Gov. Gary Locke, Stephen Fodor, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of California-based biotechnology company Affymetrix Inc.; and Dr. Ed Tingstad, orthopaedic surgeon for Washington State University and University of Idaho men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic teams, will speak during WSU’s 108th spring commencement set for May 8 in Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum in Pullman. Locke will speak at the 8 a.m. ceremony for business, economics and education graduates; Fodor at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony for engineering, architecture, nursing, pharmacy, sciences and veterinary medicine, and agricultural, human, and natural resource sciences graduates; and Tingstad at the 3 p.m. ceremony for liberal arts graduates. Fodor and Tingstad are WSU graduates. About 2,100 students — 1,900 undergraduates and 200 graduate and professional — are expected to take part in the three ceremonies, said Teri Nelson, university commencement coordinator. Recently, WSU has conferred approximately 5,300 bachelor’s, master’s, professional and doctoral degrees in a typical year.
8 a.m. ceremony, College of Business and Economics
Sandi Brabb
Sandi Brabb of Colfax knows WSU Commencement well. A 12-year WSU employee, she is a member of the WSU Commencement Committee. On the committee, she represents the College of Veterinary Medicine, for which she is the college’s assistant director of the undergraduate neuroscience program, Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology. While she is used to applauding the efforts of students, some of the applause during this commencement will be for her. During the ceremony, she will earn a master of business administration degree, magna cum laude, from the WSU College of Business and Economics. Her two children will receive undergraduate degrees during the same ceremony rather than with their respective colleges. Son Stephen Ludka (pronounced with a short “u”) is receiving a communication (advertising) bachelor’s degree. Medical school-bound daughter Tiffany Ludka is earning a neuroscience bachelor’s degree. Her daughter-in-law, Zaneta Ludka, is a WSU preveterinary student. For the record, Sandi’s other children, J.R. and Ian, say they will attend WSU, too. She is a 1975 graduate of Temple City (Calif.) High School and is a communications graduate of Cal State Fullerton. Her mother, Barbara Palmer, lives in Gig Harbor and her father, Richard Palmer, lives in Port Townsend. Among those in the commencement audience applauding will be Sandi’s husband, John Brabb, finance budget coordinator for the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, and family members, including some from California, Idaho and Washington. Digital photos of Sandi Brabb and her children taken on campus outside Todd Hall — home of the WSU College of Business and Economics — are available from Bev Makhani, the college’s communications director, 509.335.3957, makhani@wsu.edu.
Contact:
Sandi Brabb, WSU, 509.335.2190, brabb@wsu.edu
Colfax home: 509.397.6058, Cell: 509.336.9158l
(UPDATED: 4/28/04 — The original information incorrectly reported the graduation year and degree earned from Walla Walla College.)
8 a.m. ceremony, College of Education
Marcella “Marcy” Palmer
A member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Marcy Palmer was a social worker for Nespelem on the Colville Indian Reservation. She came to WSU to earn a doctoral degree in counseling psychology. Her doctoral dissertation is “Colville Tribal Members’ Views of Mental Health and Wellness: A Qualitative Investigation.” She hopes to return to the reservation to work as a psychologist for her tribe. She is a 1989 graduate of Hiram Johnson High School West Campus, Sacramento, Calif. A 1997 graduate of Eastern Washington University, she earned a Master of Social Work from Walla Walla College in 1998.
Contact:
Marcy Palmer, Fort Collins, Colo., 910.206.0570, poohtigger63@hotmail.com
Brian McNeill, professor/co-director of Training, Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology, WSU College of Education, 509.335.6477, mcneill@mail.wsu.edu
11:30 a.m. ceremony , College of Engineering and Architecture
Tonia “Toni” Gibson
On to earning an electrical engineering bachelor of science degree, Toni Gibson overcame many challenges. She is one of five women graduating this spring from WSU in a traditionally male-dominated field. She is a single mother raising two sons — Rob Gibson, a WSU student, and Dave Gibson, a Pullman High School student. She has been an academic success by being on the President’s Honor Roll and being invited to join an engineering honor society. During winter break, between fall semester 2003 and spring semester 2004, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma, had surgery and is on chemotherapy. Nothing has stopped her from her academic goal. It’s remarkable she’s been able to go to class – taking a full load of difficult classes — because of the stress of chemotherapy, said Char Grimes, WSU College of Engineering and Architecture undergraduate academic coordinator. The daughter of Dorothy and Wayne Pollard of Edmonds, she is a 1979 graduate of San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, Calif. She lived in Tacoma, where she attended college briefly before working for a poultry production plant. She had worked her way up to management when the plant was closed. Gibson was given a choice of relocating to another plant in Washington or returning to college. She selected college and attended Pierce College. Initially, she studied business but started taking every math and science class she could because she enjoyed them. In order to stay together, the family moved to Pullman after she transferred to WSU. She is thankful for the support she has received from her sons, including help with household duties and driving her to and from chemotherapy treatments in Lewiston. Her mother has temporarily moved in with them to help, too. She also thanks Deuk Heo and Kevin Tomsovic, electrical engineering faculty members, for allowing her to reschedule exams and make up assignments. Starting in the fall, she plans to attend graduate school at WSU. Her career ambition is to become a teacher. She already has some teaching experience. At both Pierce College and WSU she has tutored math and engineering classes. “To sit in class and have a good instructor makes all the difference in the world,’’ she said.
