TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Eastern Washington University

Sociology

Katie Gower Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

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Katie Gower Selected as an EWU McNair ScholarCongratulations to new McNair Scholar Katie Gower! Katie was selected by the McNair Scholars’ selection committee on the basis of her passion for research, commitment to attaining a PhD, and overall potential for success in graduate school.

The federally-funded TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program at EWU selects motivated and talented juniors and seniors who are first-generation and low-income college students, and/or from groups underrepresented at the doctoral level to introduce them to academic research and provide them with effective strategies for getting into and graduating from PhD programs.

Katie Gower is a first-generation, Honors undergraduate student at Eastern Washington University. Born and raised in Spokane, she graduated from Spokane Falls Community College with a transfer Associate of Arts Degree in 2020. She is majoring in Political Science and minoring in Philosophy and Sociology. Her research interests range from political theory to domestic public policy concerning climate change, immigration, and homelessness. She has also demonstrated interest and conducted research regarding intersectional feminism and transformative justice. She is interested in local politics and public policy and has completed an extensive research project on Washington state climate change legislation titled An Analysis of Initiative 1631 and the Future of Carbon Fee Legislation in Washington State. She will complete her Summer Research Internship with mentor Dr. Matthew Anderson.

We look forward to accompanying Katie as her research unfolds!

Haili Poss Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

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Haili Poss Selected as an EWU McNair ScholarCongratulations to new McNair Scholar Haili Poss! Haili was selected by the McNair Scholars’ selection committee on the basis of her passion for research, commitment to attaining a PhD, and overall potential for success in graduate school.

The federally-funded TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program at EWU selects motivated and talented juniors and seniors who are first-generation and low-income college students, and/or from groups underrepresented at the doctoral level to introduce them to academic research and provide them with effective strategies for getting into and graduating from PhD programs.

Haili Poss is a first-generation student at Eastern Washington University majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology. She has a wide array of research interests including the impact of alternative/recreational drugs on mental health, and the impact of exercise on mental health, attitudes towards sex work, and the mental health of sex workers. For her 2022 McNair Summer Research Internship, with the mentorship of Dr. Jill Seiver, she will research attitudes towards sex work and sex workers. Haili plans on obtaining her PhD in Clinical Psychology, conducting research on adult mental health, and becoming a professor in the Pacific Northwest.

We look forward to accompanying Haili as her research unfolds!

Dr. Lindsey Upton: A Thoughtful, Engaged Mentor Makes a Difference in the Lives of First Generation Scholars

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EWU McNair Faculty Mentor, Dr. Lindsey Upton, “It was a really rewarding experience to talk through scholars’ ideas and facilitate their first foray into research.” Mentees include Alexandria Coronado and Theresa Lee

EWU McNair Faculty Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Lindsey Upton

 

by Cori Jaeger, EWU McNair Program Academic Advisor

 

When I spoke with Dr. Lindsey Upton about being a McNair faculty mentor, it was no surprise to me that she’d been in touch with EWU McNair alumna Theresa Lee recently. Dr. Upton mentored Theresa for two summers as she researched Prisoner Reentry: College Perceptions of Reentry Barriers in a Northwest Community. As I worked with Theresa over the last two years it was clear that she felt supported by her mentor and saw Dr. Upton as someone she could reach out to anytime.

Dr. Upton is a wonderful McNair mentor. She is very hands on with mentees, as well as supportive, open-minded and dependable. I would have had a much harder time with my McNair research project as well as graduate admission if I didn’t have her. I am grateful to have found such an outstanding mentor and friend.”                                                   – Theresa Lee, EWU McNair Alumna

Theresa was accepted to 5 graduate programs and is currently attending the Bowling Green State University Sociology PhD Program with full funding. She relayed to Dr. Upton that grad school was hard but going well and she was deeply grateful for the preparation she had at EWU, especially through the McNair program and Dr. Upton’s mentorship. In fact, one of her professors at BGSU told her that they were impressed with her level of preparedness.

