2017-2018 Cohort

EWU McNair and Research Transform Students Lives!

10/01/2020 by Garcia, Christina Leave a Comment

Dear EWU & TRIO Community and Students,

I am sure you remember our EWU McNair scholar Marixza Torres, a Frances B Huston Medallion recipient, who was accepted into the University of California, Irvin's Ph.D. program in Human Development in Context (HDiC), fully funded! She also was accorded an Honorable Mention in the 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program competition for her research proposal's intellectual merit and potential broader impacts. She is doing excellent at UCI beginning the first semester of her Ph.D. program and would like to share a few words on how EWU's TRIO McNair Program assisted in accomplishing her academic goals.

TRiO’s McNair has expanded my life opportunities and has given me the tools to enact change in my community. As a Mexican American and first-generation student, I began my academic journey feeling like I did not know enough about my community to make lasting change towards social justice. That quickly changed...When I found out about the McNair Scholars Program, I knew little about graduate school and felt as though my limited academic exposure did not compare to other scholars in my field of psychology.

During the McNair Program, Marixza worked on three research projects. First, she conducted research on Latinx families with autistic children, shedding light on the unique challenges that they face due to numerous barriers in health care services, including the limited language translation and limited culturally competent personnel. Guided by her mentor Dr. Christina Torres Garcia, she utilized three surveys including the Family Needs Survey, Caring for My Child Survey and the Bias and Cultural Competence Survey. This research assists in filling the gap in the literature regarding Latinx families with autistic children in the Pacific Northwest. During the academic year, Marixza worked with Dr. Theresa Martin analyzing the relationship between family communication in college and prosocial values exploring the influence of these on academic achievement. In 2019, through a Summer Research Opportunities Program at the University of Notre Dame, Marixza examined the relationship between adolescent adjustment, dimensions of parenting, and work orientation guided by Dr. Dawn M. Gondoli. Marixza described how the culmination of all these experiences transformed her life:

The program’s ability to empower marginalized students gave me the confidence to address my imposter syndrome and continue to build my skills to succeed. After developing research proposals and presenting my work to others, I saw how valuable my perspectives were to making significant contributions to the academic field in Latinx Psychology. With the support of TRiO’s McNair, I developed the expertise I needed to become a doctoral student at the University of California Irvine in the Department of Education and Human Development. This opportunity transformed my life and will allow me to address concerns impacting the Latinx community.

We are so proud of Marixza and all of our EWU McNair Scholars. Since Eastern’s TRIO McNair program was first funded in 1995, 39 EWU McNair Scholars have completed their PhD’s and over 117 have earned Master’s degrees. These amazing individuals are making history and valuable impacts on their communities including teaching future teachers, bringing to light hidden histories, improving health in rural areas, increasing equity and diversity in academia, strengthening mental health care for underserved communities, and supporting McNair programs at other institutions.

Faculty and staff, if you have students in your class who are interested to conduct research and attend graduate school, please send them to our website! Students, if you want to make a difference in your communities or learn more about the EWU McNair program, check out our website or check out this eligibility questionnaire!

18 EWU McNair Scholars Present at EWU Virtual Symposium

06/10/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

EWU McNair is proud to announce that 18 EWU McNair Scholars presented at this year’s Virtual Symposium. In the midst of regular reminders of the suffering from COVID-19, in particular its disproportionate effect on communities of color, as well as recent police murders, we hope that lifting up our scholars will continue to support their work and the ultimate goal of McNair – which is to increase diversity in academia. Every McNair Scholar at EWU has powerful story. It is our goal that scholars use their powerful knowledge, experiences, and voices to develop research and actions that contribute to shifts in systemic racism, economic inequality, and overall building a more just world. Read below to learn more about the research presented, including links to each student’s poster or oral presentation. A huge thank you to all of the mentors that helped make this possible. We’re so proud of all of our students’ hard work and look forward another summer research in just a few weeks!

