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Summer 2025

A young Native American girl dances gracefully in full regalia during a cultural event held at Eastern Oregon University. She wears a vibrant blue and purple traditional dress adorned with fringe, beadwork, and embroidered patches featuring floral and star designs. Her arms are extended outward, showcasing the flowing fringe of her outfit. The background is softly blurred, highlighting the child as the central focus, with spectators watching in the distance. The top of the image features the text "The Mountaineer, Eastern Oregon University" and the bottom reads "Summer 2025."
A young Native American girl dances gracefully in full regalia during a cultural event held at Eastern Oregon University. She wears a vibrant blue and purple traditional dress adorned with fringe, beadwork, and embroidered patches featuring floral and star designs. Her arms are extended outward, showcasing the flowing fringe of her outfit. The background is softly blurred, highlighting the child as the central focus, with spectators watching in the distance. The top of the image features the text "The Mountaineer, Eastern Oregon University" and the bottom reads "Summer 2025."

In this issue:

This issue of the Mountaineer Magazine showcases the success stories of Eastern Oregon University students, alumni, and community partnerships, emphasizing transformative experiences and lifelong connections.

  • Teamwork Targets Confidence: EOU’s Shotgun Sports team rises to victory at the West Coast Championship in Las Vegas, capturing team titles and showcasing leadership, focus, and peer mentorship on and off the range.
  • 50th Annual Powwow Marks a Triumphant Return: After a six-year hiatus, the EOU Spring Powwow returns in vibrant celebration, honoring Indigenous traditions, student leadership, and cultural resilience with dance, regalia, and ceremony.
  • The Sound of Success: Alumni Holly Sorenson, Luke Basile, and Gregory Rawlins share how faculty mentorship at EOU shaped their creative and professional journeys in music, education, and public service.
  • New and Old Memories on the Grand Staircase: The iconic Grand Staircase, newly restored after decades of advocacy, reconnects campus and community—bridging generations of stories, traditions, and performances
  • Alumni Engagement and Philanthropy: Evelyn and Richard Huston’s legacy endures through a new endowed scholarship supporting first-generation EOU education students, inspired by their own journey of perseverance
View This Issue (Flipbook)

Eastern Oregon University’s 50th Annual Powwow Marks Triumphant Return

After a six-year pause, the resounding, powerful echo of drums was once again heard across campus. On May 16 and 17, the 50th Annual Spring Powwow returned to Eastern Oregon University, filling the Fieldhouse with color, music, and dance. This year, the special celebration was more than a milestone; it was a homecoming. For many…

The Sound of Success

EOU Faculty Mentorships Inspire Musical Careers Some students leave college with a degree. Others leave with a calling. For Eastern Oregon University alumni Holly Sorenson ’13, Luke Basile ’13, and Gregory Rawlins ’11, ’22, music was the inspiration that set their futures in motion. Though their careers have taken them in different directions, they share…

New and Old Memories on the Grand Staircase

For nearly 100 years, the Grand Staircase at Eastern Oregon University has offered more than just a few steps between campus and town. Opened in 1929, the steps served as a highly visible landmark, a stage for musical performances, and a symbol of connection between the school and the community. Though time and weather eventually…