“I really feel passionate about the power of education and the impact that it can make in families, because I’ve seen it in my own life.”

Christi Boyter has seen the transformative effect of education up close and personal. When she was a teenager, her family moved from Dillard to Eugene so her mother could attend college, where she eventually earned her doctorate degree.

“She was the first person in my family to go to college, and the choice that she made really made a huge impact on myself and family,” Christi says. Now the Foundation’s alumni engagement coordinator, Christi has spent her entire career working to support students.

Christi works with Scholar alums to help them navigate their educational and career journey. She has worked in several student affairs roles in higher education, including as assistant dean of UO’s Graduate Studies Office. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in educational policy and management from the University of Oregon.

Christi, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, also credits her heritage as a driving force behind her career. “Education is something that our tribe has always felt strongly about and prioritized, even when the original treaties were signed with the U.S. in the 1800s.”

Christi and her husband have a blended family of eight children. In her spare time, you can find her baking in the kitchen — sweet, not savory — and taking long walks in the beautiful woodland parks in the Eugene area.