The Magazine of The University of Montana
Email Article AROUND THE OVAL
On the Red Carpet
Anthony Johnson earns UM's first ESPY nomination
Shaunte Nance-Johnson and Anthony Johnson enjoy the red-carpet experience at the 2010 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.
Ask him today, and former UM guard Anthony Johnson doesn't remember much of the second half of the Grizzlies' 66-65 win over Weber State in the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament title game on March 10. With UM down twenty at the half, he entered a zone that few elite athletes ever experience. He started dropping bombs, and thirty-four second-half points later, "The horn went off, and we all took off running. I was like, man, what the heck just happened?"
He found out later while watching the replays on ESPN. Johnson scored a school- and tournament-record forty-two points in that game, including UM's last twenty-one. Suddenly his phone was ringing with reporters from The New York Times, USA Today, and other major media outlets.
Flash forward to July 14 in Los Angeles. Johnson, escorted by his wife and guiding light, Shaunte Nance-Johnson, was on the red carpet leading into the Nokia Theatre for ESPN's 2010 ESPY Awards. He had been nominated for an ESPY in the Best Championship Performance category. He was in pretty good company with fellow nominees Michael Phelps (World Swimming Championships), Shaun White (the Winter Olympics), and eventual winner Drew Brees (Super Bowl XLIV).
"This was the first ESPY nomination by anyone from UM and is yet another example of the national exposure UM student-athletes have provided for the University in recent years," UM Athletic Director Jim O'Day says. "Who knows if we will ever see another individual performance like that?"
Nance-Johnson, a former Lady Griz, says, "All the celebrities and nominees stayed at the same hotel. I'm talking with (Terrell Owens) and the Heisman Trophy winner and the guys who do 'SportsCenter'-it was crazy. You see them on TV, and two seconds later you are on the elevator with them. I had a couple of those kinds of moments. And then the red-carpet experience was just unexplainable. To be there for Anthony's special moment was amazing and an honor in itself."
One highlight of the experience was the "ESPY gift-packing tour," in which the Johnsons accompanied a group that included NBA stars Gary Payton and Kenyon Martin and the NFL's Tim Tebow into various hotel suites to select free swag items. "It was the hottest and latest stuff," the irrepressible Nance-Johnson says. "I was saying, 'You guys get all this free stuff? Why do you need this? You are rich already.'"
The Johnsons had a central seat about eight rows from the stage. They sat near the Touhy family that the movie The Blind Side was based on, as well as TO and college basketball phenom Brittney Griner.
Anthony Johnson highlights rolled on big screens during the event, but his actual award category was presented during a commercial break and didn't make the national telecast. "We weren't too disappointed, because we don't feel this is the last time we are going to make it to something this big," Nance-Johnson says.
The couple's UM playing days are behind them, but their wild year continued June 22 when they were drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters-the first husband-wife duo to be selected by a professional sports team. Johnson also tried out with the NBA's Nets and Celtics and has opportunities to play in Europe.
"Our story is not over," Johnson says. "We definitely have bigger dreams and goals to attain."
UM Dedicates Native Center
Representatives from Montana's seven reservations and one landless tribe dedicated and celebrated UM's new Payne Family Native American Center on May 13 with an entire day of festivities. The $8.6-million, 30,000-square-foot center is the first of its kind on any U.S. university campus. It houses UM's Native American Studies department, American Indian Student Services, and related programming under one roof. Tribal, University, and state officials gave remarks, as did Daniel Glenn, the Crow tribal member architect who designed the building, and Terry Payne, whose family gave the major donation to make the building a reality. Speakers agreed that the center, located on the Oval near the heart of campus, marks a new era for Native students and Indian scholarship at UM.
IMAGES: Counter clockwise from top: Montana tribal leaders participate in dedication ceremonies at The Payne Family Native American Center on May 13 at UM. | Stephen Small Salmon, a Pend d'Oreille elder from Ronan, leads a youth drum group during the ceremonies. | Steve Lozar, secretary of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council, wears a coyote headdress at the dedication. | Fredricka Hunter, director of American Indian Student Services at UM, addresses the crowd. | Terry Payne, a 1963 UM alum and Missoula-based insurance executive, gives brief remarks during the ceremonies. Payne and his family were the building's primary benefactors.
