The Washington State University College of Education kinesiology faculty has recognized its 2019-2020 outstanding students.
Service
Shweta Mohan
From the moment she first stepped foot on campus, Shweta Mohan was heavily involved in many aspects of her program. She was an active participant in the Kinesiology Club and ended up as president of the RSO. This club helps host blood drives, as well as organize the Bruya-Wood Undergraduate Research Conference each semester. Additionally, Mohan was the lead ambassador for the kinesiology program, guiding future students who were interested in the program. She was a TA for the anatomy course and helped in the Exercise Physiology and Performance Laboratory (EPPL).
For her internship, she was hired by EXOS to serve as its first corporate wellness intern at the Nintendo headquarters location, where she instructed group fitness classes, developed and executed wellness events, and hosted educational health talks. Mohan said her goal is to become a medical physician. “I’m currently most interested in family medicine, however, I’m also drawn to sports medicine, and internal medicine,” she said. “I am keeping my options open for now.”
Work ethic
Stephanie Cho
Stephanie Cho has been a devoted student-athlete, on the track and field squad, primarily in the hurdles with, as one nominating faculty member noted, “the keen ability to balance academics and sport performance.” That included supervising various efforts in the EPPL, including faculty estimation of “hundreds of hours” gaining research-based experience in sport performance. Another faculty member said: “She is dedicated, diligent, and full of integrity. Stephanie really values those who put forth their best efforts on tasks, given how hard she works herself. Further impressive is how she goes about her daily work in a quiet and consistent manner.”
The Vancouver, B.C. native plans said she plans to return to WSU to close out her track eligibility and begin her master’s degree in kinesiology. She said afterward, she would like to go to medical school and become a doctor.
Research
Veronica Garcia
Not only was Veronica Garcia a McNair Scholar, not only did Garcia conduct high-quality research with the Psychology of Physical Activity Lab, but her faculty nominator noted her progress while at WSU. “I had the privilege of witnessing Veronica grow tremendously in her research skills during her time working with me. So much so that she is, in my estimation, in the one percent of undergraduate students I have worked with.” While working in the lab, Garcia helped lead data collection, data entry, composing study items such as protocol, survey packets, and schedules.
In the fall, Garcia will be attending The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she earned a fellowship in one of the top kinesiology graduate programs in the nation. Garcia said she plans to pursue her Ph.D. “I would like to possibly become a professor or find ways to use and apply my research in more underrepresented or minority populations.”
