A Finley couple showed their niece how to succeed. Now the WSU grad is helping others
By Cameron
Probert, Tri-City Herald Dec 25, 2019
Richland,
Wash. -- Akanna Poor really wanted to go college.
When she
was in high school, Poor spent the time she wasn’t working as a restaurant
hostess studying in the classroom. She was driven to learn and earned good
grades.
“It was
never a surprise that I wanted to go to college,” she said. “I just didn’t know
how I was going to make that happen.”
But it
wasn’t until her aunt and uncle, Janelle and Rich Westberg of Finley, offered
to help her that she had any hope of getting into classes.
Now, the
recent WSU Tri-Cities graduate decided to give back to others in the hope of
helping other first-generation college students make the transition from high
school diploma to college degree.
She hopes
her $500 gift to the WSU Tri-Cities MOSIAC Center can make the same difference
in another student’s life.
Along with
offering workshops on social issues and a library on equity and diversity
topics, the center also provides counseling and other help for first-generation
students.
Her
donation is the first for the recently created center. University officials are
working on setting up a fund so others can donate, as well.
“I picked
the MOSIAC Center because I knew they were going to invest and be a resource
for students who may not have the support, just as my aunt and uncle did for
me,” she said.
Struggled
to find a way
While Poor
wanted to go to college, she didn’t know how to apply for financial aid or sign
up for classes. And no one around her knew how to help her.
So as she
approached high school graduation in Indiana, she applied and was accepted into
colleges, but she was lost on what to do next or how to apply for financial
aid.
“I had a
hard time at home and I was working a lot and it culminated in me on a deep
downward spiral,” she said. “It’s nearly impossible to sign up for classes when
you don’t know which classes you should be taking. ... It was so overwhelming
at first.”
Her aunt
offered Poor a way to move forward. If Poor moved to the Tri-Cities, they could
help her find her way through signing up for college.
They
helped all of their children start college and valued the idea of a higher
education.
Poor saved
up enough money to pay for her first two months rent and moved the 2,000 miles
to share an apartment with her cousin. She worked for four months and started
taking classes at Columbia Basin College.
She said
without them believing in her, she probably wouldn’t have made it. She was so
afraid of failure she started crying and walked out during an English test.
Her aunt
talked her back into the classroom to finish the exam.
“They
convinced me that am I capable of doing this. That is a lot of what they helped
me through,” she said.
They also
helped her get her driver’s license and her first car.
Poor ended
up transferring to WSU Tri-Cities in Richland and finished her classes for a
social science degree this semester. Now, she is taking some time before
deciding what her next move will be.
During her
college career, she helped organize trips to the Legislature and helped draft a
school policy manual dealing with Title IX rules on sex discrimination.
A special
presentation
When Poor
was ready to make the donation to the MOSIAC Center, she asked for help from
the Chancellor Sandra Haynes in writing a letter to her aunt and uncle.
The letter
detailed the ways the Westbergs supported her, and how the donation was a way
to pass on that impact to future generations.
“They
cried when I gave it to them,” she said. “They loved it. They thought it was
great and were super proud of me, which means so much to me. It was both my
Christmas and graduation gift to them.”
Poor is
still considering whether she wants to attend law school, but also she wants to
have a career that empowers women.
“My aunt
and uncle gave me such a gift — it is an example that I have established for my
future kids,” she said. “I want to continue to give back in the way that they
do for so many.”
::::
:::Alert: News for CougGroup will attend WSU vs. Air
Force Cheez-It Bowl in Phoenix. But, because of that, there will be no News for
CougGroup email reports about Dec. 26-29. However, during that time there will
be postings (especially photos) at News for CougGroup Facebook page of things
related to the game. Go, Cougs!:::
::::
FOOTBALL Best of the Mountain West: Looking back at
Washington State’s five best games against the conference this decade
UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 24, 2019
By Dan Thompson for The Spokesman-Review
Even when Washington State tries to take a break from the
Mountain West, the Cougars just can’t seem to get away.
Most years, a date with an MWC team is set from the
start. Washington State has scheduled regular-season games against at least one
team from the conference in seven of the last nine seasons.
But in each of those other two, the Cougars have ended up
with a bowl-game date against an MWC squad. The first was in the 2013 New
Mexico Bowl against Colorado State (more on that later) and now this year when
the Cougars play Air Force in the Cheez-It Bowl on Friday.
Ten times this decade the Cougars have played a Mountain
West team, winning six times. Here is a look back at five of those games:
2011: San Diego
State 42, Washington State 24
Though the Cougars finished the 2011 season at 4-8, a
showing that ended Paul Wulff’s tenure in Pullman, they arrived in
San Diego in mid-September with a 2-0 record and a high-scoring
offense.
