CE LEB RA TIN Co n G G gratu RA lation DU s! AT ES
Idaho State University Commencement
ISU Will Confer 2,651 Degrees and Certificates at 2015 Commencement on May 9 POCATELLO – A total of 2,561 graduates will receive 2,651 degrees and certificates during Idaho State University’s spring commencement ceremonies, which will begin at 10 a.m. May 9 in Holt Arena. Eighty-nine students will receive multiple certificates and/or degrees. In addition to the presentation of these degrees and certificates, three distinguished faculty members will be acknowledged, 10 alumni will be recognized for their professional achievement, and 12 outstanding students will be recognized. The breakdown of graduates includes 45 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, seven Doctor of Education degrees, five Doctor of Arts degrees, nine Doctor of Audiology degrees, 27 Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees, 95 Doctor of Pharmacy degrees, eight Educational Specialist degrees, 580 master’s degrees, seven Graduate School certificates, 1,243 bachelor’s degrees, 436 associate degrees, and 189
certificates from the College of Technology. Faculty members to be recognized with Distinguished Teacher, Service and Researcher awards will be announced. Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2015 are: David Baumert, College of Technology; Philip LaFleur, College of Science and Engineering – Natural and Physical Sciences; Kendal Ray Tanner, College of Science and Engineering – Engineering; Thana Singarajah, Division of Health Sciences; Blanche Badger Willford, Division of Health Sciences – School of Nursing; Joshua Tolman, College of Arts and Letters, Social and Behavioral Sciences; Jacqueline Royston Thompson, College of Education; Anne Staton Voilleque, College of Arts and Letters – Fine Arts and Humanities; Rod A. Davis, College of Business; and Adrian Michael Wong, College of Pharmacy. Outstanding Student Award recipients for 2015 are Daniel Shelden, Boise, College of Arts and Letters – Fine Arts
and Humanities; Ashley Miller, Pocatello, College of Arts and Letters – Social and Behavioral Sciences; Douglas Walker, Pocatello, College of Science and Engineering – Natural and Physical Sciences; Kyle R. Gagnon, Boise, College of Science and Engineering – Engineering; Rick T. Richardson, Crofton, British Columbia, Graduate School – Masters; E. Scott Lee, Rexburg, Graduate School – Doctoral; Kayla Miller, Boise, College of Education; Jameson Bastow, Twin Falls, College of Business; Jakob P. Meng, Idaho Falls, College of Technology; Lindsey Marie Hunt, Ontario, Oregon, College of Pharmacy; Jennifer K. Brooks, Idaho Falls, Division of Health Sciences; and Madeline Woodhouse, Pocatello, School of Nursing. ISU student John Punt will perform the national anthem. The faculty mace will be placed by the 2015 Distinguished Teacher. Larry Satterwhite, president of the ISU Alumni Association, will welcome alumni. Idaho State University President Ar-
thur C. Vailas will greet the audience and confer the degrees. ISU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Laura Woodworth-Ney will recognize the distinguished faculty. Associated Students of ISU President Taylor Tingey will deliver remarks. Presentation of graduates will be by the University deans. The “Alma Mater Hymn” will be performed by an ISU Department of Music student ensemble. A reception for graduates and their guests will follow the ceremony on the floor of Holt Arena. Interpreting service for people with hearing disabilities will be provided by the Idaho State University Disabilities Services. Graduates are encouraged to share their memories on social media at #isugrads. More information on commencement is available online at http://isu.edu/ commencement/.
For General Commencement Information or Questions, Please Contact: ISU Graduation Specialists (208) 282-4874 (208) 282-4225
Outstanding Student Award Winners
“The Outstanding Student Awards are presented to recognize outstanding graduating seniors who have excelled in their programs and extracurricular activities, and have epitomized ISU’s outstanding student body.. Students receiving these prestigious awards exhibit a readiness to graduate, high academic achievement, above-average dedication to academic and professional goals and involvement in professional societies. Work experience and community service are also considered. Daniel Shelden, Boise, College of Arts and Letters – Fine Arts and Humanities: Shelden will graduate with honors in May 2015 with his Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre. At the conclusion of his undergraduate career, he will have taken part in almost every production in the Department of Theatre and Dance for the past four years. Shelden carries an average of 19 credit hours per semester and his cumulative GPA is 3.89. He has been the recipient of the Theatre Scholarship for four years, ASISU Scholarship for four years, ISU Four-Year Promise Scholarship, JR Simplot Academic Scholarship 2012 and 2013, ASISU Senator Scholarship 201415 and the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation 4-Year Scholarship. Shelden served as an ASISU senator in 2014, and served two terms as president of Alpha Psi Omega, a theatre honors society. He was the featured performer for the College of Arts and Letters New Year’s Eve Gala in 2013 and 2014, was appointed volunteer coordinator for the 2015 Dance Marathon, and volunteer coordinator APO -- High School One Acts in 2013 and 2014.
