TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Eastern Washington University

Summer Research

EWU McNair Scholar Gloria Bravo Awarded Jeffers Chertok Memorial Scholarship

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Gloria Bravo Scholarship Announcements 2020

Congratulations EWU McNair Scholar Gloria Bravo! Gloria was nominated by her departments and has been selected by the College of Social Sciences to receive the Jeffers Chertok Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is in honor the life of Dr. Jeffers W. Chertok, who worked at EWU for more than 34 years and left a legacy of scholarship, generosity, and genuine care at the university and beyond. Gloria is majoring in International Affairs with a socio-economic concentration, while also minoring in Chicano Studies and Spanish. Gloria’s research is centered on the United States' hegemonic role within the Western Hemisphere, particularly how US foreign policy impacts Latin American and Caribbean nations as well as the region. Gloria has received the honor of presenting her work at the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association Conference, The Student Research and Creative Works Symposium at Eastern Washington University (2019), and the Venezuelan Crisis Panel: Coup d'état or Libertad, as a Student Panelist at EWU. She also presented "Economic Sanctions Reproduce State Sponsored Repression, Human Rights Violations and Violence: A Case Study of Venezuela" at this year's EWU Virtual Symposium (2020) and was the Director of Elections for EWU’s student government in 2019-20.

 

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

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

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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!

Lizeth Bañuelos selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

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Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Lizeth Bañuelos! Lizeth 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 and are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students. They are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment towards attaining a PhD.

 

Lizeth Bañuelos is a senior studying Applied Developmental Psychology and minoring in Race and Culture Studies as well as Chicana/o/x Studies. Her main research interest is in the psychology of the Latinx community, focusing on Latinx college students and their mental health in higher education institutions. Lizeth will complete an EWU McNair Summer Research Institute in the summer of 2020 under the mentorship of Dr. Aryn Ziehnert, Lecturer in the EWU Psychology Department.

 

We're so excited to have Lizeth join us at EWU McNair!

Luis Martinez Antillo selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

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Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Luis Martinez Antillo! Luis 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 and are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students. They are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment towards attaining a PhD.

 

Luis is a senior majoring in Psychology and Social Work, with a certification in suicide assessment, treatment, and management. He is interested in studying the ways traumatic experiences interfere with everyday life. In the 2019-2020 academic year, Luis interned at an organization that works with those who are low-income and have faced homelessness. He wants to research how their experiences have impacted their current situations. He is also part of the Suicide Prevention Coalition for Spokane, WA. The coalition looks over policies that may impact individuals who are at risk of suicide and advocates for people in order to get them the best guidance and aid. For his 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, Luis will work under the mentorship of Dr. Susan Ruby, Professor of Psychology and Director of the School Psychology Hybrid Program at EWU.

 

We're so excited to have Luis join us at EWU McNair!

Gloria D. Bravo selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

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Photo of Gloria Bravo next to text congratulating her with red textured border.

Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Gloria D. Bravo! Gloria 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 and are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students. They are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment towards attaining a PhD.

 

Originally from Brewster, WA, Gloria obtained her Associates of Arts and Sciences from Wenatchee Valley Community College before transferring to EWU. She is majoring in International Affairs with a socio-economic concentration, while also minoring in Chicano Studies and Spanish. Gloria’s research is centered on the United States' hegemonic role within the Western Hemisphere, particularly how US foreign policy impacts Latin American and Caribbean nations as well as the region. Primarily utilizing a constructivist approach, she analyzes US diplomatic, economic and military tactics used to advance the region’s peace and security, or lack thereof. By her junior year, Gloria completed two research projects: Understanding the Venezuelan Crisis within the Broader Context of US Intervention in Latin America and Reframing the Immigration Debate in the Era of Trump: Migrant Caravans from Central American Nations. As of Spring 2020, she is working on an ongoing third project: United States Economic Sanctions Reproduce State Sponsored Repression, Human Rights Violations and Violence: A Case Study of Venezuela.

Other research interests include: Pan-American migration crises, the deterioration of US asylum\refugee laws, the implications experienced in Latin\ Caribbean nations due to US neoliberal trade and economic policies, the US regime of sanctions directed toward non-compliant nation-states and other forms of coercive statecraft, the capturing of human rights movements by the neoliberal humanitarian industry, the threat of US militarism and its historical interventionist tendencies towards its southern neighbors, traditionally regarded as the US’s “backyard,” the increasingly military-grade securitization of the Southern US border and other forms of state inflicted violence on vulnerable populations, as well as transnational environmental policies that promote national self-determination centered on sustainable research and development. As an EWU McNair Scholar, in the summer of 2020 Gloria will work under the mentorship of Dr. Majid Sharifi to continue her research.

 

Gloria has received the honor of presenting her work at the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association Conference (November 2019), The Student Research and Creative Works Symposium at Eastern Washington University (May 2019), and the Venezuelan Crisis Panel: Coup d'état or Libertad, as a Student Panelist at EWU (May 2019). Her work has earned her a Certificate of Excellence in Research, Leadership & Creativity from the Political Science Department and International Affairs Program at EWU. She also was the Director of Elections for EWU’s student government in 2019-20.

 

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

Analisea Araya Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

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Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Analisea Araya! Analisea 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 and are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students. They are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment towards attaining a PhD.

 

Analisea 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 how that has perpetuated contemporary gender inequality and the absence of women in various areas of study, especially philosophy. She will be presenting on this topic with her paper, “An Analysis of Early Modern Philosopher Mary Astell and a Critique of the Western Canon,” at the 2020 EWU symposium. She is also interested in examining the role and benefits of critical and philosophical thinking in the K-12 education system. While it was unfortunately cancelled, Analisea was selected to present her paper on influencing education reform through ancient philosophy at Pacific University’s Undergraduate Philosophy Conference.

 

She has already completed fall and winter courses preparing to be a McNair Scholar and is currently enrolled in EWU McNair's Research Methods and Analytic Writing courses, on top of her regular classes. This will not only strengthen her skills for graduate school, but also set the groundwork for her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship under the mentorship of Dr. Kevin Decker.

 

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