Four of our new scholars presented posters with their research proposals for the summer of 2020. Alexandria Coronado presented, “Research Proposal: Housing and Food Insecurity Among College Students” with the mentorship of Dr. Lindsey Upton. Ashley Destin presented, “Size Scaling in the Skull of North American Felids as Adaptations for Prey Acquisition” with the mentorship of Dr. Judd Case. Aulane Mpouli presented, “Molecular Docking Study of ITPA protein substrate complex” with the mentorship of Dr. Yao Houndonougbo. Hope Sands presented, “Exploring the Archaeological and Geographical Past of Fort Spokane: A Proposal” with the mentorship of Dr. Brian Buchanan.

Meanwhile, four new McNair scholars Analisea Araya, Gloria Bravo, Alexis Guizar-Diaz, and Rachael Pentico presented on completed or ongoing research. Analisea presented, “An Analysis of Early Modern Philosopher Mary Astell and a Critique of the Western Canon” with the mentorship of Dr. Kevin Decker. Gloria presented, “Economic Sanctions Reproduce State Sponsored Repression, Human Rights Violations and Violence: A Case Study of Venezuela” with the mentorship of Dr. Majid Sharifi. Alexis presented on, “Machismo, Marianismo, and The Ethics of Care” with the mentorship of Dr. Mimi Marinucci. He will continue this research in the summer of 2020 with Dr. Edwin Elias. Rachael Pentico presented, “A Review of Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Their Importance For Palouse Prairie Restoration and Management” with the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown.

Four additional continuing McNair scholars presented on their research from their 2019 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship. Darlene Gilroy presented “Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry” in collaboration with Dr. Carmen Nezat. Theresa Lee presented “Understanding Prisoner Reentry: Public Perceptions of Reentry Barriers Among College Students” with the mentorship of Dr. Lindsey Upton. Both Darlene and Theresa have also presented this research at other conferences around the country this last school year. Malachi Chukwu presented “Projects of Economic and Social Development in the Global South: The 20th and 21st-century developmental trends and their impacts” with the mentorship of Dr. Majid Sharifi. And Wendolyn Martinez presented “Propaganda: USSR and US – Comparing Propaganda from the US and USSR Produced for the Advancement of Public Approval for Hydro-projects in the 1930s,” with the mentorship of Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted. Malachi and Wendolyn had hoped to present at a McNair conference in the early spring; however, the conference was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Also, four graduating McNair Scholars presented their current research at the Virtual Symposium. Abdulrazik Mohamed presented “Darfurians in the Diaspora: Perceptions of the Conflict in Darfur, Sudan’s Past and the Future of Darfur Under International Response” with the mentorship of Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted. Abdu has also presented additional research this school year at the Annual International Symposium on Women and Genocide in the 21st Century: The Case of Darfur and the Black Doctoral Network Conference in the fall of 2019. Angélica García-Macías presented “Eat the Poor” under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Hawley. Last academic year, Angélica presented research from her work with EWU McNair Mentor Dr. Martín Meráz García at several conferences as well as her research with Dr. Charles Stewart III at MIT at an MIT symposium last summer. Madelyn Brown presented “Maintaining Our Land: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wildfire Prevention” with the mentorship of Dr. Christina Torres García and PhD candidate SimHayKin S. Jack. Rachel Silverthorn presented “Gender differences in confidence in jury decision making” under the mentorship of Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart. She also presented this research at the 31st Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention. Washington, D.C. in 2019. All four of these scholars will attend Masters or PhD programs in the fall of 2020!

Finally, two EWU McNair Alumni, current EWU graduate students, also presented their current research. Christina Ramelow presented “Oral Farnesol Administration Protects Against Inflammatory Demyelination,” research done with mentorship from Dr. Javier Ochoa-Reparaz and in collaboration with multiple other graduate students and faculty. Veronica Albrecht presented “Characterizing Two cagPAI Located Small RNAs in Helicobacter pylori” in collaboration with Dr. Andrea Castillo and “Gene Expression Regulation of sRNA Hpnc2525 in the Clinically Relevant Helicobacter pylori cagPAI Genomic Region” in collaboration with EWU McNair STEM GSA and fellow graduate student Brandon Flatgard, under the mentorship of Dr. Andrea Castillo. Christina and Veronica will both attend fully funded PhD programs in the fall of 2020.