WANTED: YOUR OPINIONS
Counter clockwise from top: Montana tribal leaders participate in dedication ceremonies at The Payne Family Native American Center on May 13 at UM. | Stephen Small Salmon, a Pend d'Oreille elder from Ronan, leads a youth drum group during the ceremonies. | Steve Lozar, secretary of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council, wears a coyote headdress at the dedication. | Fredricka Hunter, director of American Indian Student Services at UM, addresses the crowd. | Terry Payne, a 1963 UM alum and Missoula-based insurance executive, gives brief remarks during the ceremonies. Payne and his family were the building's primary benefactors.
The Montanan welcomes letters to the editor. Please sign and include your graduating year or years of attendance, home address, and phone number or e-mail address.
Send them to: Montanan Editor,
325 Brantly Hall, Missoula, MT 59812
or email.
Because of space limitations, we are not able to include all letters sent to us. Letters may be edited for length or clarity. While universities are places of discussion where good people do not always agree, letters deemed potentially libelous or that malign a person or group will not be published. Opinions expressed in the Montanan do not necessarily reflect those of The University of Montana.
UM Selects Top Alumni for 2010
The exemplary accomplishments of four Montanans have been recognized with the University's 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award. John H. Badgley '52, Patrick Cheney '72, Joseph P. Mazurek '70, J.D. '75, and Colleen L. McGuire '79 will recieve their awards at a September 24 ceremony during Homecoming. The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor presented by the UM Alumni Association.
Badgley is a Missoula native whose Bachelor of Arts degree in history was followed by an extensive career in academia. He taught international relations and Asian studies at universities including Miami, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, and Kyoto. In 1973 he founded the Institute of the Rockies, a public policy education organization, and more recently co-founded the Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation. While at UM he was a member of Phi Delta Theta and president of Silent Sentinel. He also lettered in track during all four years of his attendance. He is a member of the Oscar J. Craig Heritage Society and now lives in Edmonds, Wash.
Cheney, a Great Falls native, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at UM and now is Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author and editor of fifteen books and numerous essays on a variety of subjects, including William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. He is a consultant for Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. At UM he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. He mentors young athletes and scholars in State College, Penn.
Mazurek put his UM business administration and law degrees to work as a lawyer and politician in Montana. He served 12 years as a state senator and eight years as state attorney general. At UM he was a member and president of Phi Delta Theta, as well as the fraternity's Outstanding Graduate of 1970. He also was ASUM president and a member of Silent Sentinel and Beta Gamma Sigma. In law school he was a member of Phi Alpha Phi and associate editor of the Montana Law Review. He lives in Helena, where he is a longtime community volunteer.
McGuire is the first Montana woman to achieve the rank of brigadier general and the first woman ever to become provost marshal general of the U.S. Army and commanding general of the Army Criminal Investigation Command. She was sworn in as the Army's top law enforcement officer during a January 2010 ceremony at Fort Belvoir, Va. At UM she was a broadcast journalism major, ROTC member, and Grizzly cheerleader. Her commissioning in the Military Police Corps has been followed by nearly thirty years of active service in Germany, Somalia, Iraq, and the United States. She looks forward to retiring to Montana.
Exhibition offers rare glimpse of European masterpieces
Mademoiselle Grimprel au ruban rouge (Hélène Grimprel), 1880, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Campus visitors will have a unique opportunity to view masterworks by European artists during an upcoming Montana Museum of Art & Culture exhibition titled "Renoir, Magritte, Gauguin, and other Masterpieces from a Private Collection."
The exhibition will launch with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, November 12, at the Meloy and Paxson galleries, located in UM's Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center.
Largely centered on portraiture, the exhibition includes works by artistic giants such as Rosa Bonheur, William Bourgereau, Max Ernst, Paul Gauguin, René Magritte, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, George Romney, Théophile van Rysselberghe, and John William Waterhouse.
Lectures and discussions to coincide with the exhibition are planned, and MMAC will provide expanded hours during the event, which will run through March 12. For more information, call 406-243-2019 or go online to www.umt.edu/montanamuseum.
Notable and Quotable
UM has contracted to do an independent study to assess the internal strengths and weaknesses of its athletics program as compared with programs of peer institutions. The study will provide accurate and timely information as the University confronts challenging choices concerning the future of Grizzly Athletics. It will help assure sound and informed decisions about the future direction of the program. The UM president makes decisions about the program in consultation with the Montana Board of Regents. With the fluid nature of NCAA conference structures and the possibility of realignment, the University will have the most accurate information possible about the current situation and likely trends. Campus will rely on privately donated funds to finance this important study.
