Monique Tori Castellanos
![Monique Castellanos Portrait](https://in.ewu.edu/mcnair/wp-content/uploads/sites/131/2024/04/Monique-Castellanos-Portrait.jpeg)
Monique Tori Castellanos is a Mexican-American first generation student at Eastern Washington University. She is on a STEM track to pursue a major in forensic science, and currently holds a minor in Spanish. Her past experiences in her field include working in a plant pathology lab by looking at viruses and bacteria within soil and plants at a microscopic level, and working at a covid testing site dealing with hazardous biological waste. Monique Tori is a past selected member of the Math, Engineering, Science, Achievement Program (MESA) at Columbia Basin College. MESA provides support for underrepresented students pursuing a degree in STEM.
Monique was accepted as a McNair Scholar in winter of 2023. Monique is passionate about representation within her field, and expressing herself with color. She loves to spend any extra time she has thrifting, cooking with her abuela, and exploring Spokane.
![](https://in.ewu.edu/mcnair/wp-content/uploads/sites/131/2024/05/Monique-Castellanos-Mcnair-Summer-Research-Internship-Award-Summer-2024-scaled.jpg)