TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Eastern Washington University

Jaeger, Corinne

EWU McNair Scholar Samantha Sanchez-Garcia Accepted to PhD Program at DePaul University

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Samantha Sanchez Graduate School Acceptances 2021 DPL

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Samantha Sanchez-Garcia. Samantha has been accepted by the Industrial-Organizational Psychology PhD Program at DePaul University with full funding. Samantha is majoring in Psychology at Eastern, with an emphasis in communication, sociology, and industrial/organizational psychology. She is also working on her Inclusion and Diversity certificate. Samantha is a research assistant in Dr. Jillene Seiver’s clinical psychology lab looking into how the mere presence of a cell phone may be distracting. Additionally, she completed her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship under the mentorship of Dr. Seiver where she studied traumatic experiences and mental health among college students.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Samantha and we know she'll do amazing things at whichever graduate program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Samantha or her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Malachi Chukwu Accepted to Washington State University PhD Program

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Malachi Chukwu Graduate School Acceptances 2021 WSU

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Malachi Chukwu! Malachi has been accepted by the Political Science PhD Program at Washington State University with full funding. Malachi Chukwu is an International Affairs and Political Science major at Eastern Washington University with an emphasis on global security. He is interested in researching the effects of development on Sub-Saharan Africa, the connections between development, environmental degradation, and conflict in this region, and potential policy and implementation solutions.

 

Malachi completed his 2019 summer research Economic development in the Global South: A case study of Niger Delta, Nigeria under the mentorship of Dr. Majid Sharifi. Malachi presented a poster of his research at the 2020 EWU online Symposium. In 2020, Malachi participated in the Laney Graduate School Summer Opportunity for Academic Research (LGS-SOAR) Program at Emory University under the mentorship of Dr. Emily Gade at the Oppressions and Resistance Lab. Alongside other students he numerically coded recently declassified data to understand activities between state actors and non-state actors during the Troubles in Northern Ireland from 1971-1973.

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Malachi and we know he'll do amazing things at whichever  program he decides to attend! Click here to read more about Malachi or his research.

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee Accepted to the Bowling Green State University PhD Program

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Theresa Lee Graduate School Acceptances 2021 01 (1)

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee. Theresa has been accepted by the Sociology PhD Program at Bowling Greene State University with full funding. She is interested in researching incarceration, recidivism and community reentry with a particular interest in unforeseen consequences of incarceration. She received two EWU McNair Summer Research Internships (2019, 2020) and worked with her mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton to complete her research: Prisoner Reentry: College Perceptions of Reentry Barriers in a Northwest Community. She presented a poster of her research at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference with the support of her mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton in the fall of 2019 as well as at the EWU Virtual Symposium in 2020.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Theresa and we know she'll do amazing things at whichever PhD program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Theresa or her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Accepted to the University of Idaho Masters Program

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Rachael Pentico Graduate School Acceptances 2021 IDAHO

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico. Rachael has been accepted by the McCall Outdoor Science School at the University of Idaho in the Masters of Natural Resources Program. Rachael is majoring in Biology at Eastern Washington University. She also spent time at Spokane Falls Community College where she focused on economics, with an emphasis on environmental policy. Her interests and research focus is on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She is also a research assistant in Dr. Rebecca Brown's lab that is focused on restoring a section of the Palouse Prairie. For her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, with the continued mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown, Rachael completed her study Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect and has now presented it at the EWU Symposium, the Baylor McNair Research Conference, and the Murdock College Science Research Conference. Rachael plans to attain her PhD and become a professor where she can mentor students.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Rachael and we know she'll do amazing things at whichever PhD program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Rachael or her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Aulane Mpouli Accepted to Ohio State University Chemistry PhD Program

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Aulane Mpouli Graduate School Acceptances 2021 Ohio State

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Aulane Mpouli. Aulane has been accepted by the Chemistry PhD Program at Ohio State University with full funding! Aulane is majoring in Chemistry and plans on specializing in Analytical Chemistry. Her research interests include analytics, biological chemistry, and catalysis. Last summer Aulane was accepted into a Summer Research Program by Ohio State University, and while they were unable to continue due to COVID-19, she continued to participate in a series of online seminars provided by OSU. Additionally, Aulane completed a McNair Summer Research Internship here at EWU under the mentorshop of Dr. Yao Houndonougbo. Her research, Molecular Docking Study of ITPA Protein Substrate Complex, relates to analyzing the successful ways in which the substrate Inosine Triphosphate (ITP) binds to the enzyme Inosine Triphosphatase in order for it to perform its enzymatic function and prevent the accumulation and over concentration of ITP, an intermediate in the formation of Purines which help make up DNA. The accumulation of ITP could cause mutations in the DNA causing cancers and other detrimental effects to the body. Aulane also works as a Teacher’s Assistant for the Quantitative Analysis, BioChem for Health Sciences, and General Chemistry courses where she grades lab reports, prepares unknowns for students, and helps with calculations and clarifications.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Aulane and we know she'll do amazing things at whichever PhD program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Aulane or her research.

EWU McNair Scholars Present their STEM Research and Experiences

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Darlene Geology Presentation 2021

Despite COVID-19, EWU McNair Scholars have persisted through their virtual research internships during the summer of 2020 and now are presenting their research throughout the year. In addition to Ashley Destin and Rachael Pentico presenting at the Murdock College Science Research Conference in the Fall of 2020, three McNair Scholars have presented within their departments at EWU so far in 2021.

 

Darlene Gilroy, a second year EWU McNair Scholar, presented her research on, “Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry," to the Geology Department in early January. Darlene has been mentored by EWU McNair Faculty Mentor Dr. Carmen Nezat for two summers of research. Darlene is currently finishing her senior year at EWU as well as applying to multiple graduate schools across the country.

 

 

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams was recently featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website where he discusses his EWU McNair Summer research in detail. With the support of his EWU McNair Faculty Mentor, Dr. Camille McNeely, Mori took samples at the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to determine concentrations of microcystins from cyanobacteria in wetlands. He is still compiling data and will present his findings this spring at the EWU Symposium. In the video, Mori also discusses his long term goals to become an environmental scientist with an emphasis in toxicology so he can focus on ways to reduce and remove toxins from our waters. Mori has applied to 7 PhD programs and 3 Masters programs and is currently applying for a fellowship.

Rachael was also featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website and shares great research opportunities where she shares examples of research within the department, including her EWU McNair research project under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown: Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect. Rachael's findings in this project suggest that slope aspect influences plant-soil feedback. This insight can help with invasive species management in endangered ecosystems such as the Palouse Prairie Ecoregion. Rachael is now hard at work completing her graduate school applications to schools across the country!

We're so proud of all of our EWU McNair Scholars. It's been amazing to see how hard they've worked given all the challenges of the last year. We're excited to see where each of them goes next. Keep your eyes on the EWU McNair website and facebook page in the coming months to see as these fantastic scholars get accepted into graduate programs!