Zoë Romero Becker Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Zoë Romero Becker! Zoë 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. Zoë is triple majoring in Literacy Education, Mathematics Education, and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL). 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 English language classroom. She is interested in studying the methods and strategies of teaching mathematics around the world in comparison to the United States and is currently researching the influence of mentorship with first generation and low-income STEM scholars.

Zoë served as secretary for the Mathematics Education Club, coordinating a conference at EWU and a club trip to the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). She has also traveled to present her research paper, “The Prevalence and Use of Bilingual Books in the General Classroom” at the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) and has served as President of the Eastern Reading Council for the past two years. She is currently advocating to place two Little Free Libraries on campus and working on the Recruitment Committee for the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE to recruit and include diverse members in the organization. In addition, Zoë has worked as an English tutor to Chinese children online, a Teacher’s Assistant in the EWU Mathematics Education Program, and completed practicum placements at various locations throughout Spokane County. She has also accepted an English teaching internship in Nicaragua. On top of all of that, she has volunteered with the Page Ahead Literacy Program, Junior Achievement, Financial Literacy Program, Spokane Math Classics, and Girls on the Run.

For her 2020 McNair Summer Research Internship, Zoë will work under the mentorship of Dr. Gina Mikel Petrie, Associate Professor and Program Director for Teaching English as a Second Language at EWU, as well as Dr. Jacqueline Coomes, Professor and Special Assistant to the Provost for the EWU Honors Program. We’re so excited to have Zoë join McNair!