Tabitha Espina (’20 PhD English) is fascinated with language and the power of words, along with their ability to shape identity and sense of belonging. She grew up on the tiny island of Guam and moved an ocean away to earn her doctoral degree at WSU. Now an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at […]
For students who are the first in their family to attend college, the WSU GEAR UP program provides opportunities to further their education in ways they might never have imagined. “GEAR UP not only set me up for success for college, but I was able to grow as a leader,” said Maria Yepez Perez (’20 […]
Derren Patterson (’07 History) wanted to see the world. After stops in China and Korea, he landed in Bolivia—and made the landlocked South American country his home. The ecotourism adventurer has been sharing his passion for the place—part mountain range, part desert, part rainforest—for twelve years now. “I’ve guided Hollywood movie stars, princes and princesses, […]
Bill Gardner grew up on Pullman’s College Hill and thought for sure he was on track to be a teacher when he graduated from WSU. His father was a soil physicist at the University from 1950 to 1983. “I was 11 before I realized there were professions other than being a professor,” he says. “If […]
Krist Novoselić, bass guitarist of the iconic grunge band Nirvana, was driving home one day “and there was a billboard. ‘Earn your degree in your pajamas.’ And I was like whoa, wait a minute. I had no idea. I looked at the website [for WSU Global Campus], and I was like oh man, yeah. I […]
Stephanie Schendel caught the journalism bug in college, spending two years on the staff of The Daily Evergreen and observing Pullman police officers as they responded to calls related to drunkenness, domestic disputes, overdoses—even a stabbing. “I did maybe a half-dozen ride-alongs,” says Schendel (’12 Spanish, Comm). “They were very patient with me and answered all of […]
In the days after Mount St. Helens first erupted—sending some 540 million tons of ash over an area of 22,000 square miles—WSU ecology professor Richard “Dick” Mack was already thinking of its potential research value. “It wasn’t research that I intended to do,” Mack says, “but there was a unique opportunity and it would be […]
Cesar Munguia, student services coordinator/advisor for Cougs Rise, received a 2020 Crimson Spirit recognition. After earning his WSU undergraduate degree in sociology, Cesar joined the University as a full-time staff member in the Office of Academic Engagement. As a project coordinator for Cougs Rise, he is committed to providing support services to students with the […]
People in what is now Washington state were smoking Rhus glabra, a plant commonly known as smooth sumac, more than 1,400 years ago. The discovery, made by a team of WSU researchers, marks the first-time scientists have identified residue from a non-tobacco plant in an archeological pipe. “The research casts doubt on the commonly held […]
Sharing the complete picture of humanity, especially the hard topics, so that one day she can affect positive change. That’s the reason photographer and WSU Tri-Cities alumna Madison Rosenbaum first picked up a camera. Shedding light on difficult social issues and providing a voice for the unheard is also what led her to document local […]