The year was 1993. Following in the Quaker legacy of speaking out on contemporary issues, a group of students sought to have their voices heard. Among them was Mary Griffin Thiessen, a human development student who worked at the computer lab with the Children’s School. Together they first conjured the idea of a student-run newsletter.
In September of that year, the first issue of Voices hit campus. A small group of students wrote, edited, and then printed it in the computer lab where Thiessen worked. Published for other students, faculty, staff, and friends of Pacific Oaks, it featured announcements, news about fall enrollment and orientation, upcoming events, and even a recipe for pasta salad.
Imagine Thiessen’s surprise when she saw that Voices lived on, its legacy now upheld in the form of the current alumni magazine. While the content is different, the root of respect is the same: giving people a voice and a place to share their thoughts and ideas and celebrating the Pacific Oaks community. For Thiessen, her time at Pacific Oaks, including working on Voices, informed how she has lived her life since.
“Pacific Oaks taught me about respect,” Thiessen explains. “There were the three R’s: respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness. Respecting others, being responsible for yourself, and being resourceful—not just taking one person’s word for it, being resourceful, checking things out for yourself, doing your own research. It was powerful; I still live by those.”
While at Pacific Oaks, Thiessen completed her practicum at the Children’s School and saw how important it was to embrace both it and the College. Her time at Pacific Oaks, and that harmony between the Children’s School and the College, even informed her dissertation topic.
“My research focused on partnerships in education,” Thiessen says. “I saw firsthand how both the Children’s School and the College worked together. You had the Children’s School but then you had the College that had new information, techniques, and ways of looking at things that they then could share immediately with the Children’s School.”
Now years out from her education, that circular community element has stayed with Thiessen. “Community to me is so important, beginning with my time at Pacific Oaks,” she says. “I seek it out, I try to find it, and I try to cultivate it.”
Read our stories
celebrating Pacific Oaks’ values:
Learn more about Pacific Oaks College
If you would like to learn more about the academic programs available at Pacific Oaks, fill out the form below to request more information, or you can apply today through our application portal.
