Congratulations to Ryan Burt, who was appointed the new director of Academic Support Programs in September, 2020.听
runs the Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE) 鈥� a free, late night, peer-to-peer, drop-in tutoring program and academic support coaches, a peer-to-peer coaching program. Academic Support Programs sits within along with First Year Programs and Undergraduate Academic Affairs Advising. Burt explains that being situated here 鈥渃reates really powerful opportunities to collaborate with First Year Programs and UAA Advising. This is a great space for us to think creatively and collaboratively about supporting the transitional experiences of first-year and pre-major students, especially in this virtual world.鈥澛�
Ryan Burt, photographed at CLUE 鈥� a free, late night, peer-to-peer, drop-in tutoring program 鈥� in 2018. Academic Support Programs runs CLUE, along with the academic success coaching program.
Inclusiveness is central to Academic Support Programs鈥� work. When examining the effectiveness of their programs, Burt and team ask who is coming, and more importantly, who isn鈥檛 coming and why? Even before the pandemic hit, Burt and his team were planning to offer their services online to make it easier for students to access these resources. The University鈥檚 move to online learning in spring 2020 sped up the timeline for this change.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e working to make the online experience a rich one. Even though it鈥檚 a challenging year, there is still a lot of possibility of collaborating differently in the virtual setting.鈥� Burt explains 鈥淚 want students to know we care about each of them. We know that being a student at a large public university can be overwhelming, daunting. That鈥檚 where we come in: we鈥檙e their academic home away from home.鈥澛�
Associate Dean Michaelann Jundt shares, 鈥淚 am thrilled to have Ryan leading Academic Support Programs. His curiosity fuels his dedication to deep learning and informs his leadership. I am impressed by how well he handles unexpected change and the ways he has embraced collaborative projects. His commitment to students will continue to move us forward in supporting UW student success.鈥澛�
Academic Support Programs鈥� offerings rely on students teaching other students. The peer-to-peer model is impactful. Students learn from other Huskies who are going through similar experiences and challenges. It allows them to relate and to learn from someone who is balancing the demands of student life, just like they are. To that end, Academic Support Programs increased the number of student coaches they hired in spring 2020 to both provide jobs for students who may have otherwise lost them and to be able to better serve UW undergrads.听
To all faculty, staff and students thinking creatively about how to best support students, . Academic Support Programs is eager to connect, share ideas and work together.
Burt and team are eager to collaborate across campus. Because they work with both faculty and students, they have a unique vantage point to see both the faculty鈥檚 learning goals and how students are understanding the class material. They are available to meet with faculty and staff to share their observations and help support their classes.听
Burt鈥檚 involvement with Academic Support Programs began in 2013, when he was a program manager. His work included overseeing the CLUE writing center and teaching academic support classes for multilingual students. The majority of students Burt was working with were international students, so Burt co-founded the International Student Success Committee. The Committee鈥檚 work brought together colleagues serving international students together to focus on enriching the international student college experience.听
Burt continued to grow his career in Academic Support Services, serving as senior program manager, assistant director and most recently served as interim director. He continues to focus on how to best support the University鈥檚 diverse undergraduate student population.听
He is a triple Dawg, earning his Ph.D. in English literature. His graduate work focused on critical multiculturalism in literature. He also holds a B.A. in both the comparative history of ideas and literature, and an M.A. in literature. He led the Academic Support Programs course English 295: Imagination, Immigration and Identity in Post-Colonial Rome聽and spent two years as a visiting professor of English at the Universit茅 Ibn Zohr in Agadir, Morocco.
Beyond his work in Academic Support Programs, Burt has been involved in several committees including Undergraduate Academic Affairs鈥� general studies curriculum committee and the diversity and inclusion team. He co-chaired the Undergraduate Academic Affairs鈥� staff teaching committee with Carissa Mayer, which brought together staff from across campus to think critically about undergraduate education.听 He is also co-chairing the University鈥檚 Task Force on Writing, where he鈥檚 helping to reimagine the W (writing) requirement. Burt brings a unique perspective to this work, having been an undergrad and grad student at the UW, in addition to having taught classes as both a grad student and now a staff member. This work seeks to broaden the writing requirement to include diverse fields and writing intensive, upper-level language classes.
