Now Playing: Moi Nguyen, Class of 1983
Moi Nguyen, Class of 1983
B.S. in Horticulture
B.B.A in Business Administration

I arrived in Jacksonville, FL from Vietnam in 1975 and moved to Seattle in 1977. I transferred from Seattle Community College to WSU in 1980 to study horticulture and business administration. I vividly remember all the wheat fields in Pullman and going down to the Moscow Mall to eat at King's Buffet every weekend. My first Cougar football game I got to see was when the Cougs battled John Elway and company at Martin Stadium. The Cougs also won twice in the Apple Cup while I was there! I also remember when Mt. St. Helen erupted since Pullman was covered in volcanic ashes and it was the same time as my first son's birth (May 1980). I graduated in 1983 and moved down to Houston where I had my second son in 1985. I now work with ExxonMobil as a chemical specialist in Baytown. I make trips down to Pullman every few years in the summer to visit the school and family/friends in Colton and Lewiston. Lewiston was where I bought my first 19 inch Sony color TV!!! The school has changed a lot but the lab (the Johnson Building) I worked in, looks exactly how I left it...brings back lots of memories!! I miss the cold Pullman winters, putting chains on the car stud tires...walking in the snow off to school. Very proud to be a Coug!!!

Willard R. Hine, III, Class of `01
Mood:  a-ok
Willard R. Hine, III, Class of `01

B.A. in Social Science

College of Pharmacy, WSU

I attended Washington State's Distance Degree Program from Sept. '00 to Dec. ' 01. Prior to that I had done many jobs since graduating from high school in '77, including lawn maintenance, curb address painting, photography, bank clerk, mortgage clerk, telemarketer, computer operator, etc. I am a native Houstonian and have lived here my whole life, with the exception of '73-'75 which my family spent in Wheaton, Illinois. I was working for a oil services company when I was laid off in '99. I discovered that I was not only eligible for student loans (college) but also extended unemployment benefits (computer school). Thus I began both in '00 and finished up in '01. I am one of those unfortunate few that was coming from a series of low-level jobs and working towards a promising new career in computer programming. But since I began my job search in 2/02 I couldn't even find a job in the grocery biz (and I have experience!). In 3/04 I found a job as a bill collector but quit in 5/04 as I was cringed every morning at the thought of going to that job. My mom and I had had to accept food stamps in '03 because our situation was so bad so I suppose that I should be frantic at this point but I am at peace with myself because I know my future will be bright. I'm still not sure what I may end up doing but it will be a success because I still value my college experience at WSU. My memories of all-nighters writing essays and doing Spanish homework still burn in my mind. I have never been married, live with my mom, Jean, and plan my future. My hobbies include gardening, cycling, paintball, running, computers, movies, etc. I'm also proud to be a Cougar for life.

Leonard Gargett
I am an 1981 grad who has spent nearly 9 years of my life as a Houstonian against all probability and common sense I bet. I spent 2 years in Houston as a management trainee for Sav-On Drugs during the 1980's. I witnessed the oil bust and boom of that era (it went from 3% unemployment to over 10% during those 2 years).

My sanity returned along with the rest of me and I re-emerged in the Seattle area as a Boeing-ite during late 80's and 90's. After 12 years there (during which I survived 3 major layoffs and was a pilot employee with the 777 program of that era) I left a lake view condo in Bellevue, a number of friends and roots and bagged it all to return to the "muggy-town" of Houston once again in 1997.

What led me back was a freak tip which led me to spend the last 2 years of my Boeing career shuttling back and forth from Houston as a "guest" of Continental Airlines compliments of the Customer Service Divsion of Boeing (they had pissed off Continental and were making good). During that time I made a number of good friends here along with a number of good times, saw alot of them taking spur of the moment weekend trips to Cancun and told myself "That could work for me!". At the tail end of my last Boeing gig here Continental lost their minds and offered me a job here. I, having lost many of my brain cells during my WSU days and perhaps being even crazier, shocked them by saying yes.

Nearly 7 years later I am still here and am a manager in Continental's Technology division. I still own my lake view condo in Bellevue and hope to return there one day but for now this is .. uh.. home?!

Brian from Brewster (Munk)
It seems you are having a hard time getting volunteers for the short alumnus histories on Leonard's web page. I thought I'd spend a few minutes to help you get it kicked off.

I graduated with 39 other seniors from Brewster High School in 1988, and passed on a full scholarship from Stanford to attend WSU. My first intent was to get a double major in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, but I quickly figured out that electrons have some negative attraction, and then stuck to Mechanical Engineering. I completed a Bachelor's degree in 1992, and a Master's Degree in 1994, both under the auspices of Doctor Ovid Augustus "Gus" Plumb, who has since moved on to be Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Wyoming.