Ashley Miller, Pocatello, College of Arts and Letters – Social and Behavioral Sciences: Miller graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, and will be attending graduate school in the fall. She has been named to the dean’s list five times thus far, has received the Idaho Promise Scholarship three times and has received the Eleanor Loscalzo Arts and Letters Scholarship twice. She has also received the Wheatley Annual Scholarship, the John M. Huntsman Scholarship, ASISU Scholarship, Jayson C. and Ruth R. Holladay Scholarship and a College of Arts and Letters Student Presentation Travel grant. Throughout her college career, Miller has taken advantage of research opportunities through the Career Path Internship program and grant funding. She has worked with psychology professor Maria Wong and as co-manager of College of Arts and Letters Dean Kandi Turley-Ames and psychology visiting assistant professor Tina Miyake’s psychology laboratory. She has assisted or taken the lead on several research projects and has presented at the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology Conference, the 3rd Annual Southeastern Idaho Psi Chi Psychology Conference, the 94th Annual Western Psychological Association Convention and exhibited two posters at the ISU annual research forum. Miller is a member of Psi Chi, International Honors Society in Psychology and the ISU IMAGE Writing Group.
Douglas R. Walker, Pocatello, College of Science and Engineering – Natural and Physical Sciences: A Pocatello native, Walker chose ISU over several options when making his college decision. This May, he will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and a 3.86 cumulative GPA. Walker will be the first member of his family to graduate from college. He has received multiple scholarships, including a four-year Presidential Scholarship, the Idaho Promise Scholarship, the Samuel H. Bennion Honors award, Chemistry Alumni Scholarship, National Science Foundation S-STEM and the Freshman Leadership Award. He has served as a student researcher, seeking out research experiences to advance his education and future career. Two summers of IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) fellowships allowed Walker experience in the biomedical fields. His research productivity as an undergraduate has resulted in at least three publications as a co-author. Walker has been a University Honors Program member since 2011. He serves as president of the Chemistry Club, is a member of Chi Alpha and committee member for the University Honors Program Opportuni-Tea event. Walker was the Organic Chemistry Student of the Year in 2013. He has been recognized by the American Chemical Society, the National Science Foundation and the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for achievement and competitiveness.
Kyle R. Gagnon, Boise, College of Science and Engineering – Engineering: Awarded the Department of Civil Engineering Top Student award, Kyle will graduate this May with his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering and a 4.0 GPA. He is on the Dean’s list and scored a perfect 170 on the Math section of the GRE. He is the recipient of the Richard Deus Trust Scholarship and the Dr. Wes B. Smedley Engineering Scholarship. Gagnon has led the ISU engineering senior design team project designing the best way to connect the Portneuf Greenway Trail and the Simplot Reach Trail in Pocatello. This team worked with one of the Idaho Transportation Department professional engineers to develop the best alternative. Gagnon has also served as an undergraduate research assistant, a grader for physics faculty for engineering physics classes, and a tutor for the ISU Success Center in math, physics and core engineering courses. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineering, the American Concrete Institute, the American Wood Council and the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Outstanding Student Award Winners
E. Scott Lee, Rexburg, Graduate School – Doctoral: Lee is graduating with a Doctor of Arts degree in political science. He also received his Master of Public Administration degree in political science from ISU in 2012. Lee maintains a 3.96 GPA. Before coming to ISU, Lee obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Utah as well as his Juris Doctor (law degree) from the University of Idaho. Lee has been trained in three subfields and taught to teach broadly to undergraduates. Courses he has taught range from the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branch, Political Parties and Interest Groups, State and Local Government, Intro to Law and International Law. He served as a teaching assistant for American government and public opinion and voting classes. Lee also team-taught Introduction to International Relations and Public Administration Ethics. His dissertation involved environmental policy and was a qualitative study of the failure of the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act. Along with his law practice, Lee currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at both Idaho State University and BYU-Idaho.
Rick T. Richardson, Crofton, British Columbia, Graduate School – Masters: Richardson will receive his Master of Education degree in instructional technology through the College of Education in May 2015. He maintains a 3.96 GPA. He has an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in geography and a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of British Columbia as well as a Master of Education degree from the University of Hawaii. He has published four refereed journal articles and has two more articles currently in review. He is the first author on five of the six articles. Richardson has received the Lise Nicola Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching Theory and Practice, University of Hawaii Mildred Towel International Student Scholarship, University of Hawaii Student Ambassador Scholarship, the University of British Columbia Geography Alumni Alliance Scholarship, the University of British Columbia Scholarship and was on the University of British Columbia dean’s honor list for four years. Richardson is also an instructional designer and has designed multimedia programs, computer-based tutorials, online learning modules and traditional university courses for ISU, and other universities. He currently serves the College of Education as an adjunct faculty instructor in Social Science Methods, Instructional Planning Delivery and Assessment, Educational Careers and a student-teacher practicum advisor and evaluator. His future career goals include teaching instructional design and educational technology at ISU and
continuing his research in exploring recommendations for instructional designers to incorporate spatial cognition skills into e-learning technologies.
