Colonel Marcelyn “Marcy” Atwood, BM ’78 began her career as a high school music teacher in Eugene, Oregon. Today she lives outside of Washington, D.C. where she works as a consultant in the defense industry. In the time between those positions, Atwood served in the Air Force and achieved Master Navigator status with more than 3,100 career flying hours in multiple aircraft, and served as one of ten officers who created the U.S. Strategic Command, a joint unified command with oversight of the nuclear weapon arsenal; as an Air Force Headquarters branch chief who established a revised Air Force Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear policy for surviving enemy attacks on airfields; and as the Vice Director, Manpower and Personnel, (J-1) Joint Staff, Pentagon with oversight and management of multiple Department of Defense personnel, organizational and manpower changes.

Otis Davis’ track and field career lasted just three years, but in that brief amount of time he broke two world records and won two Olympic gold medals, and made enough of an impact to be inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the University of Oregon Hall of Fame, and the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame, and also receive the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete of the Year award. That said, when your resume leads with the fact that you were the first human in history to run 400 meters in fewer than 45 seconds, you’re no stranger to achieving great things in a short amount of time.

According to 2002 political science graduate Tucker Bounds, being the national spokesperson of a presidential campaign is a lot like running a startup in Silicon Valley. Sound like an odd comparison? Not to Bounds, the former national spokesperson for John McCain during the 2008 presidential election and the current co-founder and president of Sidewire, a political communications startup based in Silicon Valley.

Dr. Sara L. Terheggen, BS ‘99 is currently a successful corporate attorney in Silicon Valley and has advised on numerous transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $90 billion. She has four degrees to her name including a BS in psychology from the University of Oregon, a master’s in administration and PhD in instructional systems from Pennsylvania State University, and a JD from University of California, Berkeley. She has also been recognized on numerous occasions for her leadership and civic involvement. Sara contributes a significant amount of time to the community serving in leadership positions. She sits on several boards, serves as an elected California delegate for the Vision 2020 Project, sits on the Global Advisory Board for 100 Women in Hedge Funds, and acts as a tournament director for several charity golf tournaments.

Fred Poust's professional career has taken him to some impressive positions, including senior vice president of corporate sales and marketing for Time Inc., chief marketing officer at the Clinton Global Initiative, and senior vice president of conferences and business development at Forbes Media. As an active professional and philanthropist in New York City, Poust maintains a full calendar, but throughout his career he's always carved out time for his alma mater, the University of Oregon. Poust, the son of a Duck and a 1982 Clark Honors College graduate in economics, served on the UO Alumni Association Board of Directors for eight years, and spent the 2010-11 school year as UOAA board president.