Outside of work, Burt, his wife Jennifer and their son Lucien recently welcomed their newest family member, Zin茅dine. Burt is a musician and drummer for the band . In addition, he鈥檚 an avid coffee drinker. Pre-pandemic, he鈥檇 offer you a Chemex pour over when you visited his office. His current favorite coffee is , which translates to鈥渃offee, coffee, coffee鈥︹�� in several East African languages 鈥� perfect for a coffee enthusiast.
Voting is a habit that holds our democracy together.
The 乱伦社区 has one of the highest voter participation rates of any college or university in the nation. This legacy of civic participation 鈥� that #HuskiesVote 鈥� is something we can all be proud of. And it鈥檚 something we can continue.
If you are eligible to vote make sure that your voter registration status is up-to-date so you are ready to vote in the upcoming November 2020 election.
Important dates
October 26, 2020
Deadline for online voter registration in Washington state.
NOTE: Deadlines and processes vary from state to state, so it is wise to register as soon as you can. Check the for deadlines in other states.
November 3, 2020
Election Day
In Washington state, your ballot must be in a ballot box before 8 p.m. on November 3 or postmarked on or before November 3.
This November, you have the chance to vote for the president, governor and local officials as well as ballot initiatives 鈥� all of which are important decisions that impact your life. Voting is a way you can use your civic voice; we encourage you to use it. But first: You need to register.
As the largest and most diverse generation alive right now, young people have a chance to make a real impact in our country 鈥� if every eligible voter participates in elections. In order to make sure that you can vote in the upcoming local, state and federal elections, you need to be registered to vote at your current address.
Please take five minutes and聽.听
Let鈥檚 exercise some civic muscle and vote.听#HuskiesVote
Additional resources
:聽Check your voter registration status and find out more about upcoming elections, including how to vote safely by mail. If you are residing in another state, this website has information about voting in each state.
Huskies Vote:聽Get step-by-step guidance on how to vote and how you can help others vote.
Do you need in-person assistance or did you miss the registration deadline?
Come to the Vote Center at the聽. It will be open Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m.鈥�4 p.m.; Monday, November 2, 8:30 a.m.鈥�6:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, November 3, 8:30 a.m.鈥�8:00 p.m. You鈥檒l be able to register for the first time or update your registration, get a replacement ballot if you need one, or use an accessible voting unit if you have a disability and would prefer an audio ballot, touchscreen or other adaptive equipment. Public health precautions will be in place and wearing a face covering will be required.
This post is an edited compilation of a couple messages sent to students at UW鈥檚 Seattle campus to encourage them to register to vote and vote because civic engagement is an important component to a UW education.
This course will take students on an exciting two week field study to the three 鈥渨ilderness jewels鈥� of Washington state鈥檚 national parks, Mount Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades, and follow with class time in autumn quarter. Students should be comfortable hiking moderately strenuous trails almost every day of the trip, camping in remote locations, and traveling and lodging in primitive and close quarters. Through a combination of immersed field study readings and expert speakers, students will not only introduce themselves to these diverse and unique places in our country, but also gain a greater understanding of the purpose of such a system, and look critically at the cultural and environmental issues impacting the National Parks today.
鈥� Excerpt from the course description for “Honors 230: Parks in Progress or Peril?”
When junior Rhyannon Hayes, a political science and history major and environmental studies minor, read the course description for 鈥淗onors 230: Parks in Progress or Peril?鈥� she thought it would be a cool experience, a great intro to backpacking and a fun way to explore the Pacific Northwest while satisfying requirements for the UW Honors Program.
Over the course of the two week field study, the students became close friends. Pictured here, from left to right, are Mckenzie Carlson, Aidan DeHan, Rhyannon Hayes, Matthew Tucker and Niki Kafie.
Before this class, Hayes had only been to two national parks in her life. She had hiked only a little and camped in traditional campgrounds, but never backpacked or camped in the backcountry. By the end of the two week field study, she鈥檇 visited Washington鈥檚 three major national parks: Mount Rainier, Olympic and the North Cascades, had trekked more than 50 miles and spent 11 nights camping. She learned to love dehydrated meals and mastered how to keep a fire alive through rain and the season’s first snow. Days spent hiking and evenings spent chatting around the campfire gave Hayes and her classmates time to bond. She left the class with a solid group of friends.
