Spring Gathering 2021

Trio McNair Scholar Program

EWU McNair Spring Celebration 2021

While we cannot meet in person to congratulate our students and faculty for all of their hard work, we wanted to celebrate it here. Thank you to everyone who makes EWU McNair possible: faculty mentors, students, the selection committee, McNair staff, and of course our students and their families!

2021 Graduating McNair Scholars

Mori Williams

Mori Starr graduated from Eastern Washington University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Chemistry and a minor in Japanese. He worked in the Organic Chemistry lab, which involved saponification, NMR readings, and reflux methods. For his 2020 EWU McNair Research Internship, he worked with Dr. Camille McNeely in … Read more

Hope Sands

Hope Sands graduated in 2021 with a major in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology and Artifact Conservation, as well as a major in Philosophy. As an Honors student and a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi, honor societies at EWU, Hope was selected to present at the Western Regional Honors Conference … Read more

Sami Sanchez-Garcia

Samantha Sanchez-Garcia graduated from Eastern Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with an emphasis in communication, sociology, and industrial/ organizational psychology. She participated in Eastern’s Inclusion and Diversity certificate program and was co-president of Psi Chi, an international honor society in psychology. Samantha was a research assistant in Dr. Jillene Seiver’s clinical … Read more

Zoë Romero

Zoë Romero Becker graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a Literacy Education and Mathematics Education double major. She also pursued courses in the English as a Second Language program. Through the TESOL program, Zoë has studied abroad in Passau, Germany and in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she volunteered as a teacher’s assistant in an … Read more

Rachael Pentico

Rachael Pentico graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a BS in Biology. Previously, she spent time at Spokane Falls Community College where she focused on economics, with an emphasis on environmental policy. Her research interests focus on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She wants her education … Read more

Aulane Mpouli

Aulane Mpouli graduated from Eastern Washington University in spring 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Her research interests include analytics, biological chemistry, and catalysis, and at EWU, Aulane worked on a biochemical research project analyzing the successful ways in which the substrate Inosine Triphosphate (ITP) binds to the enzyme Inosine Triphosphatase in order for … Read more

Alexis Guizar-Diaz

Alexis Lisandro Guizar-Diaz graduated in the spring of 2021 with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Philosophy. His key research interests are political economy, rural & agrarian communities, and Latina/o/x populations. He is a member of the American Sociological Association and a recipient of a 2020 Eastern Washington University Summer Research Internship through … Read more

Alexandria Coronado

Alexandria Belen Coronado graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a major in Political Science and an emphasis in Pre-Law with a minor in Anthropology. Prior to attending EWU, she graduated from Columbia Basin College with an Associate of Arts degree. She was involved in the Honors Program at EWU as well as the … Read more

Gloria Bravo

Gloria D. Bravo graduated in 2022 from Eastern Washington University with an International Affairs major with a socio-economic concentration, as well as minors in Chicano Studies and Spanish. Gloria is a first-generation student originally from Brewster, WA, where she obtained her Associate of Arts and Sciences from Wenatchee Valley Community College. Gloria’s research is centered … Read more

Lizeth Banuelos

Lizeth Bañuelos graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a majori 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 … Read more

Analisea Araya

Analisea Araya graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2022 with a major in philosophy. She is interested in various philosophical fields, including social and political philosophy, feminist philosophy, philosophy of education, and philosophy for children. As a research scholar, Analisea is interested in the way women’s voices have been left out of the western canon and … Read more

Wendolyn Martinez

Wendolyn Martinez graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a double major in Political Science and International Affairs. In her 2019 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, under the mentorship of Dr. Dorothy Zielser-Vralsted, Wendolyn studied interwar propaganda within the US and USSR relating to public works projects. Then in the fall of 2019 she … Read more

Theresa Lee

Theresa Lee graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a Major in Criminal Justice, a second major in Psychology, and a minor in sociology. She is interested in studying reentry challenges faced by convicted offenders (see more on her research below). She presented a poster of her research at the American Society of Criminology … Read more

Darlene Gilroy

Darlene Gilroy graduated from Eastern Washington University in summer 2021 with a bachelor of science degree in Geology. At EWU with the guidance of mentor Dr. Carmen Nezat, she worked on an independent research project investigating the chemical weathering of volcanic sediments (see research below), presenting this project at the 2019 Murdock College Science Research … Read more

Malachi Chukwu

Malachi Chukwu graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2021 with a major in International Affairs with an emphasis on global security processes as well as a major in Political Science and a minor in Economics. Prior to becoming a student at EWU, he graduated with an Associate of Art degree at Spokane Community College in … Read more

2021 Graduate School Acceptances

2021 New and Continuing EWU McNair Scholars

Ashley Destin

By Flatgard, Brandon | 04/06/2020

Ashley Destin graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2022 with a major in Biology. Her passion is animal care with a focus on domestic house cats. In the past, she volunteered in a small veterinarian clinic, working closely with surgeries and animal husbandry. Dr. Judd Case mentored Ashley for both of her Summer Research Internships … Read more

Lucia Roussa

By Tennyson, Bryn | 04/07/2021

Lucia Roussa graduated from Eastern Washington University with a dual major in Environmental Science and Biology. Her research interests include phycology, marine microbiology, and conservation science in coastal marine ecosystems. In 2020, Lucia was selected as a TLES Scholars Award recipient. In 2021 she completed an internship at the University of Washington with the Cooperative … Read more

Seth McCullough

By Tennyson, Bryn | 04/07/2021

Seth McCullough graduated from Eastern Washington University with a double major in Environmental Science and Biology. Growing up in Tennessee, he spent a lot of time in the woods, which sparked his interest in the outdoors and in learning how ecological communities influence one another. Scuba diving further focused his interests on marine life and … Read more

