WSU Fall Commencement 2008: Highlight Students

A former WSU faculty member and administrator, Cole is president emerita of Spelman College in Atlanta and Bennett College in North Carolina. She will be the first person to receive an honorary WSU doctoral degree since 2005. The first such degree was given in 1929.

Presiding at the event — the seventh fall commencement ceremony in the university’s history –will be Elson S. Floyd, who became WSU’s 10th president in May of this year.

Almost 800 students – about 750 undergraduate students and 50 graduate students – are expected to participate in the WSU ceremony in Pullman, said Teri Rales, WSU commencement coordinator.

In the most recent year for which official figures are available (from fall semester 2006 to summer semester 2007), WSU produced 5,886 degrees statewide. This includes 4,813 undergraduate degrees and 1,073 graduate and professional degrees, according to WSU Institutional Research.

During the ceremony, WSU President Elson S. Floyd will highlight these graduates:

Kim Y. Anderson, Tacoma 
College: Nursing
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
High School: Lincoln High School, Tacoma
Other Colleges: Pacific Lutheran University and Pierce College.
Career Goal: Work as a Pediatric Nurse and return to school in the near future to pursue a master’s degree
Parents: Yoeun Hang, Tacoma
 
Bio:
Kim Anderson grew up in the United States after her family emigrated from Cambodia when she was only two months old and received aid from a sponsor family in the United States. Although a physical birth defect with her fingers posed as a barrier to her abilities to provide care to others, Anderson realized her passion to help others early in her life and never let the defect hold her back from becoming a social caregiver to others in similar situations.
 
After enrolling in college and exploring possible career paths, her enthusiasm toward nursing grew stronger and she decided to enroll in Washington State University to achieve her goal in becoming a nurse.
 
Anderson has an innate devotion to helping others and making a significant impact in their lives. She is keeping her options open for all fields of nursing, but due to her adoration of children, she has a strong passion for Pediatrics. She has loved being a part of the Intercollegiate College of Nursing (ICN) and is thrilled that her life experiences were able to bring her to such a rewarding profession. She is grateful for her family, both sponsor and blood-related, for supporting her in making it this far, as well as the staff and faculty of ICN that have made her college career meaningful and enjoyable. She feels that she is perpetually in their debt. Anderson cannot wait to begin her career as a nurse and plans to return to WSU in the near future to pursue a master’s degree in nursing.

Contact:
Renae Richter, Academic Coordinator, 509/334-7337, richre@wsu.edu
Kim Y. Anderson, 253/376-1738, hangya529@gmail.com

Maite Andrea Chauvin, Pullman
College: Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences
Department: Food Science & Human Nutrition
Degree: Doctoral degree in Food Science
High School: Colegio La Dolorosa, Quito-Ecuador, 1994
Other Colleges: Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador, 1998; WSU degrees, both in Food Science: Master of Science 2004, Bachelor of Science 1999.
Career goal: Become a professor working as a liaison with the food industry in development of new product ideas for identified consumer segments, sensory profiling on specific attributes of food products and their positioning in the market. Other areas of sensory science she would like to study are the development of methods and theory for sensory eval
uation of foods and other products with sensory properties. Cross-cultural studies on taste and consumer behavior regarding food quality are other areas of interest. In addition, she would like to work as a consultant for a non-profit organization to help less fortunate communities.
Parents: Maite Perez and Vicente Chauvin

Bio: From Ecuador, Andrea Chauvin began studying in WSU Food Science & Human Nutrition in fall semester 1995. She withdrew and returned to Quito, Ecuador, in fall 1997 to deal with personal and family issues (her brother’s death). While in Quito, she was a quality control assistant for Delvi Catering Services, supervising overall quality control of catering services for Continental, Air France and American Airlines. In fall 1997, she returned to WSU and earned a Food Science & Human Nutrition bachelor’s degree with a Business Administration minor in December 1999.

After earning that degree, Chauvin returned to Quito and worked as a project director for the United Nations Development Program improving Internet access through a Web page and developing a Vulnerability Index for Ecuador. In addition, she taught (2000-2002) English and management classes to 500 freshmen students at the Universidad International del Ecuador. In the spring 2003, she returned to WSU and Pullman, earning a Master of Science in Food Science in December of 2004 and then began pursuing her Food Science doctoral degree.

She is now a U.S. citizen currently living in Pullman with her husband Fariss.

A President’ Honor Roll student and scholarship winner at WSU, she has been a research and teaching assistant at WSU. A former WSU Food Science Club member, her honors include receiving a Puget Sound Institute of Food Technologist “Outstanding Student Award,” a “Scholastic Award” and a Northwest Food Processors Association Award. She has been a member of an award-winning student food product development team. She is former president of the WSU Dairy Products Team, which took part in a national competition in Chicago.