The Princeton Review seems fond of UM. The college guidebook organization included the University in two prestigious lists for 2010: the top 286 green colleges and the top 373 best colleges. The organization chose UM based on its Green Rating score of 96 (out of 99) it received in the summer of 2009. The entry mentions several of UM's sustainability initiatives. The best college guide is based on the rankings of more than 122,000 undergraduate students across the nation. UM's two-page spread includes quotes such as "Life at UM combines a love for the Grizzlies with the outdoors." Another says, "Academics at UM are facilitated by great instructors [who do] anything and everything for their students."
A short film made by recent UM graduate Ali Tabibnejad was one of six out of more than 100 entries that recently advanced to the final round in a competition for $50,000 and the chance to become a feature-length movie. Tabibnejad made "Untitled for James" earlier this year as his thesis project, then entered it in OpenFilm.com's first-ever "Get it Made" competition. The nineteen-minute movie features a cast and crew made entirely of UM students and was shot on campus, around Missoula, and outside Kalispell. Tabibnejad earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in digital filmmaking from UM in May. The public voted for its favorite film during the month of July, and Tabibnejad's was among the top six vote-getters. The finalists now go before a panel of judges that includes film industry professionals James Caan and Robert Duvall. The winner will receive $50,000 cash and a $200,000 financing contract to turn their short film into a feature film.
The President's Corner
Photo by Erik Stenbakken
"This issue of The Montanan marks my last opportunity to hold forth from this very special podium-I almost said pulpit-as President of The University of Montana, the position I accepted twenty years ago in August." Please note the quotation marks, since events changed this statement of assumed fact into an error. While I intended to retire on 15 August, I agreed to remain until the regents appoint a replacement. That has yet to happen, although the schedule calls for campus interviews in September. In any event, I now have another opportunity to use this podium for good purpose. Wonderful!
This past year brought a number of beneficial developments for UM, but one stands out. The Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities sent a team to campus to conduct the evaluation for possible re-accreditation for the next seven years, and the final decision of the commission reaffirmed accreditation. The evaluation team confirmed the strengths and weaknesses we had identified through the self-study and had already begun to address. During the coming year, we will work on the recommendations presented to us by the team. UM stands in a robust condition today because of the dedicated work of the faculty and staff and the continued support of friends and alumni. I want once again to express my appreciation-and that of the students who benefit immensely.
This issue focuses on the inspiring examples provided by alumni and programs. The two featured alumni have made incredible differences in our world through their passionate commitment to critically important causes. In real ways, their examples demonstrate how passion combined with education leads to amazing results. The third feature reveals vividly how the University changes and grows in response to identified societal needs. The College of Technology became an integral component of UM in 1995 and has more than doubled its student enrollment and programs during the past decade. Still, the college has much more to do and stands well positioned to fulfill its promise if those of us responsible find ways to provide resources. UM has committed itself to providing the education people need, at the two-year through the advanced graduate level, and does all of it well.
The fact remains, however, that the University will encounter serious challenges during the next five years. Success in surmounting those challenges will depend on the continued moral and financial support of friends, alumni, and the Montana citizenry. To earn and reciprocate that support, UM will change and evolve in response to societal changes to assure that Montanans have access to a responsive education of the highest quality.
George M. Dennison, '62, '63
President and Professor of History
Open-Air Commencement
UM held its 113th Commencement ceremony May 15 outdoors on the Oval, which was a first for the University. The lawns before Main Hall were transformed into a concert-like venue with seating for 3,000 graduates and their loved ones, complete with a large stage and Mount Sentinel as a backdrop. Large video screens surrounded the stage to aid viewing. George M. Dennison, UM's longest-serving president, gave the address in what was likely his final Commencement. "The future depends on what you make of it," Dennison said. "We have full confidence that you will make the most of it to the benefit of all."
The Bottom Line:
| 3.06 | The cumulative grade-point average of UM's 286 student-athletes |
| 467 | Number of cadets UM's Taylor Healy bested in his ROTC regiment to win the Army Physical Fitness Test. |
| 444 | Number of cadets UM's Kurt Schiedermayer defeated in his ROTC regiment to win the Army Physical Fitness Test. |
| 2 | Number of regional Emmys won by UM student filmmakers on June 5 in Snoqualmie, Wash. |
New Endowments Honor Longtime Administrators
Dennison and Hanson
Two new endowments have been created at UM to help students with the increasing costs of a college education.
