being part of 91勛圖窪蹋厙. Said Jacob: The school is just small enough to walk, while not being so small as to be cramped. The quad displays the beauty of our local mountain views while being a great place to study in the early fall and late spring. Sara said she has especially fond memories of the opportunities on campus for leadership, academics and school spirit. From joining in on fun events on the quad to attending professional development events in the student commons, there are hundreds of ways to be an active Coug on campus, she said.
Theyve watched the campus change as the Life Sciences Building went up. Watching them develop, construct and commemorate this addition to campus during our time as students has been incredible, Jacob said. We are so excited to see what the next big thing for 91勛圖窪蹋厙 will be!
Both serve as impromptu ambassadors for 91勛圖窪蹋厙. Jacob, who was the Vancouver mascot, Butch, for more than two years, still fills in occasionallyhe especially loved making kids smile. Both speak highly of 91勛圖窪蹋厙 to prospective students. Now, their lives are filled with WSU memorabilia and games, such as WSU jerseys, Wazzuopoly and WSU-life-sized Jenga.
To students and future Cougs, they have this advice: Success isnt easy, and neither is a good grade in History 105. Both will come if you work hard enough, Jacob said. And Sara added, Get involved in campusand think about the future early.
Tell us about your current role and how long you've been with BBSI.
I joined BBSI in 2016 as controller and was promoted to executive director of accounting and finance in 2018, then to CFO in March 2020.
My CFO role includes oversight of our corporate and operational finance teams, accounting and SEC reporting teams, and our product support teams, like payroll and tax operations, and client contracting and billing. I also work with our Audit Committee chair to oversee internal audit. Daily, I work closely with our CEO, COO and other senior leaders on our short- and long-term strategies and initiatives. We are always focused on continuous improvement across the company.
Every day is different in the challenges it brings, but my overriding theme is helping our company achieve its mission for our clients and setting up our people and our company for long-term success. I am fortunate to work for a company with great people, a compelling service and in a growing industry.
What made you want to pursue a career in your current industry?
I have always had an interest in finance and analytics. I also love learning and doing new things. I initially found public accounting to be a great fit as I got to work with a wide variety of clients and learn about their industries. In my finance and accounting roles, I have always used a lot of critical thinking in understanding how things work and how to convey stories from data.
But despite being a numbers person, my passion has always been for people. Ive loved working with a wide variety of teams and clients, and as my career progressed, a larger share of my responsibility and my impact has been focused on leadership. Having the right skills and the right answers is great, but what sets people apart is their ability to work effectively with others to achieve goals. Without collaboration, we cant achieve anything big.
Tell us more about your career goals, BBSI's mission and your community involvement.
Because of my interest in leadership and working with people, I personally have always wanted to focus my career on industries where people were the primary product. When a company delivers its services through people, it will always pay to invest in those people. Ive also wanted to continue advancing in my career in part to expand the impact I can have through leadership. Making a difference for people and with people is a huge part of what motivates me in life.
That was a key factor in my joining BBSI in 2016. BBSIs mission is to help small businesses thrive by coming alongside entrepreneurs and providing people-related solutions and expertise. Our services include HR consulting, payroll, employee benefits, insurance products, risk and safety, and strategic advisingbut the key is that our services are delivered through a dedicated team of local team members. We have about 8,000 small business clients around the country served by local branch teams in 68 markets.
Being a leader at BBSI allows me to use my skills and background in finance, but it also allows me to have a significant impact on the people across our company and in turn for our small-business clients in communities across the country. Thats a big part of why I love my job so much.
BBSI helps foster a culture of supporting our local communities by providing paid team volunteer hours for our teams to work together on community impact projects. I always love hearing the stories from our teams projects and the difference they make.
Is there a Cougar culture at BBSI?
There are a lot of Cougs working at BBSI! As we continue to expand and invest in our headquarters operations in Vancouver, I expect there will be even more Cougs over time. We recently expanded internship roles and have already had interns from 91勛圖窪蹋厙. I look forward to having more.
Tell us about your journey to being a Cougar.
Both of my parents attended WSU, so I have a long history of connection to the university. Growing up in Clark County, I was immediately drawn to the idea of a research university in our backyard. I attended 91勛圖窪蹋厙 from 2003 2005, pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus on finance and accounting.
I honestly went into the program with an open mind and a fair amount of uncertainty about where the degree program would take me after graduation. While at 91勛圖窪蹋厙, I got to work closely with several exceptional professors, including Claire Latham and Jane Cote in the accounting program. They and others were influential in helping advise me as I considered career options coming out of school.
