Honors

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

07/15/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations 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!

Bakima Ssebanakitta Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

07/01/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to new McNair Scholar Bakima Ssebanakitta! Bakima 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.

Bakima Ssebanakitta is an undergraduate at Eastern Washington University, majoring in Psychology through the Honors Program. Ssebanakitta has seven years of experience in professional life coaching, mediation, and end-of-life facilitation applications. Pursuing a path towards a PhD in Psychology, Ssebanakitta plans to expand into tenured professorship and private counseling practice. In counseling, her aim is to educate clients on self-advocacy and somatic approaches to healing. She hopes her research and creative writing background will merge valid academic knowledge into the public sphere, culminating in an actionable book for humanity. Currently, Ssebanakitta is focusing research pursuits in the quantitative relationships between stress and resiliency under the mentorship of Dr. Jillene Seiver. Future research interests include the cause of motivation, grief navigation, equitable societal applications, and grief scale creation.

We look forward to accompanying Bakima as her research unfolds!

EWU McNair Orientation: Honors Program

10/27/2021 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

McNair will be holding an orientation meeting for students in EWU's Honors Program on Wednesday November 3 at 3pm, in our offices at 107 Monroe Hall.

The EWU TRIO McNair Scholar Program is seeking students who would like to do a summer research internship guided by a Faculty Mentor and attend graduate school after graduation! The federally-funded TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program at EWU supports first-generation and low-income and/or racially under-represented students in higher education who want to go on to get their PhD. McNair provides coaching and academic support to prepare students for graduate school and to complete competitive grad school applications, including a paid summer research internship! Each fall McNair seeks sophomores and juniors (and maybe seniors - ask us!) to join the McNair family so we can help you achieve your dreams.

We'd love to offer specialized orientation sessions to other departments and campus organizations - please get in touch with questions or requests by emailing Bryn Tennyson at btennyson1@ewu.edu

Students who can't make this orientation session can schedule a one-on-one appointment, in person or on Zoom, or just stop by our offices at 107 Monroe Hall any time Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. See you soon!

Ready to apply? Just click here to get started! > McNair Eligibility Questionnaire

McNair Orientation, Honors Edition, November 3 at 3pm, 107 Monroe Hall, EWU

EWU McNair Scholar Lizeth Bañuelos Awarded Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student Award

10/18/2021 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Lizeth Bañuelos! In Spring 2021, Lizeth was selected to receive the Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student Award. This award is presented to exceptional students who have shown a commitment to their education by demonstrating outstanding academic achievement with a minimum of a 3.75 GPA in their previous four quarters and through leadership and service to the community.

Lizeth Bañuelos graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a major in Applied Developmental Psychology and two minors, one in Race and Culture Studies, the other in Chicana/o/x Studies. Her research interests surround the psychology of the Latinx community and discovering best practices for serving underserved populations. Lizeth completed an EWU McNair Summer Research Institute in the summer of 2020 under the mentorship of Dr. Aryn Ziehnert, Lecturer in the EWU Psychology Department. For this she focused on Latinx college students and their mental health in higher education institutions. She went on to collaborate with Dra. Christina Torres García in coordination with the Pell Institute and the Council for Opportunity in Education, to research first-generation, low-income students' challenges and obstacles during the COVID-19 and how this affects their college aspirations.

Lizeth was accepted into the Master's Program in Counseling at California State University Bakersfield, the Master's Program in Counseling at City University, and Master's Program in Counseling at Arizona State University, where she is now studying.

EWU McNair Scholar Lizeth Bañuelos Awarded Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student Award