WSU-V supporter and philanthropist Mary Firstenburg diedlast Tuesday, February 17, at the ageof 91. She is survived by her husbandand co-contributor, Ed and their threechildren.Ed and Mary Firstenburg donatedhalf a million dollars to WSU-V for theconstruction of the Firstenburg FamilyFountain in the courtyard and another one million dollars for the remodelof the student commons (formerlyhousing The Bookie).“This is a permanent legacy for the Firstenburg family and for WSUVancouver,” said Chancellor HalDengerink back when the gift wasannounced. “The Firstenburg StudentCommons will provide a much neededspace on campus for students. We aretruly grateful to the Firstenburgs andthe Community Foundation for their generosity.”The Firstenburg StudentCommons—often referred to asthe Firstenburg, FSC or simply theCommons—plays an important partin student life on campus. Peter Sterr,ASWSUV president represents thestudent body stating, “The Firstenburgs’generous contribution to WSUVancouver that made the FirstenburgStudent Commons a reality has greatly
inuenced the student culture on our
campus.”“The Commons,” said Sterr,“will forever stand as a memory of the care and commitment that Maryand Ed Firstenburg have shownto this community. They havetruly been a shining example of compassionate philanthropyand role models to all of usthat strive to give back toour communities. MaryFirstenburg will bemissed.”“We are deeplysaddened to hear of the lossof Mary Firstenburg,” saidJennifer Crooks, Director of Campus and RegionalDevelopment. “Our heartsgo out to Ed and the rest of the family.”“Ed and Mary havemade a huge footprint on thegrowth of WSU Vancouver by providing gifts to draw studentsand the community together,” saidCrooks. “Ed and Mary’s support of education has been remarkable andtheir contributions have supported thecampus so that Vancouver would havea stronger educational opportunityfor students. Our community is better because of all the support that theFirstenburg’s have provided—whichis threaded throughall facets of thecommunity.”
Chancellor, Hal Dengerink saidthat they have been very generous
with their money in beneting WSU-
V. “They have also demonstrated thatfor their bank to thrive so must thecommunity that they live and work in,” said Dengerink adding that thesame was true for WSU-V. Maryserved on the board of directors of the First Independent Bank for over 40 years. Her husband Ed servedas the chairman. In addition tofunding the WSU-V FirstenburgStudent Commons Buildingand the campus FirstenburgFamily Fountain they have
given signicant gifts
to other Clark County projects.According
to theColumbian, MaryFirstenburg had plannedto become a missionary before meeting andmarrying Ed Firstenburgin 1936. They weremarried 72 years and
lived in Ridgeeld, WA.
for close to 40 years.Mary Firstenburg gaveconsiderably of her timeto the community, helping
found the Ridgeeld Library and
was active in PTA, scouting, the VAand other organizations. Her gifts and
spirit have signicantly touched the
region. Perhaps she was a missionaryafter all.
By Greg Zschomler
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Mary Firstenburg leaves behind a legacy
Washington State University VancouverFebruary 23, 2009Issue 12www.vancougar.com
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WSU-V launches newthreat assessment responseplan to address concerns
Vancouver AWARENetwork
Student Body candidatesshare some informationabout their campaigns
Meet TheCandidate
Remarkable philanthropist
passes away aer decades ofservice to her community
I n t h i s i s s u e :
Delta Drywall’s takeon the picketers fromPacific NorthwestRegional Councilof Carpenters
Undergraduate
Building
Peter Sterr goes over amendments that maybe taking place on our campus
From thePresident
MOSAIC, which stands for MeetOur Students and Investigate College,is a college outreach program currentlyheaded by Assistant Director for Student Diversity Bola Majekobaje andAdmissions Counselor Mike Reyes.They have partnered with Gear Up for College and together comprise a groupof people who are very dedicated togetting students to go on to higher education at the University level.“MOSAIC brings in a very diversegroup of students,” said Majekobaje.The participating high schools wereselected basedon student bodydemographics andthe percentageof students onfree and reducedlunch. Whilediverse, thestudents selected from these schoolsshare some common ground. Those
selected are either low income or rst
generation students, although mostimportantly, they all want to attendcollege.The name MOSAIC was inherited by Majekobaje and Reyes when the project was handed to them. Now, thename has taken on a new meaning,and has come to represent small piecescoming together to make the bigger picture. That picture is access to higher education. Although the meaning haschanged, the acronym is no lesstrue now, than when MOSAICwasn’t even intended for highschool students.For instance, at this session, unlikeother sessions, each visiting highschool student received a college buddy. When I arrived, I foundthe incoming high school studentsanxiously lined up outside of theauditorium in the AdministrationBuilding.They were nervous, timid, andclearly out of their comfort zone.They slowly trickled through thedoor and into the auditorium.When a number was called, acorresponding college buddy stood
up and agged the high schooler
down.After eachstudent gota chance tomeet his or her college buddy, theKeynote speaker,
Jorge Lizarraga came on stage. In the
spirit of the current political theme, hespoke about change.
Lizarraga started by telling about his
youth. He said, “The idea of one group being inferior and another superior,was something that permeated all of our lives growing up in this country.”He said that during his youth, bi-lingual students were hit for speakingSpanish at school, and placed inspecial education programs simply because they did not know English.In general, he painted a picture of afar less accommodating America, onewhere it was hardly frowned upon to be a racist.
Lizarraga says, “Changes are
coming, change can be scary, changecan be mysterious, change can also be amazingly wonderful, it can be afantastic opportunity.”He ended his speech telling thestudents about the kind of thingsthat college allows them to do. Heexplained that college creates optionsthat wouldn’t otherwise be available.
Lizarraga encouraged students to take
advantage of change, to seek it, and tothrive from it.After the Keynote speech wasdelivered, the visitors were given anopportunity to interview their college buddies to get to know them better.By now, even the most nervous of thenewcomers had begun to loosen up,and by the end everyone seemed to belaughing, smiling, and generally havinga good time.After the buddy interviews had beenconducted, it was time to go face the day.The rest of the event was comprised of three sessions in which students had anopportunity to choose from a varietyof workshops that served to give themknowledge about attending college,and an opportunity to broaden their horizons.
By Joe Creager
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High school students tour campus at MOSAIC
College outreach program
aids students for future
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“Changes are coming. Changecan be scary, change can bemysterious, change can alsobe amazingly wonderful...”
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ASWSUV’s freebowling night wasa fun event for thosethat were involved
Bowling NightPictures
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