Trustees of the UM Foundation and alumni and community members have established an endowment to honor President George M. Dennison and his wife, Jane, for the many contributions they have made to the University. Dennison plans to retire after more than 20 years leading his alma mater when a new president is chosen this fall.
Alumni and friends have contributed nearly $900,000 toward the ultimate goal of having an endowment valued at $3 million for the George M. and Jane I. Dennison Doctoral Fellows in History Endowment. Dennison earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the UM Department of History, which the endowment will support.
Dennison is the longest-serving president in UM history. His achievements as president include overseeing a nearly 50 percent increase in enrollment, a 138 percent increase in American Indian student enrollment, and the construction and improvement of numerous buildings. The partnerships Dennison built with alumni and friends led to $500 million in private gifts to UM during his tenure.
Mick Hanson, the UM leader responsible for student financial aid for 25 years, will have a program of privately funded, need-based student grants named for him. Hanson retired in June after forty years of service to the University.
To honor Hanson for his dedication to UM students, his family, friends, and colleagues have created the Montana Investment in Character and Knowledge (MICK) Endowed Grant Fund.
"The University plans to use the MICK fund for grants for students in good academic standing who have demonstrated financial need," said Laura Brehm, president and CEO of the UM Foundation.
Contributions to the endowments may be made online at www.SupportUM.org or mailed to the UM Foundation, P.O. Box 7159, 600 Connell Ave., Missoula, MT 59807-7159.
For more information, call Ric Thomas, UM Foundation vice president for development, at 406-243-5615 or e-mail .
Student Writers Achieve National Acclaim
Three outstanding students recently won national writing awards.
Two students took first place awards in the 50th annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program. The Hearst awards, often referred to as the college Pulitzers, are the most competitive in the country.
Missoula native Nate Rott, who graduated in December, took first place in the in-depth writing competition for his story "Beyond Reach," which he wrote for UM's Native News Honors Project. The story is about a young man from the Crow Reservation who committed a crime off the reservation. He then ran for the reservation where he knew he would not have to face the consequences of the crime because the Crow Tribe has no extradition agreement with the state.
Roman Stubbs, a UM print journalism major from Great Falls and sports editor of the Montana Kaimin, won first place in the Hearst Journalism Awards personality profile writing competition for a meticulously prepared profile of Jimmy Wilson, who played football for the Grizzlies from 2004 to 2006. The story, "Gladiator School," describes Wilson's struggle as he was charged with and eventually acquitted of a murder charge involving an incident that occurred in the Los Angeles area in 2007.
Environmental studies graduate student Michelle Lanzoni received the 2010 Desert Writers Award from the Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers for "Thirst," a book about water availability. Lanzoni has traveled to several regions where clean water is scarce and where conflicts over water resources erupt in war. Using research, literary journalism, and creative nonfiction, she hopes to persuade a drastic reexamination of our relationships to water.
The Ellen Meloy Fund was established in honor of Meloy, who earned a master's degree in environmental studies from UM in 1979. It supports writers whose work reflects the spirit and passion for the desert embodied in her writing.
UM Students Brew Up Top Jingle
The Ethan Thompson Band performs its contest-winning song.
A trio of UM students are enjoying the sweet aroma of success after recently taking first place in the first-ever Folgers Coffee "The Best Part of Waking Up" Jingle Contest.
The Ethan Thompson Band won $25,000 in June after beating out nearly 1,000 other entries. Lead singer Ethan Thompson heard about the contest from his mom and teamed up with drummer Dan Coburn to write the catchy jingle that ends with Folgers' familiar motto, "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup."
But before putting pen to paper, Thompson sought advice about what Folgers might be looking for from a student in the UM business program. The friend suggested that the company probably wanted to revamp its image while marketing Folgers as the brand that young coffee drinkers enjoy when they brew at home.
Thompson and Coburn used that guidance as a launching point and created a jingle and a video that portrayed college roommates waking up and enjoying the day's first cup of joe together in their home. Tapestries on the wall, a sink full of dishes, and the friendly antics amongst the roomies clearly appealed to viewers, who voted the video as one of the top ten in the first round.
By the time they advanced as one of five finalists in New York in June, the band was feeling confident. The company flew the band mates-Thompson, Coburn, and bass guitarist Landon Lee, all UM students, along with Kalispell native and backup vocalist Jenny Snipstead-to New York City in early June. The band performed one of their own songs and the forty-five-second jingle before a panel that included American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi.
DioGuardi's enthusiastic response sealed the deal.