 

Dr. Upton also mentored Alexandria Coronado who was accepted to three graduate programs and is currently attending the University of Alabama’s Political Science PhD Program with full funding. Clearly Dr. Upton’s mentorship has had a powerful impact on both of these students and made a significant contribution to their competitiveness as PhD applicants. She is passionate about teaching research and service. When asked about what her experience as a mentor was like, she said,

It was a really rewarding experience to talk through scholar’s ideas once a week and facilitate their first foray into research.” - Dr. Lindsey Upton

McNair faculty mentors formally take on their mentorship in the spring supporting students as they hone in on their research topic and methodology. Then, they meet regularly with them throughout the summer as the students conduct this research and work on a high-level research paper they can submit as an example of writing for graduate school applications. The depth and rigor of this research is what helped Theresa be so well prepared.

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee presents her research poster with Mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton at the American Society for Criminology Conference in 2019.
EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee presents her research poster with Mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton at the American Society for Criminology Conference in 2019.

Dr. Upton’s favorite memory of mentoring was going to the American Society of Criminology Conference with Theresa. She remembered her own first experience at a conference and how she caught the bug for research there. It was incredibly rewarding to see her scholar have that same experience and excitement as a first-generation college student. While McNair encourages and pays for students to attend conferences, not all students and mentors take up this opportunity. Fortunately, Dr. Upton helped Theresa know about and participate in this conference.

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee and her mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton take a walking tour of San Francisco on their trip to the American Society of Criminology Conference.
EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee and her mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton take a walking tour of San Francisco on their trip to the American Society of Criminology Conference.

Theresa agreed that it was momentous:

The time I spent at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference was incredible! I attended multiple university socials and was able to converse with professors and graduate students about life at their university and research opportunities. It was interesting and helpful for me to see how professionals in the field conduct, investigate, and present their research. All in all, this experience was life changing and unbelievably enjoyable.”                    – EWU McNair Alumna Theresa Lee

Dr. Upton recognizes that mentoring is a commitment, but she said it was a reasonable one and the benefits are high. She indicated your main role as a mentor is to facilitate the experience. You spend about one hour a week with scholars most weeks and then a few times more than that, such as to help with a particular part of data analysis that an undergrad might not know how to do yet. Further, she noted that McNair really works to prepare students for research, academic writing, and graduate level engagement and skills. Students came to her with questions and information and took an active role in their research. McNair also provides funds for students to travel to conferences and to purchase research supplies.

McNair does a really excellent job on guiding the students through research. Students would bring such amazing questions to their meetings, questions that got deeper and deeper, and this really prepares them for the research and for graduate school. It really is a great partnership between faculty and McNair. Students would constantly reflect back and what a positive experience they were having with McNair.”                                   – Dr. Lindsey Upton

McNair is grateful to Dr. Upton and all of our McNair faculty mentors. Without them, the program couldn’t run. They provide critical support and guidance for students as they grow their research skills. Moreover, it’s this research experience that allows many of our McNair Scholars to go straight from their undergraduate degree to a PhD program. In addition, McNair mentors often are able to find the perfect students for the program. As soon as I reached out to Dr. Upton about recruiting a new cohort of scholars she immediately said she had a few students she would encourage to participate as well as invited us to provide a promotional video and flyer she could share in her current online course. This kind of engagement is why the EWU McNair program remains strong regardless of the pandemic. This last year, even with scholars being 100% virtual for their McNair experience, we had 13 scholars apply to graduate school who collectively received 36 acceptances, many of which included funding.

 

This year, EWU McNair is recruiting for as many as 19 new scholars. If you are a student and you’re interested in graduate school, please complete our eligibility questionnaire or just stop in Monroe 107 and say hello! If you are faculty and would like to get involved, please nominate a student and send them our way, or email us. The success of McNair, reflected by our 41 (and growing!) scholars who’ve already attained their PhD’s, really does take a partnership between faculty, McNair, and the scholars themselves.

EWU McNair Scholar Alexis Guizar-Diaz Awarded Resident Assistantship at PSU

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Alexis Guizar Diaz Fellowship Award 2021

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Alexis Lisandro Guizar-Diaz. Alexis has been awarded a Resident Assistantship at Portland State University with full funding. He was accepted to the Sociology PhD program at Portland Statue University and started there in the fall of 2022.