Kayla Miller, Boise, College of Education: Miller will receive her Honors Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with an emphasis on exercise science in May 2015. A native of Boise, Miller maintains a 3.4 GPA while averaging 15 credit hours per semester. While completing her degree coursework, Miller has worked alongside Sports Science and Physical Education Associate Professor Michael Meyers conducting research on high school football injuries on artificial turf versus natural grass. This research was presented at the ACSM Northwest Conference. Miller’s extra-curricular service includes interning with the University Honors Program, coordinating New Student Orientation, serving as a resident advisor, and working as a First Year Experience Emissary. She is a member of the University Honors Program Club, 1901 Society, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pre-Health Professionals Club, and Gamerz Club. Miller has volunteered many hours of service for Benny’s Pantry, New Student Orientation, the Idaho Food Bank, Field of Heroes memorial, My Brother’s Table and the ISU Dance Marathon. Miller has completed 135 hours of physical therapy clinic observations. She will conclude her undergraduate work at ISU with the Leadership Study Abroad excursion to Edinburgh, Scotland, London, England and Dublin, Ireland this summer.
Jameson Bastow, Twin Falls, College of Business: Coming to ISU from Twin Falls, Bastow attended the College of Southern Idaho prior to coming to ISU in fall 2012. He will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in computer information systems. He served as elections commissioner for ASISU before being named ASISU vice-president in January 2015. In this position, he serves as president of the student senate, presides at all senate meetings and has oversight of student funds. He also serves as president of Pre-Health Professions Association. With his research on physician usage of information technology, Bastow was selected to represent ISU at Carnegie Mellon University’s Undergraduate Conference in Information Systems. He also traveled to Peru as a volunteer certified Spanish interpreter for Idaho Condor Humanitarian Services, spending his spring break interpreting for health care professionals. Bastow is currently employed by Wells Fargo Bank as lead teller working 20-30 hours weekly. He is interested in rural health informatics and mobile technology. He has applied to medical school in hopes of becoming an Idaho physician.
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Outstanding Reseacher Award Winners Five Idaho State University faculty members have received 2015 Outstanding Researcher Awards The faculty members who will receive ISU Outstanding Researcher awards are: Jennifer Attebery, professor of English; Shannon Lynch, professor of psychology; Mark McBeth, associate dean in the College of Arts & Letters; Colden Baxter and Jean Pfau, associate professors in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Jennifer Eastman Attebery is professor of English and chair of the Department of English and Philosophy. Attebery’s research focuses on vernacular culture of the Rocky Mountain West in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with an emphasis on Swedish Americans and other ethnic groups. Her main contributions to these fields include expanded understanding of the multicultural West and new attention to the multimodality of vernacular expression in the immigrant letter and in holiday practices. During spring 2011, Attebery served as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Studies at Uppsala University. The research project she conducted at Uppsala yielded her most recent book, “Pole Raising and Speech Making: Modalities of Swedish-American Summer Celebration,” which will be published by Utah State University Press in 2015. Attebery is also the author of “Up in the Rocky Mountains: Writing the Swedish Immigrant Experience,” published by University of Minnesota Press in 2007, reviewed in the Journal of Folklore Research as “a significant contribution to folklore and history.” Shannon M. Lynch is a professor of psychology at Idaho State University. She attained her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship with the Victims of Violence
Program at Cambridge Health Alliance/ Harvard Medical School. Her research combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine women’s experiences of interpersonal violence and use of resources to cope with and to recover from traumatic events. Since arriving at ISU, she has worked with her research team of graduate and undergraduate students to assess women’s pathways to incarceration with a specific focus on trauma exposure, mental health, and treatment needs of incarcerated women. Lynch and her students have provided and evaluated treatment for incarcerated women as well as conducting studies of the prevalence of serious mental illness among incarcerated women and examining potential mediators of trauma exposure and psychological distress. Mark McBeth is a professor of political science and an associate dean in the College of Arts and Letters. He received his doctor of arts degree in political science from ISU in 1992. His earliest research focused on rural environmental attitudes and the changing economic composition of rural communities. Since 2000, the focus of his research has shifted to the origins of public policy conflict, how narratives are used strategically by groups, and how narratives play into individual decision making. As part of this research, he is a co-founder of the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), an internationally renowned framework. McBeth has published 37 refereed articles and 10 book chapters. He is also a co-author of a public policy text now in its 15th year on the market as well as a co-editor of a collection of NPF research studies written by international schol-
ars that was published in 2014. He was named an ISU Master Teacher in 2001, the ISU Distinguished Teacher in 2005 and an ISU Outstanding Researcher in 2011. Colden Baxter is an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. He grew up farming and ranching, principally in Northwest Montana, and received his academic training in biology and geology (BA, University of Oregon), ecology (MS, University of Montana), fisheries science and philosophy of science (Ph.D., Oregon State University), and ecosystem studies (postdoctoral fellowship, Colorado State University and Hokkaido University, Japan). Research conducted by Baxter and his lab group at ISU’s Stream Ecology Center focuses on rivers and streams, but more generally on the ecological linkages between water and land. Reciprocal connections such as those between streams, floodplains, and riparian forests are critical to watershed ecosystems, and they couple land and water in their vulnerability to the agents of environmental change. The group’s studies are aimed at improving understanding of the basic nature of such connections and the consequences of their disruption by human activities, but also contributing to betterinformed conservation and stewardship. The center’s research has also shown how shifting fire regimes associated with changing climate are affecting Idaho’s stream-riparian ecosystems. Recently, Baxter has expanded his scope to study watersheds as social-ecological systems.