Honors students and instructors in the course “Honors 230: Parks in Progress or Peril” at Mount Rainier, the first of three national parks they visited and studied. National park experts regularly joined the class. Author Jeff Antonelis-Lapp, pictured on the far right, led the class on a hike through the Sunrise part of the park.
The two week field study gave nine interdisciplinary honors students the opportunity to explore national parks, learn from a variety of experts, observe firsthand how people interact with the park, and decide through their own lived experiences if and why these spaces matter in our collective culture. The course 鈥� taught by Honors Program and UAA staff members Aley Mills Willis, Brook Kelly and Laura Harrington 鈥� continued as a campus-based seminar through autumn quarter.
The first part of the UW Honors program class “Parks in Progress or Peril” took students to Washington’s three national parks: Mount Rainier, Olympic and the North Cascades. The course continued as a seminar through autumn quarter, where students grappled with the central question: are parks in progress or peril? Course instructors, from left, Laura Harrington, Brook Kelly and Aley Mills Willis.
鈥淚f this field study was our buffet of information, experience and sensation, then the autumn discussion section was our digestion of the material,鈥� explains bioengineering major Matt Tucker.
The field study/seminar combination is the latest iteration of a 10-year collaboration between the Honors program and the national parks. 鈥淥ur goals,鈥� explains instructor Mills Willis, 鈥渁re to take a unique, enormous and inherently interdisciplinary idea like national parks and break it open, exposing students firsthand to the variety of passions and perspectives that brought these places into existence and those that will preserve them. We want students to grapple with the complex natural and cultural histories of these places, their evolution, and their current and more fragile states. And, we want them to confront that while walking up a mountain trail, peering into a coastal tide pool or visiting significant cultural sites of our region’s native tribes.”
Field learnings: Exploring Makah history and Shi Shi Beach
Olympic National Park archaeologist Dave Conca (sitting on the sand next to the campfire) accompanied the class on a two night backpacking trip. He led the class on a tour of the Makah Tribal Museum and a hike to Shi Shi Beach, where the students discussed what they learned in the museum and applied it to the land they were walking on and the issues the park is navigating.
Dave Conca, Olympic National Park archaeologist, has been collaborating with Kelly, Harrington and Mills Willis for more than a decade. 鈥�鈥媁orking with the UW instructors and students is one of the highlights of my entire work year,鈥� says Conca. 鈥�The high level of engagement with students, their level of sophistication regarding questions and discussion around complex issues continues to amaze and humble me.鈥� Conca finds it so invigorating that he includes it in his annual work plan.
This year, Conca led the class through the Makah Tribal Museum, which tells the story of the Makah Tribe through a collection of artifacts found at Ozette Village site. This group of artifacts provides a uniquely complete story, since the village was preserved as the result of a landslide in the 1700s. Then, while hiking to Shi Shi Beach, Conca discussed how what they saw in the museum related to the land they were walking on. 鈥淭he students鈥� observations and questions spur my thinking. After more than 26 years in the field, you can become complacent. Their questions and observations help keep me fresh.鈥�
Shi Shi Beach averages around 300 people a weekend through the summer. The recent uptick in visitors puts a strain on the finite number of campsites, rangers and other park resources. This raises many questions: Are current management tactics 鈥� education through permitting and enforcement through park rangers patrolling the beaches 鈥� working?聽 Is the current usage harming the parks鈥� ecosystems? Are the parks being loved to death? Should park guests be limited? How would limiting guests impact the Makah Tribe鈥檚 economy?
The class backpacks on Shi Shi Beach where they’ll be camping for the night.
Field learnings: Park advocacy applies to all fields
Collaboration and partnership is essential for how national parks come to be, and how they are managed for the future. Modeling that for students in the structure of the course itself was essential.
Meeting with subject matter experts like Conca is part of the course鈥檚 engagement with the history, relevance and evolution of America鈥檚 National Park Service, as well as its central question: Is the idea of national parks progressing, or is it in peril? Interdisciplinary exploration is at the foundation of the Honors curriculum, and this class was no exception. Additional speakers ranged from scientists to artists to activists, who all shared their unique perspectives and interest in these places. The guests included the acting superintendent and the volunteer manager of Mount Rainier National Park, UW scientists, the authors of books outlining the natural and political histories of Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks, photographers, poets, historians, exhibit builders and a program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).
