<\/p>\n
From an Oscar-winning actor to TV hosts, several celebrities have called Whatcom County home<\/a>. Western Washington University has produced its share of high-profile alumni. Famous musicians, writers and more have WWU as an alma mater.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know:<\/p>\n Ben Gibbard is the frontman for indie rock band Death Cab For Cutie<\/a>. The Grammy Award-nominated band is among the headliners at Seattle\u2019s Bumbershoot music festival<\/a> in 2026.<\/p>\n Gibbard received a bachelor\u2019s degree in environmental chemistry from Western Washington University in 1999.<\/p>\n Gibbard was a recent WWU graduate in June 1999 when an underground gasoline pipeline exploded<\/a> in Bellingham, killing three people. The incident inspired him to write the song \u201cKids in \u201899,\u201d<\/a> he told RE Sources in 2019.<\/p>\n Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills are best known as the electronic dance music duo Ozdesa.<\/a><\/p>\n The pair forged their musical partnership during their senior year at Western Washington University<\/a>, according to alumni magazine WWU Windows.<\/p>\n Knight, a Bainbridge Island native, graduated with a degree in physics in 2012, while Mills, who grew up in the Bellevue area, graduated with a graphic design degree in 2012.<\/p>\n Musician and actor Carrie Brownstein, best known for indie rock band Sleater-Kinney, grew up in the Seattle suburbs and attended Western Washington University<\/a>, The Oregonian previously reported.<\/p>\n She later transferred to Evergreen State College in Olympia to submerse herself in that city\u2019s music scene.<\/p>\n Originally from Tacoma, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, novelist and nonfiction writer William Dietrich \u201ccaught the journalism bug\u201d at Fairhaven College, according to Fresh Fiction.<\/a><\/p>\n Dietrich is best known as the author of the best-selling Ethan Gage series of historical thrillers<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2006, he taught at WWU and advised the environmental science student publication, The Planet.<\/p>\n Best-selling author Gregg Olsen<\/a> was born in Seattle. He attended Western Washington University, earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in journalism in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n During his time at WWU, he served as the editor-in-chief of Klipsun magazine.<\/a><\/p>\n Olsen has written more than 30 books, including true crime blockbusters<\/a> \u201cIf You Tell\u201d and \u201cThe Amish Wife,\u201d according to book review website Bookreporter.<\/p>\n Bellingham home with ties to Edward R. Murrow hits market for $1.3 million<\/a><\/p>\n Dan Erickson, creator and lead showrunner of the Emmy Award-winning TV show \u201cSeverance,\u201d hails from Olympia.<\/p>\nDid any famous musicians go to Western Washington University?<\/h2>\n
Ben Gibbard<\/h3>\n
Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills<\/h3>\n
Carrie Brownstein<\/h3>\n
Which well-know writers went to WWU?<\/h2>\n
William Dietrich<\/h3>\n
Gregg Olsen<\/h3>\n
What is Bellingham\u2019s connection to \u2018Severance\u2019?<\/h2>\n
Dan Erickson<\/h3>\n