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.
