It takes a lot of extra work for an undergraduate student to earn a double major. Of the University of Oregon’s 3,008 bachelor’s degree candidates for the 2000-01 school year, only 251–about eight percent–have accomplished that feat. Deborah Kelly Neighbors is one of only five UO undergrads this year to go a step further: graduate with a triple major. Neighbors graduates June 16 with a bachelor of arts in political science, women’s studies and history, and a minor in Latin American studies. She attributes her diverse academic endeavors to her broad interests. "I originally considered political science because at one time in my life I wanted to be a politician," she says. "My first term at the UO, I took a women’s studies class and thought I would add it as a major because I could see how it would broaden my outlook in life…and my history major accommodated yet another interest." Despite her intense studies, Neighbors says her biggest challenge has been financial. She works three jobs–as a caregiver for a multiple sclerosis patient, as a women’s studies peer adviser and as a professor’s aide. After graduation, the Klamath Falls native will take her high energy from the classroom into the Peace Corps. She next plans to enter law school and feels that she has been well prepared by what she likens to a self-created pre-law program. Neighbors is a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society and a recipient of the Abbie Jane Bakony award from the UO Center for the Study of Women in Society. She graduates with honors in political science.

NEW TEACHING JOB LURES GRADUATE HOME TO KENTUCKY

Alan Arnett completes his middle and secondary teaching certification at the University of Oregon College of Education on Friday, June 15. On Saturday, June 16, he will graduate, pack his family into their Volkswagen van and head back home to Kentucky to begin his second career–as a teacher in a Louisville elementary school. It’s not that Arnett doesn’t like Eugene or Oregon; he ultimately wants to move his wife and two young daughters to a "Eugene-like community" in the Northeast or return to Oregon. After working various jobs in biology and microbiology, Arnett realized that he preferred teaching to research. Arnett had worked as a student teacher while in the graduate program at the University of Louisville, where he earned a master’s degree in biology. While completing the UO’s one-year teaching certification program this past year, Arnett’s calendar was packed with additional commitments: the birth of his second daughter three months ago, "spending as much time with the family as possible," renovating the family’s old house and working a part-time job. Arnett also fulfilled the certification program’s teaching requirement at Springfield’s Thurston High School. He calls that experience one of the most valued during his time at Oregon. "I was touched by the students at Thurston," he says. "They give me hope for the future." James Schwartz, a UO teacher education practicum supervisor, says Arnett has a great future in education. "He is an outstanding teacher, has a very personable teaching style with students and is just a great person to work with." SOURCE: Alan Arnett, (541) 685-9858 or <arnett@darkwing.uoregon.edu>.

Ketty Herb-Kalberer had always worked for nonprofit agencies but a new door opened for her this past December when her business class team won the Hewlett-Packard Finance Competition at the University of Oregon. In 1999, Herb-Kalberer set out to earn her master of business administration degree so she could take her education back to the world of nonprofit agencies, where she has worked and volunteered in numerous positions. "I have been involved with many nonprofits, and in all of them I saw people who were passionate about what they were doing, but who lacked backgrounds in business and sometimes seemed to be reinventing the wheel," she says. She always envisioned putting her knowledge to work for a nonprofit upon graduating from the UO Charles H. Lundquist College of Business. But when her team claimed the Hewlett-Packard prize, she gained an unexpected shot at working in the corporate world for the computer and printer giant. "I’m ready for this new challenge," says the native of Aspen Valley, Colo. "When I look back on it, there is no way I would have gotten this chance without going through the MBA program. It has opened new doors I had not considered." Herb-Kalberer, whose husband is a 2001 UO law school grad, starts as a financial analyst July 1 at Hewlett-Packard’s Corvallis facility. Throughout school, she has remained active with nonprofit agencies, including arts organizations and a community medical clinic. She plans to stay involved with nonprofit groups and perhaps return to one full-time in the future.

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