2025 Alumni of the Year

Elmar Sakala always dreamed of being a doctor. Born in London, England, and raised in Canada, Sakala began his path to medical school at Walla Walla University, earning a degree in business administration in 1965 and a master’s in education in 1968. While at the university, he discovered two great loves: his wife, Darilee Allen ‘69, to whom he has been married for 57 years; and teaching. “If you were to ask what my primary professional identity is, I would say I am first a teacher, second a medical doctor,” he says. Sakala earned his MD and Master of Public Health in maternal nutrition from Loma Linda University (LLU) Medical School and completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center. Sakala joined the LLU faculty in 1978, and over the course of his career, published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and two widely used ob-gyn review books, won multiple teaching honors—he’s a three-time recipient of the medical school’s Clinical Teacher of the Year award—and introduced gynecological teaching associates (GTA), women who are specially trained to receive exams by medical students and provide feedback, to the program. Now retired, Sakala holds the title of Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at LLU and enjoys playing the saxophone and coordinating Sabbath school classes. 

The daughter of missionaries, Ginger Ketting-Weller spent her childhood in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore—planting roots in Asia she never dreamed would bear fruit more than 50 years later. Ketting-Weller is currently the president of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines. She credits both her international upbringing and her experience at Walla Walla University with preparing her for this “capstone” career moment. Ketting-Weller moved to the states to attend WWU, and while in college, became the first student missionary to Finland. She graduated in 1985 with a degree in elementary education, later earning a master’s degree in administration and leadership from Loma Linda University and a PhD from the Claremont Graduate University. While a faculty member at Pacific Union College, she was introduced to Jim Weller ‘80, and the two married in 2001. Ketting-Weller relocated to College Place, where Jim was the principal of Rogers Adventist School, taking on the role of Vice President for Academic Administration at WWU. “It was working at Walla Walla where I learned most of the lessons that shape my daily life and decision-making in higher education administration today,” she says. Ketting-Weller later served as dean of the School of Education at La Sierra University before accepting her current role. She and her husband have three children and eight grandchildren, and in her spare time, she enjoys traveling, writing, and quilting.