The game had been arranged by Jim Sterk, WSU’s former
athletic director who was in his second year in the same position at San Diego
State.
Marquess Wilson set a sophomore record that still stands
with 236 receiving yards against the Aztecs, including an 80-yard score on
WSU’s first offensive play and a 78-yard score two plays into its opening
possession of the second half. That second score gave WSU at 24-14 lead. Wilson
finished with 236 yards, then the fifth-highest single-game total in WSU
history.
Then the Aztecs took over.
The Cougars gained just 96 yards on their final six
drives. The Aztecs gained 317 and scored four unanswered touchdowns during that
span. Future NFL running back Ronnie Hillman gained 191 yards on 32 carries and
scored four times.
WSU senior Marshall Lobbestael completed 20 of 42
attempts for 368 yards, three scores and two second-half interceptions.
2018: Washington
State 41, Wyoming 19
Gardner Minshew
was still an unknown when he took the field in Laramie, but he led
the Cougars to a field goal and a touchdown on his first two drives. While the
Cowboys recaptured the lead before halftime, Minshew and the offense recovered.
The Cougars scored the game’s final 28 points, and a
14-yard touchdown on Max Borghi’s first collegiate carry clinched the game
midway through the fourth quarter.
Minshew finished with 319 yards on 38 of 57 attempts.
Washington State’s defense held Wyoming to just 206 yards of offense.
2016: Boise State
31, Washington State 28
The Cougars
headed to Boise with hopes of rebounding after a season-opening loss
to Eastern Washington. They eventually did turn around their season, but not
before losing to the Broncos for the first time in program history.
Led by quarterback Brett Rypien, a Shadle Park High
graduate, the Broncos scored the game’s first two touchdowns. Early miscues
cost the Cougars: A Luke Falk interception on the game’s first drive and a
missed field goal in the second quarter squandered scoring opportunities.
Boise State led 17-7 at half and 31-14 early in the
fourth quarter before the Washington State offense – and defense – kicked into
gear.
Falk, then a junior, attempted 71 passes, the third-most
in his career, and completed 55 for 480 yards. He found Jamal Morrow on fourth
down for a 14-yard touchdown. After a Shalom Luani interception, he hit Gabe
Marks for a 33-yard touchdown on the next play that drew the Cougars within a
field goal (31-28) with 4:17 left.
WSU’s Charleston White picked off Rypien in the end zone with
53 seconds to go. But starting from its own 20-yard line, the Cougars offense
only gained 25 yards, and the comeback fell short. WSU won its next eight
games, then lost its final three.
2013: Colorado
State 48, Washington State 45
WSU’s first bowl
game under Mike Leach proved to be unforgettable, though surely not
for the reason the Cougars would have liked.
The Cougars led the Rams by as many as 22 points. With
9:35 left in the fourth quarter, Connor Halliday hit Isiah Myers for a 22-yard
touchdown, stretching WSU’s lead back to 45-30. It was Halliday’s sixth
touchdown pass of the game, setting a WSU bowl record. No one else has thrown
more than two against an MWC team.
After that score, the Cougars fumbled away what looked
like a certain victory.
The Rams’ comeback started with a nine-play, 72-yard
touchdown drive to make it 45-37 with 2:52 left. The Rams kicked off, and the
Cougars took over at their 18. The Cougars got a first down and the Rams
exhausted their timeouts.
But on a second-and-10 play with 1:51 left, Jeremiah
Laufasa fumbled, and the Rams recovered at the Cougars’ 33-yard line.
Colorado State scored a touchdown. After initially being
ruled short of the end zone, the Rams’ game-tying, 2-point conversion was ruled
successful. The game was tied at 45 and looked destined for overtime.
But Teondray Caldwell fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and
Jared Roberts hit a 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds left that gave the Rams a
48-45 win.
The loss sunk the Cougars’ record to 6-7, extending their
streak of losing seasons to seven.
2017: Washington
State 47, Boise State 44 (3 OT)
Almost certainly the
Cougars’ most memorable game of the decade against a Mountain West team
came in the rematch with Boise State, this time in Pullman, where sophomore
Tyler Hilinski led one of the great comebacks in school history.
Falk, a senior at the time, had one of his poorest
statistical showings of his career, completing 24 of 34 passes for 193 yards,
though that was enough to break Halliday’s record for career passing yards. It
was one of only three times in his final 36 games that Falk failed to throw a
touchdown pass.
