Rose Wilde

She was born in Cottage Grove, but after her parents split up, Rose Wilde lived with her mother and went to school in Maryland. She returned to Oregon for summers on her father's garlic farm in Horton. Wilde studied anthropology at Rice and spent a year with Americorps in DC. "I was providing support for families where a parent had HIV," she notes. She moved to Eugene in 1999 and worked for four years at Womenspace. "My job was education, working with youth around domestic violence," she says. "I went to every high school, every year." Wilde returned to school in 2004, commuting to OSU for a Masters in Public Health program. There she taught a class on HIV and also became an activist in the statewide union for graduate student employees. At her graduation in June, Wilde was honored with an Award for Excellence in Service. She'll be looking for work at a non-profit or a research operation following an August wedding. "Rose is extra bright, she can execute, and she is really fun," says Margo Schaefer of Womenspace. "Whoever gets her is one lucky organization."

happening people photograph and story by Paul Neevel Eugene Weekly / 20 July 2006