Jean Pfau is an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences where she teaches anatomy and physiology and other advanced topics including toxicology and immune evasion. She earned her Ph.D. in microbiology and biochemistry at the University of Montana. She currently serves as the director of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility, and was a founder and co-director of the Idaho Science and Engineering Festival. Federal grants have provided a rich environment in Pfau’s laboratory for multiple undergraduate and graduate students to perform cutting-edge research in the field of immunotoxicology. The Pfau Lab focuses on the dysfunction of the immune system caused by exposure to mineral dusts such as asbestos and nanomaterials. A major discovery has been the ability of asbestos to cause production of autoantibodies associated with systemic autoimmune disease, such as Systemic Lupus. Most recently, they have demonstrated that asbestos-induced autoantibodies contribute to a severe and progressive lung disease seen with particular forms of asbestos. Pfau currently has 41 peer-reviewed publications, five book chapters and more than 100 published abstracts and presentations.
Outstanding Service Award Winners
Four Idaho State University faculty members have been chosen to receive 2015 Outstanding Service awards. The faculty members receiving these awards are Cal Edwards, Caryn Evilia, Cindy Seiger and Cathleen Tarp. “We are blessed at ISU to have such a service-oriented faculty. ISU’s faculty serve our communities in many ways, and it is a true honor to recognize these outstanding faculty for their contributions,” said ISU Provost Laura Woodworth-Ney. Cal Edwards has been the coordinator of the law enforcement program in the College of Technology since 1997, and is currently the interim director of Public Safety. He has served as the police chief in Inkom for the past 15 years and is a past coordinator of the state law enforcement academy (POST) in Meridian. He continues to teach courses at POST and teaches courses at BYU Idaho and College of Southern Idaho. He has also served as a county coroner, a
firefighter and a paramedic. Edwards is serving his second term in the Faculty Senate and is past president of Faculty Council. He teaches driving safety courses at the University, and CPR and first-aid certification courses for the campus community and the public. Edwards is one of five master firearms instructors in the State of Idaho and certifies firearms instructors in law enforcement agencies around the state. He helped establish the firearms curriculum for law enforcement in Idaho and holds several shooting titles. He received the community Hero Award in 2013 from the Boy Scouts of America for his service in training Boy Scouts in
first aid and firearms. He teaches selfdefense courses to women’s groups and the women and work conferences on campus. In May 2014 his students created a scholarship in his name for a College of Technology student in law enforcement. Caryn Evilia is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry. Since her hire in 2006, Evilia has focused on science outreach to K-12 students
in general and young women in particular, using activities and everyday chemistry to encourage them to consider future careers in science and engineering. Since 2010, she has been a co-organizer of the Idaho Science and Engineering Festival (ISEF), the first science festival of its kind in Idaho. Featuring informational booths, games, and activities from STEM departments across ISU, as well as involvement from local industry and community science clubs. The ISEF has attracted more than 1,000 K-12 students from across Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana to ISU. Evilia also developed and ran activities and demonstrations for Science-
ANOTHER 400 GRADUATES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PREPARED TO ENTER REWARDING CAREERS COMPANIES EMPLOYING OUR GRADUATES INCLUDE:
E-Desert Energy
Idaho Transportation Department
Nucor Building Systems
Saint Alphonsus Health System
Exelon
Intermountain Gas Company
ON Semiconductor
Schlumberger
Agrium
Fruehauf
J.R. Simplot Company
Peterbilt
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Bechtel
General Electric
JT3
Phillips 66
SkyWest Airlines
Campbell Scientific
Halliburton
Komatsu
Portneuf Medical Center
Tektronix
Caterpillar Inc.
High Desert Milk
Micron Technology, Inc.
Premier Technology, Inc.
Texaco
Chevron Corporation
Idaho National Laboratory
Monsanto
Rio Tinto
Union Pacific Railroad
ConocoPhillips Co.
Idaho Power
Newmont Mining Corporation
Rockwell Automation
Western States Cat
Cummins Inc.
Idaho State Police
Norco Inc.
