• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CAS News

  • Highlights
  • Students
  • Faculty
  • Quick Notes
  • The BC Gallery
  • Contact Us

Community Remembers Katie Chale as a caring friend

October 30, 2014 By casdept2

ChaleThey called her their soccer “mom” and loved her laugh. She was admired for her strong leadership and her big heart. Her passion for adventure was rivaled only by her commitment to helping others. Among the many campus groups she participated in – the biology and Spanish communities, the club soccer team and Relay for Life – Katie Chale, a ’14 alum, was a vibrant presence.

Chale, 22, who died Sept. 17 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident on Vashon Island near Seattle, was honored at an informal memorial Mass. She is survived by her parents and her brother.

“She was fearless but responsible, mature but always knew when to have fun, and incredibly intelligent,” said Katy Danforth, a friend of Chale’s who played soccer with her.

Fr. Art Wheeler, who was the presider and homilist at the memorial Mass, said he saw those traits in Chale during her time working in the Study Abroad office.

“She was very earnest about making a difference in terms of helping other people,” Wheeler said. “She was very oriented towards others.”

Katie and KateChale worked as a student coordinator for the Granada study abroad program for more than two years after studying there her sophomore year. She took most of her Spanish courses with professor Kate Regan, who died unexpectedly on July 23.

Regan and Chale were good friends, and the background of Chale’s phone was a photo of the two at the 2014 graduation ceremony in May.

The energy Chale poured into her Spanish classes was purposeful. She saw the language as a tool to help her help others, according to Wheeler.

Chale’s first experience in humanitarian work abroad was her 2009 two-week immersion in Paraguay. She was troubled by the lack of medical services for people there, especially as some suffered from easily fixed ailments.

Her mission in coming to UP was in part to prepare herself for working in a medical-aid capacity in Latin America.

Yet Chale also spread her energy into other campus areas. She made time to enjoy athletic activities like hiking, and she loved exploring the Pacific Northwest coast.

Senior Jessie Robinson, who played club soccer with her for two years, remembers Chale fondly.

“We called her the team mom,” Robinson said. “She was always the one with the Band-Aids and the Ibuprofen. She looked after us and cared for us. We were so grateful to have her.”

The team also gave the nickname “team dad” to Chale’s boyfriend Chris Roberts, who  attended games to support them and always brought a camera.

Robinson said Chale’s leadership style, which balanced determination with laughter, was inspiring.

“There was just something about her that made you want to prove that you were good enough to be on the team with her,” Robinson said. “She knew how to put you in a good mood even when you were freezing”.

“We’re going to miss her so much.”

Filed Under: Alumni, From The BEACON, Students Tagged With: Beacon

Primary Sidebar

News By Department

Get to Know Your CAS

10 Ways to Manage Stress & to Take Care of Yourself!

College is a lot of fun, but it can also be extremely stressful at times. Mackenzie (‘22, Mill Creek, WA), is a rising sophomore in CAS at UP, pursuing a degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry … [Read More...] about 10 Ways to Manage Stress & to Take Care of Yourself!

College on a Budget!

So you've moved away from home, and doing the whole "being independent" thing. Perhaps you go to the store by yourself for the first time, and you realize how expensive avocados are, and you wonder … [Read More...] about College on a Budget!

Self-Serve: The Basics

Self-serve is a system accessed through your UP portal that you will utilize often, and grow to love (hopefully, or maybe grow to strongly dislike...we’ll see 😉). But in all seriousness, self-serve is … [Read More...] about Self-Serve: The Basics

The College Essentials: Everything You’ll Find Beneficial here at UP!

Of course, everyone has their own personal items that they're going to bring to college with them because they can't live without them. Mackenzie ('22) has put together her list of things that she … [Read More...] about The College Essentials: Everything You’ll Find Beneficial here at UP!

Recommendations

  • Books
  • Music
  • Film

Archives

Study Abroad Reflection: Sarah '19

Study Abroad Reflection: Sarah ’19

2 years ago
Sarah Ponce is a rising senior majoring in Biology and Spanish with a chemistry minor. Her career go…
Continue Reading
Study Abroad Reflection: Sarah ’19
Study Abroad Experience: Gaby 21'

Study Abroad Experience: Gaby 21′

2 years ago
Gaby (21’) is a rising junior studying Political Science and German Studies and minoring in Gender a…
Continue Reading
Study Abroad Experience: Gaby 21′
Congratulations to CAS in #PilotsGive!

Congratulations to CAS in #PilotsGive!

3 years ago
  Congratulations to the College of Arts and Sciences, which placed second in total donors…
Continue Reading
Congratulations to CAS in #PilotsGive!
Kunal Nayyar ‘03 Challenge Gift for Performing Arts

Kunal Nayyar ‘03 Challenge Gift for Performing Art…

3 years ago
Kunal Nayyar ’03, star from the Big Bang Theory, has pledged to give $200,000 to support the Perfo…
Continue Reading
Kunal Nayyar ‘03 Challenge Gift for Performing Art…
Six Students Awarded Fulbright Grants

Six Students Awarded Fulbright Gran…

5 years ago
Six University of Portland students have been awarded prestigious Fulbright grants to work and study abroad. Four of the Fulbrights are for English teaching positions in Germany, one is for an English…
Continue Reading
New Duties For Fr. Art Wheeler

New Duties For Fr. Art Wheeler

6 years ago
Rev. Art Wheeler, C.S.C., has indicated to the provost that he would like to return to the history…
Continue Reading
New Duties For Fr. Art Wheeler
UP Announces O'Dea International Scholarship

UP Announces O’Dea International Scholarship

7 years ago
The University of Portland has established the O’Dea International Scholarship, endowed by  G. Kelly…
Continue Reading
UP Announces O’Dea International Scholarship
Student Wins Cultural Exchange Scholarship

Student Wins Cultural Exchange Scholarship

7 years ago
Environmental studies and German studies double major Sarah Letendre (pictured) has been awarded a C…
Continue Reading
Student Wins Cultural Exchange Scholarship
Remembering the Salzburg experience: former residence director of UP’s Salzburg program visited UP for the first time this week

Remembering the Salzburg experience…

7 years ago
By Kathryn Walters | From The Beacon Ask senior Cerice Keller about one of her favorite memories of studying abroad in Salzburg, Austria, and instead of waxing lyrical about the delicious strudel,…
Continue Reading
Tops in Fulbrights Again!

Tops in Fulbrights Again!

8 years ago
From UPBEAT University of Portland has been named the top producer of Fulbright scholars in the nat…
Continue Reading
Tops in Fulbrights Again!
Overlays
PreviousNextPreviousNext

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2021 · University of Portland