CSULB nursing alumna, donor extols health benefits of Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden
When Kristie Koepplin ‘93 first started attending Cal State Long Beach, she would go on drives around campus with her mom.
“It’s a huge campus!” she said. “We would drive around to see what was here.”
When they stumbled upon the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, they were taken aback.
“We were just so stunned with the beauty of the garden, and the serenity of it,” she said. “We noticed that a bride was having her photographs taken.”
She kept that in the back of her mind. Years later in 2007, she married Maj James F. Gray on the garden’s Moon Bridge.
“People to this day say it is the most beautiful wedding that they have ever attended,” she said. “It was just magical.”
After graduating from CSULB with a bachelor’s degree from the School of Nursing, Koepplin became a member of the garden. She’d return as an alumna for special membership events, including the Tea & Tour.
She eventually signed up to become a volunteer and joined the Friends of the Garden Council, where she served as president. She’s been volunteering and donating to the garden ever since.
“It’s just nice to give back,” she said. “You’re getting so much from the university, it’s nice to give back a little bit.”
Koepplin said that the garden serves as an educational resource as well as an important therapeutic escape from everyday demands.
“It’s surprising how so many students do not know this garden is here,” she said. “They get so caught up in their studies that if they were made aware that we do have a garden here, they could come down here and relax, and just let their minds calm down. It does have health benefits.”
For anybody interested in becoming involved in volunteering for the garden, Koepplin suggests joining as a member, getting in contact with the new director Mary Sramek and attending events.
“You get back much more than you give in terms of the friendships and connections you make in the process,” she said.
