College Alumni
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the College of the Pacific. The small classes, the support I received from my professors and other students … it gave me a sense of grounding I don’t think I could have received at a larger school. And it’s amazing how often I rely, in my job, on that solid foundation of liberal arts classes.”
Marcie Spencer ('81 Communication), Producer, CBS News "48 Hours”
For over 150 years the College has served as a catalyst, preparing and inspiring young people to make a difference, whether in their own community or around the world.
A few, like Janet Leigh, Jamie Leigh Curtis, and Chris Isaak, have become celebrities, but nearly all have become valued and respected for their contributions to their communities, organizations and professions, and for the example their lives give to others.
Here are a few examples of our noted alumni and their accomplishments:
- Marcie Spencer (pictured upper right), producer for the CBS News show "48 Hours," has covered stories of every stripe—from the Winter Olympics to the OJ Simpson trial to the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
- Sakena Yacoobi, founder and executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning, internationally recognized for improving the health and education of Afghan women and children (see below).
- Ron Loveridge, long-time Mayor of Riverside, California, is one of several alumni who have served as mayors of California cities.
- Sovanna Koert, named California Woman of the Year for founding and directing APSARA, a non-profit agency in Stockton that provides services such as housing, education, job training, language training, and cultural events for East Asian refugees.
- Dennis Warren, who as a junior in the College initiated a national movement in 1969 that resulted in passage of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the voting age to 18.
- Stephen Kistler, who in 1931 invented aerojel, the lightest substance known to man and the original nanomaterial.
As these examples indicate, alumni from College of the Pacific are leaders, lifelong learners, and careful thinkers who have made the most of our close faculty-student working relationships and hands-on learning opportunities to prepare themselves not just for their future careers, but for satisfying lives as individuals, family members, and community champions.
Sakena Yacoobi is founder and executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning, internationally recognized for improving the health and education of Afghan women and children.
Sakena Yacoobi's Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of Afghan women and children, providing health education, clinical services and teacher-training since 1995. Ms. Yacoobi has been recognized as one of the world's leading "social entrepreneurs." Among many awards, she and the AIL have received the 2004 Women's Rights Prize from the Peter Gruber Foundation and the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership from Claremont McKenna College and the Kravis Leadership Institute.
Pacific Alumni Association
We encourage alumni to stay connected to Pacific through the Pacific Alumni Association. This active association organizes many exciting events throughout the year.
