Fall 2026 5 OFF I CERS Chair, Jonathan Riley, ’09 Vice Chair, Keith Leavitt, ’88 Treasurer, Jay Boatwright, ’78 MEMBERS Derek Abbey, ’99 Casey Anderson, ’14 Brett Beals, ’87 Dom Biggi, ’88 Sara Boraston, ’15 Josh Dunlap, ’03 Neil Fernando, ’97 Leslie Fox, ’82 Vicki Guinn, ’85 Gabrielle Homer, ’88 Jason Hower, ’06 Colin Huber, ’10 Conrad Hurdle, ’96, MAT ’97 Jon Isaacs, ’97 Dan Jarman, ’88 Kelley Kaiser, ’93, MPH ’99 Charlene McGee Kollie, ’04 Jayathi Murthy, OSU president, ex officio Candace Pierson-Charlton, ’73, Ed.M. ’02 Denver Pugh, ’97 Rachel Rawson-Chatterje, ’12 Shawn Scoville, OSU Foundation president and CEO, ex officio Ethan Shaw, student representative, ex officio Dorian Smith, ’09, MAIS ’17, Ed.D. ’25 Alan Thayer, ’81 Marcia Torres, ’01 Michael Whitten, ’12 Ellen Yin, ’16 ADDRESS 204 CH2M HILL Alumni Center Corvallis, OR 97331 541-737-2351 osualum@osualum.com ForOregonState.org SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: facebook.com/ oregonstatealum X: @oregonstatealum Instagram: @oregonstatealumni YouTube: @Oregon_Stater Sign up for the Beaver Lodge newsletter at ForOregonState.org/BeaverLodge ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOÃO FAZENDA FROM THE PUBLISHER In 2023, OSU launched FEARLESS (beav.es/fearless) to do something about it. This campaign raises funds for OSU women’s sports, and through its events and activities, Hanna and I have been introduced to coaches, administrators and student-athletes. Each one we’ve met chose OSU because of its special mix of positive culture and competitiveness. And at the very moment that many of us worry whether the soul of college athletics is forever lost, they can help us rediscover the inspiration, excitement and satisfaction of sports fandom. In the past year alone, OSU women have competed at the highest level across nearly every corner of athletics. To share a few examples: Gymnastics made its 51st consecutive NCAA postseason appearance, the longest active streak in women’s college gymnastics. Women’s rowing won its second consecutive conference championship. Women’s golf earned a berth in the NCAA Championship. Women’s basketball reached its 12th recent postseason appearance, track and softball student-athletes broke all-time school records, and volleyball is recruiting at its best rate in years. Off the field, 90% of female student-athletes earned a 3.0 GPA or higher. They completed 62% of OSU Athletics’ total volunteer hours and led all of OSU’s Athletics’ student clubs. This leadership was on full display in June when Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey served as OSU’s commencement speaker. In a time of change, the remarkable women of OSU Athletics give us so much to celebrate. For me, this is a reminder that fandom is not just about wins and rankings; it’s about showing up for young people who are giving their best, representing Oregon State with pride and inspiring the rest of us to do the same. That’s something to cheer for. John Valva Publisher, Oregon Stater During a family trip to Corvallis in 2018, my wife, Hanna Valva, ’97, introduced our son and me to our first game in Gill Coliseum. It was a Friday night, Top 20 women’s basketball matchup between No. 18 Oregon State and No. 7 Oregon. The experience was unforgettable. Led by Kat Tudor, the Beavs hit seven first-quarter three-pointers, igniting mayhem among the Gill faithful. That Ducks team featured All-American Sabrina Ionescu, so they wouldn’t back down. Ionescu scored 35, while Tudor countered with 34. The game went into overtime, with OSU prevailing 85-79. Fans lingered after the buzzer, cheering as if they could make the moment last. As we left campus that evening, we talked about how the players and coaches seemed to know the fans — grade school girls and grandmas alike. This was not just fans celebrating a win; it felt like family. I was hooked. Months later, when an alumni relations role at Oregon State opened up, no one needed to sell me on the bond here. I had just experienced it. In the years since, much has changed in college athletics. While pundits lament the chaotic state of college football, I think we all recognize the disproportionate impact these changes have had on student-athletes in other sports. And I’ve wondered whether there’d be more magical moments like that night at Gill. SOMETHING TO CHEER FOR
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