In my senior year, I pursued a career in public accounting and ultimately joined PwC. I got married just after graduating, and my wife and I decided to start our lives together in California. I worked with PwC in northern California there for three years and then transferred with PwC again to Melbourne, Australia, where we lived for two more years. Those early years were invaluable as we met new people and experienced so many new things, but we ultimately wanted to start a family, and we were a long way from free babysitters! So, we moved back to Vancouver in 2010 and have lived here since. We now have three children, ages 8, 11 and 14.
What did you especially enjoy about the 91勛圖窪蹋厙 campus and/or your program?
I received a phenomenal education at 91勛圖窪蹋厙. My professors were world-class, and because of the size of the campus and programs, I was able to develop genuine relationships with the professors and get meaningful and impactful guidance. My career journey was significantly shaped by the advice and support of my 91勛圖窪蹋厙 professors. And I still use the tools and concepts I learned 20 years ago in my job today.
How has 91勛圖窪蹋厙 changed since you were a student?
It was only a two-year school when I attended. Im glad that it has expanded and hope to see it continue to expand in the years ahead. We shouldnt underestimate the impact of having a quality four-year university in our local community. I have long been a supporter of 91勛圖窪蹋厙 and will continue to be long into the future.
What is your advice for current students or future Cougs?
My advice for Cougs is simple: You have all the opportunity of a world-class education available to you, and like any education, what you get out of it is entirely dependent on what you put into it. Take the opportunity to learn, soak up everything you can, and develop as many relationships as possible.
Peter Collier
B.A. 16, Marketing; MBA 20
Tell us about your journey to become a Coug.
I was born and raised a Coug. My father, mother and grandmother all graduated from WSU Pullman. I learned to spell Washington by singing the WSU fight song.
From an early age my family instilled in me a fondness for education. My grandfather, Hal Dengerink, who was the first chancellor of 91勛圖窪蹋厙, told me about his days conducting research and how important it was to take in all that the world had to offer.
I evaluated nearly every school throughout the Pacific Northwest, but I kept being drawn toward WSU. The deciding factor was the community the university represents. Cougs support one another in the mission of creating a better future for everyone. I felt this firsthand through folks like Ron Pimentel and Tom Tripp, whom I met through a business club in high school and who were my professors at 91勛圖窪蹋厙. They showed me how WSU provides a world-class education that helps people like me get hands-on experience to make an impact on my community.
I chose to attend 91勛圖窪蹋厙 to experience the campus my grandfather helped establish and because I could get a personalized education that would give me the skills to succeed in my career. But most important, I chose WSU to be a part of the community focused on making a positive impact on a global scale.
What are you doing now?
I began my career as a research analyst, then pivoted into marketing management. But I kept being drawn toward data. Today I am the senior data analytics manager at Highspot, a sales enablement company in Seattle. Every day I help tell stories with data. I love finding aha! moments within the data that can propel organizations forward.
Shortly after acquiring my MBA in 2020, Jane Cote, then academic director for 91勛圖窪蹋厙s Carson College of Business, tasked me to teach a marketing course. That began a parallel journey to my career as an instructor for the Carson College of Business. I have served on the college's board for the past five years, mentoring students and Business Growth MAP teams. In addition, Ive done a lot of consulting and worked closely with startups.
Beyond work, I have an endless list of interests, such as cycling, brewing beer, gardening, candle making, painting and taking courses. My wife, Savannah Collier, and I have spent the past few years exploring the northwest in our camper van with our two dogs, and in 2023 we logged over 6,000 miles on our bikes. Most of my days include riding my bike and listening to an audiobook.
Where is the strangest place youve been and met another Coug?
I am usually the one to yell Go Cougs! first. I have met Cougs just about anywhere I have traveled. Last September I walked past a Coug in the Zurich Airport, and we greeted each other with a Go Cougs.
What was something you enjoyed about 91勛圖窪蹋厙?
The campus is beautiful. It is hard to compete with early morning views of Mount St. Helens or the wonderful trails around campus. And what I loved most about my experience in the Carson College of Business was the engaging faculty, who challenged us and provided real-world context to what we were learning.
How has 91勛圖窪蹋厙 changed since you were a student?
As an alumnus of the business college, it is incredible to see the Next Carson Coug program take off. The program helps provide students with a well-rounded set of skills that will help them excel in their careers.