Contacts:
Toni Gibson, Pullman. 509.334.5954, PacOcean@aol.com
Tina Hilding, College of Engineering and Architecture communications, 509.335.5095, thilding@wsu.edu
Char Grimes, College of Engineering and Architecture student services, 509.335.1584, char2@wsu.edu
11:30 a.m. ceremony, College of Engineering and Architecture
Jonathan Kirk, Lindsey Egeland and Nigel Campbell, first graduates of WSU’s Program in Bioengineering.
Nigel Campbell, Lindsey Egeland and Jonathan Kirk are the first graduating class in bioengineering at WSU. They set a high standard for future bioengineering bachelor of science majors. In 2002, the College of Engineering and Architecture, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences established the degree because bioengineering is one of engineering’s fastest growing disciplines in engineering, said Denny Davis, bioengineering director. The students have been “outstanding students and go-getters,” flexible enough to deal with a new program going through many changes, he said. They were part of a student team that developed, designed and produced a working posture measurement device for their senior design project in biosystems engineering. The device allows physical therapists to measure clients’ posture. A business plan they developed for the device won first place in a WSU College of Business and Economics competition. The first bioengineering class includes:
–A 1996 Pullman High School graduate, Campbell is the son of Judith and Gaylon Campbell of Pullman. Married with two young children, he attended WSU and was on the President’s Honor Roll. He wrote for WSU’s student newspaper The Daily Evergreen and was a Pullman School District tutor and fifth grade outdoor camp counselor. He plans to continue his education at medical school.
–A 2000 graduate of Sentinel High School in Missoula, Mont., Egeland is the daughter of Carol and Terry Egeland of Missoula. Also on the President’s Honor Roll, she lettered four years as a member of the WSU women’s basketball team, three times making the Pac-10 Conference all-academic team. She was one of 12 WSU student athletes selected for the 2003 Cougar Pride Academic Salute. She was a volunteer member of Team CARE, WSU Athletics’ community outreach and service that addresses various community issues and needs. She plans to attend graduate school in bioengineering.
–A 2000 graduate of Olympia’s Capital High School, Kirk is the son of Cathy Kirk of Olympia and Art Kirk of Oak Harbor. He has been the College of Engineering and Architecture’s Coordinating Council chair and an Associated Students of WSU senator. In April, he took part in a model United Nations conference in New York. He is a 2002 WSU President’s Award winner for his leadership and community service. With a minor in music, he performed with a WSU faculty brass quintet and played french horn with a WSU woodwind sextet that placed third at the Music Teacher’s National Association Chamber Ensemble Competition. He will attend graduate school in bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
Contact:
Nigel Campbell, Pullman, 509.332.3531, nigel@decagon.com
Lindsey Egeland, Pullman, 509.332.5515, legeland21@msn.com
Jonathan Kirk, Pullman, 509.332.7021, jkirk@wsu.edu
Tina Hilding, College of Engineering and Architecture communications, 509.335.5095, thilding@wsu.edu
Char Grimes, College of Engineering and Architecture student services, 509.335.1584, char2@wsu.edu
11:30 a.m. ceremony, College of Nursing
Immaculee Mukakalisa
Born in Rwanda, Africa, Immaculee Mukakalisa attended primary school in her hometown. In order to attend second school, she moved two hours away to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city. In 1987, she graduated from the school and worked as a secretary in an agriculture research institute. Later she atte
nded a year of law school. When she decided to seek additional education, the political situation in Rwanda became dangerous as war broke out in 1994. In constant danger, fearing for her life and being hunted by those who wanted to kill her, she lived in hiding for three months. When the war ended, she learned that all of her family members had been killed, except her mother and two sisters. As she assessed her life, she remembered her helpless feeling in Rwanda when people were sick and dying and she was not able to help them. Therefore, she decided to pursue a career through which she could serve others and help them be healthy. She learned English so she could take courses to become a nurse. Mukakalisa came to the United States in 1996, living first in Idaho before setting in Spokane, where she attends the Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in nursing, she is open to a career in a variety of nursing fields, including pediatrics.