To learn more about our new and continuing scholars and all the other amazing work and presentations they have done, check out our Spring Gathering page celebrating scholars, mentors, and alumni. EWU McNair is incredibly proud of the hard work of all of our scholars and we look forward to seeing their research impact higher education and the wider world.

EWU McNair Scholar Abdulrazik Mohamed Awarded Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student Award

05/20/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Abdulrazik Mohamed! Abdu has been selected to receive the Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student Award for the College of Social Sciences, International Affairs. 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. Abdu is the founder and president of the International Affairs Community club at EWU. He is the Chapter Vice President for the National Society of Leadership and Success where he helps support new members and train them on leadership skills. Outside of school, Abdu works with refugee youth who do not have families or parents in the U.S. For the last three years he has helped teach them independent living skills they need to navigate the US such as homework, cooking, transportation, and job searching. In addition, he's volunteered for World Relief, Habitat for Humanity, and for the Mobile Food Bank.

Beyond his exceptional community involvement, Abdu is a brilliant, hard working scholar. He is a senior at EWU majoring in International Affairs. Throughout his time at Eastern, Abdu has received the Clarence and Elizabeth Wynia Scholarship, the Robert and Randi Neilson Scholarship, two EWU McNair Summer Research Internships, and the Excellent Student Leader Award from the Department of Political Science and International Affairs. He has also been invited to lecture in several classes on his research on Darfur, refugee resettlement, and life in refugee camps.

As a McNair Scholar, Abdu has committed to attaining a Ph.D. To prepare for this, he completed two summers of research internships at EWU under the mentorship of Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted. Abdu's research focuses on the conflict in Darfur and perceptions of that conflict. He has presented his research at multiple conferences including the 8th Annual International Symposium on Women and Genocide in the 21st Century: The case for Darfur and the Black Doctoral Network Conference, where he received an honorable mention for his poster presentation. To read more about Abdu and his research check out his webpage on the McNair site.

Abdu has been accepted into the Masters in Global Governance, Politics, and Security at American University, the Masters in Peace and Justice Studies at San Diego University, the Masters of International Affairs program at Penn State University, and the International Relations PhD program at Florida International University with full funding. Penn State awarded Abdu a Director Scholarship providing significant funding for two years. Moreover, Abdu was selected for a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, this provides funds to help cover institutional costs and a subsistence allowance, which Abdu can take to any university! Abdu plans to attend Florida International University in the fall of 2020.

McNair is so proud of Abdu and all of his hard work. We know he will have a continued powerful impact on academia and on the global community as he pursues a graduate education and beyond!

EWU College of Social Sciences Honors Six EWU McNair Scholars

05/20/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Six fantastic EWU McNair Scholars receive highest awards from the College of Social Sciences at EWU.

This spring, the Eastern Washington University College of Social Sciences has selected six EWU McNair Scholars for some of their highest awards. The Frances B. Huston Medallion Award is presented to only 20 graduating students each year who have a strong academic record and have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities at Eastern and in the community. EWU McNair Scholars Angélica García-Macías (Political Science), Miriam Carlson (Psychology), and Marixza Torres (Psychology) all received this award. The Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student Award for the College of Social Sciences 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. The College of Social Sciences selected EWU McNair Scholars Madelyn Brown (History), Lily Ann Long (Psychology) and Abdulrazik Mohamed (International Affairs) for this award.

