Features & Highlights

Day eight for the Honors College study abroad program in Ecuador saw the group sally from its new base camp in the city of Baños. Nestled in the Andean cloud forest at about 6,000 feet at the foot of the active volcano Tungurahua, Baños is the gateway town between both the Andes highlands and the…

Days five through seven of the Honors College study abroad trip to Ecuador saw the group not only descend 8,000 feet from the high plateau of Quito, but wholeheartedly plunge into a fully immersive experience in the Amazon basin in a way that few on the trip will ever forget. Day five was a long…

Day 4 dawned robin's-egg blue in Quito, a perfect day for a walking tour of the historical city center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The day began with a stop at the Virgen de El Panecillo, also known as the Virgin of Quito. The sculpture is one of the few that depicts the Virgin Mary with wings,…

After an overnight stay in the northern Ecuador city of Otavalo, the group scheduled time in the morning to explore the cityscape of Otavalo and wander through its large outdoor market to see handmade local products. The market was one of the best opportunities so far for the students to interact…

Day two saw the expedition leave Quito to head north to explore the sights and sounds of the high Andean plateau surrounding the city of Otavalo. In this region even the lowland valleys below the mountains sit at more than 8,000 feet above sea level, while volcanic peaks such as Cayambe, along the…

WWU’s Honors College is exploring the slopes of volcanos, the depths of the waters around the Galápagos and everything in between during a study abroad program this summer to Ecuador. The course focus is split between two main areas: a humanities-focused look at the culture, history, and literature…

Twenty one students, four faculty members and two staff have set off for Ecuador for a study abroad program with WWU’s Honors College this summer in Ecuador. The course focus is split between two main areas: a Humanities-focused exploration of the culture, history, and literature of Ecuador led by…

Many people think that the ocean’s greatest mysteries are in the depths, but one Western student is searching for them in the shallows of the Salish Sea. Lucy Greeley, a fourth-year Marine and Coastal Science major, is studying the bioluminescent plankton in the waters in and around Bellingham…

Western's Commencement Weekend took place June 10-12, with eight ceremonies over three days. WWU photographer Luke Hollister captured the celebration.

WWU’s Madeleine Gerst, Rose Kirby, Elliot Quasha and Carson Porter-Keese, juniors in the Industrial Design Program, won the prestigious Global Innovation Awards (GIA) for each of their kitchenware innovations. Western students won four out of the six awards given internationally. The GIA Awards,…