Linda Collins Stelle ‘71 remembers her experience as a young college student at OSU in Corvallis. It was the era of the Vietnam War, anti-war protests and the hippie movement.
Linda had grown up in a small farming town in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Her high school graduating class was tiny. So, on a busy college campus, welcoming places where she could feel and be herself, were important.
More and more, she gravitated to the campus’s Memorial Union, with its active calendar of student events, large and small spaces where students could study and meet, and outdoor areas, too. She spent time reading in the spacious lounge with its floor-to-ceiling windows and relaxed there with new friends after classes. It was a space that helped her come into her own.
Linda brought that notion of a welcoming place with her throughout her professional life. She went on to earn a degree in liberal studies, and after embarking on a career in real estate title and escrow work, she served for 30 years as president of Amerititle, helping families and individuals secure homes of their own.
It’s this same passion that led Linda to explore how she could help enhance an experience of belonging for students at OSU-Cascades, located in the town she has called home for four decades now. The Student Success Center, then under construction, was the right fit. Linda’s gift joined OSU-Cascades students’ contribution of $5 million in student fees, along with state funding secured for the project.
A few months since opening, the building – clad in Douglas fir siding and pops of orange -- has become a popular spot for students. With an interior bathed in a soft orange hue, it’s a one-stop shop for check-ins with academic advisors, career counselors, wellness staff and peers in The Bridge, a space for multi-cultural conversations and activities.
In the colder months, students could be found in armchairs working on laptops by the main lounge’s masonry heater fireplace, a central feature on the ground floor. And throughout the day small groups work in tech-enhanced study rooms that glow orange when the frosted glass doors slide closed, and others study in an open area beneath a large, dramatic, high-resolution photograph of Fort Rock.
The building’s exterior landscaping was recently installed, adding to the building’s welcoming feeling. Teams of student and staff volunteers planted about 4,000 native plants, supporting the campus’s sustainability goals. Nearby, a basketball court, year-round ping-pong table, and posts for hammocks and slack lines are ready to welcome fall’s new cohort of friends and classmates.
“There are so many aspects that help a student commit to their education and future career,” said Linda, “A warm and inviting space meant a lot to me, and I wanted to help create that for OSU-Cascades students, too.”