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TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Eastern Washington University

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Palouse Prairie

7 EWU McNair Scholars Participate in Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership, and Advocacy Symposium

04/29/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

UW Gabriel E. Gallardo Conference 2021

EWU McNair Scholars Rachael Pentico, Lizeth Bañuelos, and Malachi Chukwu presented last week at the virtual Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership & Advocacy Symposium hosted by the University of Washington. Four other EWU McNair Scholars attended: Alexandria Coronado, Wendolyn Martinez, Christina Hudson, and Aulane Mpouli. This was the first annual Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership & Advocacy Symposium (GEG Symposium) hosted by the University of Washington’s Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (UW OMA&D). This builds on UW McNair’s 28-year legacy of hosting a Pacific Northwest Undergraduate Research Conference and is intended to honor the legacy of Dr. Gabriel E. Gallardo who passed away last year after a lifetime of service to educational equity, particularly on behalf on TRIO McNair, TRIO-SSS, and CAMP students. This symposium provides an amazing opportunity for undergraduate researchers to meet other scholars and to share their research in a unique, exciting and supportive environment. A huge thank you to EWU McNair Faculty Mentors for encouraging and supporting scholars with their research and presentations! Below are some quotes from our scholars about the value of the experience.

On Attending the Conference:

Attending the conference was such an enriching experience for me. I had the opportunity to meet professors doing work in my area of interest at UW and to make important connections. I would recommend attending conferences to other students because it is an invaluable opportunity to ask questions and do some important networking."

- Christina Hudson, 2021 EWU McNair Scholar

Attending the conference was an insightful and meaningful. I attended: Finding Your Community, Imposter Syndrome, the Student Leadership Panel, Meditation and Stretching, Mental Health in Graduate School, Building Positive Mentoring Relationships, Self-Advocacy and Speaking Up for Yourself, and the Networking Fireside chat with Graduate Students from social sciences. These provided such honesty and great advice to successfully building relationships, your community, and taking care of your mental health."

- Lizeth Bañuelos, 2020 EWU McNair Scholar

On Presenting:

This was the first time that I pre-recorded a poster experience and it was such a great experience. It calmed the nerves I would have had if I presented live. I enjoyed familiarizing myself with this process. Take advantage of these opportunities, they are worth it. The nerves are worth it."

- Lizeth Bañuelos, 2020 EWU McNair Scholar

Check out Our Scholar's Presentations!

EWU McNair Scholar Presentations at the UW Conference:

To watch Lizeth's presentation" First-Generation Latinx Students' Academic Experience: The Role of Institutional Supports During the Pandemic, click here!

 

Click here to see Malachi's poster: Projects of Economic and Social Development in the Global South: The 20th and 21st Century Trends and their Effects.

 

Click here to see Rachael's poster: A Review of Plant Soil Feedbacks and their Importance for Palouse Prairie Restoration and Management.

 

EWU McNair Encourages Scholar Presentations at Conferences

 

EWU McNair encourages all of its scholars to present at conferences such as NCUR to network with those in their field and to build confidence, gain experience, and to strengthen Curriculum Vitae's (CV) for applying to graduate school. In addition to the UW conference, this school year scholars have presented at the Baylor McNair Research Conference, the Murdock College Science Research Conference, and the National Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) Conference. Typically most EWU McNair Scholars also present at the EWU Symposium. Last year we may have set a record with 18 scholars presenting last spring!

 

This year, to ensure our scholars have this opportunity, EWU McNair is partnering with CSTEM at EWU to host a symposium on June 2nd. The symposium will begin with a Social Justice in Research Panel with EWU McNair Alumni at 9 am. Click here to register for the event for free!

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EWU McNair Scholars Lucia Roussa and Mori Williams Present at NCUR

By Jaeger, Corinne | 04/27/2021
Murdock College Science Research Conference 2020

EWU McNair Scholars Present at Murdock College Science Research Conference 2020

By Jaeger, Corinne | 01/27/2021
Nine EWU McNair Scholars Present at Baylor McNair Research Conference

Nine EWU McNair Scholars Present at Baylor McNair Research Conference

By Jaeger, Corinne | 10/09/2020
18 Scholars Present at 2020 Symposium

18 EWU McNair Scholars Present at EWU Virtual Symposium

By Jaeger, Corinne | 06/10/2020
Darlene Gilroy Murdock 2.jpeg

Darlene Gilroy, EWU McNair Scholar and Environmental Geology major, attends prestigious Murdock College Science Research Conference in Vancouver, WA

