Jessica Fleetwood
Hello everyone! My name is Jessica and I'm currently a sophomore at Washington State University. I am studying Communication focusing on Public Relations. I was born in Thailand and lived there for eight years before moving to the United States! I grew up going to the beach everyday where the sun and sand were my best friends. I went to a private school because my mom wanted me to get the best education that she didn't have. I was a thin small tan child for sure. After my parents met and got married, I packed my life away from my home and went into a culture shock. I didn't speak English at all so you can tell that making friends and meeting new people was hard for me. My Dad then was a LTC COL in the Army (now a COL) and he was assigned to Hawaii. I was a lucky child.
I have 3 little sisters: Sara, Nicole, and Heather. One older brother, Patrick (just a month older than me...no we aren't twins). Sara, Nicole, and Patrick are step siblings and Heather is half. We have a pretty diverse family. I learned how to speak English to the point where I can communicate with people and have friends all in Hawaii. I learned a lot of things while living here, I went through the fashion phase where skirts with tennis shoes were cool or wore spaghetti strap shirt outside of my t-shirt (I didn't start it, I was just a follower).
After 4 years of sunshine and beaches, we did a road trip across USA from WA to Carlisle, PA. Just nine months...Army life. We experienced Hershey Park and historic towns in such a short time, it was perfect. After that, we did a road trip back to WA and packed for South Korea. Woah. It was the best and worst 3 years of my life. I loved the city, shopping, food, and the people. There was always something to do. I learned the confusing subway system, write and read Hangul, ate real kimchi, got a job, made great friends, and the list goes on and on. It was the time where I experienced my first heartbreak and learn about myself and what makes me happy and grew up as a person from there. But the summer of 2013, I met one person that had and still does a huge effect on my life and made me believe in love all over again-in just 2 days. Now back in WA and finished my high school years and started college, I can't wait believe how far I've come in life and the opportunity I got that most kids in Thailand can only dream of. I want to continue to travel the world and create memories, finish college, study abroad, try new foods, learn another language, make a difference, adopt like 5,000 shelter dogs... no joke. I am here to make my family in Thailand and in the United States proud. I am here to make myself happy and learn more about myself that I haven't discovered yet. Let life surprise me and let life surprise you.
Cade Bitznov
My name is Matthew Cade Herbert, although I have always gone by Cade. I was born in Park City Utah where I lived for four and a half years until we moved to Magnolia, Washington in order for my dad to be closer to his work in Seattle. At the time it was a change I did not want but I grew to love the greater Seattle area. After a year in Magnolia we moved into my mom’s childhood home in Kirkland on the East Side of Lake Washington. After about a year and a half at Washington State University I knew that I wanted pursue a major in communications with a focus in Advertising. It isn’t that I want to manipulate the public or sell poor products. I genuinely love the creative outlet that type of work will provide for me. As a minor I chose to do psychology based upon prior interest and how it would fit into my career. My psychology courses have tested my ability to understand the wants and needs of others and I believe this will be very beneficial moving forward. Within the group I am the team writer. I was extremely excited about this position because it would give me the opportunity to put into words my excitement about the event we are putting together. Watching the project go I love being able to inform those following our progress. Despite the many things I enjoy about the class I really love watching this small idea we came up with as strangers turn into something real as we become friends. Frankly, I was amazed at the speed in which my team was able to construct such a well put together outline about our project. I won’t credit all of this to our work ethics though, in my opinion it is pure excitement we have about the idea we are bringing to life. In our opinions this is an event that seems tangible in comparison to a bar, restaurant or other organization. This is something that one day very well may exist. Finally, working with the Humane Society I believe will be extremely fulfilling. The staff there is extremely caring of the animals and love any outer-groups putting forth an effort to lend them a hand. Following graduation I hope to land a job in the Seattle area to begin with. I have done a lot of research on advertising agencies in the area and the one that continues to catch my eye is Add3, a Seattle based digital marketing agency. They are highly rated by both their employees and consumers. Additionally, I love Seattle and being able to spend a few more years in a city like that is something I would love to do. Coming to close I have thought of a quote, despite the many quotes that came to mind I thought only one seemed fitting. From Washington State Universities very own Edward R. Murrow, “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.”
Kevin Vallene
My name is Kevin Vallene and I am from Redmond, Washington. I am a Junior at Washington State University studying communication and broadcasting with a minor in sport management. I am also studying Japanese with the goal of studying abroad in Japan before I graduate. In my spare time when I am not working on homework or studying, I enjoy watching anime, playing video games and hanging out with my friends. During the summer time, you will see me glued to the television watching Mariners games every day or sitting at Safeco Field cheering the team on. My primary role with the Tails on Trails 5K is web and social media presence and coordination as well as some writing for these channels. I want to provide people the chance to get some exercise and have some fun with their dog at the same time!
My career aspirations lie in sports broadcasting. I hope to get a job out of college doing baseball play by play with either a summer league team or a minor league baseball team and work my way up the ranks to become a major league baseball broadcaster. This won’t be a quick and easy task and will require me to travel a lot. I am excited to get the chance to see some of the sights around the United States as I move around to different teams. At college, I have gained a lot of experience doing radio broadcasting with sports, public radio, music and talk which has allowed me to broaden my areas of interest and have more marketable skills to future employers. I also have experience running social media for a local radio station which includes their Facebook and Twitter as well as the station website. I also wrote for the Daily Evergreen for a year which will aid us in the writing of our blog posts. I feel like that experience will be an asset to the Tails on Trails 5K team.
People who have worked with me in the past usually say that I am dedicated to the project at hand and always get things done professionally and on time. I try to take the reins when I can to try and guide the team in the correct direction. I am flexible and when I am not in the lead of the group I can also sit back and let someone else run the show. I am excited to work with this organization because I know that everyone here is excited about the goals we have set and all of us want to succeed. I’ll be able to feed off that excitement and energy and be able to put even more effort into making this the best possible 5K it can be. No matter what I do, I always strive to improve and better myself. In the words of Simon from Gurren Laggan: “We evolve beyond the person we were a minute before. Little by little, we advance a bit further with each turn”.