Letter to the Editor: Student Finds Success at Stanford

My husband [Fred Krynen] went to Mt. Hood around 2014-2015 and was in the Mechanical Engineering transfer program. We’d just had our first child and he had been a chef for over 10 years when he decided to earn his GED and create a better life for himself and our family.

One day, he picked up The Advocate and read an article about a student who transferred to Stanford. He reached out to the student, also an immigrant, and got advice on how this could be possible, and decided he’d apply to other schools in addition to the PSU path.

He worked extremely hard at Mt. Hood, became president of the ME club, and was (shockingly) accepted to Stanford in 2016.

Our family moved to Stanford, had another child, and have been living in family housing on campus since then. He’s received his BA, MA, and this summer will earn his PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

However, his goal was always to work at a community college, to give back and give opportunities to students like him who are capable and willing but didn’t get the chance to further their education without a community college. He’s just accepted a tenure-track instructor position at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California.

I write all of this because Mt. Hood changed our lives, and if he hadn’t come across that one article about another transfer with a similar background, our lives would be very different.

Best,

Erin Krynen

Student Services Specialist

Postdoctoral Affairs & Undergraduate Research (SURI)

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Stanford University