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TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Eastern Washington University

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Palouse Prairie

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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