By Patolo, Najeda | 11/14/2019
Rosa_Baylor

McNair Scholar, Rosa Espinosa Zuniga, presents at Baylor University in Texas

By Patolo, Najeda | 10/09/2019
Abdu Mohammed Visiting Congressional Reps

Abdulrazik Mohammed Travels to DC to Attend the 7th Annual International Symposium on Women and Genocide in the 21st Century: The Case of Darfur

By jlittleton1 | 12/04/2018

 

The EWU McNair staff are proud of all of our scholars for the hard work they've put into their research and sharing that research with the broader community.

Filed Under: 2018-2019 Cohort, 2019-2020 Cohort, 2020-2021 Cohort, 2020-21 Presentations, Africana Studies, Africana Studies, Alexandria Coronado, Aulane Mpouli, Biology, Chemistry, Christina Hudson, English, Environmental Science, International Affairs, Lizeth Banuelos, Malachi Chukwu, Political Science, Psychology, Rachael Pentico, Research, Scholars, Wendolyn Martinez Tagged With: Africana Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Conference Presentation, Dr. Aryn Ziehnert, Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted, Dr. Lindsey Upton, Dr. Majid Sharifi, Dr. Okera Nsombi, Dr. Rebecca Brown, Dr. Yao Houndonougbo, English, Environmental Science, EWU McNair Program, EWU McNair Scholar, International Affairs, Palouse Prairie, Political Science, Presentations, Psychology, Research, Summer Research Internships, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

EWU McNair Scholars Present their STEM Research and Experiences

02/02/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Darlene Geology Presentation 2021

Despite COVID-19, EWU McNair Scholars have persisted through their virtual research internships during the summer of 2020 and now are presenting their research throughout the year. In addition to Ashley Destin and Rachael Pentico presenting at the Murdock College Science Research Conference in the Fall of 2020, three McNair Scholars have presented within their departments at EWU so far in 2021.

 

Darlene Gilroy, a second year EWU McNair Scholar, presented her research on, “Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry," to the Geology Department in early January. Darlene has been mentored by EWU McNair Faculty Mentor Dr. Carmen Nezat for two summers of research. Darlene is currently finishing her senior year at EWU as well as applying to multiple graduate schools across the country.

 

 

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams was recently featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website where he discusses his EWU McNair Summer research in detail. With the support of his EWU McNair Faculty Mentor, Dr. Camille McNeely, Mori took samples at the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to determine concentrations of microcystins from cyanobacteria in wetlands. He is still compiling data and will present his findings this spring at the EWU Symposium. In the video, Mori also discusses his long term goals to become an environmental scientist with an emphasis in toxicology so he can focus on ways to reduce and remove toxins from our waters. Mori has applied to 7 PhD programs and 3 Masters programs and is currently applying for a fellowship.

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Rachael was also featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website and shares great research opportunities where she shares examples of research within the department, including her EWU McNair research project under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown: Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect. Rachael's findings in this project suggest that slope aspect influences plant-soil feedback. This insight can help with invasive species management in endangered ecosystems such as the Palouse Prairie Ecoregion. Rachael is now hard at work completing her graduate school applications to schools across the country!

We're so proud of all of our EWU McNair Scholars. It's been amazing to see how hard they've worked given all the challenges of the last year. We're excited to see where each of them goes next. Keep your eyes on the EWU McNair website and facebook page in the coming months to see as these fantastic scholars get accepted into graduate programs!

Filed Under: 2018-2019 Cohort, 2019-2020 Cohort, 2020-21 Presentations, Biology, Chemistry, Darlene Gilroy, Environmental Science, Geology, McNair Mentors, Mentor, Mori Williams, Rachael Pentico, Research, Scholars Tagged With: Conferences, Dr. Camille McNeely, Dr. Judd A. Case, Dr. Rebecca Brown, EWU McNair Program, EWU McNair Scholar, Mt. St. Helens, Palouse Prairie, Research, STEM, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Completes Summer Research Internship

10/26/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Rachael Pentico Research 2020

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico for completing her EWU McNair Summer Research Internship! Rachael did field research this summer on the Palouse Prairie under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown in the Department of Biology. Rachael presented her preliminary research from Spring 2020, A Review of Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Their Importance For Palouse Prairie Restoration and Management, at the 2020 EWU Virtual Symposium. More recently she presented her summer research Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect at the virtual Baylor McNair Research Conference. Many thanks to Dr. Rebecca Brown for mentoring Rachael in all of these graduate school preparation processes. Read more about Rachael's research on her EWU McNair webpage.