Not only do these awards acknowledge the hard work of each of these students, they also exemplify the power of collaboration, mentorship, and student support by EWU faculty and staff. Each year the EWU McNair Program recruits promising scholars and engages them in year round learning on research, writing, and preparation for graduate school. Each EWU McNair Scholar is paired with a faculty mentor who guides them through the research process. EWU McNair Faculty Mentors meet as often as weekly with their mentees throughout spring and summer quarters culminating in a research paper. EWU McNair Scholars then present this research at the EWU Symposium as well as at academic conferences around the nation. For example, Miriam Carlson will present her research, completed under the mentorship of Dr. Aryn Zeihnert, at the upcoming Western Psychological Association conference in October 2020. Marixza Torres has presented her EWU research, under the mentorship of McNair Director Dr. Christina Torres García, at the Western Psychological Association conference and the National Latinx Psychological Association conference. Marixza has also been mentored year round by Dr. Theresa Martin. Other mentors for this group of scholars include: Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted (Abdu), Dr. Aryn Zeihnert (Lily Ann), Dr. Martín Meráz García (Angélica), and Lecturer SimHayKin S. Jack along with Dr. Christina Torres García (Madelyn), and there are countless other College of Social Sciences faculty and staff that support McNair students at present and in past years. In addition to these formal faculty mentorships, many professors do additional year round support for students, by having them join their research labs, TA, and just everyday care, engagement, and guidance.

McNair also provides year round support for students including tutoring, linking students to services and resources, and regular one-on-one meetings for connection, encouragement, and advice. EWU McNair makes sure students have the tool they need to navigate higher education, successfully apply to graduate school and research internships, and negotiate funding and final decisions for which graduate schools they will attend.

McNair is a federally funded program that helps low-income first generation colleges students and those else wise underrepresented in higher education to earn PhD's and increase diversity in academia. EWU's McNair program started in 1995 and, to-date, 40 EWU McNair Scholars have gone on to earn their PhD and over 100 more have attained their Masters degree. This year, twelve graduating EWU McNair Scholars have been accepted to Masters and/or PhD programs, many with full funding. Miriam has been accepted Gonzaga University's Education Specialist in School Psychology program. Lily Ann has been accepted into Point Park University's PsyD Program. Angélica has been accepted at 3 PhD programs with full funding and one Masters program. Marixza has been accepted to 2 PhD programs with full funding and one Masters program. Abdu has been accepted by 3 Masters programs and 1 PhD program with full funding. And Madelyn has been accepted by 7 Masters programs, many of which offered full funding. All are planning to attend graduate school in the fall of 2020. This would not be possible without the incredible support of faculty mentors and partnership with the other colleges at EWU. Thank you to all of our incredible faculty and staff and congratulations to our phenomenal scholars!

EWU McNair Scholar Abdulrazik Mohamed Accepted to PhD Program at FIU

05/18/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Photo of Abdulrazik Mohamed next to text announcing his acceptance to grad school, red confetti in the background

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Abdulrazik Mohamed! Abdu has been accepted into the PhD Program in International Relations at Florida International University with full funding! Abdu has previously been accepted by 3 prior Masters Programs at San Diego University, American University, and Penn State where he also received funding. Abdu is a senior at Eastern Washington University majoring in International Affairs. To prepare for graduate school Abdu completed two summers of research internships through the EWU McNair Program with mentor Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted researching the conflict in Darfur and perceptions of that conflict. He has also presented this research at conferences in 2018 and 2019. To read more about Abdu and his research, check out his page on the EWU McNair website.

We are so proud of Abdu and excited for his next steps towards attaining his PhD!

EWU McNair Scholar Marixza Torres Accepted into Additional PhD Program

05/01/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Photo of Marixza Torres next to red confetti background and white text on red congratulating her.

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Marixza Torres! Marixza has been accepted into the PhD program in Psychology at the University of California, Irvine. This is in addition to prior acceptances to the PhD in Human Development and Family Services at the University of Missouri as well as to the Masters of Social Work program at the University of Texas, Austin. Marixza is a senior at Eastern Washington University majoring in Applied Psychology with a minor in Chicano Studies. To prepare for graduate school Marixza has completed two summers of research internships, one here with the EWU McNair Scholars Program, and the other this last summer at the University of Notre Dame. To read more about Marixza and her research, check out her page on the EWU McNair website.

We are so proud of Marixza and excited for her next steps towards attaining her PhD!