Being first is never easy. It takes courage to step toward the unknown and tenacity to find the way forward. Some know this better than others – for example, our students who are the first in their families to attend college. That takes guts.
In these pages, Pulitzer prize-winning author Tom Hallman Jr. tells the story of Linfield’s increasing number of first-generation students and the life-changing voices that have shown them what’s possible. That’s what the new Linfield First program, introduced this fall, is all about. It provides navigators, mentors and a community to change the trajectory for someone who has no idea of what the future might hold. People who offer a hand, who show a path. Read more about our amazing students and the program in these pages.
While this issue is looking at firsts, it will also be my last as editor. I’m retiring in the new year after more than 24 years at Linfield. Certainly, change has been the constant over two decades. Early on, I saw the McMinnville campus double in size with the addition of the Hewlett-Packard property. We’ve added majors and programs, an arts complex, a new library. Last year, we acquired a campus in Portland and we are contemplating a change to university status.
I leave this college, a second family of sorts, with the warmest of memories and great excitement for what’s to come. And I look forward to reading future issues of Linfield Magazine along with all of you. In the meantime, as always, we welcome your thoughts and conversation.
– Laura Davis, editor