 

Alexis graduated this spring with a major in Sociology and a minor in Philosophy. His key research interests are political economy, rural & agrarian communities, and Latina/o/x populations. He is a member of the American Sociological Association and the Co-Chairman of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán. Last year he received a Orlinda H. (Rogel) Luiten Scholarship. He was also a recipient of a 2020 Eastern Washington University Summer Research Internship through the McNair Scholars Program. For this Alexis conducted research in Washington’s Columbia Basin under the mentorship of Dr. Edwin Elias from the EWU Department of Race and Culture Studies, culminating in his paper Indentured Servitude in the 21st Century? A Case Study on Agricultural Labor Employment in the Columbia Basin. He has continued to do research throughout the 2020-2021 school year on Designing Positive Workplace Interventions for Washington Farmworker: Listening to Farmworkers Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Click here to read more about Alexis and his research.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Alexis and we know he'll do amazing things at whichever graduate program he decides to attend!

Meet Social Justice in Research Panelist – EWU McNair Alumna Dr. Yvonne Sherwood

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Dr. Yvonne Sherwood Social Justice Panel 2021

We are honored to have EWU McNair Alumna Dr. Yvonne Sherwood, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, joining us for our "Social Justice in Research" Plenary Session on June 2, at 9 am (register for free here). Dr. Sherwood will join 3 other EWU McNair alumni in this panel preceding the EWU Online Symposium, a collaboration between McNair and CSTEM. In addition to her role as an Assistant Professor, Dr. Sherwood is an incoming committee member of the Canadian Sociological Association Decolonization Subcommittee and a member of UTM's Vice President & Principal's Indigenous Initiative working group. She earned her PhD in Sociology with a designated emphasis in feminist studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Sherwood graduated from EWU in 2011 with a double major in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies, with minors in American Indian Studies and Chicanx Studies, which she notes as important studies that continue to inform her research. Below is an interview with Dr. Sherwood about what she's doing now and some of her thoughts on social justice and research.

Our Interview with Dr. Yvonne Sherwood:

What work are you doing now?

My days are filled with writing and research. In sociology, I teach Indigenous Peoples: Legal Orders and Law and Indigenous Rights, Resistance, and Resurgence. My research focuses on Indigenous Feminisms, Settler Colonialism, Sovereignty, and Anti-Colonial Movements."

What does “Social Justice in Research” mean to you?

Starts with the fundamental recognition that all knowledge production is political, and therefore no science is "objective" and "pure."  From there, "justice" is grounded in and through our relations and responsibilities to our relatives - both human and more-than-human."

How did your undergraduate research experience prepare you for the next steps you have taken?

Though my work continues to change and develop with my understanding of the evolving socio-political context and research, I think a great deal of my work remains tethered to questions that I began asking before I was ever an official student in a university. These are questions like, Why is the environment (land, air, and water) so degraded in our communities? Why do we experience so much violence in our homes and neighborhoods? Why are "we" (Indigenous Peoples) statistically more likely to experience "x, y, and z" in our lives? What can I do about it? As a feminist and sociologist, I've learned these questions are fundamentally about power. My undergraduate research helped me to learn that power shapes the questions we ask, the resources put forward to address particular questions, and who gets to then answer those questions. I have continued to keep this in mind in both my own scholarship and mentoring."

What advice would you give to an undergraduate researcher?

Read: Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide by Torie Weiston-Serdan. Find strength in knowing you (and your community) are not the deficit despite that much of the dominant narrative places us (marginalized and racialized communities) as needing to be "saved" by schooling and mentorship. You are our strength. Trust yourself and trust your network."

What advice would you give to an undergraduate faculty research mentor?

Read: Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide by Torie Weiston-Serdan. This is a practical guide on how to best support young scholars and join the next generation of scientists rallying for change."

Click here to register for the free "Social Justice in Research" panel on June 2nd at 9 am!

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee Accepted by Sixth Graduate Program

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Theresa Lee Graduate School Acceptances 2021 DEN

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee! Theresa has been accepted by the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies in the their Masters of Public Policy program. This includes a prestigious Faculty Recognition Scholarship which were only awarded to a select few Masters students. Theresa has already been accepted by five other programs: the Sociology PhD Program at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, the Criminology, Law, and Justice Masters Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Criminology and Criminal Justice PhD Program at the University of South Carolina, the Sociology PhD program at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, and the Sociology PhD at Bowling Greene State University with full funding. Theresa researches incarceration, recidivism and community reentry with a particular interest in unforeseen consequences of incarceration. Through her two EWU McNair Summer Research Internships (2019, 2020) she worked with her mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton to complete her research: Prisoner Reentry: College Perceptions of Reentry Barriers in a Northwest Community. She went on to present 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 graduate program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Theresa or her research.