Rocky Mountain Power
Williams Northwest Pipeline
Trek, an outreach program for third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students organized through the Idaho Museum of Natural History, and regularly performs demonstrations for local elementary and middle school children. She is an active member of the American Chemical Society and the American Society for Microbiology. She participates in Project SEED, an ACS summer program to expose high school students to laboratory research. Most recently, Evilia was a presenter at the ISU Women and Work Conference, where she discussed careers in chemistry with young women and teachers and led them in hands-on activities. Cindy Seiger is an associate professor in the Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy. She joined the ISU faculty in 2006 as an assistant professor and clinic director of ISU Physical and Occupational Therapy Associates. As clinic director, Seiger increased the opportunities for physical therapy students to participate in community outreach service activities. In 2014, Seiger became the Idaho State Advocate for the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy. Seiger is involved in many outreach programs focused on assisting the older adult with maintaining a healthy lifestyle to remain independent. She is a class leader and master trainer for the Fit and Fall Proof program, a statewide, community-based fall prevention exercise program. Seiger conducts a yearround exercise class at the Pocatello Senior Center, and her students have recorded more than 50 episodes of the FFP program for Pocatello Vision 12 Community Access Television. Seiger initiated an annual “Humpty Dumpty had a Great Fall: a Falls Prevention Conference.” This nationally recognized, interdisciplinary conference aims to increase awareness on the multiple components to fall prevention. Additionally, she is the current committee chair of the ABC’s of Diabetes Coalition, a partnership between Southeastern
Idaho Public Health and five ISU health professions programs. Cathleen Tarp is an associate professor of Spanish in Global Studies and Languages with a shared appointment in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. A medievalist by trade, she discovered her love of interpretation and translation while studying early modern Spain at the University of New Mexico. She is continuing her studies in the ISU Master of Public Health program. At ISU she teaches all levels of Spanish, but focuses on courses for Spanish for the Health Professions, providing language, culture and professional preparation courses in translation and interpretation for a variety of students in many programs. Most recently, Tarp created the ISU Spanish for Health Professions curriculum, which provides ISU students with a unique program of studies and many service learning opportunities.
Congratulations CLASS OF 2015
As you cross the stage and move your tassel, know that this is just the beginning of great things ahead. You join a distinguished group of Idaho State University alumni who are making a difference around the world.
Wishing all of our graduates much success in their future endeavors.
Congratulations, Bengals!
ISU.EDU
Pocatello | Idaho Falls | Meridian | Twin Falls
Outstanding Professional Achievement Winners
Professional Achievement Award recipients are alumni who have made important contributions to their careers or profession, to the social, political or economic well-being of the world around them and have shown continued community and civic involvement in addition to their association with and contributions to Idaho State University. Individuals selected for these prestigious awards have been out of school at least 10 years and have excelled in their chosen field, attaining significant success and accomplishments. David W. BaumertCollege of Technology Born in Las Vegas, David Baumert attended elementary school and junior high school in Pocatello. He graduated from high school in Kwajalein, Federated States of Micronesia and spent two years following his graduation working as a communications/crypto operator for the Planning Research Corporation at the Kwajalein missile range. He returned to Pocatello to attend Idaho State University and graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree in laser/electro-optics technology in 1987. Baumert owned and operated The Sound Fix in Pocatello for the next two years. In 1989 he again joined Planning Research Corp. as a telescope maintenance technician in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory. In 1992 he joined Excell Data Corp. in Bellevue, Washington and in 1994 took his skills to Microsoft Corp., where he currently serves as Program Manager for the Strategic Prototyping Team in Redmond, Washington. Away from his professional interests, Baumert is a bass guitarist and recording engineer for the music group Sparkfarmer. Dr. Philip D. LaFleur- College of Science & EngineeringNatural and Physical Sciences Born in Anaconda, Montana and raised in Idaho Falls, Dr. Philip LaFleur earned a Bachelor of Science
degree in chemistry in 1955, when the University was still Idaho State College. As a student, he served as the chemistry stockroom manager and was a research assistant on an atomic energy project under Professor Al Taylor. He was a member of ROTC at Idaho State and was the distinguished military graduate in 1955. He earned a Master of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Idaho in 1962 after spending some time as an officer in the U.S. Army Security Agency. He continued his graduate education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, focusing on radiochemical separations and X-ray yields from Uranium-233, Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 and received his Ph.D. in 1967. LaFleur went on to establish himself as a well-respected research chemist at the National Bureau of Standards where he was appointed chief of the Analytical Chemistry Division where he worked until 1979. He moved to Eastman Kodak Co. as the laboratory head in the Structure and Characterization Laboratory in the Analytical Science Division and was later appointed director of the Analytical Sciences Division for Imaging Research and Advance Development. He retired from Eastman Kodak in 1997. LaFleur has authored or co-authored more than 20 publications in trade journals, organized and chaired several national and international conferences and given international invited lectures. He has been recognized with prestigious honors including a Silver Medal Award and a Gold Medal Award from the Department of Commerce for his pioneering work in nuclear analytical methods.