Darlynne Khayesi

By Tennyson, Bryn | 04/16/2021

Darlynne (Dasha) Khayesi graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2022, with a major in Applied Developmental Psychology and a minor in Communications Studies as well as Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. She will be the first generation in her family to complete a bachelor’s degree. She hopes to go on to work in the counseling … Read more

Christina Hudson

By Tennyson, Bryn | 04/16/2021

Christina M. Hudson is a first-generation student who graduated from Eastern Washington University with a double major in English Studies and Africana Studies, and a minor in Religious Studies. She earned her associate degree at Spokane Falls Community College, before transferring to EWU in 2020. She is interested in decolonizing religious studies, focusing on ancient … Read more

Ian Campuzano

By Tennyson, Bryn | 04/16/2021

Ian Campuzano will be graduating Eastern Washington University in the Spring of 2023, double majoring in Psychology and Health Psychology. Ian is an active member of the Psi Chi International Honor society. He is interested in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology. For his 2021 McNair Summer Research internship, under the mentorship of Dr. Jillene Seiver, he … Read more

Nyibol Thareek

By Tennyson, Bryn | 04/16/2021

Nyibol Thareek is a scholar and a track and field athlete majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Biology at Eastern Washington University. Her primary research interests is in applied mathematics studying complex systems and dynamics arising in various biological phenomena. Through the EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, Nyibol worked with her mentor Associate Professor of … Read more

2020-2021 EWU Alumni News & Accomplishments

EWU McNair Alumna Angélica García-Macías Accorded Ford Fellowship Honorable Mention

By Jaeger, Corinne | 04/13/2021

EWU McNair Alumna Marixza Torres Awarded National Science Foundation Fellowship

By Jaeger, Corinne | 04/08/2021

Congratulations to Eastern McNair alum, Dr. Frank King, promoted to Associate Professor in Ethnic Studies at UW-Platteville, and also appointed to Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Special Assistant to the Chief Diversity Office

By Dukich, Cynthia | 03/18/2021

Christina Ramelow — EWU McNair alum, recent EWU Biology Master’s graduate and current neuroscience PhD student at Emory — publishes research with Dr. Javier Ochoa in Frontiers in Immunology

By Dukich, Cynthia | 03/09/2021

EWU McNair alum Dr. Laura Zamudio earns PhD; Serving as Winter/Spring 2020 Eastern McNair Interim Academic Advisor before joining Heritage University as an Assistant Professor of Math and McNair Program Coordinator

By Dukich, Cynthia | 12/06/2020

Congratulations to EWU McNair alum Dr. Lateasha Meyers for completing her PhD from Miami University and beginning a new position as STEM Student Support Services Coordinator at WSU!

By Dukich, Cynthia | 12/06/2020

Congratulations to EWU McNair biology alumn Dr. Cheryl Dykstra-Aiello for her publication in Frontiers of Neurology

By Dukich, Cynthia | 10/28/2020

EWU McNair and Research Transform Students Lives!

By Garcia, Christina | 10/01/2020

Christina Ramelow, MS, Eastern McNair alum, and first year neuroscience PhD student in Emory University, teaches Summer 2020 Zoom Seminars for McNair Research Interns

By Dukich, Cynthia | 08/01/2020

Isaura Gallegos — EWU McNair biology alum, Master’s of Science in Genetics and Cell Biology at WSU, and current PhD candidate in Harvard’s School of Education — facilitates Summer 2020 Zoom seminar for McNair

By Dukich, Cynthia | 08/01/2020

EWU McNair and our scholars rely on the exceptional support from EWU McNair faculty mentors. Mentors start meeting regularly with students in the spring to get to know them and provide them guidance on beginning the research process, including recommending articles and planning surveys and IRBs. Next, they work with students directly on their research projects for the summer quarter. This may be field or lab work, surveys, interviews, and/or additional reading. Mentors then continue their guidance into the fall, sometimes in additional ongoing research or on completion of the research projects that take longer than just the summer, as well as through the application process. Finally, mentors write the most important letters of recommendation in the student's graduate school applications.

 

A huge thank you to all of our mentors!

 

2019-2021 Mentors: (from left to right, row by row) Dr. Jillene Seiver, Dr. Brian G. Buchanan, Dr. Michael Winer, Dr. Rebecca Brown, Dr. Yao Houndonougbo, Dr. Susan Ruby, Dr. Edwin Elias, Dr. Judd Case, Dr. Kevin Decker, Dr. Okera Nsombi, Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted, Dr. Lindsey Upton, Dr. Carmen Nezat, Dr. Majid Sharifi, Dr. Gina Mikel Pitrie, Dr. Camille McNeely, Dr. Jacqueline Coomes, Dr. Aryn Ziehnert

Thank you so much to our McNair advisory committee! These faculty provide support and guidance to EWU McNair throughout year. One of their significant roles in this regard is the selection of new McNair Scholars. Each fall EWU McNair recruits students who are interested in becoming a McNair Scholar. Then applications are reviewed by the committee, which consists of EWU professors who volunteer their time. This year's committee consisted of Dr. Judd Case and Dr. Margaret O'Connell from the Biology department, Dr. Miguel Novella and Dr. Martin Meráz-García from the Chicana/o/x studies program, Dr. Stephen Tsikalas from the Geology department, and Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart from the Psychology department. EWU McNair extends a huge thank you to this committee. Our work would not be possible without you.

Row One Above: Dr. Judd Case, Dr. Margaret O'Connell, Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart

Row Two Above: Dr. Stephen Tsikalas, Dr. Miguel Novella, Dr. Martin Meráz-García

Past Spring Gatherings

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