Liberal Arts at WSU Honors ‘Outstanding Graduating Seniors’

PULLMAN, Wash. – Academic units in the College of Liberal Arts at Washington State University have announced their 2005 Outstanding Graduating Senior honorees.

Many of the students have exceptional grade point averages and are on the President’s Honor Roll, but all have contributed in some way to their academic unit, the university and the community.

The Outstanding Graduating Seniors in the College of Liberal Arts are Robyn Brown, music; Patricia Cawley, philosophy (with a double major in political science); Mikhael De Los Santos, comparative ethnic studies; Kathryn Dooley, history; Susanne Freitag, fine arts; Colleen Gibbons, general studies; Molly Green, women’s studies; Kevin Harland, theatre arts; Patricia Mary Hoelzle, psychology; Bo Howell, political science; Samantha McClusky, criminal justice; Patty Lynn Martin, foreign languages and cultures (Spanish); Erika D. Morales, sociology (with a double major in anthropology); Tara Lynn Murphy, digital technology and culture; Tristina Ropp, anthropology; Abigail Sudbery, speech and hearing sciences; Megan Shalane Schuyler, communication (broadcast management); and James Swenson, English.

In a tradition started by the college two years ago, students will receive a medal and be officially recognized at a May 6 brunch attended by parents and a faculty member from the student’s academic unit. The speaker for the event is orthopedic surgeon Ed Tingstad.

As a history major at Washington State University (1988), Tingstad was also recognized for distinguished student achievement. In addition to his medical practice, Tingstad serves as the intercollegiate sports physician for WSU and the University of Idaho.

“We are extremely proud of the Outstanding Graduating Seniors program and especially gratified to see the list of accomplishments of this year’s honorees,” said Erich Lear, interim dean for the College of Liberal Arts. “We have students with double majors, one student with a 4.0 GPA and several others near that. However, it’s important to remember that these students were not nominated for academic achievement alone. Many also raised the bar on involvement. Most of these students took part in service learning activities, which benefited the campus and community.”

“Across our college and the university, there are commonalities among high-achieving students,” Lear said. “They generally have close relationships with faculty.”

From the group of outstanding graduating seniors, the college will select a banner carrier and a number of students whose accomplishments will be highlighted at spring commencement May 7.