Kendal Ray Tanner- College of Science and EngineeringEngineering A native Idahoan, Kendal Ray Tanner obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering (interdisciplinary) from ISU in 1984. Tanner is the director of integrated delivery for the Resources Business Group of HDR. In this role he provides leadership, guidance, management and mentoring for all integrated delivery projects including construction management for fee, construction management at risk, design-build and engineer/procure/construct for the power, industrial, oil and gas, waste and mining market sectors. A professional civil engineer, Tanner joined HDR in 2006. He has 31 years of experience including serving in multiple levels of leadership. His career has included private and public client programming, planning, design, construction and various forms of integrated delivery. Tanner lives in Boise with his wife Julie and children Kyle and Kenzie. Dr. Thana SingarajahDivision of Health Sciences Dr. Thana Singarajah has been a clinical assistant professor at Idaho State University, Pocatello since 1988. He teaches special issues in school counseling, psychodiagnosis and psychopharmacology, cultural counseling and childhood mental disorders. He is the director of the Department of Coun-
seling’s professional development workshops. He has been active in adolescent counseling and in the Idaho foster care system since the mid-1980s. He has fostered 53 sons through the health and welfare system as well as through the judicial system. He has adopted three of these children. Singarajah was born and raised in Malaysia. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from Bradford University of Technology in 1979. He also earned a his Master of Counseling degree 1984 and a Doctor of Education degree in 1988, both from Idaho State University. He has has lived in Idaho since 1980. Singarajah has been recognized with numerous awards including the Brightest Star of Idaho from the Governor of Idaho as well as the Eastern Idaho United Way Council’s highest award for community leadership. He founded two men’s shelters (The City of Refuge, The Ark) and a women’s shelter in Idaho Falls (Ruth House). He started, managed and gifted to the community as a not-for-profit entity, Family Care Center, the largest mental health agency in Idaho from 1983 to 2008. Today he manages the Pearl Health Clinic as a private agency.
Blanche Badger WillfordDivision of Health SciencesSchool of Nursing Born to Vern and Iras Badger in 1925 at home on a farm in Carbondale, Kansas, Blanche Willford has been a trailblazer in all her endeavors. She was raised in the Lost River area and graduated from Mackay High School in 1943. She entered the nursing program at the Idaho Falls LDS Hospital and finished at St. Alphonsus Hospital School of Nurs-
ing in Pocatello after which she successfully passed the Idaho State Boards to become a registered nurse. Willford attended ISU and graduated with honors, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in 1973. In 1974, she earned a Master of Education degree, also from ISU. The entire time Willford was attending college she worked as a full-time nurse, and was also a wife and mother. For two semesters she drove to Salt Lake City to attend classes at University of Utah, working to earn a Ph.D. During this time, McDonald’s advertised for a Quality Assurance Supervisor for their potato program and Willford applied, was hired and began her career that moved her to Nampa, Idaho and allowed her to travel internationally. Today, Willford continues to inspire others, and enjoys spending time with her three adult children and four grandchildren Joshua Tolman- College of Arts and Letters- Social and Behavioral Sciences A native Idahoan, Joshua Tolman earned a Bachelor of Arts degee in International Studies in 1997 and a Masters of Public Administration degree in 2000, both from Idaho State University. Following graduation, he began his career working with the Fort Hall Housing Authority where he developed a home buyer education program for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. He then took a position as an employee relations specialist for Melaleuca. This led to Tolman becoming the director of corporate communications and director for European operations for Melaleuca in Manchester, England. Tolman joined Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls in 2008 and is chief administrative officer. He has responsibility for more than 700 employees as well as business development. He also serves as chair of the senior management team. Tolman currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Arts & Letters, is a member of the Easter Idaho Technical Foundation Board and a former board member of the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Jacqueline Royston ThompsonCollege of Education Dr. Jacqueline Thompson is a native of Nashville. She is the oldest of nine children born to retired TSgt. David and Margie Royston. She graduated from Highlands High School in North Highlands, California in 1974. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from Idaho State University in 1978. In 1997 she received her Master of Education degree from Weber State University and in May 2010, and a Doctorate of Education from Utah State University. She taught public school for four years in Pocatello and Sacramento, California. Thompson has held positions as a race desegregation specialist in the educational equity section of the Utah State Office of Education, has worked in applied technology in the schools to careers gender equity and served as an education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education, education equality section. Her federal career began at Hill Air Force Base in 1984. She was a personnel management specialist intern, employee development specialist and equal employment opportunity specialist. It was in this capacity that Thompson conceived and implemented the Hill Air Force Base African-American Community Outreach Program. Currently, Thompson serves as the director of the educational equity department in the Davis School District in Farmington, Utah. Thompson is the recipient of numerous awards and national recognitions. Most recently, she was honored as the 2012 Educator of the Year by Omega Psi Phi Fratenity as well as appointed by Utah Governor Gary Herbert to the State Multicultural Commission. She was the recipient of the 2013, Human Rights Award from Utah School Counselors and received the 2014 American Association of University Women’s Award from the Salt Lake City Branch. Thompson is married to Edward Thompson, also an alumnus of Idaho State University, who is a contracting supervisor at Hill Air Force Base. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.