"Right when she started giving us feedback, I knew we had it in the bag," says Thompson.
Folgers now owns the jingle and plans to make a commercial using the college roommates angle. They've even discussed using the band members in the ad, but that remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the band was busy playing gigs around Montana over the summer. They split the check four ways and used the earnings to upgrade music equipment, pay for college, and record an album that is slated for release this fall.
Meet Grizwald,
UM's cartoon bear. In many issues of the Montanan, we provide a drawing featuring Grizwald in need of a caption. Then it's up to you, our readers, to send in your most original and creative ideas. The winning contestant will receive a Griz stadium blanket. Send submissions to: .
NEW LOOK GRIZ
Griz fans likely did a double-take this season when their football team took the field in new darker uniforms. Created by designers at Nike with input from Grizzly Athletics, the new uniforms sport "Montana granite" gray helmets with the familiar Griz logo. The home jerseys and pants use maroon and dark gray with black highlights, and the shoulders feature a distinctive line pattern. The new lighter gear has better ventilation and the ability to shed moisture. Only ten teams nationwide have the new equipment, and the Griz are the only squad at their level using it. Longtime Griz equipment manager Steve Hackney says it now costs about $1,500 to armor a Griz football player.
Computer Network Upgrade Celebrated at UM
UM's Ray Ford addresses attendees at the computer network "Golden Spike Event" in Missoula.
A blank spot on the map of major research and education computer networks was filled June 3 with the completion of a new digital pathway across the northern states between Chicago and Seattle. The network offers a huge increase in bandwidth for research, education, health care, and government uses, with speeds 10,000 times greater than the typical broadband connection.
A Northern Tier Network Consortium "Golden Spike Event" was held at UM's School of Law to celebrate the new computer pathway. About sixty attendees discussed the possibilities of the new ten-gigabit-per-second system, with other participants added via crystal-clear videoconferencing sessions between UM, North Dakota State University, and Indiana University.
"We have all eagerly anticipated this day and what it will mean for this region," says UM President George M. Dennison, who expects the robust network to provide tangible benefits for education and research efforts across Montana. "We are at the beginning, it seems to me, of a new era."
Dennison compared building advanced computer networks to constructing roads, and he hopes the increased bandwidth will spur economic development across Montana.
"This new network is 10,000 times faster than what people have in their homes," says Ray Ford, chief information officer for UM Information Technology. "It will allow Montana researchers and educators to do well-known things much faster and also inspire creativity in our students, faculty, and researchers to invent uses that haven't been invented yet."
He said the network is only available for educational and research functions so they don't compete with private telecommunications businesses. For more information on the Northern Tier Network Consortium, visit www.ntnc.org.
Stevens a Dining Services Dynamo
Ryan Stevens accepts an award from President Dennison.
Ryan Stevens '10, who worked for University Dining Services at UM, was recently named the National Association of College and University Food Services Student Employee of the Year.
Founded in 1958, NACUFS is a trade association for food service professionals at more than 600 institutions of higher education in North America and abroad. The award is given annually to an outstanding food service student employee at a NACUFS member institution.
"As the saying goes, 'When you're hot, you're hot,' and Ryan Stevens is just that," says UDS Marketing Director Jerry O'Malley.
The NACUFS award follows a string of accolades Stevens garnered during his UM tenure. His exceptional work was acknowledged with Student Employee of the Year awards from UM, the state of Montana, and the Northwest region. He then was honored with the National Student Employment Association's National Student Employee of the Year Award, which was presented by UM President George M. Dennison in April.
Stevens completed major projects at UDS that ranged from developing online data forms to overhauling financial-management and budget-planning systems. He majored in history at UM and has accepted a position with defense and aerospace corporation Northrop-Grumman.
WHERE'S YOUR GRIZ BEEN?
Ronald Eby '67 proudly displays his UM T-shirt during a June visit to Peru's Machu Picchu. He and his wife, Joane, also visited an island in Lake Titicaca and the Amazon jungle during their South American adventure, where they were treated to sightings of parrots, monkeys, and giant otters.
Congratulations Eby family. You have won a $50 gift card for
The Bookstore at UM.
Do you have a photo of yourself wearing your Griz gear in an amazing place or while on an incredible adventure? If so, send it along with a brief description to: themontanan@umontana.edu. Winners will see their photo published in the Montanan and will receive a $50 gift card to The Bookstore at UM. To be considered, photos must be in focus and with the UM or Griz logo clearly visible.
