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by Allison Brandow

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Young Dean is Avid Woodworker

Matt and Michelle Rygg enjoy camping, hiking and skiing,
among other outdoor activities.
--Matt Rygg, photo

Atop a 2-foot cabinet in the dining area sits a framed, black-and-white photo of Matt Rygg, Multnomah's dean of students, with his wife, Michelle.

In the photo, Mrs. Rygg is perched piggyback on Mr. Rygg, and both are smiling at the camera.

Similar photos cover the walls and other tabletops throughout the house: the Ryggs on their wedding day, their niece and nephews, their friends and students, their parents and grandparents.

In July, the Ryggs moved into their home in Vancouver, Wash., after Mr. Rygg, 29, accepted the position as dean of students at Multnomah.

Previously, they had lived in Pullman, Wash., where Mr. Rygg worked as assistant director of residence life at Washington State University.

Mr. Rygg met his wife in Pullman. Mrs. Rygg was a barista at Starbucks, where Mr. Rygg went frequently for grande two percent caramel macchiatos.

Awhile after they had met, they saw each other at an event in Pullman. Mr. Rygg said he could not keep his eyes off of Mrs. Rygg, so he invited her to go running with him the next day. On July 30, they celebrated their two-year wedding anniversary.

Since he began attending Pacific Lutheran University, Mr. Rygg said he has invested himself in students. After serving as a resident assistant at Pacific Lutheran, he graduated with a business degree. Then he earned his graduate degree in college student services administration from Oregon State University.

"Through my RA experience, I really discovered that I love student life," Mr. Rygg said. "That's really where God has called me to be. I was much more excited about it [than business]."

Outside of work, Mr. Rygg enjoys sports and woodworking. At PLU, he competed with the crew (rowing) team. Robert Larson, a friend from PLU, said, "I thought he was crazy for doing [crew] because they had to wake up so early in the morning."

"The peak of my athleticism was crew," Mr. Rygg said. "[I was] working out two or three times a day, on a strict diet and worked really, really hard. I was in great shape."

That year, Mr. Rygg's crew team won the west coast championships.

Mr. Rygg also plays soccer, although not as frequently as he did during college. He admitted that he used to be in better shape.

Since college, Mr. Rygg's hobby has been remodeling. He owned a 1905 house in Pullman that he and his wife renovated before moving to Vancouver.

Mr. Rygg said, "We re-landscaped the front and back yards, we laid our own tile, we laid our own Pergo and painted everything. And we just loved that house. We put our heart and soul into it."

They had to sell the house when they moved to Vancouver. But now Mr. Rygg is returning to his woodworking hobby.

Mr. Rygg learned woodworking in high school. In a class, he practiced working with the tools and making furniture. The woodshop teacher was also his neighbor, so during college Mr. Rygg continued to build furniture at the school.

"He's extremely gifted," Mr. Larson said. "In college, he would need [furniture] for his room, so he would go home over Christmas break and come back with something. We would say, 'He made that?' You kind of think it would look unprofessional. But it's incredible."

The Ryggs' house is peppered with Mr. Rygg's woodworking. He built the small oak cabinet in the dining area several years ago.

He also built most of the furniture in the upstairs guest bedroom. The room, minus the bed frame, contains oak pieces, each handmade by Mr. Rygg.

In one corner of the guest room sits a chest Mr. Rygg made for his grandmother when he was younger. In another corner is a dresser with a similar design to the nightstand by the bed.

"Those are all oak," Mr. Rygg said. "But it's not my favorite anymore. Probably my favorite is birch. I like the grain pattern and the finish color. Oak, after awhile, with the type of finish I've used, starts to turn more of a yellow. With birch, it carries its more natural color."

When the Ryggs moved to Vancouver, they looked for a house with space for a wood shop. Now a planer, saws and other tools fill one-third of Mr. Rygg's garage. He intends to use them soon because he and his wife need bookshelves and a media center for their television. But the projects must wait until they are more settled into their new home.

Ultimately, "it's not a house that makes a home," Mr. Rygg said, adding that his wife agreed. "It's the memories and the experience inside the home."

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