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Growing up in Milwaukie, Ore., just 150 miles from Bend, second year student Dakota Rentz always knew college would be part of his future. What drew him to 51����-Cascades was the small classes and the chance to build meaningful connections with faculty.  

“The smaller, more personalized attention from professors has been a game changer for me,” he said. 

Growing up in the small town of Coquille on Oregon's southern coast, senior Luke Donaldson developed a love for the natural world from a young age. He remembers looking up at the patches of clear-cut forests on the hills surrounding his town and wondering if there was a better way to manage the forests so they would be preserved for future generations.