Research Takes Flight

A Second-Story Balcony. A Community of Scholars. An Unforgettable Academic Tradition: Inside PNWU’s Second Annual Paper Airplane Contest.

At Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU), rigorous research and high-level academia are part of the daily fabric. But sometimes, that fabric needs to be folded — sharply, diagonally, and then thrown off a balcony.

This June, from the sun-drenched sidewalks of the MultiCare Learning Center, a second-story railing became an unlikely launchpad for innovation, camaraderie, and, depending on your folding technique, mild aerodynamic achievement.

It all began, as most academic revolutions do, with a question.

“Why not introduce weird new rituals into academia?”

The question floated from the curious mind of Lizzie Lamb, former Interim Director of the Office of Scholarly Activity and current faculty member in PNWU’s School of Occupational Therapy. Lamb, staring down a stack of massive Research Symposium posters — three-by-four-foot monuments to scholarship — saw an opportunity.

“Education is full of weird ancient rituals,” she explained. “Graduation? Super weird. Everybody wears these big old dresses that are super uncomfortable and hot – but we love it. So…”

Standing beside her, PNWU Grants and Contracts Administrator Caitlin Young asked the obvious question: “‘What do we do with these?’” Then, as if summoned by Yakima’s gentle breeze, the answer appeared.

“Let’s fly them off one of the balconies!” she exclaimed.

“I thought it was a great idea,” added Lamb. “So, here we are!”

So, there they were — last year, alongside about 20 participants, and this year, more than 30 self-appointed aerospace engineers and test pilots – filling the MLC’s second floor. Their mission: to convert academic research posters into flying machines and compete in categories like longest distance, longest airtime, most accurate, and overall best design.

“My strategy is unique,” said Julia Orr, Administrative Assistant in the School of Dental Medicine, crouched on the floor just feet from the launch zone, folding what appeared to be a secondary tailfin onto the tip of a large wing “It’s not like other planes.”

Orr wasn’t just here to compete. She was also here to mentor.

Her colleague and friend, Maricela Badillo — Dental Simulation Laboratory Manager — had never built a paper airplane.

“I told Julia, ‘You should do one and I’ll just follow,’” said Badillo. “So,” she laughed, “here we are!”

Badillo took a tentative approach to her first plane. “I’m just making sure my lines are nice and creased,” she said.

Meanwhile, down the hall in a dimly lit, undisclosed engineering bunker (an empty classroom), Dr. Thomas Scandalis, Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, folded his aircraft with quiet intensity.

“My dad was an aerospace engineer,” he whispered. “You can’t tell anyone that.”

Once complete, the armada of airborne academia assembled at the launch rail: a mix of streamlined darts, octagonal contraptions, taped monstrosities, and even a “death star” – a tightly-crumbled ball, reminiscent of a middle-school-era spitball, creatively designed by Administrative Coordinator Debbie Helgert.

Whether built for speed, endurance, or spectacle, each plane represented its creator’s distinct design philosophy — and perhaps a tiny rejection of rigid institutional formality.

Below, a cheering crowd gathered to witness the spectacle.

“This is a fun way to get people talking together. It feels more like a university when we do fun events like this.”

“I think it’s so easy to get stuck in your own department and only talk to people from other departments when you have something business to talk about,” said Lamb. “But then I don’t think we end up actually using each other’s resources or knowing what we do entirely well. This is a fun way to get people talking together. It feels more like a university when we do fun events like this.”

And in the end, when the final paper plane had crash-landed or glided heroically across the Learning Center floor, the group closed out the event with a now-annual “Closing Ceremony”: a conga-line parade around the basalt stone target used for the accuracy competition — arms raised, paper crafts proudly held aloft.

As the laughter and folds faded into the hot Yakima afternoon, one thing was clear: At PNWU, when we come together, even old posters can fly.

The Results:

Winners were chosen by a selected panel of judges which included Dr. Emily Oestreich (returning as head judge), Dr. Kathaleen Briggs Early, Caitlin Young, and Sylvia Hurlbut (age 4).