I stayed in Stimson Hall (guys only) my first two years, then degraded into the party lifestyle out at Campus Commons North. My final few years, I roomed with a guy from Wallula (population 25) at a nice apartment at the end of Williams St. Our view consisted of very few houses, but one large horse pasture adjacent to Valley Road. We walked to class, of course.


I never missed a single home game during my six years at WSU in Football, Women's Volleyball, and Men's & Women's Basketball. I played the Tuba in the stands, and was once flipped off by the Stanford Women's B-Ball coach for a particularly nasty heckle. I was known for my loud voice, apparently.

Among my best memories - there are waaaaay too many for a short writeup - include playing frisbee on frozen ponds and many bike trips up to Kamiak Butte, just 10 miles or so northeast of Pullman. (See attached photo)

After receiving my degrees, I travelled the US for about a year with a canoe and a beat-up station wagon with simulated wood-grain side paneling. I met a canoe master in Minnesota and built birch bark canoes for a few months. Then I and the sous-apprentice canoed down the Mississippi from Minneapolis to Memphis. I ran out of money in the Atchafalya swamp in Louisiana and finally lost momentum in Houston. I have now been here 8 years, and enjoy it tremendously for the wide variety of culture and activity. I work for Vetco Gray, an oil-field service company, and travel to very interesting places, including Angola. A photo of me on an offshore oil rig in Angola is attached. Note the grey hard hat with the crimson "Cougars" football sticker on one side.

My education at WSU has permitted me to branch out and tour the world, sample an incredible array of beers, and I have used my engineering degree to get two patents (with 3 pending). AND I have had a great time this year meeting and chatting with all our local alumni at the football viewing parties.

GO COUGS!!!!

Brian N. Munk, '92, '94

Jodi Muehlenbruch
My name is Jodi Muehlenbruch and I graduated from WSU in May of 1995 with a BA in Communications. I lived for two years in Stephenson South (ahhh....the sweet taste of Rotunda food) and then was a Resident Advisor in Gannon Goldsworthy for my last two years. It's a hard life, but when you're living on loans free rent is worth it! Some of my favorite memories are Apple Cup 1992 in the snow, the 88 Safety Bus from Shermers, and my first 80's Night at the Cavarn in the Fall of 1994!

I moved to Texas to get my MBA from Texas A&M. I was at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego with a double reason to want to beat Texas and it was quite a game! I usually try to make it back to Pullman once a year for a game.

I now work for Ford Motor Company as a sales rep selling Motorcraft parts to our dealers. Have you seen Tommy Boy? That's me, pettling brake pads. But I can get deals for friends, so please don't hesitate to ask! Other than work I love to travel, read, play a little golf and go out with friends.

Jeff Larson
Mood:  a-ok
Jeff Larson, Class of `90
Ph.D. in Toxicology/Pharmacology
College of Pharmacy, WSU
j_larson@tanox.com




I attended Washington State from 1986 to 1990. I came to WSU direct from Minot, North Dakota where I did my undergraduate work. I didn't tour the campus prior to accepting my assistantship; I naively packed up the car with my belongings (you know, stereo, TV, clothes) and headed west. I arrived 2 days later and pulled up to Wegner Hall. My first impression of Pullman was "Is this all there is? The brochure sounded like the city was much larger!". But I came to learn that the college experience at a world-class university in a small town is quite simply the best. My everyday memories are lunch at Taco Time or the buffet at Godfathers, walking down Stadium Way to the bottom of the hill (waiting for the business to go out of business so that parking was free), and heading to Pelican Pete's for Happy Hour on Friday (they must hate graduate students who descend for the free wings and tacos)! Idaho had the lower drinking age (remember "Iguanas?") so we made that trip a lot! Saturdays were the incredible atmosphere of college football and the pre-game parties in the Field House. The Field House also was my home for indoor tennis and weight lifting. I spent a lot of time in the Science library (how many library cards did I go through?) and I remember walking that hill and dreading the walk up the hill when it was to graduate level Biochem; come to think of it there were so many hills. I was married during my graduate school days and my son Parker was born at Pullman Memorial (Rachel came during my post-doc in RTP, NC). I lived in Colfax for most of my time there and I have a lot of great memories of that small town as well. We ran a high school youth group there and loved living where everyone knows your name. I wouldn't trade those WSU days for any and am proud to be a Cougar for life.