UP community members walk in honor of retired professor Roger Doyle
(Kevin Kadooka -- The Beacon)
By Jennifer Rillamas Page Design rillamas15@up.edu
This weekend, the University of Portland community has an opportunity to make a difference.
On Sept. 25, friends, family members and supporters of former UP professor Roger Doyle are joining together in the Portland Walk to Defeat ALS. They are walking as a team called Doyle's Devotees.
Professor Doyle was diagnosed with ALS in 2009. In 2010, he retired from UP after being a music professor for 37 years.
According to the ALS Association website, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a neuromuscular disease that slowly takes away the body's ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe.
Fine Arts lecturer and team captain Judith Montgomery said knowing someone with ALS inspired her to help raise money for a cure.
"Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS," Montgomery said. "[The walk] is a great opportunity to bring awareness to the community, as it's really one of those ‘out of sight out of mind' issues."
The money raised supports people with ALS and contributes to research dedicated to finding a cause of the disease as well as a cure.
Sophomore Madelyn Voelker, who is part of Doyle's Devotees, also has a family connection to ALS.
"I'm doing the walk in honor of my uncle," Voelker said. "He died of ALS almost two years ago."
Voelker has raised $220 so far.
Montgomery hopes Doyle's Devotees will show Doyle how the UP community supports him.
"People who had Doyle as a professor should do this out of respect and honor," Montgomery said. "Let him know he hasn't been forgotten."
To join the team and become part of Doyle's Devotees, log on to the Portland Walk to Defeat ALS website and click on "join a team." It doesn't cost anything to sign up, but donations are accepted.
Check-in will begin at 11 a.m. at the World Trade Center in downtown Portland and the walk will start at noon.
