WSU Fall Commencement Dec. 13/Highlight Students

William Marler, Washington State University Regents’ president, will speak at WSU’s fall commencement set for 10 a.m. Dec. 13, in the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum in Pullman. The address by Marler, a 1982 WSU graduate, will be given at the third fall commencement in the university’s 113-year history. Marler is an attorney and partner in the law firm of Marler Clark in Seattle. He lives on Bainbridge Island. As a WSU student, he was the youngest person and first student ever elected to serve on the Pullman City Council. More than 580 students are expected to take part in the commencement, said WSU Commencement Coordinator Teri Nelson of the university’s registrar’s office. During the ceremony, WSU President V. Lane Rawlins will “highlight” these graduates:

Hillery Krebs, College of Veterinary Medicine

Earning a Washington State University bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, the study of the brain and nervous system, is an accomplishment against great odds for Hillery Krebs of Vancouver. She is receiving the degree with cum laude honors (3.5 to 3.69 grade point average) from the WSU Honors College. In addition, she also completed a major in psychology.

Here’s her story–After graduating in 1998 from Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, she started classes at WSU in the fall of 1999. In July 1999, the summer between her freshman and sophomore years, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. A few days later, she had surgery to remove part of the tumor. Radiation treatment followed. With the tumor greatly reduced and not growing, she took a year to recover with the help of exhaustive physical therapy. In fall 2000, she returned to WSU.

Here’s the rest of her story — In September 1992, she was showing symptoms of a brain tumor. Doctors could not find a cause for her nausea. In October 1996, she was hospitalized for extremely low weight. The next few years, she fought to gain weight despite the nausea. The summer (July 1999) after her freshman year at WSU, she returned to one of her doctors. After a neurological exam, a doctor scheduled an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imagine) exam based on the fact that her tongue deviated to the left. The tumor was discovered.

She is the daughter of Hilda Krebs, Vancouver, and Thomas Krebs, Portland, Ore., after graduation, she hopes to receive a hospital internship.

For additional information:

Hillery Krebs, Pullman, 509.333.3247, hikrebs@wsu.edu

Sandi Brabb, Neuroscience assistant director, 509.335.2190, brabb@wsu.edu

Starla Meighan, College of Veterinary Medicine

Starla Meighan is earning a doctoral degree in neuroscience. Her career goal is a postdoctoral position at WSU in the Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology to study the neuronal basis of hormone-associated gender differences in learning and memory. In the eight years she has pursued her dream of a doctoral degree, she has been married and had two children (now ages 2 and 7). She and her husband, Pete, also in the WSU Graduate School earning a doctoral degree, have balanced their needs as students with the responsibilities of parenting. “We’ve learned a lot about priorities,” she says.  “… It’s definitely a balancing act but worth every minute!” She is a 1989 graduate of Dothan (Alabama) High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1995 from Auburn University in Alabama. She is the daughter of Jan and Ned Bounds of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

For additional information:

Starla Meighan, Pullman, 509.334.3142, shunter@wsunix.wsu.edu

Sandi Brabb, Neuroscience assistant director, 509.335.2190, brabb@wsu.edu

Amanda McKinley, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences

Amanda McKinley of Waitsburg is graduating in less than four years (3.8 grade point average) through the WSU Honors College with a bachelor’s degree in crop science. In the spring she will receive a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics. Although she has taken high course loads that include rigorous science classes and agricultural economics and business courses, she also takes part in intramural sports, practices and performs as a musician, and gets work experience related to her studies. Her honors thesis was completed “with distinction” under the college’s interim dean, R. James Cook. In addition, she is active with the college’s Student Ambassadors and is active nationally with FFA. After graduation from WSU, she will join her U.S. Air Force pilot fiancé in Texas. Her plans include earning a plant genetics master’s and law degrees. As an attorney, she hopes to work on intellectual property and plant variety protection law for agricultural seed companies. A 1999 graduate of Waitsburg High School, who has also studied at Walla Walla Community College, she is the daughter of Krista and Daniel McKinley, Waitsburg.

