On March 6, three Linfield professors received the Patriot Award for their support of recent Linfield graduate and philosophy major Sarah Ornelas while she deployed as a member of the Oregon Army National Guard in Kosovo: theater costume manager Laurel Peterson, philosophy chair Jesús Ilundain, and philosophy professor Kenneth Knowlton.
The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) distributes the Patriot Award as a formal recognition of supervisor assistance for citizen warriors, often in the form of accommodations made to minimize disruptions caused by deployment.
Upon arrival in Kosovo, Ornelas gathered information through conversations with locals to help keep the Guard aware of the circumstances there. The goal of this NATO-aligned peacekeeping operation was to maintain regional security.
While there, she was able to get an extension on her schoolwork allowing her to focus on the months of training. She then fulfilled an Associate’s degree in Mandarin to meet her Linfield language requirement via a language army course in 2023.

Her favorite part of her deployment was the people she worked with. Still, she is glad to be back home and reconnecting with everyone she missed.

“A lot of people were very grateful to us for helping them out, and I was grateful to them for educating us on the real situation in Kosovo,” said Ornelas.

Five years ago, Ornelas made quite an impression on Peterson while working on campus in the costume shop her freshman year.

“She is kind and a tremendously hardworking individual who has both great initiative and follow-through,” said Peterson. “These qualities make her an easy person to support.”

Peterson was always willing to hear out what she wondered about or wanted to accomplish. Peterson was there for her whenever she needed it and also wrote several letters of recommendation for her.

While it was certainly not easy for Ornelas to continue her education while deployed or resume it once she returned, she succeeded with assistance from the community. Although Ornelas already graduated in January after taking a 22-credit semester back at Linfield, she will walk in May.

“I am very grateful to everyone who has helped me out,” said Ornelas. “It has been a long ride from 2020 to 2026, about 5 years of trying to earn my degree, but when duty calls, you have to go.”