Contact:
Immaculee Mukaklisa, Spokane, 509.838.0437, kalisa@wsu.edu
Anne Hirsch, Associate Dean, School of Nursing, 509.324.7335, hirsch@wsu.edu
11:30 a.m. ceremony, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences
Trivendhiran “Triven” Pillai
It’s a long distance to travel between Fiji in the South Pacific and Pullman. Triven Pillai and his family – whose ancestors went to Fiji in the early 1800s during English colonization – emigrated from Fiji to the United States in 1988 and now make their home in Kent. He soon will be traveling a long distance again, to Malaysia in southeastern Asia, to begin his career. A 1999 graduate of Kentridge High School, he is the son of Angeline and Gayan Pillai of Kent. He earned an associate’s degree from Auburn’s Green River Community College and entered WSU in 2001. During the ceremony, he will receive a WSU bachelor of science degree in animal sciences. He’s earned his degree while working 25 hours a week at Safeway in Pullman. His WSU student activities include work for the Cougar Cattle Feeders, an organization through which students learn feedlot management and marketing skills. Scholarships for students interested in the beef industry are supported by the organization. Ray Wright, chair of animal sciences, said Triven’s people skills and can-do attitude will get him a long way in life and in his profession. His first career stop will be in Malaysia. He will work on a three-year contract from the Malaysian government, taking his “knowledge and cultural background to help develop a government-owned cattle ranch from the ground up,” Wright said. Cattle on the ranch will control forage by grazing. Currently forage is controlled with herbicide.
Contact:
Triven Pillai, Pullman, 509.432.6107, triven_pillai@wsu.edu
Ray Wright, WSU Animal Sciences, 509.335.5523, raywright@wsu.edu
11:30 a.m. ceremony, College of Veterinary Medicine
Jarrett Riley
Challenges have been a constant part of Jarrett Riley’s life. He was born premature in Virginia. As a newborn, he had surgery for a ruptured hernia and was treated for a virally infected heart. Medication, which treated the infection, left him without primary teeth. This left him unable to chew food until his adult teeth came in at age 11. At age four, he and his family moved from Virginia to Tacoma. At the time he was nearing graduation in 2000 from Tacoma’s Lincoln High School – he also attended Tacoma Community College through Running Start — and applying to attend WSU. It was a stressful time because his mother was diagnosed with lymph cancer (now in remission). In neuroscience, he has worked on research projects with Heiko Jansen, faculty member in the College of Veterinary medicine, and other researchers. This experience helped him decide he wants to become a medical doctor. Entering medical school, however, will have to be after completing his two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is awaiting assignment for his mission, which will begin in June. Scholarships have helped him pay for his WSU education. His limited background in math made certifying as a neuroscience major at WSU a challenge, but after hard work, he certified in the spring of his junior year. Since that time, he has been on the WSU President’s Honor Roll every semester. When he graduates with a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience, it will be cum laude, meaning “with honors” for graduating with a 3.5 to 3.69 grade point average.
Contact:
Jarrett Riley, Tacoma, 253.473.1321, jeriley@wsu.edu
Sandi Brabb, WSU Neuroscience Program, 509.335.2190, sbrabb@wsu.edu
11:30 a.m. ceremony, College of Sciences
Emily Squyer
Emily Squyer is an achiever. When she graduates from WSU, she will have accomplished three more things. First, it will be as a member of the university’s nationally respected Honors College and, secondly and thirdly, it will be with two bachelor’s degrees — one in biology, the other in theatre arts. This fall, she enters the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa., where she will attend medical school, keeping her on the path toward becoming a surgeon. As a medical doctor, she wants to bring patients suffering from major trauma and near death back to life. The daughter of Lorna and Peter Squyer, she grew up on the family farm in the small South Dakota town Nemo. At South Dakota’s Lead (pronounced “leed”) High School in Lead, she graduated in 2000 with a class of 88 students. (Nemo and Lead are, respectively, about 23 miles and 45 miles northwest of Rapid City.) On the farm, she learned first-hand about animal anatomy. At WSU, she has studied human anatomy, including time spent as a volunteer student assistant to those teaching anatomy. Her success at WSU will be no surprise to those back home. When she graduated from Lead High School, the state’s governor and the Associated School Boards of South Dakota honored her as among the state’s top one percent of graduating seniors. Her high school activities included running on the cross-country and track teams. She also gained drama acting experience in school plays and was among those from her high school to win an award in a one-act play festival sponsored by the South Dakota High School Activities Association. As an actress in WSU theatre productions, she has played roles ranging from a spider –Charlotte in “Charlotte’s Web” — to Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth.
