Four years after Stephanie 。艾伦 ’85 graduated from high school, the aspiring interior designer applied for the store manager job at the furniture store w在这里 she worked. The owners gave the job to a man with no experience in design or furniture. When 。艾伦 asked why, the owners told her it was because he had a college degree. That moment motivated 。艾伦 to pursue her degree.
“My parents were the reason I went to 澳门水利博彩官方网站,阿伦谈到母亲伊芙琳时说, 谁在评核办公室工作, 克莱姆神父, 谁是志愿评估员. They completely believed in the 澳门水利博彩官方网站 education. 澳门水利博彩官方网站 is not just about grades; it’s bigger than that.”
。艾伦 enrolled in 澳门水利博彩官方网站’s Weekend College as a business management and professional communications major, 这样她就能在工作日工作了. 毕业后, 她上的是法学院, became a partner in a law firm and ultimately served as a superior court judge in Pierce County, 洗.， 22年来. 她去年九月退休了.
“My experience at 澳门水利博彩官方网站 was transformative,阿伦特说。. “The small group work and the processes 澳门水利博彩官方网站 uses for assessments really help a person understand how interdependent we all are, and also that sometimes the people that are going to have the biggest impact on you aren’t necessarily the people you think.”
蒂姆赖尔登, 哲学名誉教授, was one of the people who had an unexpected impact on 。艾伦 by suggesting that she attend law school.
“Going to law school would never have occurred to me in a million years. I thought I wasn’t smart enough to go to law school, but I took a leap of faith that he knew what he was talking about,阿伦德解释道. “It’s what Sister Jo Ann Miller ’60 has talked about….Others see strengths in you that you don’t see in yourself.”
作为一名法官, 。艾伦 served in a general jurisdiction trial court, 刑事重罪听证会, 人身伤害, 家庭法和其他案件. She knew the decisions she and jurors made would deeply impact those involved, possibly even changing the trajectory of their lives.
。艾伦 says 澳门水利博彩官方网站’s 8 Abilities ― including problem-solving, communication and social interaction ― are all integral to the role of a judge. “I had some cases w在这里 I really stuck my neck out because the law was silent, 我相信会有一个正确的结果,”她说。. “I think that takes a bit of courage and confidence in one’s abilities. 我相信这是在阿尔弗诺开发的.”
And it was 澳门水利博彩官方网站 that first connected 。艾伦 to a Wingspread conference on adoption — an event that would change her life. 在这次会议上, the idea of adopting hard-to-place children had been planted in my heart,阿伦特说。. “I never forgot the words of the conference participants and the efforts they took to find permanent families for special needs children.”
几年后，阿伦德开始寻求领养. She found that not all social workers were open to considering an unmarried woman like herself as an adoptive parent. 但同年，她成为了一名法官, 他收养了两个男孩, 6岁和11岁, 谁被寄养过.
“今天(我的两个儿子)都很成功, 对社会有贡献的成员, 我有四个孙子,阿伦特说。. “I could not be more proud of what they have overcome and what they have achieved. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that we all benefited from that conference.”
To 。艾伦, being 澳门水利博彩官方网站强 means going on a journey of self-discovery. “澳门水利博彩官方网站 provides an opportunity and safe environment to explore what your strength is, who you are as a human being and who you want to be,她说。.
澳门水利博彩官方网站强
。艾伦, who received the 2003 Outstanding Alumna Award, is a member of 澳门水利博彩官方网站’s Vanguard Society and has served on the Alumnae Board.
澳门水利博彩官方网站?
在退休后, 。艾伦 plans to continue her work for Habitat for Humanity and for the Court History Project, as well as to reconnect with friends across the country, create quilts to gift to Habitat for Humanity families and more.
This article appears in the summer 2022 issue of 澳门水利博彩官方网站杂志.
回馈阿尔维诺
In 2010, 斯蒂芬妮·阿伦德，85年, 还有她的父亲和兄弟姐妹, decided to honor her mother by establishing the Evelyn D. 。艾伦 Endowed Scholarship for 澳门水利博彩官方网站 students.
In 澳门水利博彩官方网站’s assessment office, Evelyn 。艾伦 made a difference every day. “When students came in, she helped encourage and support them,阿伦特说。. “她很擅长这个. If she could have, she would have enjoyed being a student at 澳门水利博彩官方网站.”
But when Evelyn had graduated from 8th grade, teachers told her she wasn’t smart enough to pursue further education. She started working but always valued education. It was one of Evelyn’s final wishes to establish a scholarship to support women to pursue their education. 到目前为止, the scholarship has supported four students and will continue to support students for years to come.
To learn more about ways to give, including endowed scholarships, please click 在这里.
