Rachael Pentico

7 EWU McNair Scholars Participate in Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership, and Advocacy Symposium

04/29/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

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!

Green back drop (lime to jade), with title of article, names of scholars and an image of each

EWU McNair Scholars Lucia Roussa and Mori Williams Present at NCUR

By Jaeger, Corinne | 04/27/2021

EWU McNair Scholars Present at Murdock College Science Research Conference 2020

By Jaeger, Corinne | 01/27/2021

Nine EWU McNair Scholars Present at Baylor McNair Research Conference

By Jaeger, Corinne | 10/09/2020

18 EWU McNair Scholars Present at EWU Virtual Symposium

By Jaeger, Corinne | 06/10/2020

Darlene Gilroy, EWU McNair Scholar and Environmental Geology major, attends prestigious Murdock College Science Research Conference in Vancouver, WA

By Patolo, Najeda | 11/14/2019

Abdu Mohammed Visiting Congressional Reps

Abdulrazik Mohammed Travels to DC to Attend the 7th Annual International Symposium on Women and Genocide in the 21st Century: The Case of Darfur

By jlittleton1 | 12/04/2018

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.

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Accepted by Fourth Graduate Program

04/02/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Rachael Pentico Graduate School Acceptances 2021 WSU

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been accepted by the Environmental and Natural Resources Sciences PhD program at Washington State University, Vancouver with full funding. She has also been accepted by Purdue University with full funding, Syracuse University, and by the University of Idaho.

Rachael is majoring in Biology at Eastern Washington University. Her research focuses on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She is a research assistant in Dr. Rebecca Brown's lab where they are 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 presented her research at the EWU Symposium, the Baylor McNair Research Conference, and the Murdock College Science Research Conference. Click here to see a poster of Rachael's initial research on plant soil feedbacks in the Spring of 2020. 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 program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Rachael and her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Accepted by Purdue PhD Program

03/17/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Rachael Pentico Graduate School Acceptances 2021 PU

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been accepted by the Biological Sciences PhD program at Purdue University with full funding. In addition, Rachael has two prior acceptances, one from Syracuse University's (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry for a PhD in Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Air, the other by the University of Idaho in their Masters of Natural Resources Program.

Rachael is majoring in Biology at Eastern Washington University. Her interests and research focus on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She is a research assistant in Dr. Rebecca Brown's lab where they are 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 presented her research 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 program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Rachael or her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Accepted to SUNY PhD Program

03/02/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne 1 Comment

Rachael Pentico Graduate School Acceptances 2021 SY

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been accepted by Syracuse University's (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry for a PhD in Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Air. Rachael has also been accepted by the University of Idaho in their Masters of Natural Resources Program.

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

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

02/17/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

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 Scholars Present their STEM Research and Experiences

02/02/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

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!