Plant a garden for all to enjoy — and watch the benefits grow.

Gardening helps everyone in different ways. It lowers stress levels, creates bonding opportunities for couples, families and friends, and it allows us to grow fresh, healthy food right outside our door.

One aspect that isn’t always top of mind, though, is building a garden that is accessible to all who visit or spend time there. Thanks to a universal garden design developed by the OSU Extension Service, you can discover how to adapt home and community gardens for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy.

Small changes like wider pathways for wheelchair access, fragrant or touchable plants for those with visual impairments and vertical planters that children can reach are simple ways to make gardens more inclusive and welcoming.

In addition, taking the time to set up your garden so that there’s less need for physically taxing maintenance can have positive effects over the long term.

Read more, here.

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

Website

The 5 core principles of life | Nobel Prize-winner Paul Nurse

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul Nurse defines the 5 core principles of life.

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

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tlundy5522@gmail.com

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Breaking through with a better battery for storing renewable energy.

Renewable power sources like wind and solar need large-scale battery arrays to store the generated energy and supply the electric grid when there’s no sun or wind. Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a solution for a better battery — one that’s efficient, safe, sustainable and economical for both utilities and consumers.

Production of today’s most widely used battery technology — using lithium-ion as the critical metal component — relies on shrinking supplies of two other metals, cobalt and nickel, without which the batteries would not function. Those rare metals, however, are toxic and can contaminate ecosystems and water sources if they leach out of landfills.

Zinc metal batteries are an energy-dense alternative to lithium-ion, made from a metal that’s both safe and abundant. Previously, these batteries have been limited, because of their poor recharging efficiency and a chemical reaction producing unwanted hydrogen, which greatly reduced their cycle life. But scientists led by Oregon State researcher Xiulei “David” Ji have resolved those limitations with one big breakthrough.

Read more, here.

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

Website

Use Strategic Thinking to Create the Life You Want

Seven questions can clarify what really matters to you and help you build your own life strategy, according to BCG’s Rainer Strack. 

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

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Happy Valentines Day

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

Website

Never stop pursuing your path.

Lauren Steenson found hers over 12 years, five stations and countless adventures.

Lauren Steenson, ’23, had always been interested in visual storytelling and photography. But it wasn’t until she joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2011 that she discovered how to turn her interests into the future she wanted.

Steenson wanted to become a public affairs specialist — it was her goal the moment she joined the Coast Guard. She found an internal job opening and decided to add her name to the wait list for the Coast Guard’s Public Affairs A-School — a program needed to qualify for the job. But the A-School only admits a few Coast Guard members at a time, so Steenson patiently waited for more than three years.

Finally, Steenson was admitted. She began a 12-week course at a Defense Information School in Fort Meade, Maryland, focusing on news and feature writing, photography and military policy on public information. She completed her course in 2015, officially becoming a public affairs specialist. After graduating from the Public Affairs A-School, she was stationed in Kodiak, Alaska for two years — and deployed  to Central America and the Arctic — where she put her new skills to good use documenting the Coast Guard’s work through many different avenues.

Read more, here.

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

Website

¡Sí, Se Puede! Make your dreams of college a reality.

Lorenzo Curtis believes this. So strongly he believes that Latino, Latina and Latinx students like him can and should succeed in college that he dedicated his Honors College thesis to that message.

From his experience representing the Honors College at recruiting events, Curtis found Latinx students and their families are most receptive to college-related information when it’s presented through anecdotes. So, in a series of five videos, he created a personal testimonial covering different aspects of his experience as an Oregon State student in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math.

The videos, all in Spanish with English subtitles, are hosted on Spanish and English websites by the Office of Precollege Programs. In each video, Curtis covers goals, provides advice and recommends actions.

“As a Latino STEM student, I wanted to contribute to informing Latinx families about what higher education is and how to attain it,” Curtis writes in his honors thesis. He wants not just to see more Latinx students at Oregon State and other universities, but for them to feel confident they can succeed.

Having earned his Honors Bachelor of Science in Ecological Engineering with a minor in Spanish in 2023, Curtis now works as a wastewater operations specialist for the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. He hopes the video series will encourage students to ask questions, seek guidance and pursue a future where they achieve their dreams.

“You might not even fathom what is out there or what you can accomplish, but you can do it,” he says.

Not only has he done it, Lorenzo Curtis has shown future students how they can, too.

Read more, here.

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

Website

How to be a creative thinker | Carnegie Mellon University Po-Shen Loh

Have you ever wondered whether you lack creativity? Po-Shen Loh, a social entrepreneur, illuminates issues within the education system while instructing tens of thousands of diverse students. Serving as a U.S. Math Olympiad coach and professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he endeavors to tackle these problems. He has developed a captivating educational system, reminiscent of Twitch game streaming. Explore the significant challenges and their solutions in the video.

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

Website

Where Are We?

Oregon State’s beautiful, historic and state-of-the-art campus is located in one of America’s best college towns. Nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley, Corvallis offers miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, a river perfect for boating or kayaking and an eclectic downtown featuring local cuisine, popular events and performances.

Trent Lundy

971-304-9750

331 NW 26th Street

Corvallis, OR 97330

Email

tlundy5522@gmail.com

Website