Before Joey Harrington and Akili Smith, there was Danny O’Neil. O’Neil is one of the most talented starting quarterbacks to ever play at the University. In 1995, he led Oregon to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against Penn State. Although he lost that game, he still left his mark on the stat sheet, breaking numerous records, including 41 completions and 456 passing yards. The Kansas City Chiefs wanted O’Neil to fill in their quarterback position just after four-time Superbowl champion Joe Montana retired in the fall of 1995. Most college athletes wouldn’t think twice about this decision, a sure no-brainer. But O’Neil was an exception, to say the least. He turned down the offer to pursue his career as a pastor in Costa Mesa, California. More than 10 years later, he is still a pastor here in Eugene and is scheduled to speak at the Oregon Emeralds Fellowship night this July. According to Chrisitanitytoday.com , notable athletes like former duck basketball star Luke Jackson and PGA golfer Casey Martin have been attending O’Neil’s church. It seems as though the rare decision he made almost 12 years ago has paid off.
Jessica Blanchard was the Oregon Daily Emerald editor in chief from 2001-02. She covered various stories, from hip-hop to free speech rights. Five years later, Blanchard now works for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Blanchard has been on the Seattle P-I for more than two years, formerly working as a copy editor for the Seattle Times. Blanchard specifically reports on K-12 education in Seattle in what she describes as a tough task: “Some reporters may think education is an easy beat, but it’s not. Just try to get a seven-year-old to say something eloquent and quotable!” Blanchard has been exposed to opposite ends of the spectrum in her stories for the P-I, from “fluffy features” on science programs to hard-hitting investigations of high school drug busts. “My beat has it all,” Blanchard says. Despite the stress, Blanchard says she enjoys the higher pay and free time on the weekends that she didn’t have in college. One thing that hasn’t changed in the five years that have passed since her days in Eugene: “I still feel a rush of pride when I go into a coffee shop and see someone reading the newspaper.”
Jay Breslow was the ASUO President for the 2000-01 school year, a turbulent time that included the aftermath of the suspicious 2000 presidential election. In preparation for the election, Breslow ran a voter registration drive that got more than 7,500 students out to the polls. Another key accomplishment during Breslow’s tenure was improving the housing codes in the campus area of Eugene. In what he described as once a “disarray around the University,” the housing conditions saw improvements through Breslow and his aides’ work. Breslow feels grateful that he was accompanied by so many talented people during his reign as President, and says: “I learned a lot about organization and it was pretty amazing working with so many great people around me.” After attending graduate school at the University of Maryland, Breslow eventually moved to North Portland. Now, only a short drive from his hometown of Hillsboro, Breslow says he is happy to be close to his family. He currently works at a community school, James John elementary in North Portland. He leads an after school program that involves 150 kids and he also helps raise resources for the local community.