After completing her doctoral research and dissertation on the standardization, multidimensional standardization of the textural perception of foods. Chauvin gave birth Nov. 25 and, if everything goes well, she hopes to attend commencement with her family.

Barry Swanson, interim chair and professor in the WSU Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, said, “Andrea is a very enthusiastic and empathetic people person as well as a persistent student of food science. She is looking forward to a rewarding and prosperous professional career.”

Contact:
Barry G. Swanson, Food Science & Human Nutrition, 509/335-3793, swansonb@wsu.edu
Andrea Chauvin, 509/338-0800, chauvin@mail.wsu.edu

Teresa L. Coons, Clarkston
College: College of Engineering and Architecture.
Degree: Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, with an emphasis in environmental engineering High School: Charles Francis Adams High School, Clarkston, 2003.
Career Goal: Plans to attend graduate school at the University of Colorado and then hopes to travel the world, providing engineered systems to improve people’s quality of life.
Parents: Diane and Alan Coons, Clarkston.

Bio:
Teresa Coons, a native of Clarkston, became interested in environmental engineering in high school. “I didn’t want to be stuck in an office all day,” she said. “With environmental engineering, I thought that at least I’d be doing testing outside.”

The more she studied it, the more it increasingly fit in with her life goals and interests. “Basically, I like to help people and get in there and work with my hands,” she said. “[Environmental engineering] provides me a way to do that.”

Coons, who graduates in December with a bachelor of science in civil engineering, is not the stereotypical engineer sitting in a cubicle designing widgets. Coons has demonstrated during her time at WSU that she will use her engineering degree to give back to the community, make a difference and improve living conditions for others.

She has spent a large amount of her time at WSU traveling from Mississippi to Mexico, helping in humanitarian efforts. Although much of her travels have been involved in humanitarian work, Coons also was able to travel to Mexico City as a part of a research project in the WSU Laboratory for Atmospheric Research. She was later invited to Victoria, B.C., to present her work at a professional conference.

After returning to WSU, she worked over the summer helping to process data. Her work with the Laboratory for Atmospheric research also took her to Colorado, where she helped to set up an experiment in the Rocky Mountains to test the flow carbon dioxide through a creek valley.

Coons plans to attend graduate school at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo., and hopes to eventually travel the world, providing engineered systems to improve people’s quality of life.

Contact:
Tina Hilding, Communications Coordinator – College of Engineering and Architecture, 509-335-5095
Teresa L. Coons, tlcoons@gmail.com, 509-432-1701

Jaclyn C. Gotch, Pullman
College: College of Education
Degree: Master of Education in educational leadership and counseling psychology.
High School: Kennewick High School, Kennewick, 1998.
Career Goal: After taking some time off after her first child is born she hopes to find a student advising position in higher education.
Parents: Carol and Tom Clark, Kennewick.

Bio:
After spending one year at Western Washington University, Jaclyn C. Gotch transferred to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., where she earned her bachelor of science in psychology in 2001. After graduation, she and her husband moved to Moscow, Idaho, where she worked as an administrative assistant in the math department while her husband was working on his master’s degree.

Once her husband completed his degree, he accepted a position at WSU, and Gotch began her graduate program at WSU.

While working on her graduate degree, Gotch has managed to balance different roles, including her assistantship with Lenoar Foster as an editorial assistant for “The Bulletin,” the official journal for the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Gotch worked hard for her classes and for different professors, but she still managed to make time for her peers on a regular basis. “During my pregnancy she helped me stay on track with my own coursework,” said Kellie Murphy. “Simply put, Jaclyn is always there for us.”

Currently, Gotch is taking better care of herself as well. She is expecting her first child in April.

Gotch said her education has come in full circle. “Provost Bates was the dean of my college while I was at Virginia Tech; his signature is on my diploma. And now that I am graduating from WSU, he will be officiating at the ceremony. What a small world we live in!”

Contact:
Douglas Pierce, Director of the Office of Student Services, Douglas_pierce@wsu.edu, 509/335-4855
Jaclyn C. Gotch, jgotch@wsu.edu, 509/332-2690

Lissette Jimenez, Walla Walla
College: Veterinary Medicine
Department: Neuroscience Program
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Bachelor of Science in Psychology
High School: Walla Walla High School, Walla Walla, 2003
Career Goal: Finish medical school to become a primary care physician
Parents: Felicitas and Francisco Jimenez, Walla Walla

Bio:
As a first generation college student, Lissette Jimenez was born in Los Angeles, Calif., and grew up in Walla Walla after her family immigrated to the United States from Mexico. While growing up, she was a Spanish interpreter for her family in many occasions, including medical visits. Through those experiences, she recognized the importance of good communication skills in the medical field and dreamed that someday she would be able to attend WSU and work toward her goal of becoming a primary care physician.