 

Rachael recently completed her application for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and is now hard at work applying to graduate schools around the country. Keep up the amazing work Rachael! EWU McNair is confident that you will succeed in graduate school and beyond.

Filed Under: 2019-2020 Cohort, 2020 Summer McNair Research Internships, Biology, Rachael Pentico, Research, Scholars Tagged With: Biology, Dr. Rebecca Brown, EWU McNair Program, EWU McNair Scholar, EWU Summer Research Internship, Palouse Prairie, Rachael Pentico, Undergraduate Research

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Awarded Terzieff Scholarship

07/08/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Rachael Pentico Scholarship Announcements 2020 2nd

Congratulations EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been awarded the Martin and Helen Terzieff Scholarship. This comes from an endowment established by Martin Jordan Terzieff and Helen Urquhart Terzieff. Martin had a career in education while Helen was a nurse and both were hard working and valued higher education. This is Rachael's second scholarship for 2020. She was previously selected by the Spokane Regional Council of Beta Sigma Phi to receive scholarships funded by the Lucille Wood Memorial and the Frances Ida Fourtner Campbell Memorial. 

 

Rachael is majoring in Biology. 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 that is focused on restoring a section of the Palouse Prairie. She hopes to obtain a Ph.D. and mentor students. 

 

We're so proud of Rachael and excited to see her hard work recognized!

Filed Under: 2019-2020 Cohort, 2020-21 Awards, Acceptances/Awards, Biology, Rachael Pentico, Research, Scholars Tagged With: Biology, Dr. Rebecca Brown, EWU McNair Program, EWU McNair Scholar, Martin Jordan and Helen Urquhart Terzieff Scholarship, Mentor, Palouse Prairie, Scholarship, STEM, Summer Research

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Awarded Scholarship by the Spokane Regional Council of Beta Sigma Phi

06/09/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Rachael Pentico Scholarship Announcements 2020

Congratulations EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been selected by the Spokane Regional Council of Beta Sigma Phi to receive scholarships from the Lucille Wood Memorial and the Frances Ida Fourtner Campbell Memorial. Both women were great believers in supporting women in education and the scholarship committee was impressed at Rachael's dedication to her own education and to helping others.

 

Rachael is majoring in Biology. 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 that is focused on restoring a section of the Palouse Prairie. She hopes to obtain a Ph.D. and mentor students. 

 

We're so proud of Rachael and excited to see her hard work recognized!

Filed Under: 2019-2020 Cohort, 2020-21 Awards, Acceptances/Awards, Biology, Rachael Pentico, Research, Scholars Tagged With: Biology, Dr. Rebecca Brown, EWU McNair Program, EWU McNair Scholar, Frances Ida Fourtner Campbell Memorial, Lucille Wood Memorial, Mentor, Palouse Prairie, Scholarship, Spokane Regional Council of Beta Sigma Phi, STEM, Summer Research

Rachael Pentico Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

05/22/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Photo of Rachael Pentico next to text congratulating her with red textured border.

Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and awarded a summer research internship. McNair Scholars must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students, and are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment to attaining a PhD. Rachael is majoring in Biology. She also spent time at Spokane Falls community college where she focused on economics, with an emphasis on environmental policy. Her interests and research focus on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She wants her education in economics to follow her into her biological studies so that economic factors can help to persuade policy. She is also a research assistant in Dr. Rebecca Brown's lab that is focused on restoring a section of the Palouse Prairie. She hopes to obtain a Ph.D. and mentor students. For her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, Rachael will continue her work under the mentorship of Dr. Brown, Professor of Biology at EWU.

 

We're so excited to have Rachael join us as a McNair Scholar!

Filed Under: 2019-2020 Cohort, Acceptances/Awards, Biology, McNair Mentors, Mentor, Rachael Pentico, Research, Scholars Tagged With: Biology, Dr. Rebecca Brown, EWU McNair Program, EWU McNair Scholar, Mentor, Palouse Prairie, STEM, Summer Research

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