Contact:
Emily Squyer, Pullman, 509.332.4405, emsquyer@hotmail.com
Valorie Fisher, Academic Coordinator Senior, 509.335.4549, fishervk@wsu.edu
3 p.m. ceremony, College of Liberal Arts
Elene Flores Davidson
It took a while for Elene Flores Davidson of Mill Creek to enroll at Washington State University, but once she did, she has been a successful student, gaining from it and contributing to its quality. With a 3.55 grade point average, she will be graduating from the College of Liberal Arts with a bachelor or arts degree in communication from WSU’s nationally respected Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. She is the daughter of Therese Flores of Mill Creek and Jeffrey Davison. Her sister, Camarin, is a 2002 WSU history graduate and is currently working on a master’s degree in education. Her brother, Mark, is a high school student. After Elene graduated in 2002 from Everett’s Henry M. Jackson High School, she studied a year at the University of Washington before transferring to New York University. Her time at NYU included studying in London. She then transferred to WSU and praises the university for being “hands-on” and allowing students to lead. “The involvement and networking have been excellent here,” she said. “When I first came (to WSU) I was so nervous to leave the big city and come to Pullman. But, people smile at you here. It’s so welcoming and it’s definitely a community feeling.” As a student, she served as chair of the University Recreation Board and was one of five student directors on the board of the Bookie, WSU’s student bookstore. She has been a teaching assistant and research assistant for Lincoln James, a Murrow School faculty member. She says she leaves the university well prepared. “I have confidence in what I’ve learned,” she said.
Contact:
Elene Flores Davidson, Pullman, 509.333.4431
Therese Flores (mother), Mill Creek, 425.398.9066
Tien-Tsung Lee, WSU Murrow School faculty, 509.335.0113, ttlee@wsu.edu
Arlene Parkay, College of Liberal Arts Academic Coordinator, 509.335.6708, parkaya@wsu.edu
3 p.m. ceremony, College of Liberal Arts
Tracy Mueller Behler
Married and a mother, Tracy Mueller Behler is busy. She drives 135 miles roundtrip each day to come to classes at WSU. Despite her hectic schedule, she will graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in speech and hearing sciences with a 4.0 grade point average. Behler is also the recipient of a President’s Leadership Award. She says support from her husband, Dennis, and their children, Joe De, Tressa Beth and Kit, made it all possible. Yet, her education is not over. She plans to attend graduate school in Spokane and become a speech pathologist. Eventually, she hopes to work with school children. A 1980 graduate of Timberline High School in Weippe, Idaho, she has studied at Spokane Falls Community College, the University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College. In total, she has been attending school for 17 years, taking evening and summer classes. Her background includes working 12 years in special education, early childhood education and in kindergarten to 12th-grade education. She and her family live in Culdesac, Idaho, and farm about 2,000 acres, raising barley, peas, canola and grass. She is in involved in her community, serving as a commissioner for the Evergreen Highway District and chair of the Lewis County Transportation Planning Council. She is the second woman in history appointed to the Idaho Association of Highway Districts board of directors. Also, she is on the Craigmont Library Board and involved with Save Our Schools. There is nothing but praise from her about WSU Speech and Hearing Sciences. “Every staff and faculty member … fellow students have been very accepting …This is a class-act department. I’ve had nothing but great experiences,” she said.
Contact:
Tracy Mueller Behler, Culdesac, Idaho, 208.924.7404
Lauri Sue Torkelson, WSU, 509.335.4525, torkelson@wsu.edu,
Arlene Parkay, College of Liberal Arts academic coordinator, 509.335.6708, parkaya@wsu.edu
3 p.m. ceremony, College of Liberal Arts
Ryan Jesperson
Ryan Jesperson will begin graduate studies at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, Conn., this fall. Being admitted to such a prestigious music school is a credit to his talents, hard work and Washington State University. He entered WSU after graduating in 1999 from Selah High School and will graduate from the university with a bachelor of arts degree. At WSU, he has won award
s for musical compositions and arrangements. He was selected from more than 125 applicants by the Society of Composers for a performance at the National Student Convention in Miami and the SCI Region VII Conference at Cal State University, Northridge. In addition to six published compositions, he did an arrangement of the Broadway musical “West Side Story” for WSU’s student singing/dancing group, Crimson Revue. He has won three awards for undergraduate scholarship presented by the Faculty Association for Scholarship and Research. About one of his awards, Greg Yasinitsky, WSU music faculty member, said, “Ryan is an unusually prolific composer. He has written a significant number of pieces for a variety of ensembles – everything from music for classical duos to compositions for vocal jazz ensemble to orchestrations for jazz big band. He is already building a national reputation…” At the prestigious University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, he has won several honors, including (in 2004) two in composition and one each in best vocal and best instrumental composition.
Contact:
Ryan Jesperson, Selah, 509.307.6540, rjesperson@wsu.edu
Gerald Berthiaume, WSU School of Music faculty, 509.335.3898, berthia@wsu.edu
Arlene Parkay, College of Liberal Arts academic coordinator, 509.335.6708, parkaya@wsu.edu
