A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
2018 PHS graduate receives Fulbright award
Nicholas ‘Nick’
Oja Zdroy to
study in Finland
By TAMMY
MALGESINI
East Oregonian
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— A 2018 Pendleton High
School graduate is the recip-
ient of the U.S. Fulbright
Student Program for the 2022-
23 academic year.
Nicholas “Nick” Oja Zdroy,
the son of Richard and Kris-
ten Oja of Pendleton, gradu-
ated with a degree in applied
physics on May 29, 2022, from
Linfield University, McMinn-
ville. He is the recipient of the
Goodrich
reads latest
work at
First Draft
East Oregonian
PENDLETON— Charles
Goodrich spent 25 years as
a professional gardener to
support his writing habit, so
it’s no surprise that his work
has been described as a “…
vivid display (of) reverence
for the beauty of the natural
world.”
Goodrich reads from a
new book of poems, “Water-
ing the Rhubarb” on Thurs-
day, June 16, as part of the
First Draft
Wr iters’
Series at the
Pe n d l e t o n
Center for
the Arts on
T h u r s d a y,
June 16. The
Goodrich
event begins
at 7 p.m., and
an audience discussion and
open mic follow Goodrich’s
presentation.
There is no charge and
guests can choose between
joining the author and others
at PCA or tuning in via
Zoom.
Goodrich determined
early on that he didn’t want to
have an indoor job, according
to the press release from the
arts center, and his gardening
work was done at a convent,
a residential treatment facil-
ity for troubled teens, and
the historic Benton County
Courthouse.
“After I wore out my
knees, I transitioned to
Oregon State University,
where I was fortunate to
work with Kathleen Dean
Moore at the Spring Creek
Project for Ideas, Nature and
the Written Word,” he said in
the press release.
Goodrich writes and
gardens near the confluence
of the Marys and Willamette
rivers in the traditional home-
land of the Ampinefu Band of
the Kalapuya in Corvallis. He
and his wife, Kapa, built their
own house and still grow
quite a bit of their food.
Since retirement, he has
more time to write and quips
that he spends his time,
“fixing the parts of our house
that I didn’t do right the first
time.”
The writer Clem Stark
notes of Goodrich’s poems,
“what makes them most
interesting to me is the
signature wry humor of
their creator and his unique
contrarian spirit.”
Good r ich’s previous
books include “A Scripture
of Crows,” “Going to Seed:
Dispatches from the Garden”
and “Insects of South Corval-
lis,” along with a collection
of essays, “The Practice of
Home” and two co-edited
anthologies, “Forest Under
Story: Creative Inquiry in an
Old-Growth Forest” and “In
the Blast Zone: Catastrophe
and Renewal on Mount St.
Helens.”
First Draft Writers’ Series
is in its ninth year, and is
funded, in part, through the
support of Oregon Human-
ities. More information
and sign-up link to receive
a zoom link is available at
pendletonarts.org.
Samples of Goodrich’s
poems are available at
charlesgoodrich.com.
Kristen Oja/Contributed Photo
Nicholas “Nick” Oja Zdroy of Pendleton was notified March 30,
2022, that he was selected for the U.S. Fulbright Student Pro-
gram. The recent Linfield University graduate will participate in
research and study during the 2022-23 academic year in Finland.
Fulbright Foreign Scholarship.
The Fulbright-Aalto
University Graduate Award
takes him to the Finnish school
to research and study mechan-
ical engineering and product
development. In addition, he
received The Finland Schol-
arship.
Kristen Oja said the awards
are particularly meaningful
to their family. She said both
maternal and paternal sides
of her family are of Finnish
descent.
“In fact, my maternal
grandmother was born in
Finland and we have relatives
in Finland with whom we
remain in contact,” she said.
The most significant bene-
fits of the Fulbright scholar-
ship, she said, include graduate
school tuition, as well as a
monthly stipend and a travel
allowance.
“Additionally, he has an
opportunity to bridge Ameri-
can culture and Finnish culture
and make meaningful connec-
tions between countries,” the
proud mother said.
According to a press release
from Paul Winfree, chair of
the Fulbright Foreign Schol-
arship Board, the Fulbright
Program is devoted to increas-
ing mutual understanding
between the people of the
United States and the people
of other countries. Zdroy’s
selection, Winfree said, is a
reflection of his leadership and
contributions to society.
Fulbright is the world’s
largest and most diverse inter-
national educational exchange
program, Winfree said. Since
its inception in 1946, more
than 400,000 have partici-
pated in the program. Alumni
include 61 Nobel Laureates,
89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 76
MacArthur Fellows and thou-
sands of leaders across the
private, public and nonprofit
sectors.
The awards are made
possible through funds appro-
priated annually by the U.S.
Congress and, in many cases,
by contributions from partner
countries and private parties.
For more information, visit
eca.state.gov/fulbright or
email fsb@state.gov.
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Commerce
PO Box 1 • 101 Olson Rd. • Boardman, OR 97818 • 541-481-3014
www.boardmanchamber.org • email: info@boardmanchamber.org
JUNE 15, 2022
IN PERSON
CHAMBER
LUNCHEON
12pm at Riverfront Center
Sponsored by: Tillamook
Guest Speaker: Rep. Greg Smith
Pre-registration required. Please visit
boardmanchamber.org/events to register.
Lunch Catered by:
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