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Harvard bound

When Ron Davis (G02) walked on the Harvard Law School campus Aug. 27 and sat down in a classroom, he became a first for George Fox University. He is believed to be the first Bruin ever admitted to the 192-year-old institution, according to Ron Mock (G77), associate professor of political science and peace studies, who himself has a law degree.

When accepted to Harvard last fall, Davis e-mailed his former George Fox professor and within hours Mock had replied back: “Share in your joy? Absolutely. Although my joy is laced with a rather large dose of vindictive ‘I told you so’ . . . I have been waiting years for this.”

Harvard accepted Davis in its first round. It was just the first of several nationally known law institutions to select Davis, who was also accepted at Yale, Georgetown, Boston and New York University. The chief deciding factor for Davis was the fact wife Trina (Christensen) Davis (G03) would attend medical school at nearby Boston University Medical School.

“I love my wife more than I love Harvard,” he said. When she was accepted at Boston, that settled it. Boston’s medical school has the most applications of any in the nation, with Trina chosen for one of 150 slots from 11,000 applications. “Funny enough, (Boston University Medical School) is twice as hard to get into” as Harvard, Ron said. “I’m pretty proud of her.”

The pair enter their classrooms after a yearlong world adventure that took them to 16 countries in 362 days: Ireland, Norway, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Turkey, back to the U.S. for interviews, then Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and India. In India, they worked at Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta, before both became sick. Trina was hospitalized for an E. coli infection. They finished in Mexico, where they wrote the first draft of a book on their adventures, and are working on a “how to” book.

After graduating from George Fox with a degree in history and philosophy, Ron earned a master’s degree in education leadership from the University of Oregon. He then went into the professional world, working for a title insurance company. Trina received her degree in business then worked for four years as marketing manager with Integrated Services Incorporated, in Portland, before leaving in 2007 to prepare for medical school by taking prerequisites at Portland State and spending a summer at the Oregon Health and Science University Heart Research Center.

“Absolutely thrilled” is how Davis reacts to attending Harvard. “There is something about the Harvard brand, which doesn’t have to be explained.”

Nunez named to Council on Civil Rights

Celia Nunez (G99, MBA05) was called “a perfect choice” as the State of Oregon named its new Council on Civil Rights. The Wilsonville, Ore., resident and Newberg businesswoman is one of 25 appointed to the agency, which is charged with protecting Oregonian’s civil rights in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian called Nunez to ask her to be involved. “It’s a group that I see really making a difference across the state,” she said. The council will fight unlawful discrimination and represent interests of minority communities in the state.

Nunez, who worked in the public sector for more than a decade, said, “It is nice to be involved with statewide issues again, and I am honored to be a part of this group.” Her experience includes being a policy advisor for a Portland city commissioner; serving as director of the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs in Salem; being an ombudsman for Portland Mayor Vera Katz; and coordinating caucus policy for the Senate Democratic Leadership Office in Salem.
 

Boise bash

Back row, left to right:  Ernie (Earnest) Harper ’97, Mark Little ’02, MA’04, Herb Jennings ’97, David Moorhouse ’97. Front row, left to right:  Ken Stewart ’97, Kirstin Ahern ’97, Dee Iverson ’97, MA’06

While Herb Jennings was recovering from lymphoma last year, he mentioned to former classmate Kirstin Ahern that it would be nice to see the rest of the students in their 1997 Boise cohort – George Fox University’s first degree-completion class in Idaho.

“I didn’t know how long I’d be in remission,” he says, and added jokingly that a reunion would be better “while we’re still alive.” That sparked an idea, and the pair instigated the March 7, 2009, gathering on the Boise campus. Seven of the 12 Idaho residents attended, with five classmates spread out from Ohio to California.

Attendees toasted themselves and their classmates with sparkling apple cider and spent the afternoon reminiscing. “It was really great to get together,” said Jennings, who is in full remission after a transplant of adult stem cells.