Fall 2022 Alumni Newsletter
Fall 2022
11/30/2022
Greetings Honors Alumni,
We hope this newsletter finds you well. This quarter, we'd like to extend an invitation to reconnect with us and share how you're doing. Even if it's just a quick 'Hello!' email, we'd love to hear about your current adventures.
Additionally, there has been chatter about alumni wanting to connect with each other and current Honors students. Given that we typically only host one alumni event associated with Whatcom READS, we'd love to hear more of your thoughts.
If you are so inclined, please fill out the below survey to indicate what type of alumni participation YOU would like to see in the future. Better yet, if you would like to help organize alumni events, our contacts at the Alumni Foundation are here to help!
[Survey no longer available]
2022-23 Honors Cohort
WWU's Honors College received a record number of admissions applications (count: 1,089) for Fall 2022 and yielded 244 students, which is the largest first-year cohort in program history. Some first-year cohort stats for those interested:
- 42% non-resident students (20 states represented)
- 8% first-generation students
- 26% identify as students of color
The Honors Peer Mentor program has continued to support this growth by connecting with incoming Honors students from underserved backgrounds and facilitating partnerships with cross-campus allies. We're excited to see where this year takes us!
Meet the 2022-23 Mentor Lead, Jay Robles
Jay (he/they) is a Sociology and comparative cultural studies student who takes an interdisciplinary approach to their studies, research, and advocacy. As a disabled trans multiracial Indigenous student, intersectionality, multiplicity, and community are core to his practice and being. After graduating this upcoming spring, Jay will continue on to law school to study race and social justice law and earn a graduate degree in Indigenous studies.
After spending 2021-22 as an Honors peer mentor, he is back to lead the program this year! Jay spends most of their time connecting with students, staff, and faculty across campus to work on complex student issues. Through all of his work on-campus, he hopes to bring more energy, attention, resources, and community to underserved students, especially those with intersecting identities. In their free time, Jay likes going on walks, binge-watching K-dramas, and playing Fortnite.
2022 Honors Abroad - Ecuador
The Honors Ecuador program is distinctive in its interdisciplinary structure: the Faculty-led Global Learning Program is led by two faculty members who teach two very different topics. Senior Instructor Amy Carbajal from Modern & Classical Languages teaches the language, humanities, and cultural immersion half of the course, while Honors College Director and Geology Professor Scott Linneman teaches the geology half.
Linneman and Carbajal were joined by Biology Professor Deb Donovan (along with her husband, Political Science Professor Todd Donovan, who tagged along on his own dime), who would dig into the marine science component of the trip once they got to the Galápagos. Learn more about their 19 life-changing days in Ecuador with WWU’s Honors College.
Fall Senior Capstone Presentations
Mark your calendar for Fall Quarter Senior Capstone presentations! Scheduled from Friday, December 2 to Wednesday, December 7, you won't want to miss these incredible presentations. To arrange attendance at any presentation, please email Honors@wwu.edu to request the Zoom link. All times listed are in Pacific Time.
Here's a sneak peek of some of our upcoming presentations:
