UW honors veteran alumni for making an impact on their community

Patti Taylor retired from the Army a decade ago — and then turned right around and started giving back.

Taylor, a 1993 graduate of UW Tacoma's nursing program, donates her services to Operation Mend, which provides free reconstructive surgery to injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. As a veteran of three wars and a longtime nurse, Taylor embodies UW Tacoma's commitment to service.

With Veteran's Day around the corner, UW Tacoma is joining the University of Washington in thanking the many alumni, students, staff and faculty who are veterans or active-duty members of the military. Taylor is one of two UW Tacoma alums who were nominated as University of Washington Distinguished Alumni Veterans this year.

Established this year, the Distinguished Alumni Veteran award is given to a living UW Alumnus veteran who made a positive impact on their local, national or international community. The first recipient, Herb Bridge '47, will be honored at the University of Washington Veteran's Day Ceremony and Reception at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 11.

Taylor was one of the first students to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at UW Tacoma. She went on to earn a Master of Nursing from UW Seattle and a post-master's nurse certificate from Pacific Lutheran University.

As a member of the Army Nurse Corps, Taylor served in the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. After retiring in 2002, she started work as a clinical nurse specialist at UCLA Medical Center, where she still works.

When UCLA established Operation Mend in 2007, Taylor joined the team as a patient advocate, serving as an ambassador for patients through their entire surgical experience. She told UCLA Health System's Employee News that she believes soldiers need support when they return home.

"My parents and grandparents taught me well and I believe that everyone must sacrifice something in order for us to have our freedom," she said. "It gives me so much joy just to see the smiles on their faces when they look at themselves in the mirror after each of their reconstructive surgeries."

Taylor was also part of UCLA Operation Haiti, a team of doctors and nurses who helped care for victims of the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

Also nominated for the award was Cheri (C.J.) Webb, a 2004 graduate of UW Tacoma's Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences program. Webb is a retired Sergeant First Class, a former senator with Associated Students of UW Tacoma and a dedicated volunteer for local college and high-school softball teams.

Webb, who grew up near Salem, Ore., graduated from high school with honors and a scholarship to the University of Oregon. Instead, she joined the U.S. Army as a hospital food specialist, serving 22 years before retiring in 1998. After starting out as a cook and mail clerk, Webb eventually became an instructor for Hospital Food Service courses at the Army Medical Department Center and School and a dietary manager for Nutrition Services at Madigan Army Hospital.

Transferring to UW Tacoma after earning her associate's degree from Pierce College was never really a question, she says. Even growing up in Oregon, "I always wanted to go to UW and be a Husky."

At the urging of a friend, Webb successfully ran for student government and served on the Associated Students of UW Tacoma as vice-chair of the student senate and president of ALLIES, the university's gay-straight alliance group. Colleagues say she was a leader who helped keep student government together.