How do you support 91勛圖窪蹋厙 as an alum?
Besides my involvement with the Carson College of Business, I am an advocate for 91勛圖窪蹋厙 with the people I interact with every day.
How do you share your Cougar spirit?
I love to use the phrase Go Cougs! as a celebratory phrase for just about anythingregardless of sport, event or game I am playing.
What is your advice for current students or future Cougs?
Take your time and take it all in! Your education is a wonderful time to explore your interests. It is a time unlike any other where you have the freedom to test the waters and discover what excites you the most. It is easy to get caught up on pushing through the semester, but soon enough it will all be a thing you wish you could go back to. Also, reach out to your professors, give others the benefit of the doubt and always help a fellow Coug.
Any parting thoughts?
I am grateful to both my grandparents, Hal and Joan Dengerink, who played a huge role in my life as a Coug. They inspired me to do great things. I hope to someday leave a legacy like they have.
Heather Deringer
B.A. 99, Humanities
Owner of Home Helpers Home Care in the Vancouver area
Heather Deringer started Home Helpers Home Care in March 2022. I wanted the chance to combine all of my skill sets acquired over the years, she said. Im one of those people who has done a little bit of everything, including having the opportunity to stay at home raising my kids when they were little.
During those years, Deringer was a volunteer leader, coach, board member and more. Her degree in English, with a certificate in professional and technical writing plus a business administration minor, prepared her for work in marketing and communications. I think I was ready to take the risks involved with owning my own business, leading employees, and doing something that felt full of purpose and that I had a passion for, she said. Mostly I wanted the opportunity to truly build my own team and fulfill my own vision of what my business would look and feel like.
Deringer opened the business to provide meaningful care for people who need it and meaningful jobs for people who want them. She is part of a national franchise but can put her own locally focused touch on it. The companys mission is to be the most trusted and respected provider of comprehensive home care services and support for individuals who choose to remain independent in their homes and communities.
My individual motto is to be the FACE of caregiving, she said. We embody Fairness, Authenticity, Compassion and Excellence. She lists two primary goals: to be a local resource to provide in-home care for people needing itespecially important as the senior population grows, along with diseases such as Alzheimers and dementiaand to find more ways to serve and support the growing number of veterans who deserve the best quality care possible.
She feels strong ties to 91勛圖窪蹋厙. My son brought some Cougar Gold on his last trip home so we could celebrate the newest Coug in the house, his sister Campbell, after her transfer there for the coming fall semester. Well make that a tradition for the long haul! Now that Ive started my own business, Im hoping another new Coug tradition might build on that exampletaking their skills and leadership out into the world.
She enjoys the Coug culture and the ties it creates among friends and even strangers. The culture of Cougs helping Cougs is real, and I see it all the time, she said.
Deringer was the first WSU graduate in her family, and her son, Blake, recently graduated from the Pullman campus. He returned last year to start his masters program. Her youngest, Campbell, is transferring there this year and will swim for WSU. So two of us have graduated, with another degree in the making and another Coug in the pipeline. Daughter Avery attends the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Deringer, who has lived in the Vancouver area for 28 years, decided to attend 91勛圖窪蹋厙 after getting married. At the time, she already had three years of college elsewhere under her belt. 91勛圖窪蹋厙 provided me an opportunity to finish my degree locally with a great university, she said. I was in the first graduating class from 91勛圖窪蹋厙 at the campus in Salmon Creek in May 1997. We had one classroom building and our professors were often remote in Pullman and came over once or twice a semester to teach in Vancouver.
She said she encounters Cougs everywhere she goes: Traveling with my husband (Jeffrey Deringer) and kids to sporting events, vacations and more. If you see a WSU logo you know you can give a Go Cougs! and get one back! My son thinks the fact that Drago from Rocky IV is a WSU engineering graduate is great!
She is proud to own her own business at last. For people who may not think of In Home Care as being as important as a number of other skilled medical arenas, we are often the front line to help keep people from re-entering the hospital, spotting trends that indicate other health issues, preventing them from becoming a real crisis, she said. I have literally had clients tell me that our team saved their lives and helped them walk again when they thought they never would and that without us, I would have died. We may not be wielding scalpels and lasers, but we make an important and meaningful difference in peoples lives.
Home Helpers Home Care Central Clark County, 360-291-8100, hderinger@homehelpershomecare.com, 201 NE Park Plaza Dr #200, Vancouver, WA 98684