When she came to WSU she never expected that she would work in the lab of a world-renowned sleep researcher, Dr. Jim Krueger. She also never imagined that her own WSU-sponsored sleep research would lead her to summer research opportunities at Brown University and Yale.

Jimenez remembers her first day in the Krueger lab. She knew nothing about lab work, from pipettes to chemicals, but everyone in the lab helped guide her. Now, she is able to mentor other undergraduates in research and has gained the knowledge and developed the confidence to work as a teaching assistant in an organic chemistry class and a senior-level neurophysiology course.

Jimenez is currently in the process of applying to medical schools around the country, with the hope that she will begin the next step in reaching her life-long goal.

Contact:
Sandi Brabb, Assistant Director, 509/335-2190, brabb@wsu.edu
Lissette Jimenez, 509/301-7479, liss_jim22@yahoo.com

John A. Leraas, Olympia
College: Sciences
Department: Physics
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Physics
High School: River Ridge High School, Lacey, 2003
Career Goal: To manage an innovative technology-based company
Parents: Susan and John Leraas, Olympia

Bio:
John Leraas came to WSU in the fall of 2003 as a Distinguished Regents Scholar and a member of the Honors College. He has maintained a 3.9 GPA in the College of Sciences and will receive his bachelor’s degree in physics.

Leraas credits Todd Thedell, his high school physics teacher, with giving him inspiration in his fascination with physics. Leraas has also worked with important mentors within the WSU Physics faculty. They include Regents Professor Tom Dickinson, professors Steve Allen, Matt McCluskey, Steve Langford and Fred Gittes, and all of the WSU Department of Physics and Astronomy staff members. Leraas’ interest in mathematics was deepened by working with professors Duane DeTemple and V.S. Manoranjan.

Leraas has shown impressive achievements for an undergraduate by having published his research in the Journal of Applied Physics and Applied Surface Science and by presenting his research at a national meeting of the American Vacuum Society this year.

He is also an expert fly fisherman. He was given a how-to video by his father and started tying his own flies at the age of five. Leraas won an award in high school for his display of fly casting virtuosity in a talent contest. Dickinson said that Leraas’ dexterity has been very useful in projects with delicate electronics and credits his fly-tying skills.

Contact:
Fran Meserve, Office Sup
port Supervisor-College of Sciences, 509/335-5549
John A. Leraas, 509/432-4939, jleraas@yahoo.com

Chuk-Wing Ng, Hong Kong, China
College: Business
Department: Marketing and International Business
Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with dual majors, marketing and international business
High School: Jockey Club Ti-I College, Fo Tan, Hong Kong, China, 1999
Others Colleges: Utah State University, Hong Kong campus
Career goal:
Short-term: Be a professional marketer in a multinational firm
Mid-term: Be in top management within seven years
Long-term: Be a success in business and/or a professor
Parents: Sau-Lin Hui and Tao-Hung Ng

Bio:
After high school in her hometown of Hong Kong, China, Chuk-Wing Ng (ENG’) worked in sales and marketing. But, she knew a bachelor’s degree was needed to further meet her career goals, including being involved in marketing and business. So, at the same time she managed a beauty salon, she began college.

Ng studied at the Utah State University Hong Kong campus. Despite a heavy work load, studying and community volunteering, she earned a 3.5 grade point average in college and her beauty shop increased net profits 200 percent during a six month period.

Focusing on her education, she transferred to WSU and began classes in Pullman in 2005. It has been an exceptional experience for Ng. She has improved her grade point average to 3.78, has been on the WSU President’s Honor Roll each semester, has received five consecutive International Transfer Awards, and has been one of a select few to earn a WSU International Merit Award. Thanks to her success in WSU studies, she was recently inducted into the university’s Beta Gamma Sigma scholastic honor society for business and economics students.

Instructor Aditya Simha of WSU College of Business Department. of Management and Operations said during Ng’s two and one-half years attending WSU the “language barrier was her real challenge. I really admire her patient and positive attitude in overcoming any difficulty.” Ng’s academic dedication is shown through spending about seven hours a day reviewing material and preparing for classes. “This is considerably higher that the average preparation time that typical undergrad students” at the university devote to studies, said Simha.

Not only is Ng successful as a student, but she also helped other students by being an International New Student Orientation assistant and serving as an International Student Center peer mentor aiding new students in challenges they face academically and socially.