Community, environment and planning student Becca Fogel reflects, 鈥淏efore this class, educating about and advocating for the national parks seemed like a fairly siloed endeavor rooted deep in environmental science and geology 鈥� things I鈥檓 interested in but not necessarily very passionate about. But our in-class meetings provided me with a better understanding of the far-reaching interdisciplinarity of the Park Service mission.鈥�
Students kept field journals, where they responded to daily prompts about what they were experiencing to “push their powers of observation and understanding of the course material.” Directions included聽reciting their observations out loud and drawing a couple of their entries. Pictured here: Niki Kafie.
Students kept daily field journals, led group discussions, engaged with course readings and daily class sessions in the field and prepared a final case management project and reflective field journal presentation. The connections made with guest speakers gave students a panel of experts to turn to when working on their parks management case studies.
Hayes, along with group members Andrew Ryan and Nathan Ji, researched the topic of noise pollution in Olympic National Park from Growler jets flying out of the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island. To understand the diverse perspectives, the group connected with Graham Taylor of the NPCA, the superintendent of Olympic National Park, and the public affairs officer for Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. 鈥淲hat I really appreciated in working with Graham was that we were able to have a very open and honest conversation about [his experiences] communicating with the Navy to try to have more thorough and comprehensive environmental impact studies,鈥� explains Hayes, who grew up in a Navy family.
To present their results, the three students created, narrated and recorded an audio experience, voiced by them and spearheaded by the group鈥檚 鈥渃reative genius,鈥� Ryan. The soundtrack took the class through the park in a 鈥渕agic tent,鈥� similar to a field trip on “The Magic School Bus,” talking about issues with the experts. Hayes describes it as 鈥渢he most creative project鈥� she鈥檚 been a part of.
Field learnings: UW students start NPCA Northwest Student Leadership Council
McKenzie Carlson (left) and Rhyannon Hayes (right) helped start the聽NPCA Northwest Student Leadership Council. 鈥淲e’re loving this opportunity to provide students with opportunities to explore our parks, learn of the challenges and develop the leadership skills we need to honor these places,鈥� says Graham Taylor of the NPCA.
As a result of collaborating on the case study, Taylor invited Hayes to help start a NPCA Northwest Student Leadership Council. Hayes recruited classmates Aidan DeHan, Niki Kafie and McKenzie Carlson to launch the group. This new NPCA council, which formed in February, held two events: hosting a recruitment table at the environmental career fair and supporting聽 Taylor in a presentation about North Cascades grizzly bear reintroduction to a class on threatened and endangered species. Following his talk, Hayes and Carlson spoke with students about continuing their conservation work with their council. Their membership is now up to 11 students.
The NPCA talks are open to anyone interested in attending. .
The next two events, a service project on Ebey鈥檚 Landing and an advocacy tabling event on Earth Day, had to be cancelled due to public health guidance and efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Still, the group is eager to continue their work and holds weekly Zoom meetings featuring national park experts giving talks and answering audience questions. Speakers so far have included: author and North Cascades expert Lauren Danner; president of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association Clarence Moriwaki; and, on April 23, 2020, author and Mount Rainier expert Jeff Antonelis-Lapp. Hayes鈥� future plans include collaborating with Carlson, who is president of the UW Hiking Club, to lead hikes and backpacking trips talking with students about issues the national parks are facing and how the NPCA can help. Their mission is to advocate for these beloved wild spaces, so national parks can be enjoyed by future generations.
Field learnings: I can start my conservation work now
In the future, Hayes hopes to continue this work as an elected official and form the first national park in her home state of Pennsylvania. Her vision includes creating a public education space that tells the story of the lands making up the park, the people who鈥檝e lived there, the evolution of the land and our role in protecting it for future generations. Pictured from left to right: McKenzie Carlson, Rhyannon Hayes, Matthew Tucker and Aidan DeHan.
