• Dean's Award • Thesis With Distinction • Outstanding Graduates • Honors Student Publications • Association of College Honors Societies		Student Highlights Hai Tran: Campus Leader for International Education A former exchange student to Washington State as a high school junior, Hai Tran is no stranger to international issues. A native of Hanoi, Viet Nam, Hai opted to finish his high school education in the United States. He entered Washington State University in the fall of 2003 as a freshman and joined the Honors College in the fall of 2004. He is currently a double major in Finance and Accounting with a minor in Professional Writing. Hai is the current president of the International Students’ Council, a group which represents 700-800 international students and stresses the importance of integrating international and domestic students. The Council is an umbrella group for seventeen international student groups, including the Japan Club, Chinese Students and Scholars, and the African Friendship Association. Hai and the other leaders in the Council spent last summer planning for “International Education Week” which included activities every day from September 24th – October 2nd, 2005. The week, also sponsored by the Office of International Programs and the City of Pullman, included an international party in a city park, an international film festival, student panel presentations, the culture fair on Terrell Mall, an international talent/fashion show, and a soccer tournament. All activities were free and open to the public.   Six Students Selected for Pre-Admission to Veterinary Medicine Congratulations to six Honors College students who interviewed on September 7, 2005 and were accepted for pre-admission to the College of Veterinary Medicine. The students participated in a separate admission process for Honors College students who have completed the first year of coursework in their major and in the Honors College. They will enter the College of Veterinary Medicine as soon as they complete the prerequisites for admission to that program, which is usually two more years. The students in the picture include Vanessa Serratore (zoology), Krista Ingalsbe (zoology), Kasey Vargo (Animal Sciences), Danielle Tulloss (neuroscience), and Christa Rinehart (neuroscience). Felicia Lew (neuroscience) was also accepted into the program. * * * Freshman Andy Benoit - Touchdown 2005 Growing up I was always afraid that when the time came for me to go to college, I would be sitting at home, still living with my parents, and watching sports nonstop. Well, sure enough such a scenario has arrived, although, fortunately, for reasons other than underachieving laziness. I am spending the fall semester at home in Boise, where the pressures of school and all that comes with it are minimal. I have been accepted by the WSU Honors College, but will not join my peers until spring. The reasoning behind all this is that this year I signed a contract with Random House Publishing, which bought the rights to my book Touchdown 2005 (an NFL preview book that came out nationwide in August). Random House has already gobbled up most of my summer by obligating me to participate in various publicity tours to promote the book. In August, I went to New York and got to be on ESPN’s Cold Pizza, CNN’s Headline News, and visit the New York Jets training camp. Thus far, I have done over 45 radio interviews across the country, plus interviews with Newsweek magazine, the New Yorker magazine, Men’s Fitness, Razor Magazine, and other media outlets. I am having the time of my life and the best part is that there’s still more to come. However, even better than that is the fact that I get to continue to watch football in the comfort of my own home for one more year (I was really nervous about watching Monday Night Football an hour earlier than usual). Everyday there’s something new and exciting. I think my family (who has been extremely supportive of my passion for football over the years) is having even more fun than I am. For the record, I am taking two classes at Boise State, just to get some stuff out of the way. With AP classes and BSU, I should be all caught up when I join my fellow freshmen this January. I am having a blast but am also looking forward to becoming part of the Washington State community. Go Cougars!   * * * Lauren Hubbard Does Community Service in Bulgaria I have had an interest in Eastern Europe ever since elementary school. Playing at birthday parties where I was the only one who did not speak Russian made me curious early on. This summer I was able to explore Bulgaria. Bulgaria borders the Black Sea and may conjure up images of the former USSR, or may just sound scary--like it did to my grandmother. Reassuring my family that Bulgaria is safe was harder than actually traveling in the country. I want to join the Peace Corps after I graduate, so I was looking for volunteer experience abroad. A woman in my home town suggested my fiancé and I stay with her family in Bulgaria for the summer, and we enthusiastically accepted her offer. We knew that there was a children’s home in the rural town where we would be stayin, and that there would be enough work to keep us busy for two months. The way in which we were taken in, first by the woman from our community and then by the town of Birzitsa, Bulgaria, was quite amazing. However, there is a different attitude towards travel and taking in travelers, which we encountered in Europe. Often we just had to let people know what we needed, and they came to our aid with housing, transportation and translation. This requires more faith and legwork than simply planning a trip, but it was extremely rewarding. I am still a bit astonished that the experience worked as well as it did, though I believe flexibility was the key to avoiding problems. The 60 children at the home taught us about their culture and about how our American culture travels to the corners of the globe. Kids who could not speak English could rap along to the newest songs back home. We were amazed by their resilience and saddened by their situation. Six year old boys would flash from fits of mature anger to sweet innocence, with little attention paid to either behavior. We learned a lot about the children’s home system in Bulgaria, but we also learned a lot about children in general. We fixed their computers and tried to entertain them; our two months went by quickly. Towards the end of our time in Birzitsa, we could communicate with the staff and the children through rough Bulgarian and a lot of pantomime. The kids craved the attention of adults, and we did what we could to show individual children that they were loved. In the process of all the hugs, I caught a persistent case of head lice, but it was all worth it. To round out my first experience abroad, my fiancé and I spent the last two weeks in Europe traveling. Bulgaria is a gateway to Greece and Turkey, which both have inexpensive connections to the rest of Europe. Though, if you want to take the 32-hour ferry from Greece to Italy, I would not recommend saving money by sleeping on the dog-kennels! * * * April 1, 2005 “Academic Showcase” Includes Five Honors College Students The April 1, 2005 Academic Showcase, which involved a juried poster