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C L A S S Jason Geis ’93 has been busy since his days on The Bluff, where he was a baseball All-American for coach Terry Pollreisz ’69 and earned his degree in communication management. These days he runs Blue Chip Tek in Sunnyvale, California,with his wife Jessica, who founded the privately held company in 2002. Blue Chip Tek, which has doubled its sales every year to over $40 million last year, is a Silicon Valley IT consulting firm and high tech integrator focused on selling the products that run the Internet. It is 20 employees strong (including three UP graduates), and offers technology solutions to businesses like Mozilla, YouTube, and eBay, all Blue Chip customers long before they became household business names. “The main core of our business is to build the infrastructure for internet companies,” Jason explains. “They tell us what they’re trying to do online, and we tell them how much Cisco or Dell or HP they’ll need. We sell them the hardware and software that creates the website, so if you go to, say, eBay to buy something you’re going through equipment we sold them to build their site. Customer loyalty is key to our success. We listen to them very closely because they literally create our business. All of our technology solutions are the result of customer requirements.” Jason keeps close tabs on the University’s remarkable growth and progress, and is particularly impressed with the nationally renowned entrepreneurship center, ranked first in the nation last year. “My degree prepared me well for the business world, but I wish they had some of those entrepreneurial programs when I was there,” he says. “But it’s great to see the evolution of the University since my time.” The University, he notes, is a family affair for him; Jason’s father-in-law is life regent Steve Farley ’66, his brother-in-law is Dan Farley ’93, and his sister Tina Geis ’95 played basketball for the Pilots. We assume it is only a matter of time before Jason and Jessica’s children Jake and Jordan are enrolling, probably escorted by their beaming grandfather Steve. What a day that will be.
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N O T E S us. Father Gary Chamberland was our celebrant. Currently we are both living in San Jose, California. I work as an RN at Good Samaritan Hospital, and Joseph works as a mechanical engineer at Air Systems Inc. We would love to be featured in the Portland Magazine class notes for 2010!” Congratulations, Jennifer and Joseph, and we’re happy to share your joy with your fellow alumni.
’11 TAKING THE PLUNGE We heard from Sam Harris recently, who writes: “I am starting graduate school at George Washington University, seeking a master of science degree in security policy studies, hopefully by 2014.” Thanks for writing Sam, and good luck to you! Congratulations to Louis Piano, who completed basic training for the United States Navy at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill., in August 2012. During the eightweek program, Piano completed a variety of training which included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. An emphasis was also placed on physical fitness. The capstone event of boot camp is "Battle Stations,” designed to galvanize the basic warrior attributes of sacrifice, dedication, teamwork and endurance in each recruit through the practical application of basic Navy skills and the core values of honor, courage and commitment.
’12 A GOOD NURSING YEAR The University’s School of Nursing has a lot to celebrate when it comes to the success of their 2012 graduate students. One hundred percent of the school’s doctor of nursing practice (DNP) graduates successfully passed their national certification exams qualifying them as family nurse practitioners. They are now prepared to meet the nation’s growing need for excellent primary health care, especially through their preparation in caring for vulnerable populations. One hundred percent of UP’s master’s graduates have successfully passed their national certification exams as clinical nurse leaders, too. These graduates are prepared to improve quality and safety at the point of care in a variety of populations, and are ready to play leading roles in the effort to make needed changes in health care. “These accomplishments provide external
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evidence that our graduates have met or exceeded national standards determined by the discipline of nursing,” says School of Nursing dean Joann Warner. “We celebrate our outstanding graduates, and give credit to our strong team of nursing faculty for helping them achieve their success.” UP senior Sam Bridgman was the driving force behind Ride Ataxia in Portland, a bike ride to raise money for Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) research on Saturday, September 22. It was the first in the Northwest and one of six Ride Ataxia events across the country to benefit the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance. The nonprofit organization is working toward finding a cure for the
rare, degenerative neuro-muscular disorder. Bridgman hoped the ride would increase public awareness about the debilitating disease, which affects about one in 50,000 people (including Bridgman) in the United States. The more than event raised $______ Find out $30,000. Find out more at more at rideataxia.org/portrideataxia.org/portland. To land. To read about Sam and readexperiences about Sam and hisUniverexperihis at the ences the University of Portsity of at Portland go to ORne.ws/ land go to ORne.ws/ samsam-bridgman. To see a short bridgman. To see short documentary filmaby JeffdocuKenmentary by Jeff Kennel nel of thefilm UP marketing teamof thetoUP marketing team go to go http://vimeo.com/ http://vimeo.com/ 43579515. 43579515.
FACULTY, STAFF, FRIENDS Holy Cross seminarian Mark DeMott, who serves as Shipstad residence hall director, will make Final Vows and be ordained to the Order of the Diaconate next weekend at Notre Dame, Indiana. In April 2013, he and two others will be ordained to the priesthood. We were saddened to learn of the death of UP education professor emeritus Joe Pascarelli on June 11, 2012. Joe had a long and successful career serving with distinction for almost two decades at the University of Portland. Joe cheerfully and graciously taught on campus and at offcampus sites in Canada, Washington, Oregon and Guam,