Reflecting on the class, Hayes shares that it 鈥渕arked one of two turning points I’ve had in my college career in which I took a newly ignited passion, in this case for national parks, and created opportunity. It took me deeper into the wilderness than I had ever been and helped me fall even more deeply in love with the natural world. I learned from all the speakers and in the case of Graham and the NPCA, I found a place where I could take my new knowledge, combine it with my skills in constituent relations and government, and actually become a part of conservation work. I always knew environmental issues were a priority that I wanted to incorporate into my future career, but because of this class, I get to start that work now.鈥�
Photos courtesy of students and instructors in Honors 230: Parks in Progress or Peril.听
Real Change vendor Addis Michael Junior’s inner light is beautifully captured by the halo surrounding him. The artist Derek Gundy donated his time and talent to create this portrait. This painting is on display as part of the Portraits for Change exhibit, currently in the Allen Library Atrium through March 12.
Students in the Interdisciplinary Honors class “Citizen Acts to Challenge Poverty” collaborated with to bring the exhibit to the UW campus. The gallery features portraits and biographies of Real Change newspaper vendors, originally commissioned and curated by Real Change art director, Jon Williams. The idea of hosting this exhibit grew out of a long standing partnership between Real Change and Vicky Lawson and Sarah Elwood, UW geography professors and co-founders of the Relational Poverty Network. As Lawson designed an interdisciplinary seminar to engage UW Honors students in a learning experience that could amplify the work of activist organizations like Real Change, she saw an opportunity for students to make a positive impact by installing the existing portraits as a public exhibit on UW鈥檚 Seattle campus.听
Honors students worked with Real Change to figure out how to mount and promote the exhibit, create an opening event and lead small group tours. They also curated an accompanying exhibit called 鈥淪eattle Now and Then鈥� to show that homelessness in Seattle is not a new issue for the city. A photo of the 1930s shantytown known as Hooverville is contrasted with a modern day photo of the same location. The historic picture shows a man standing on a ladder, repairing the roof of his makeshift home. In today鈥檚 photo, tents line the sidewalk along Alaskan Way. Smith Tower is prominent in both images, orienting the viewer within the city. Interdisciplinary Honors student and aeronautics major Danny Roberts led the curation and photography of this addition to the Portraits exhibit. Pairing these images with the portraits and stories of the vendors tells a more nuanced and complex story of the people living outside in our city.听
Artists donated their time to paint portraits of Real Change vendors to change the way we see these members of our community. For a population that is often ignored or avoided, this celebration of their beauty, joy and depth聽 is especially meaningful. These works invite the viewer to spend time looking at each person as precisely that 鈥� a person. The paintings are accompanied by biographies, which explain the unique set of circumstances that led the person to become unhomed. These stories aim to thwart the toxic stereotypes 鈥� that people living on the streets are all drug addicts, mentally ill, lazy and so on 鈥� and instead highlight the person鈥檚 humanity, dignity and resilience. Many vendors talked about how powerful and transformative selling the papers has been: from helping them create a community of vendors and clients to helping them regain a sense of dignity and employment. Being immortalized in a portrait 鈥� an artform historically reserved for nobles and royalty 鈥� further honors each person.听
Sam Fredman, a senior and peer educator in the Honors Program studying law, societies and justice and disability studies, underlined the importance of holding this exhibit in the 乱伦社区鈥檚 Allen Library, explaining that 鈥渓ibraries are spaces of public education鈥� and that as a public university, it’s important to create a welcoming space for all of our community members. To further the impact of the exhibit, Lawson and Elwood, along with graduate student Isaac Rivera, also set up a research project to gauge the public鈥檚 understanding of Real Change and issues surrounding homelessness and poverty in our community. The last question of the survey asks people what actions they will take based on the exhibit. The intention is to inspire people to imagine making a difference, sparking everyday citizens into action.听
When asked how he feels about the experience of partnering with UW students and faculty on Portraits for Change, Williams was very positive. 鈥淚t meant a lot to have students taking care of all the details to share these portraits and get the word out,鈥� he explained. 鈥淣ow a lot more people will see them.鈥�
The exhibit is on display at the Allen Library Atrium through Thursday, March 12.
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Video by Sovechea Sophanna.