Anne Staton Voilleque’College of Arts and LettersFine Arts & Humanities Anne Staton Voilleque’ received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio arts (metals) from Idaho State University. She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and a Master of Arts degree in speech with an emphasis in speech pathology, audiology and clinical psychology from the University of Colorado. She is a trustee of the Idaho State University Foundation Board, the Anne Voilleque’ Charitable Foundation and the Robert W. and Bernice Ingalls Staton Foundation. Voilleque’ also serves on the Idaho Falls Arts Council Board of Directors/Development Committee and has served on the Idaho Falls Symphony Board of Directors as a president and emeritus member. She is a member of the Idaho State University College of Arts and Letters Dean’s Advisory Board. The Anne Staton Voilleque’/Louise Smith Nelson Scholarship for Native American students, at Idaho State University, the Opportunity Scholarships at Eastern Idaho Technical College for minority women students and the Voilleque’ Family Scholarships at the University of Oregon School of Law, for minority women seeking a degree in law, are all endowments she has established. Voilleque’ has been recognized for her volunteerism and philanthropy by the Outstanding Young Women of America, American Association of University Women, Mayor’s Award for Volunteer Service, Idaho Falls, Women of Today and Tomorrow Award by the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Council, the Spirit of Idaho Award, United Vision for Idaho, Breaking Boundaries Essence Award and the ISU President’s Medallion for exceptional personal achievement, significant philanthropy and exemplary principles bringing distinction to Idaho State University.
Rod A. DavisCollege of Business An Idaho native, Rod Davis earned his undergraduate and Master of Business Administration degrees from Idaho State University in 1984 and 1985. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and has served on the Nevada Board of Regents. Recently retired, Davis served as president/CEO for St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and senior vice-president at Dignity Health, Nevada Operations. During Davis’s leadership, St. Rose grew from a single facility to three acutecare hospitals, two ambulatory surgery centers, an outreach laboratory, a home health and hospice program, two women’s centers and three outpatient imaging centers. In addition to leading a substantial expansion of southern Nevada’s inpatient bed capacity, advanced service lines such as open heart and minimally invasive heart surgery, primary stroke, trauma services and neonatal intensive care services have been introduced. St. Rose Dominican Hospitals has been recognized numerous times, including awards from J.D. Power and Associates, Consumer Choice, Health Grades, U.S. News and World Report and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and as an employer of choice in southern Nevada, during his tenure. Prior to his arrival in southern Nevada, Davis served in a variety of hospital positions including chief operating officer at McKay-Dee Hospital Center in Ogden, Utah. Davis was awarded the President’s Medal by Nevada State College in 2013 honoring local leaders and philanthropists’ for their dedication to the College, he was honored by Distinguished Women and Men in Nevada in 2013, Nevada Business Magazine as a Healthcare Hero in 2009, by the Nevada Business Journal as one of four 2006 “Most Respected CEO’s in Nevada” and in 2004 by In Business magazine as “One of the Most Influential Men in Southern Nevada Business.”
Adrian Michael Wong- College of Pharmacy Originally from San Francisco, Adrian Wong applied to ISU’s College of Pharmacy and was accepted so quickly, he only had six weeks to get his affairs in order and drive to Idaho. Wong graduated from Idaho State University with his bachelor’s degree in
pharmacy in 1975. Following his graduation, he returned to the San Francisco Bay area and began working at a local pharmacy. A few years later, he had the opportunity to create his own pharmacy, Los Portales. He operated this pharmacy for 17 years. Wong is teaching as an assistant professor at Touro University College of Pharmacy in Vallejo, California. Throughout his career in pharmacy, Wong developed health information software and worked as a consultant to many companies and pioneered new methods of pharmacy related technology. He was instrumental in developing
electronic prescribing in the mid- 1990s long before it became common practice. He was involved in developing innovative Medication Therapy Management (MTM) software to help pharmacists deliver clinical services to patients. Even as a young person, Wong knew he wanted to be a pharmacist but he also had a passion for sound recording. Over the years, his interest in jazz has afforded him the opportunity to record jazz musicians Mose Allison and Kim Nalley as well as David Crosby, the B-52’s and the GoGo’s.