Falk left the game after fumbling early in the fourth
quarter, a fumble that Boise State returned for a touchdown and a 31-10 lead.
After that, though, the Cougars shined. Hilinski led an
eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to pull within two scores. Peyton Pelluer
intercepted a pass and returned it for a 36-yard touchdown with 5:51 left to
make the score 31-24, the defense’s second touchdown of the game.
The Cougars’ defense forced a three-and-out, but their
offense stalled and also had to punt the ball away. Erik Powell’s short punt
hit a Boise State player, and Dillon Sherman recovered the ball inside the
Boise State 25.
Hilinski found Jamal Morrow for a 6-yard touchdown in the
left flat with 1:44 left, and the score was tied at 31.
After trading scores in the first two overtimes, Boise
State settled for a field goal in the third overtime. Hilinski again had an
answer, hitting Morrow for a 22-yard winning score.
Hilinski finished with 240 yards, a career-high three touchdowns
and one interception on 25 of 33 attempts.
:::::
Leach thinks wishbone would work in NFL
By Dale Grummert, of the Lewiston Tribune Dec 25, 2019
PHOENIX — When Mike Leach agreed to co-teach an
extracurricular seminar on football strategy and insurgency warfare last spring
at Washington State, he formulated an essay question that prospective students
needed to answer as part of their audition.
“Is the wishbone a potentially viable offense for the
NFL?”
There was no right or wrong response. But Leach himself
would answer in the affirmative.
That’s one reason the Cougars coach is expecting a big
challenge when his team plays in the Cheez-It Bowl against No. 24 Air Force
(10-2), which runs a triple-option offense derived from the wishbone. The ESPN
vehicle on Friday will start at 7:15 p.m. PST at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The Cougars (6-6) arrived on their charter plane to
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday, three days after Air Force
hit town, and they practiced that evening about 25 miles southeast of the
airport, at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert, Ariz.
A stretch of pleasant weather had given way to rain and
drizzle earlier in the day, and cornerback Marcus Strong gave onlookers at the
airport a scare when he slipped on one of the top steps of the plane’s damp
airstair. He landed on his backside but checked his fall by clutching the
handrail, and was later said to be fine.
For years, Leach has expressed his admiration for the
triple-option rushing attack, which employs three running backs who work in
concert with the quarterback to attack the defense in unpredictably aggressive
ways.
In terms of run-pass ratio, it’s the polar opposite of
the Air Raid offense that Leach and Hal Mumme co-authored three decades ago and
that Leach is still employing in its purest form. But in terms of philosophy,
Leach insists the approaches are similar. Both teams Friday will try to spread
the field and keep the defense guessing by distributing the ball to as many
skill players as possible.
Even at the college level, the wishbone and similar
attacks aren’t as popular as they were a few decades ago. They’re used
primarily by the military academies, which employ them partly to overcome a
disparity in talent — a goal often ascribed to the Air Raid as well. In any
case, one of the prime assets of both offenses is their distinctiveness.
Opposing defenses aren’t accustomed to such tactics.
The unfamiliarity factor is one reason Leach thinks the
triple-option would work at the next level, despite the fact that many
observers would answer “No” to his question about the viability of the wishbone
in the NFL. Among other factors, they would cite the league’s shallower rosters
and inability to absorb multiple injuries. Leach acknowledges the wishbone can
be tough on quarterbacks.
“I think it would work in the NFL,” he said recently in
Pullman. “I think it would be very difficult for teams to prepare for a
triple-option team. I do think you go through some quarterbacks, and you’d have
to make sure your quarterbacks can run. However, you can get some great options
quarterbacks because there’s not a big value on them in regard to the NFL.
You’d definitely have the pick of guys that would have that skill set, and
honestly it wouldn’t be very expensive to draft them — if you even had to draft
them.
“It’s not if they get injured, it’s when they get
injured,” he said. “You’d better have another guy that’s able to do that sort
of thing. I don’t think you’d want to have quarterbacks where it’s mixed, where
you’ve got the dropback guy and the option guy. I think you want all three of
them to be option guys. And yeah, I do think it would work.”
Hence a theme of Friday’s game. Because each offense uses
unusual schemes, each defense will be trying to adapt on the fly. The Falcons
rank third in the nation in rushing yards, and the Cougars average 60 more
passing yards than any other team in the country.
“Both offenses are quite explosive,” Leach said at a news
conference Tuesday at the airport. “Then, of course, they (the Falcons) do such
a good job rushing the football. Both defenses are going to try to get the
offenses off the field, so I do think how each defense responds is kind of the
key.”