About Honors
The brings together students and faculty from all across campus to learn through cross-disciplinary curriculum, experiential learning, research and critical reflection. Honors鈥� curriculum offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary education, while Departmental Honors programs provide deep disciplinary education.
About Real Change
is an award-winning newspaper. It’s written by professional journalists and provides people experiencing homelessness or who are low income with immediate employment.
The 乱伦社区鈥檚 MLK Week was organized to remind us of the history and the fight that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other lives have put up for freedom and equality. Watch the video here.
乱伦社区 alumna Crysti (Zinan) Chen, (鈥�15, B.A. in political science) received the prestigious . Selected from more than 4,700 applicants, Chen will join 145 Schwarzman Scholars from around the world to make up the program鈥檚 fifth cohort. A competitive program, the incoming class was selected through a rigorous application process designed to identify academic ability, as well as leadership potential and strength of character. The program takes place at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where the scholars will immerse themselves in Chinese culture, business and language. At the end of the cross-cultural, year-long program, scholars will have developed an in-depth understanding of China and earned a master鈥檚 degree in global affairs.
Schwarzman Scholar Crysti Chen.
The core curriculum is focused on three pillars: China, global affairs and leadership. Scholars also have the opportunity to take elective courses from a variety of disciplines at Schwarzman College, as well as from other departments at Tsinghua University. Scholars are taught by a cadre of leading international faculty, with frequent guest lectures from prominent global thought leaders.
Beyond the classroom, Scholars gain exceptional exposure to China and access to important relationships through internships, mentors, high-profile speakers and opportunities to travel throughout China. Scholars are also provided with a range of career development resources to help them to make the most of their time in Beijing and position them for success upon graduation. This unique combination of coursework, cultural immersion and personal and professional development opportunities equip students with a first-hand and well-rounded understanding of China鈥檚 changing role in the world, critically important to leadership in any field in the 21st Century.
About Crysti (Zinan) Chen
Chen will graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 with an M.S.Ed. degree in education entrepreneurship. She obtained her bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science, with a political economy focus, and minored in international studies from the 乱伦社区. Chen founded her first nonprofit organization in 2009. She dedicated a decade in promoting education quality, gender equality, and environmental awareness in underprivileged villages in China, Vietnam and Kenya. In 2017, Chen co-founded UniWill Ventures in Silicon Valley. She currently serves as the general partner and leads impact investing into early-stage tech startups. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Chen hopes to explore more effective methods to leverage investment capital with goodwill to create bigger impact on urgent social and environmental issues.
About the Schwarzman Scholars Program
Designed to inspire the next generation of global leaders,听Schwarzman Scholars聽is the most significant program of its kind since the Rhodes Trust was founded in 1902. The is in its聽fourth year as a new institution at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The program鈥檚 focus is global leadership and draws students from China, the U.S. and the rest of the world. Over the course of the year, students will spend a quarter immersed in language: Mandarin for non-Chinese students; English for Chinese students. They鈥檒l complete an intensive field study, where they will spend a week in communities throughout China, working with mentors from NGOs, academics and government; receive mentorship from prominent Chinese leaders; attend talks from high-profile speakers; and complete a practical training project, where they take on consulting-style projects. Scholars also have access to career services support to help them make the best of their time in Beijing, and receive ongoing support in the form of alumni events. The Schwarzman Scholars program is dedicated to building a strong alumni network, so that their students can continue to learn from and support one another. Last year, Henry Chan became the UW鈥檚 first Schwarzman Scholar.
The Schwarzman Scholarship application process is supported by the聽, a UAA program. OMSFA works with faculty, staff and students to identify and support promising students in developing the skills and personal insights necessary to become strong candidates for this and other prestigious awards.
“Being at an institution like this, I’ve learned to see the importance of bringing my voice to discussions because there’s not a lot of us indigenous people that even have a seat at these discussions.鈥�
Meet Irika Sinha, an Interdisciplinary Honors student double majoring in biochemistry and biology. Sinha is one of two UW students who received the Goldwater Scholarship for the 2019-20 school year. This award honors sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise and are dedicated to pursuing research careers in math, engineering or natural sciences. We spoke with her to learn more about her and how she鈥檚 making the most of her #HuskyExperience.
