Uncategorized
EWU College of Social Sciences Honors Six EWU McNair Scholars

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 Marixza Torres Accepted into Additional PhD Program

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!
EWU McNair Scholar Miriam Carlson Accepted to Gonzaga’s Education Specialist in School Psychology Program

Congratulations EWU McNair Scholar Miriam Carlson! Miriam has been accepted to Gonzaga University's Education Specialist in School Psychology Program. Miriam Carlson is a senior working to attain a BS in Applied Developmental Psychology, a BA in Psychology, and a minor in Communications. For her McNair Summer Research Internship in 2019, under the mentorship of Dr. Aryn Ziehnert, she focused on the cognitive appraisal of nontraditional students. Her research was accepted into the Western Psychological Association (WPA) conference, which will be taking place in San Francisco this fall. She has continued to participate in research with Dr. Ziehnert throughout the 2019-2020 school year and is also a research member in Dr. Charalambos C. Cleanthous' lab. To learn more about Miriam and her research, check out her page on our website.
We're so excited for your next steps Miriam!
EWU McNair STEM GSA Accepted into Immunology and Infectious Disease PhD Program at WSU

Congratulations EWU McNair STEM GSA Brandon Flatgard! Brandon was accepted to the Immunology and Infectious Disease PhD program at Washington State University. Brandon has a BA in Biology from Gonzaga University and is currently a graduate student in Biology at EWU mentored by Dr. Andrea Castillo. His current research is focused on post-transcriptional regulation of clinically relevant strains of Helicobacter pylori. He is interested host-pathogen relationships, synthetic biology, and experimental therapeutics. To learn more about Brandon, check out our "Contact Us" page on the EWU McNair website.
We're so excited for you Brandon!
EWU McNair Scholar Marixza Torres Accepted into PhD and Masters Programs

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Marixza Torres! Marixza has been accepted into the PhD program 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!