Success After Evergreen
Careers in Arts, Media, and Entertainment
Matt Groening ’77
Lynda Barry ’79
Craig Bartlett ’81
Jaime Méndez ’95
Macklemore ’09
Filmmaking is really connected to the way Evergreen teaches students to think and collaborate, work together.
—Katy Evans ‘07, Assistant Director of The Grand Cinema and Tacoma Film Festival
Careers in Law, Government, and Politics
Gil Kelley ’79
Eric Engstrom ’91
“Greener Leads State Ecology Department”
Maia Bellon ’91
“A Conversation with Denny Heck”
U.S. Representative Denny Heck ’73
At Evergreen I learned how to write, how to think, and how to really fine tune how I organize my thinking on a page.
—Ariel Taylor ’11, Policy and Communications Director at King County Council
Careers in Environment and Sustainability
“Discovering the Secrets of the Giants of the Sea”
John Calambokidis ’78
Kirk Haffner ’88
Dever Kuni ’12
Ben Alexander ’82
I was jumping through all of the hoops for my degree, but realized that I wasn't really directing my education. When I came to Evergreen I wanted to start driving my college experience more fully.
—Katie Rains ’08, Executive Director of GRuB
Careers in Science and Health
“Targeting Genes in the Fight Against Cancer”
Patrick Paddison ’96
“A Head Start on Influencing the Future”
Christen Cannon ’14
Jana Fischback MES ’14
“Unlocking the Story of a River”
Brian Footen MES ’01
The best nurses are ones that have other passions and experiences that inform their world view.
—Danica Parkin ’08, Nurse Practitioner
Careers in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology
“Seeking Our Past, Preserving Our Future, Shaping Our Future”
Sarah Amell ’13
Brett Redfearn ’87
Evergreen is where I developed many of my youth leadership skills. There’s nothing more important than investing in our future.
—Seth Kirby ’01, MPA ’07, Executive Director of the Oasis Youth Center
Careers in Education, Non-Profit, and Social Justice
“Teaching to Change the World”
Wayne Au ’94, MiT ’96
"Rallying the Motherhood Movement”
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner ’91
Ray Goforth ’95
It’s an honor to serve people in the community I grew up in and work on initiatives to help low-income families become financially stable.
—Korbett Mosesly ’11, MPA ’15, Director of Family Stability Initiatives at United Way of Pierce County
In the News: Lynda Weinman, Techie Entrepreneur
Lynda Weinman ’76 is a respected Web graphics and design veteran who has been at the forefront of Web development since its infancy.
Weinman epitomizes the power of interdisciplinary education. After graduating from Evergreen, Weinman opened two retail shops in California and later became an animator for the movie business. This move led to an early fascination with personal computers, which she embraced for her animation work, and, from there, she began teaching computer graphics and writing how-to books. Finally she started the online learning business Lynda.com, which she recently sold to LinkedIn for $1.5 billion.
What Evergreen teaches is ‘find what you’re interested in and impress us.’ The whole emphasis is on finding your calling, finding what moves you, finding your passion.
—Lynda Weinman, founder of Lynda.com
Professional Success
You can find Evergreen alumni everywhere. They work at Microsoft and Apple, as college professors and kindergarten teachers, as legislators and lawyers and political activists, as doctors and vets, in Hollywood, and in field biology research stations.
Graduate School Success
Greeners have gone to graduate programs at a variety of prestigious institutions including Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and MIT.
They’ve gone to medical school at Johns Hopkins and Oregon Health and Science University; to law school at Georgetown and NYU; and to art school at RISD and San Francisco Art Institute.
Many Greeners also go on to get advanced degrees here at Evergreen in Environmental Studies, Public Administration, and Teaching.
More alumni stories can be found in The Evergreen Magazine. The Alumni Entrepreneurs Directory features more than 500 graduates running their own businesses.
Why do Evergreen Grads Succeed?
- They were surrounded by bright, talented, creative classmates eager to engage with their faculty and each other.
- Their faculty provided insightful evaluations instead of grades, which can translate into detailed letters of recommendation.
- Interdisciplinary academic programs allowed them to study multiple disciplines under a single theme.
- They were challenged to go beyond traditional thinking, imagine new possibilities, and put their ideas and knowledge into action.
- Individual Learning Contracts (ILCs) provided upperclass students the opportunity to explore customized studies or internships while earning credit.
Get Career Support
The counselors in the Career Development Center offer personalized advice for any stage of your job search. Connect your studies to a career path. Get advice on creating your resume, writing a cover letter, or nailing an interview. Or explore your grad school options.