session, included five students in the Honors College. Sven Nelson presented “Isolating Drought-Tolerant Wheat Using Germination Screens for Increased ABA Hormone Sensitivity.” Tracie Fischer’s research was entitled “The Effect of the Egg Pedicel and Alternative Prey on Intraguild Predation of Lacwing, Chrysoperia carnea, Eggs.” Chris Strahl presented a “Coordinated POS Register Tape Inventory Management System for Nordstrom, Inc.” Jamie Swenson’s research involved “Winning Back the Self: The Implications of Jungian Imagery in Galway Kinnell’s The Book of Nightmares.” Amanda Foust was involved with two posters – “Revolutionary Medical Imaging with Scattered Light” and “Single Trial Birefringene Changes Correlated with Neural Activation in Isolated Nerves Optimized Using Light Emitting Diodes.” Congratulations to all of these students for being selected to participated in the Academic Showcase! Amanda Foust Tracie Fischer Chris Strahl Jamie Swenson Sven Nelson   * * * Honors Students Win Prestigious Writing Awards Students from the Honors College won four of the six Harold and Jeanne Rounds Olsen Writing Portfolio Awards for spring semester, 2005. The six finalists were chosen from among 145 students who received “Pass with Distinction” on their portfolios and over 1900 total portfolio submissions. Winners include Steven Holmes from English, Rachel Neff from Spanish, Amy Thompson from English/Creative Writing, and John Yaeger from Materials Science. The award includes a $100 prize.   * * * Honors Engineering Students Win Prestigious Scholarships to Germany Kyle Baskin James Sivley Two Engineering students in the Honors College have been awarded scholarships by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to attend the Technical University in Munich's "High Tech in Old Munich" summer program. James Sivley, a senior in Civil Engineering with previous knowledge of German, and Kyle Baskin, a senior in Electrical Engineering who will just be starting his language study, will travel to Munich in early June with other engineering students from the US and Canada to begin the interdisciplinary program at the prestigious Technical University (TU-München). They will study German language, choose from specialized subject seminars and workshops in English, and undertake project work and lectures (in English/German) on intercultural communications and German and European history and culture. Integrated into the program are site visits to high-tech and traditional industrial campuses in and around Munich (e.g. BMW, Siemens, State Brewery Weihenstephan). Rounding out the program are social and cultural activities, including excursions to cultural and historical landmarks in Munich and environs. The program also offers the opportunity of establishing close contact to science and engineering faculty at TU-München through participation in small group workshops focused on specific disciplinary areas (e.g. environmental technologies / modern technology and sustainability; renewable energy / technologies of the future) that the organizers are planning to hold at Iffeldorf in the Bavarian Alps during the final week of the program. In addition, the course organizers at TU München will place interested participants in pre- or post-program internships with German industry. May 19, 2004 * * * Catherine Schuck and Dr. Mary Wack, Dean of the Honors College Dean’s Award 2005 Catherine Schuck A winner of a WSU Big Ten Seniors Award, and nominated for the Dean’s Award by multiple faculty reviewers, Catherine is remarkable not only for the breadth of her interests, and the degree of excellence and involvement in each one, but also for her extensive record of volunteerism and service. Whatever the task—whether research, performance, or serving others—Catherine gives herself to it whole-heartedly and shares her gifts for the good of others. Her Honors thesis work in psychology, one of the fields within neuroscience, was rated at Master’s level and could eventually be publishable. Catherine has shared her expertise in her major by serving as a teaching assistant in the neuroanatomy lab. Catherine is also an accomplished vocal performer who contributes her musical gifts to the community. Although not required for a minor, Catherine nonetheless spent a great deal of time preparing and performing a vocal recital. As one of her voice teachers notes, when Catherine chooses a piece to perform, she applies her considerable research skills to the task of giving an outstanding performance. She investigates every aspect of the composer’s and the piece’s background, and of its language, so as to give the most compelling interpretation possible. She will share all this work with the community by repeating the senior recital this summer in Dayton as a public concert. Not only did she spend a challenging and rewarding year studying in Spain, she gave back to the culture where she was learning so much by volunteering her time to teach English with a variety of different organizations. But that is just the tip of the iceberg of Catherine’s service to the world. She has given unstintingly to the Honors College through leadership roles in the Honors Student Advisory Council, particularly the Peer Mentor Program. She has always been willing to serve the College when asked, whether to help at events, provide tours, star in a recruitment video, or sing at events. Her service activities are too long to list, but include being house manager for a Christian women’s house in town, which provides free child care as a community service. She’s a leader in the Campus Crusade for Christ. She is a child sponsor through Compassion International, and a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity through musical performances. On top of all this, she is a member of a variety of swing and salsa dance clubs. Catherine’s career goal is to provide full optometric services in both English and Spanish to clients in Washington State. She has won a Professional Student Exchange Award from the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education for her study toward the degree of Doctor of Optometry. Once she has that degree, she will work for four years in an under-served area of Washington. Her goal, considering the large Spanish-speaking populations in the Pacific Northwest, is to provide full optometric services in Spanish and English. * * * Honors College Engineering Team Wins College of Business Competition Lindsey Egeland, Nigel Campebll, Stuart Campbell, Jon Kirk, and Becky Currell. A team of five Honors College students, including Nigel Campbell, Stuart Campbell, Lindsey Egeland, Jon Kirk, and Becky Currell, developed, designed, and produced a working posture measurement device for their senior design project in biosystems engineering. This device allows physical therapists to measure clients' posture, and have the points entered intoa computer to improve diagnosis and/or demonstrate improvement. Togain experience with the business aspect of engineering design, the students also developed a business plan for their product, and entered the two-day College of Business and Economics competition. They won 1st place in the competition and shared the prize of $5,000!
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