EWU McNair Scholars Rachael Pentico, Lizeth Bañuelos, and Malachi Chukwu presented last week at the virtual Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership & Advocacy Symposium hosted by the University of Washington. Four other EWU McNair Scholars attended: Alexandria Coronado, Wendolyn Martinez, Christina Hudson, and Aulane Mpouli. This was the first annual Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership & Advocacy Symposium (GEG Symposium) hosted by the University of Washington’s Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (UW OMA&D). This builds on UW McNair’s 28-year legacy of hosting a Pacific Northwest Undergraduate Research Conference and is intended to honor the legacy of Dr. Gabriel E. Gallardo who passed away last year after a lifetime of service to educational equity, particularly on behalf on TRIO McNair, TRIO-SSS, and CAMP students. This symposium provides an amazing opportunity for undergraduate researchers to meet other scholars and to share their research in a unique, exciting and supportive environment. A huge thank you to EWU McNair Faculty Mentors for encouraging and supporting scholars with their research and presentations! Below are some quotes from our scholars about the value of the experience.
On Attending the Conference:
Attending the conference was such an enriching experience for me. I had the opportunity to meet professors doing work in my area of interest at UW and to make important connections. I would recommend attending conferences to other students because it is an invaluable opportunity to ask questions and do some important networking."
- Christina Hudson, 2021 EWU McNair Scholar
Attending the conference was an insightful and meaningful. I attended: Finding Your Community, Imposter Syndrome, the Student Leadership Panel, Meditation and Stretching, Mental Health in Graduate School, Building Positive Mentoring Relationships, Self-Advocacy and Speaking Up for Yourself, and the Networking Fireside chat with Graduate Students from social sciences. These provided such honesty and great advice to successfully building relationships, your community, and taking care of your mental health."
- Lizeth Bañuelos, 2020 EWU McNair Scholar
On Presenting:
This was the first time that I pre-recorded a poster experience and it was such a great experience. It calmed the nerves I would have had if I presented live. I enjoyed familiarizing myself with this process. Take advantage of these opportunities, they are worth it. The nerves are worth it."
- Lizeth Bañuelos, 2020 EWU McNair Scholar
Check out Our Scholar's Presentations!
EWU McNair Scholar Presentations at the UW Conference:
To watch Lizeth's presentation" First-Generation Latinx Students' Academic Experience: The Role of Institutional Supports During the Pandemic, click here!
Click here to see Malachi's poster: Projects of Economic and Social Development in the Global South: The 20th and 21st Century Trends and their Effects.
Click here to see Rachael's poster: A Review of Plant Soil Feedbacks and their Importance for Palouse Prairie Restoration and Management.
EWU McNair Encourages Scholar Presentations at Conferences
EWU McNair encourages all of its scholars to present at conferences such as NCUR to network with those in their field and to build confidence, gain experience, and to strengthen Curriculum Vitae's (CV) for applying to graduate school. In addition to the UW conference, this school year scholars have presented at the Baylor McNair Research Conference, the Murdock College Science Research Conference, and the National Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) Conference. Typically most EWU McNair Scholars also present at the EWU Symposium. Last year we may have set a record with 18 scholars presenting last spring!
This year, to ensure our scholars have this opportunity, EWU McNair is partnering with CSTEM at EWU to host a symposium on June 2nd. The symposium will begin with a Social Justice in Research Panel with EWU McNair Alumni at 9 am. Click here to register for the event for free!
The EWU McNair staff are proud of all of our scholars for the hard work they've put into their research and sharing that research with the broader community.