Congratulations on receiving the Goldwater! Do you have suggestions for others interested in applying for it?
Thanks! If you are planning to apply, find a mentor or principal investigator whose work you are interested in collaborating with. Know what your goal is; understand what you鈥檙e doing and legitimately be working towards a Ph.D. Look over your essay carefully. Make sure it鈥檚 clear and that the research essay is specific, yet also something that a generalist can understand. I had several people look it over, before showing it to my mentors, Dr. Ginger, Dr. Kaeberlein and Robin Chang, director of the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards.
What prompted you to get involved in research?
I was always interested in STEM. In high school, I originally was looking around for an internship, and I found an opportunity at . We were working on diagnostic assays for infectious disease. The project I worked on researched affordable tests to see if people were carrying the parasite Babesia microti, which is linked to a rare disease called .
What were your take-aways from that experience?
When I was little, I wanted to understand what made humans work: why we saw colors, why people thought certain ways and why we all move just a little bit differently. The elders in my life pointed me towards medicine as the best path for my goals. I spent the next 10 years thinking the only way to understand people was to become a medical doctor. A research career was never mentioned. InBios was the first time I understood that you could do research as a career and help groups of people (rather than individuals).
In her free time, Irika Sinha illustrates for the Daily. This piece originally appeared in the article “Psychology graduate student challenges the one-size-fits-all approach to language education”.
You are about to join your fourth lab. What has been surprising about moving from lab to lab?
How different labs can be. Going from one lab to another is interesting, and you can explore labs a lot more in undergrad than you would ever do in grad school (unless you do lab rotations at the beginning.) This is helpful to do as an undergrad because you can see what you prefer to do in the future while simultaneously learning useful lab techniques. The introduced me to academic research, and I learned to balance research and school. In the I read literature, learned a variety of techniques and was more involved. Now, in the , I am working on cancer treatments, which is more biological in nature than my work in the Ginger Lab while still being fairly involved. I鈥檓 slowly working my way towards my final goal and am gaining a more well-rounded background in research as a result.
What recommendations do you have for someone interested in getting involved in research?
Check out the projects the lab is currently working on. When I鈥檓 researching a lab, I will look over some more recent papers. Even if I don鈥檛 fully understand it, it鈥檚 generally enough to help me get a sense of what the lab does. Also, apply to labs which have projects you are genuinely interested in. Since we don鈥檛 start out with a lot of research experience as undergraduates, enthusiasm counts for a lot.
Read the latest papers from , ,听and , Irika’s graduate student mentor. In addition, Irika has聽 with her name on it.
How would you describe your experience as an undergraduate researcher?聽
My experience has been pretty good. All the principal investigators, post-docs and grad students have been really welcoming. Everyone is supportive and has been very nice. If I have a question, they鈥檒l help answer it if they can. That鈥檚 not something I expected as a freshman. I went in thinking they鈥檇 just think I was the strange undergrad who came to join them and that it would be super awkward. This has never been the case, and I鈥檓 glad.
In addition to your lab work, you work in the libraries and tutor chemistry for . How do you balance a very full schedule?
Google calendar is my best friend. I put everything on it. I even schedule lunch and dinner, because if I didn鈥檛 see it, I鈥檇 end up programming myself back-to-back classes without meal breaks. This was an especially big problem freshman year because I鈥檇 get hungry long after the dining halls had closed. I also add in all of my time spent with friends so I am still able to hang out with people without over-scheduling myself.
Eagle. Medium: instant coffee. Part of Sinha’s personal collection.
In honor of the start of the school year, do you have any suggestions to help students settle in to campus?
Find a reason to stay on campus. I think it鈥檚 especially tempting for students from Western Washington to go home a lot first quarter. I know I did. I wasn鈥檛 homesick, I just didn鈥檛 know what to do on campus.听 I鈥檇 spend most of my time on campus either in the lab or in the library and then would go home for weekends. I made friends with a lot of people in my lab first quarter, but we didn鈥檛 grow closer until winter quarter, when I started staying on campus to spend more time with them. I also started rock climbing, which gave me something more to do. And, I eventually found things to do with others that weren鈥檛 on campus, like going downtown on weekends.
