Celebrating the Class of 2024

At Portland State, each student has a unique background and experience that led them to study here. It’s that uniqueness that ties PSU students together. Fourty-nine percent of students are first-generation. Sixty percent of PSU students transfer from another institution — like Portland Community College, PSU's largest source of transfer students. The average age of a PSU student is 27. Eighty-one percent are Oregonians.

As the university prepares to celebrate the Class of 2024, we’re sharing the stories of three students who exemplify the “non-traditional” approach to PSU.

Before transferring from Portland Community College Portland State in 2022, Emily Dinh, 23, was stuck in a cycle of online classes, homework, more online classes, more homework — all from the comfort of her room. As an international student from Bien Hoa City, Vietnam, Dinh says she was incredibly introverted and struggled to find community in a remote world. Transferring to Portland State showed her she didn’t need to feel alone.

“The PSU environment is very welcoming. And people here are different — like everyone is different. So much different that you don't feel different yourself anymore,” she says. “My first group formed at PSU all happened to be transfer students from PCC.”

She was initially nervous to share that she was a transfer student, but found she was one of many students whose journey includes a stop at PCC or other community colleges.

“It actually makes you feel special,” she says.

Once Dinh was a PSU student, she immediately got involved with campus groups — including Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor society for finance students and professionals alike — and sought opportunities to share her Vietnamese culture with the community. Dinh was selected to join the International Cultural Service Program, meaning she serves as an ambassador for Vietnam in Portland.

“It’s been super meaningful, to be able to talk about what we eat, how we act, how we behave in our community,” she says. “I never thought that I would give voice for my country and where I come from.”

Dinh has been able to pull from her experiences as an international student to help new students, serving both as an international student mentor and a student ambassador.

“I made some meaningful connections as well,” she says.

She credits these experiences with her own personal growth, as a confident scholar who regularly speaks in her second language in front of crowds and hopes to inspire others who may feel unsure if they can follow in Dinh’s footsteps. 

Dinh will return to PSU for one more year as she completes a Masters of Science in Finance degree as part of the 4+1 pathway for accounting students, but she’s already reflecting on the last few years and how much she’s changed. One quote in particular by author John C. Maxwell continues to guide her journey.

“Your attitude determines your actions, and your actions determine your accomplishment.” 

Maxwell offers further advice that Dinh passes along to new students: "The highest compliment you can give someone is to ask their opinion.”

Learning to not only be engaged but ask for help is something Dinh credits to her success, even if it’s a hard lesson to take to heart. 

At the age of 19, Sherri Vogt happened upon a career working with children with disabilities.  

“When I was in high school, I started working in one of the elementary schools helping in a classroom with children with disabilities and really fell in love with it,” Vogt, now 59, says. 

Vogt has worked the last several decades in Douglas County as a special education teacher and early intervention specialist, advocating for students with special needs. 

Despite her success in the field, Vogt felt like she needed to take the next step. During her years as an instructional assistant she started with classes at Umpqua Community College. Once those courses were exhausted, she moved on to Southern Oregon University, where she earned a handicap learner endorsement along with an elementary ed teaching license and certification. She continued to work in the classroom with children who have multiple, severe impairments and provided consultations for teachers who have students with higher needs (like autism or physical impairments). 

Over the past two decades, Vogt has worked in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education programs.

“Getting my master's was always on the bucket list, but I’d always had lots of other stuff going on,” she says.

Two years ago that changed when Vogt learned about PSU’s Early Childhood Intervention in Special Education program. From the moment Vogt had her first interview with Hollie Hix-Small, assistant professor of special education and coordinator of the program, she says her place felt clear.

“Going through this program really helped update me on all of the newest best practices in  my field,” she says. “I’ve been able to bring a lot of the concepts I learned during these last two years into my daily work.”

This feels especially important for Vogt as a resident of Douglas County where there’s a lot of economic diversity and lack of resources for students with the highest need. 

“I have a passion for this area and for the people who live here and I really wanted to be the best person I can be in my job in my profession, so that I can do that here,” she says.

As commencement approaches, Vogt says she’s already missing her cohort and professors who made the experience even more memorable. 

“I think in the jobs that we have now, you're at high risk for burnout. It's a very giving job and it takes a lot from you emotionally, especially if you are an empathetic person,” she says. 

Connections with fellow students and alumni feels vital for Vogt, particularly for thriving in a field that demands so much from educators.

Connections like the ones Vogt made during her time at PSU are one of the reasons she’s been able to stay in her field for so long. Her future path contains some unknowns, but Vogt knows one thing for sure: She can’t wait to take everything she’s learned and continue helping her community.

Kobe Norcross, a member of the Grande Ronde, Anishinaabe and Nakota tribes, has always held a fascination with computers. He took a computer class offered at his small-town high school in Arizona (bordering Navajo nation) and despite its simplicity, he found his future pathway.

“We coded a really simple website, just a couple of pictures and we used, like, Times New Roman as a font, but I thought it was one of the coolest things I’d done,” Norcross, 22, says. 

He sought out additional opportunities to learn coding, including an online Codecademy class that introduced him to types of coding outside of website development.

Coding may have felt easy for Norcross, but figuring out the best path to higher education seemed a little tricker. 

“I was expecting to go to a university right off the bat, but that just wasn't how it was for me,” he says. 

Unsure of how to move forward, Norcross took his father’s advice and enrolled at Portland Community College after graduating high school in Arizona. The next two years prepared Norcross to transfer to a four-year university and complete a degree in computer science. Portland State made the most sense. 

“PSU’s computer science program is probably one of the best,” he says. 

Transferring to PSU also expanded Norcorss’ connection to the Native community. Growing up, Norcross would participate in the Native American Youth and Family Center’s summer camps, and as an undergraduate student he built a close connection with their College and Career Center. He served as a Navigating Access to Indigenous Opportunities through Networking and Support (NATIONS) mentor through the Multicultural Resource Center, working with other Native students to ensure they get the help they need to succeed. He worked with United Indigenous Students in Higher Education (UISHE), the student group that organizes the annual Naimuma powwow. 

His first-term at PSU, Norcross studied abroad at The Indian University of North America of Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota. There he learned about sustainability and leadership. Norcross is also a McNair Scholar. He worked with Associate Professor of Public Health Kelly Gonzales to research accessibility in website development as part of the McNair program. 

“Accessibility is really important in website development. How people see different colors and fonts is important to consider,” he says.

All of Norcross’ experience culminated in an internship with Microsoft through the Explore Program — a program meant for students who want to gain a better understanding of what career paths their computer science degree can offer. 

“It was a really fulfilling summer and I did really well,” he says. So well that Norcross will return to Microsoft in September as a full-time software engineer. 

He credits his success at Microsoft to the ethos he cultivated as a first-year student, the same ethos he would encourage other students to consider. 

“Start things early, whether it’s applications for scholarships and internships or classwork,” Norcross says. “I think procrastination is really common.

But you have to think about your future self. You want your future self to feel good.”