Facetime: Chris Wright '02
A Butte native, Chris Wright joined Google in 2003. A few months after accepting a full-time position, he set off to India for fourteen months to help build a new Google office from the ground up. He also was cast in an Indian movie, but that's another whole interview. When Chris returned, he worked as a strategist on the free municipal WiFi network Google developed for Mountain View, Calif., and eventually transitioned to Google's marketing organization. Now as a product marketing manager at Google, he promotes all sorts of cool products at the company - and right now his focus is the Google Chrome Web browser.
1. How did you get your start at Google?
After graduating from the University in 2002, I decided to teach English in South Korea for a year. I then returned to Montana and began my job search. I had always loved Google, so I sent them my résumé. Within a couple hours I received a response thanking me for my interest, but there were no openings that fit my background. The next day I was searching a job site and saw a specific position at Google that I felt qualified for-so I applied again. After a phone screen with a Google recruiter in New York, I was granted an onsite interview, so I drove to Spokane, Wash., flew to California, and was offered a position a few days later as a contractor. After three months I interviewed for a full-time position and have now been with Google for seven years.
2. What was it like to spend fourteen months in India building a team for Google?
India is an amazing country, and I've returned twice since my initial fourteen-month assignment. While working in India, my role was to help build the team, train new employees, and extend the Google culture to our new office. The day I landed we had just hired our first class of six employees, and when I left, there were more than 200. One of my favorite memories involves describing the idea of a root beer float to the India team. They thought I was crazy. One, because I was describing a beer that was given to children, full of sugar and containing no alcohol; and two, because I declared that this beverage was best served with ice cream floating on the top. Later that year when I returned to the United States for a short visit over the holiday, I picked up some root beer to take back to India. The next Friday, I served small root beer floats to each employee. Only half of them tried it. My plan to win them over had backfired. A female employee took a small sip, made a disgusted face, and exclaimed, "This tastes like cough syrup!" Another employee agreed, "Yeah, cough syrup, or medicine ... only with vanilla ice cream floating in it." A third started laughing and remarked loudly, "I can't believe they give this to children as a treat-I would have thought it was punishment." Everyone laughed. I guess some things just don't translate.
3. What is your typical day like?
As a product marketing manager, I focus on the end-to-end user experience for a specific product-in my case, Google Chrome. My responsibilities include everything from designing what our Web pages look like to understanding what users think of the product, tracking how people found the product, measuring how often they use it, etc. I also manage all of the paid media dollars we put behind Chrome, so my average day is filled with a good mix of online metrics analysis, reports, and meetings between internal and external stakeholders.
4. Why do you care so much about browsers?
In short, a better browser means a better Web. The majority of the time I spend in front of a computer is spent online-and this online experience is being delivered through a Web browser. And as the Web continues to evolve, many of the applications we used ten years ago (which required software to be installed on our computers), can now be delivered by rich, online Web apps-like Gmail or Pandora. I like to use my father as an example. During the holidays, he would go out and buy the latest version of Turbo Tax and then have my mother wrap it up for him to open on Christmas Day. That was more than ten years ago. Today the Turbo Tax product is completely available online. What used to be considered software is now accessible as a Web page or Web application. Instead of installing Turbo Tax on our computer's operating system as we did ten years ago, we can simply visit their website. Basically, the Web browser serves as an operating system for the Internet.
5. What is the best part of your job?
Getting to work on projects with some of the brightest and most passionate people I've ever met. Google has given me an opportunity to actively participate in the development of the Internet, and while much of my work impacts millions of people around the world, sometimes it's the smaller-scale projects that really stick with me. For example, we ran one project where I visited low-income apartment complexes in San Francisco and strung Ethernet cable to provide free Internet to the residents.
6. How did your education at UM help you in your career? Does any class stand out?
Yes, it would absolutely be the advertising competition class taught by Dan Cahalan. We worked on an advertising campaign for Bank of America's investment services throughout the year. At the end, we flew to Anchorage to compete against regional schools and present our plan to industry professionals (we ended up placing second). I played the role of the account executive. This was the one class you could take as an undergraduate that would give you real-world experience. It really solidified my love for marketing.
7. What advice do you have for people on following their dreams?
Without sounding too cliché, don't talk yourself out of something for fear of failure. For example, imagine if I hadn't applied to Google a second time after my initial rejection. Oh, and don't build a baseball diamond in your cornfield-it's already been done.
-Interview by Brianne Burrowes '07
