Alumni
Cougar Crew shell
No obstacles for this global nomad
Tom Haig (’09 Comm.) loves adventure. From his high-flying diving days of youth to his recovery from a bicycling accident that left him paralyzed, Haig keeps on moving.
He chronicles his life, struggles, and triumphs in a new memoir from Basalt Books, Global Nomad: My Travels through Diving, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Haig writes with wit and candor about the ups and downs of adventure, culminating in his new career as a documentary filmmaker.
In this episode, Haig talks with Washington State Magazine editor Larry Clark about reinventing his life, writing his book, and where he’s going next.
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WSU stories by and about Dick Fry on his 100th birthday
Richard B. “Dick” Fry devoted 70 years of his life, good humor, and storytelling skills to Washington State University. The Coug legend turned 100 on February 12, 2023.
Fry was WSU’s sports information director from 1957 to 1970, the university’s director of news and information services until 1985, and author of the definitive book on Cougar sports, The Crimson and the Gray: 100 Years with the WSU Cougars. He continued to write stories for Cougar football game-day programs well into the 2000s.
Here are some stories about Fry and a few of the stories he wrote about WSU sports.
Resurrecting the remnants
It might sound odd but the Winlock W. Miller and the 101 were sisters. They died together, on the same day, at Almota.
In early 1971, University of Washington head rowing coach Dick Erickson provided the newly formed Cougar Crew with two used Husky shells on a long-term loan. The Miller and the 101 didn’t row on the Snake River until December 4 that year. Just 37 days later, they were gone.
The second week of January 1972, winds on campus reached 75 mph. Gusts of 150 mph were recorded at Pasco. The recently built Almota shellhouse was designed to sustain winds … » More …
A Doctor’s War and a Daughter’s Labor of Love
After her father’s death at 94 in 2008, Peggy Ludwick (’70 Bacterio.) read all of his wartime letters. She compiled them into a book, complementing his missives with her own World War II research as well as his military documents and old photographs. The project was a labor of love. She discusses the work in this Q&A.
What did you discover about your dad in the process of reading and organizing his letters?
In reading my father’s wartime letters home, I discovered a young homesick, lovesick, idealistic, and romantic army officer, thousands of miles away from his new bride of just two months, desperately … » More …
Rebuilding Ukraine
Other people go on vacations. Wayne Chang visits war zones.
“I haven’t taken a vacation in five years,” says the civil engineer with a passion for projects that give people access to services he believes are basic human rights. “I joke that I take my vacation in the latest war zone. And I’m grateful they let me do this.”
Fewer than five months after Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian War, Chang (’10 Civ. Eng.) traveled to the embattled country, the second-largest in Europe, to help local officials rebuild infrastructure struck by heavy artillery. He spent three months in Ukraine as a water, sanitation, and … » More …