Be so authentically yourself that others feel comfortable being themselves too.

—Mallory Kennaday BA’18

Working for a Living

Fill out the form, apply, take the chance.
—Annabelle ByrneStrong BA’21

What pays the bills doesn’t have to be your passion—just be sure that you make the space somewhere in your life for that passion, because that’s what will keep you going.
—Sabrina George BA’19

The best piece of advice I ever received as a young attorney was that your reputation is everything.
—Ryan Krametbauer JD’12

Choose a career that positively impacts the greatest number of people on a personal level: try teaching. This was the advice that Atkinson Professor Marc Choate gave me in 1980. I followed his lead. Over 12,000 students served.
­—Larry Schuetz MBA’80

Finding Balance

Find time to enjoy all the small things in life and live in the moment.
—Derek Ludwig BA’20

Do not neglect your inner life and independence. Your boss, kids, and partner can’t have all of you;
you must retain your center. Do
not forget yourself.
—Kimberly (Wilson) Cruciani BA’85

Wins & Losses

Failure is important in order to grow and expand. Not everything is a success, and that’s okay. You have to keep on pushing and exploring through trials and iterations to find true success. 
—Sarah E. Eaton BFA’05

It’s better to make bad art that’s really genuine—that’s the best expression of you as an artist—than to make formally perfect art that is not genuine.
—Bryce O’Connor BA’22

In most experiences in life, you have to be like water: flexible and persistent.
—William Lamb BFA’03

Whenever you’re faced with a big decision, there’s never a wrong answer. There are always going to be good and bad consequences to whatever you choose.
­­—Morgan Richards BA’23

Just Do It

My dad always told me that when faced with a problem or challenge, work to find solutions rather than worrying or complaining about it. 
—Erin Good BA’93

Save for retirement, no matter what you think you don’t have at the moment.
—Kristen Flora BFA’08

Leave spaces better than how you found them.
—Bella Green BA’20

Model the resiliency of nature.

—Brandon Culcasi BA’22

Be Yourself

You’re more powerful than you know.
—Travis Rice BS’96

If you can identify your authentic meaning in life and follow it, then you can transcend time.
—Doug Kirkpatrick JD’82

If everybody likes you, you’re probably doing something wrong. Basically, if you’re standing up for what you believe in, it’s inevitable that someone will disagree. 
—Lily Painter BA’21 

Own your story and speak your truth.
—Luz Reyna BA’17

Connecting with Others

Don’t block a blessing. If someone is trying to help you, don’t be the one to block it for yourself.
—Michael Sewell JD’22

Every interaction you have with someone always matters. These moments last and will always have an effect.
—Andrew Baudoin BFA’06

Work to understand others’ perspectives.
—David Deits JD’75

You’re always interviewing! This essentially means to treat everyone with respect and see every interaction as an opportunity to learn something, share something, and make a connection for yourself or someone else. You never know who you’re talking to or what could come of it. This advice came from M.K. Guth, a former PNCA professor, but I think she may have heard it from Emily Ginsburg (also PNCA faculty).
—Lydia Rosenberg BFA’10

Keep Going

Hands down, the best advice I ever received came from Mary Eyre, BA 1918, in her 1975 Willamette commencement address. The diminutive retired teacher exhorted graduates to “always reserve the right to be wiser tomorrow.” I suppose we might have had a more high-profile, even famous speaker, but I wouldn’t have carried away as much gold as I did from Mary’s speech.
—Mitzi (Chalmers) Barker BS’75

Continue your education as far as it will take you.
—Levi Wiens BA’70

Do the next best thing that you can.
—Adam Hardwicke JD’97

Stay curious. Anything around the corner could be the next idea.
—Erica Stacy BFA’10

If you think you have it figured out and you know what you’re doing, you don’t know what you’re doing.

—Anna Peterson BFA’21

Most of these answers were captured during conversations between alumni and students via the university’s student caller program—as were many others that we did not have the space to include. Thank you to everyone who answered the question!

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Next question: Help us choose the question for our next issue! Send your response to magazine@willamette.edu.