For additional information:

Amanda McKinley, Pullman, 509.432.6637, asmckinley@wsu.edu

Jill McCluskey, Agriculture & Resource Economics faculty, 509.335.2835, mccluskey@wsu.edu

Ryan Higginbotham, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences

Ryan Higginbotham of Almira earned a bachelor’s degree in crop science (business and industry option with a minor in agricultural economics) in 2001. During this ceremony, he will earn a master’s degree in crop science with an emphasis in plant breeding and genetics. This will put him another step toward his career goal of becoming a world-class wheat breeder for private industry or in the public sector. As an undergraduate student, he earned the college’s prestigious “Aggie of the Year” award. His student success continued in graduate studies. Through his research efforts, he was the first person in the world to identify wheat germplasm with tolerance to Phythium root rot, a common disease of wheat sown in minimum tillage systems designed to reduce soil erosion. His germplasm will be used to develop Phythium tolerant spring wheat cultivars for commercial production in the Pacific Northwest. It someday might be grown on farms, including that of the Higginbotham family in Almira. A 1977 graduate of Almira/Coulee-Hartline High School, he is the son of Robin Higginbotham-Jasman and Bill Higginbotham, both of Almira.

For additional information:

Ryan Higginbotham, Almira, 509.639.2350, ryanhig@mail.wsu.edu

Kimberlee Kidwell, Crop and Soil Sciences faculty/ Spring Wheat Breeder and Geneticist, 509.335.7247,

kidwell@mail.wsu.edu, 509.639.2350, ryanhig@mail.wsu.edu

Kynda Curtis, College of Business and Economics

Kynda Curtis, originally from Anchorage, Alaska, now of Reno, Nev., dreamed of becoming a college professor. She’s already made the dream a reality. This fall, she started as a tenure track assistant professor of Applied Economics and Statistics at the University of Nevada, Reno. During this ceremony, she will earn a WSU doctoral degree in economics after just three years. As a WSU graduate student, she taught two Department of Economics classes and provided research and editorial support at WSU’s IMPACT (International Marketing Program for Agricultural Commodities and Trade) Center within the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. As part of her doctoral dissertation, she traveled to Beijing, China, where she oversaw an in-person consumer survey related to the westernization of food demand in China and Chinese acceptance of biotechnology. The daughter of Mary Ann Curtis, Anchorage, Alaska, and the late Harold Curtis, she is a 1990 graduate of Service High School in Anchorage. She is a graduate of Whitman College, Walla Walla (1993, bachelor’s degree in economics with minors in German and history) and American College, Bryn Mawr, Pa. (1998 master’s degree in financial services).

For additional information:

Kynda Curtis, Reno, Nev., 775.828.5013, kcurtis@cabnr.unr.edu

Jill McCluskey, Agriculture & Resource Economics faculty, 509.335.2835, mccluskey@wsu.edu

Kimberly Blake, College of Liberal Arts

Kimberly Blake of the Tri-Cities is earning a bachelor’s degree in political science (global option) with a minor in Spanish. As a Richland High School student (graduated 2001), she traveled abroad, developed a fascination with international relations and took part in an international law and diplomacy conference. After her WSU education, she envisions an international relations career. She is a WSU fifth-semester senior, completing her studies in less than three years with a 4.0 grade point average as an Honors College student. She is one of two WSU candidates for the Carnegie Institute Jr. Fellows program. If selected, she will spend several months in Washington, D.C., conducting peace and democracy research for the institute which is an international think tank focusing on Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. As a WSU student, she worked on the Chinook student yearbook, was a member of Phi Eta Sigma national college honor society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, was a Women’s Transit volunteer and active with the Association of Pacific and Asian Women. She is the daughter of WSU alumni Janet Blake, Richland, and Richard Blake, Kennewick.

For additional information:

Kimberly Blake, Pullman, 509.332.1578, kimberlylorelle@yahoo.com

Gary Lindsey, PR/Communication, College of Liberal Arts, 509.335.8522, glindsey@wsu.edu

Jennifer Soriano, College of Nursing

With an auntie who was a nurse to inspire her, enjoying learning how the body works and a desire to help others, it’s understandable why Jennifer Soriano of Lihue, Hawaii, will earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing in the ceremony. She came to the Mainland from Hawaii to pursue health care opportunities and to learn about other cultures. As a student, she has been a College of Nursing Ambassador and class president.  Her future plans include attending graduate school. Later, she hopes to become a family nurse practitioner. A 1999 graduate of Kauai High School in Lihue, who also studied at Eastern Washington University, she is the daughter of Darlene and Ruben Soriano of Lihue.