| School: Marshall | Graduation Year: 1979 |
Year Inducted: 2020
Sports Played: Soccer, Track and Field
High School Honors: 2 Soccer Letters as Junior & Senior. 4 Track & Field Letters. PIL Champion in 440yd (City Record 57.6); PIL Champion 4×110 and 4×440 Relay Teams; 2nd in 4×110 and 4×440 Relays at State as a Freshman. 2nd in State 4×110 Relay as a Sophomore. 2nd in PIL 4×440 Relay as a Junior. PIL Champion in 800yd with school record 2:18.4, 2nd in 4×440 Relay as a Senior. Rose Festival Queen as a Senior; Honor Roll all 4 years. National Honor Society.
Post High School Career: Portland State University 1 year. San Jose State University, BS degree in Physics/Math,1984. Served 5 years as a Satellite Engineer for Lockheed Missile and Space (Sunnyvale, Calif.). Presently a Homemaker, Caregiver and volunteer Ham Operator with Multnomah County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (McAres). Played 20 years in the Northwest United Womens Soccer League.
Commentary:
As the youngest of four children, my mom had dreams of me becoming a ballet dancer; however, it turned out that I liked track a lot more than tutus! I got an early start in the sport when one of my older brothers, Ron Anderson (a record-setting pole-vaulter for Marshall), became my coach as well as my biggest cheerleader.
After a few middle school years of AAU track, Coach Chet Greene (who would one day be my math teacher!) introduced himself to me in the 8th grade with an invitation to join the Marshall Minutemen Track team. Although track and field may seem like a group of individualized sports, Mr. Greene created a sincere camaraderie between all the athletes (boys, girls, and coaches). He would run from event to event during our meets to cheer on my teammates and me, instilling not only a sense of personal responsibility to do my absolute best each race, but also the importance of encouraging and supporting your friends to give their very best effort, too. Every point counted!
Because I was a middle distance runner, in my junior year, Coach Ken Trapp (who taught me general business!) and Coach John Hughes (who taught me biology!) recruited me to be part of the first girls soccer team at Marshall. We all had a blast! Even though Mr. Trapp had more experience with football than fútbol, he could coach and inspire players in any sport. In fact, I continued on as a recreational soccer player and a coach myself for the next 30 plus years because of this experience.
Although schools today hire coaches that only know the players through practices and games, ‘back in the day,’ athletic coaches were also academic instructors. The impact of having teachers who actually taught in the school as well as on the field created a real community and sense of team spirit. I credit those experiences of my beloved high school teachers always inspiring me to do my best — whether it was in the classroom or on the turf — for much of my successes and accomplishments in life today.