Shawn Gutshall
Reading Evergreen’s college catalog from the first word to the last, Shawn Gutshall knew it was the school for her. It just made sense, she says.
Applying too late for acceptance in the fall 1976 Outdoor Ed program, she was put on a waiting list for winter. Awaiting the outcome, the 24-year-old spent that fall learning Spanish in Mexico, where she developed a rare, painful arthritic condition. That didn’t deter her from attending Evergreen, the winter of 1977.
Shawn’s Evergreen professors have had lifelong reverberations. In the Outdoor Education program, faculty Barry Williams introduced her to the world of dreams, and the late renowned mountaineer, experiential education pioneer, and Evergreen faculty William Unsoeld has been the most important person in her life to date. “His Socratic way always led me to my own answers,” Shawn shares. “Willi taught me to value my authenticity, and never to stifle my voice.”
Shawn was also transformed by the Peace, Conflict, and Social Change program, led by Unsoeld and Peter Elbow, who was instrumental in helping her overcome her writing phobia, opening the door to graduate school.
Shawn became a critical thinker, creative problem-solver, and compassionate world citizen at Evergreen. This served her well as she pursued outdoor education, graduate studies, living abroad, and teaching Spanish and English as a second language at Santa Rosa Junior College, work she still loves.
“My experience at Evergreen was a metamorphosis. My students are the beneficiaries of the education I gained as a student,” Shawn says. “I simply wouldn’t be the same person or teacher without Evergreen. The immense gratitude I feel toward Evergreen led me to make Evergreen the beneficiary of all my assets after I’m gone, so future students benefit.”
Gratitude for the Gift of Evergreen
We are heartened that Evergreen served as Shawn’s doorway to self-knowledge, community, and rewarding work that makes the world a better place. The choice she made to connect her legacy to Evergreen’s is something any graduate can do by including The Evergreen State College Foundation in their will or trust. Contact Bree Marsch-Grim, '21 at (360) 867-6300 or foundation@evergreen.edu to discover the many ways this is possible.