By Heather Wells
Going Places
In the course of a lifetime, people’s choices inevitably ignite chain reactions of influence in the lives of others. Small choices—such as the giving of an encouraging word, a shoulder to cry on, a prayer—strengthen the web of our delicate connections. In their own words, four alumni express gratitude for the choices, big and small, people made in their lives while at Walla Walla College and how the effects continue to spread.
When I think back on my time spent at Walla
Walla College, I smile. In some ways, I’m glad it’s behind me. No
more all-nighters writing that English paper that got put off to the last
minute, no finals to study for. Yet what an exciting time it was—a pivotal
point, where big decisions are accompanied by excitement and anticipation
as one begins to chart life’s course.
I remember those chance glimpses of someone who caught my eye. The butterflies in my stomach as we started to get acquainted. The building excitement of a growing new relationship. The desire to be with him every spare minute of the day! And the realization that this is the one who completes me. I found him at wwc, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he found me.
I was a freshman at wwc in the fall of 1995. I was taking full advantage of as many opportunities as I could fit into my first quarter’s schedule. Besides taking classes that directed me toward my chosen career of nursing, I was on the women’s varsity volleyball team, singing in the choir, and taking scuba And, of course, enjoying tremendously the social aspects of college life.
One afternoon, as I walked into the gym, my friend Marci Wilkins, who worked the desk, said that Rosa was looking for me. I said I didn’t know anyone by that name so she took me to find her. Rosa told me she edited the Westwind and wanted to do a feature story of a day in the life of a student at wwc. Then she told me that another student, Jason Wells, would be the photographer and that he had recommended me for the project. This was rather intriguing because I had no idea who Jason Wells was. So I said I’d be happy to do it, largely due to my curiosity about how someone I didn’t know would know enough about me to give them my name. That night I asked my roommate if she recognized the name Jason Wells. She knew that he had been editor of the yearbook the previous year. So we got out the 1994 “Mountain Ash” and found his mug shot. Not bad!
For several weeks I heard nothing. Then one afternoon as I was studying in my room, the telephone rang. It was Jason calling to get my schedule so we could pick a day for the shoot. I felt that he had the advantage. He obviously had seen me somewhere before, and I still had never met or seen him in person. So, to even the playing field, I suggested that he come over to the dorm and I would show him my schedule, personally. He agreed.
I was impressed! I remember every detail about that first meeting. He was dressed in blue jeans, a polo shirt, brown shoes, and a long dark gray, wool coat. He was extremely good-looking. But even more than his smart wardrobe and dashing good looks, I was impressed by how he carried himself. He exuded self-confidence and strength. As we said goodbye and he walked off across campus, I thought to myself, “There goes someone who is going places.” Little did I know!
The photo shoot was an experience I will never forget. Again,
he clearly had the advantage. He was able to hide behind his 200mm lens, snapping
pictures at will. I was trying hard to look natural at all times. After all,
this was a guy I was trying to impress! I’d never been so attentive in
class, yet if you’d asked me what we had learned, I couldn’t have
told you. At the end of the day I knew I was definitely interested in getting
to know Jason, but I had no idea what he was thinking. As we said goodbye
and parted, I nonchalantly mentioned that I would love to see the pictures
when they were developed.
About a week later we ran into each other walking across campus. He said that
the pictures were done at the lab and would I like to come along to get them?
Of course I said yes. So our first official date started at the photo lab
in Walla Walla and ended at Merchants. We got a table and over two hot chocolates
laughed together as we looked at the pictures and reminisced over the day.
I think we both knew this was only the beginning.
Almost eight years later, after five years of marriage, I laugh as I look back on my first impressions of Jason. When I’d thought that he was a “man going places”, that was truer than I realized. I try my best to keep up. Jason and I have traipsed through Europe with wwc, gone scuba diving in Fiji, led our own study tours with high school students through Europe, explored Bali, and led mission trips to Honduras. With his handbell choir, Ring of Fire, we have traveled all over the United States and Europe, taken part in the Presidential Inauguration, visited the site of the former World Trade towers after 9-11 while they were still smoldering, and even performed with the Boston Pops in Symphony Hall.
Yet it is his inner strength and confidence that continue to inspire me. I work as an registered nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit in downtown Portland. It is very rewarding to work with families toward a goal of sending their babies home with them. Babies that without our help might not have gone home. But, there are also those that don’t make it home. At those times when I come home tired and emotionally spent, Jason is waiting for me. He is a huge support, a shoulder to cry on. His love and support are what give me the strength to continue to give of myself.
Walla Walla College will always hold a special place in my heart.
It helped to mold me into the person I am today, and, quite literally, set
me up with Jason. Today, together with Jason, I continue to seek new experiences
that redefine who we are as individuals as well as a couple. I look forward,
with anticipation, to what might come next!
Heather Wells, a 1999 nursing graduate, is neonatal intensive care nurse at
Emanuel Hospital in Portland, Ore. She works as a specialist on the ECMO team,
a heart-lung bypass for the most critical babies.