She waited to receive the award at the bottom on the ramp in a room full of her peers, clothed tables and plated dinners at Tulalip Resort Casino. The Executive Director of the Washington State Nurses Association took the stage to present the Leadership and Management Award to Western’s Sarah Bear—the RN-to-BSN program director.
“As an award recipient, I felt very much honored, from the readings and the elegance of the evening,” Bear said.
WWU Professor of Biology Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez’s research on harbor seals could yield important new information about the potential impacts the seals may have on the Salish Sea salmon crisis.
In addition to the things Gutierrez does as a professor for Western, he also has a long list of accomplishments in his life, including a key to the city of Tampa, Florida, an Oscar nomination for the IMAX movie “Dolphins,” and the Museum of Science and Industry's National Hispanic Scientist of the Year award.
More than 2,000 Western students graduated at the four commencement ceremonies held Friday and Saturday in Carver. Main speakers for the ceremonies were Pictionary creator Rob Angel, documentary filmmaker TJ Martin, former L’Oréal creative director Michael Jorgensen, and Boeing executive Jason Clark. Western also awarded a posthumous honorary degree to former student and Medal of Honor recipient James K. Okubo.
WWU photos by Dan Levine
WWU Associate Professor of Mathematics Millie Johnson is finishing up her last quarter and 35th year of teaching at Western.
“I never thought I was going to be a teacher, it was the farthest thing from my mind, and it just happened accidentally,” said Johnson, who has been at WWU since 1984. “But I loved it and never left.”
When she was growing up, the St. Paul, Minnesota native said she didn’t like school and the way education was working for her.
BELLINGHAM – Four prominent Western Washington University alumni will speak to graduates and their families at four commencement ceremonies in Carver Gymnasium Friday June 14, and Saturday June 15.
Main speakers for the ceremonies are Pictionary creator Rob Angel, documentary filmmaker TJ Martin, former L’Oréal creative director Michael Jorgensen, and Boeing executive Jason Clark. Western will also award a posthumous honorary degree to former student and Medal of Honor recipient James K. Okubo during one of the ceremonies.
Editor's note: Trying to find new ways to gather data is never easy - and as Geology student Keeley Chiasson explains in this story, it's a process of trial and error, of learning to overcome frustration and dead ends, and, hopefully at the end, a feeling of reward and accomplishment.
March 2018
We drove up logging roads on the Van Zandt dike, based in the foothills of the North Cascades, Washington. Several turns seemed to lead nowhere. When we reached a dead end, Geoff turned off the car.
Western Washington University will award a posthumous honorary bachelor’s degree at spring commencement Saturday, June 15 to James K. Okubo, a Medal of Honor recipient and former Western Washington College of Education student who was unable to finish his degree because his family was incarcerated during World War II along with about 120,000 West Coast residents of Japanese ancestry.
The degree will be presented at commencement Saturday, June 15, at 8:45 a.m. Tickets are required to attend the ceremony, which will also be livestreamed at www.ustream.tv/channel/wwu-live-events1
Western Washington University President Sabah Randhawa will honor seven graduates as Presidential Scholars during Commencement on Saturday, June 15.
Presidential Scholar awards honor top students in six colleges for their exceptional scholarship and service to the university and community.
Randhawa will present each of the following Presidential Scholars with a medallion:
Jona Paulreti Akelipa
College of Business and Economics
Western junior Risa Askerooth’s commitment to environmental justice on and off campus has led to Western’s first Udall Undergraduate Scholarship winner in more than a decade.
WWU junior Darby Finnegan’s passion for marine life and hard work has led her to become Western’s first Barry Goldwater Scholarship award winner since 2007.
The incredibly competitive $7,500 scholarship is awarded to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering, and is awarded to fewer than 10 percent of those who even qualify to be part of the rigorous application process.
Finnegan said she was honored to be Western’s first Goldwater recipient in more than 10 years.
