Madelyn Brown

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!

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Madelyn Brown! Madelyn has been selected to receive the Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student Award for the College of Social Sciences, History. 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. Madelyn is a member of the Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society, the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and the Native American Student Association at EWU. She also created an exhibit for the Joel E. Ferris Research Archives at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane. In high school Madelyn volunteered at her local library as a member of their Teen Advisory Board, participated in clothing and food drives, and volunteered with Northwest Harvest and the Seattle Homeless Coalition.

Beyond her exceptional community involvement, Madelyn is an amazing scholar. She is a senior at EWU pursuing a major in History with an emphasis on American Indian Studies. In 2018 Madelyn was awarded the Gingolyx Village Government scholarship for academic excellence. As a McNair Scholar, Madelyn has committed to attaining her Ph.D. To prepare for this, she completed a summer research internship at EWU under the mentorship of Dr. Christina Torres García and PhD candidate SimHayKin S. Jack, an alumni of the EWU McNair Scholars Program. Madelyn's research focuses on Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and it's historical influence on ecological care techniques utilized by Northwest tribal communities. She has published two articles in the Spokane Historical, a web and mobile platform for telling stories of Spokane and Eastern Washington and a project of the Public History program at Eastern Washington University. To read more about Madelyn and her research check out her webpage on the McNair site.

Madelyn has been accepted into 7 Masters programs: the MA program in Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies at Trent University, the Masters of History program at George Mason University, the American Indian Studies Masters program at Arizona State University, the Masters of History program at Western University in Canada, the Masters of History program at Washington State University, the Masters of History program at the University of Oregon, and the Masters of History program at Claremont Graduate University! She was offer funding at 4 of these universities, and full funding in most cases. Madelyn plans to attend the University of Oregon in the fall of 2020.

In response to receiving this award, Madelyn said, "I would like to thank the History department and the EWU McNair Scholars program for their encouragement, particularly Dr. Ann Le Bar, Dr. Christina Torres García, Dr. Nydia Martinez, and Dr. Bill Youngs." McNair is so proud of Madelyn and all of her hard work. We know she will have a continued powerful impact on academia and in her communities as she pursues a graduate education and beyond!