Sinha received the Varanasi Endowed Scholarship from the chemistry department in 2019. She explains, “Meeting Drs. Usha and Rao Varanasi (pictured above) gave me role models to look up to. For people of my background, it is still uncommon to find others who have been successful for many decades in the biochemistry or chemistry fields and have held faculty positions in the United States .”
How did working with the UW Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards help you?
Robin is very supportive and gave me very clear directions on how to clean-up my essay and application. In addition to the essay, she helps me find opportunities that may be relevant to me.
You are currently a junior. What ideas do you have about what you鈥檒l do after college?
I plan to spend a year working before applying to Ph.D. programs. During that year, I鈥檇 also like to complete the UW鈥檚 certificate in natural science illustration. (Right now, I illustrate for The Daily and Gray Matters in my free time.) For my Ph.D. research, I鈥檓 currently planning to focus on neurodegenerative diseases related to aging. My grandma has Alzheimer鈥檚, and I鈥檝e watched many of my older relatives suffer from dementia. Seeing their experiences and the devastating results has steered my interest in this direction. This research could include investigating causes, prevention and treatment for diseases such as Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚.
One of Irika Sinha’s favorite illustrations for the Daily. This one appeared with the article “The epidemic of myth: How false information about vaccines spread.”
About the Goldwater Foundation
The Goldwater Foundation鈥檚 scholarship program honors Senator Barry Goldwater and encourages outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields.
Learn more about scholarship opportunities at UW
The Goldwater Scholarship application process is supported by the , a UAA program. OMSFA works with faculty, staff and students to identify and support promising students in developing the skills and personal insights necessary to become strong candidates for this and other prestigious awards. to learn more about how OMSFA can support your scholarship search.
Welcome to the start of another year in which UAA programs come together to advance and deepen undergraduate learning at the UW. This year is a special year for UAA: We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Mary Gates Hall.
Twenty years ago, the building re-opened, transformed from the old physics hall into a space designated for and dedicated to the academic needs of undergraduates. One could argue that, with tens of thousands of undergraduates, the entire campus is geared toward undergrads. But place matters. While the education of undergraduates happens in classrooms and other spaces across campus, and critical and inspiring work that furthers the undergraduate experience takes place across campus, having a place specifically designated to care for and steward that experience writ large is as significant today as it was 20 years ago.
There is a foundational goodness to public research universities and their dedication to deepening and advancing knowledge for the public good. Our role is to bring that focus, energy and inspiration to the undergraduate academic experience. Not just any undergraduate academic experience, the experience that undergraduates have here, at the 乱伦社区. This is a special place, a place that matters.
It鈥檚 a place that matters to the students who come from across the city, region, state, country and world. This summer, I met entering students from Spokane and was again reminded of the power of holding community when we get stuck. I met a student in front of Suzzallo whose Kermit the Frog backpack and Peppa Pig lunch box stood out. I wanted to know why he chose elementary school gear for the UW. Turns out he鈥檚 a veteran and starting school here, the same year his daughter is starting school. She picked out their backpacks and lunchboxes. We started talking about our favorite children鈥檚 books. One of mine is Maurice Sendak鈥檚 鈥淲here the Wild Things Are.鈥� I love the joy of dancing with the wild things, the making one鈥檚 way and ultimate homecoming in that story.
Throughout the year and coming years, these students will come through Mary Gates Hall to connect with the myriad programs here and learn how they can make the most of their time at the UW.
鈥淚 hope you learn to write like you,鈥� wrote the late writing teacher, poet and UW alumnus Richard Hugo in his book about writing called 鈥淭he Triggering Town.鈥� As we help students discover the opportunities here that will have a lasting impact into their futures, we are helping them learn to write their own story, their own poem, and how to tell it in their own way.
This building, dedicated to being a visual and important physical representation of the University鈥檚 commitment to undergraduates, is so appropriately named after Mary Gates. During her time as a regent, she is credited as being the regent most interested in undergraduates and their experiences here. As a result of their work here at the UW, students鈥� lives should be different, forever changed in a way that it can only be changed at this institution.
Welcome to fall. Let the wild rumpus start.
Sincerely,
Ed Taylor
Vice Provost and Dean
Undergraduate Academic Affairs