i l m c p b d i a c t “Teaching is the lifeblood of the institution,” said Laura Woodworth-Ney, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, “and T we are very fortunate that these master teachers work in ISU classrooms, labs, and throughout the university community.” a Barbara Frank She has also developed science activities in didactic teaching for the physician ganic and inorganic chemistry curricula. has been a full- for her students to present to K-12 stu- assistant, physical therapy, and nurse In addition to his work in the classroom time faculty mem- dents at various community events. practitioner programs. Besides partici- he coordinates a department-wide sumber in the Bio- Prior to coming to Idaho State Univer- pating in multiple team-taught courses, mer research program for disadvanlogical Sciences sity, Frank was a post-doctoral research she currently coordinates approximately taged high school students, helps shape Department since fellow at Genentech, Inc. She received 10 credits of didactic courses each year. the general education program on both 2002. Her enthu- her doctoral degree in biochemistry One aspect of her teaching career that university and statewide committees, siastic teaching of from Washington State University. she is particularly proud of is the devel- and contributed to the acquisition and multiple courses opment and accreditation of a one-year administration of an National Science at the 100, 200, Teddie Gould has postgraduate pharmacy residency train- Foundation scholarship program for fu300, and 400 levels has been instrumenbeen teaching in ing program at the Pocatello Veterans ture chemists at ISU. He has personally tal in bringing a BS Biology (Biomedical the College of Phar- Affairs Community-based Outpatient supervised more than 50 high school, Sciences emphasis) degree to the Idaho macy at Idaho State Clinic. undergraduate, and master’s-level stuUniversity since Beyond her classroom and clinical dents studying transition metal comFalls campus. Her dedication has enabled 1981. Her primary teaching, she has been highly involved pounds in his research lab. a large proportion of her students to be classroom focus is in curricular development within the Even at the freshman and sophomore admitted to medical, dental, pharmacy, renal pharmaco- College of Pharmacy. She has served level, Holland’s lecture courses emphaand other health-related programs. therapy, cardiovas- as chair of the Pharmacy Curricular Af- size patient, critical, problem solving Frank emphasizes active learning and critical thinking in her courses. She col- cular disease, and oncology. fairs Committee numerous times and both as a target skill and as a means by laborates with community leaders and She currently teaches in all four years helped to coordinate various aspects of which to deepen students’ understandwith colleagues in biology and other of the Doctor of Pharmacy program and the professional program’s last two cur- ing of chemical concepts, and this apdepartments to bring interdisciplinary works with post-graduate pharmacy ricular revisions. Pharmacy curriculum proach is supported by a program of intopics to both non-majors and majors residents as well. Over time, she has and teaching methodologies are among class collaboration among students, long courses. Because she believes strongly in developed skills in a variety of teaching her research interests, and she has pre- office hours, and even longer tests. His hands-on learning, Frank has supervised settings including classroom lectures sented work on these topics in various lab sections aim to provide safe opporundergraduates in research projects, and both live and via distance learning, in scholarly forums. tunities for students to indulge their own her students have presented posters at small-group case discussions, skills labocuriosity and ingenuity in addition to folvarious undergraduate research sympo- ratories, online courses, and one-on-one Andy Holland lowing directions. All of Holland’s classes teaching in the clinical practice setting. siums. has taught in ISU’s are founded on his conviction that given Frank has a strong history of service She has developed clinical teaching sites chemistry depart- a structured, supportive framework for activities that enhance the education- in internal medicine, ambulatory care, ment since 2004, learning, ISU’s students will far exceed al opportunities of her students. She and cardiology for precepting students instructing more their own academic expectations if they serves as the advisor to a pre-health club during their fourth-year rotations. than a dozen differ- are encouraged to do so. that has won the ASISU-Idaho Falls Club In addition to teaching pharmacy ent courses across of the Year honors for the past two years. students, Gould has also been involved all levels of the or-
Outstanding Teacher Winners
Cathy Peppers is a senior lecturer in the College of Business, where she teaches a unique course she designed to bring liberal and fine arts approaches to critically analyzing and creatively solving business problems, and to effective professional communication. The creation and teaching of this course has brought Peppers immense professional satisfaction, in no small part because of the way it challenges students, as well as their teacher, to think in strange ways about familiar problems, and bring familiar approaches to strange contexts. In 2012, Peppers was named the College of Business Outstanding Teacher. Professional satisfaction for Peppers also comes from creating another venue .
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for promoting students‘ discovery of the value of the humanities and the arts in their professional and personal lives. She has served as chair of the General Education Requirements Committee (20132015), leading the work of revising the general education curriculum. Peppers’ most recent area of scholarly interest has been studying how psychology and cognitive science have approached understanding creativity and creative processes. Her primary creative practice for the past 15 years has been writing poetry. Her poems have appeared in journals, in art exhibits, and on a paver outside Trinity Episcopal church; she has read her poetry at several venues in Idaho, Utah and as far away as Prague. She has read and hosted reading nights at the Rocky Mountain Writers Festival for several years. Peppers has taught at Idaho State University since 1998, for the first eight years in the English department, where she taught a variety of courses in com-
position, literature and creative writing. She also taught courses in public relations in the department of Mass Communications. Peppers earned a Ph.D. in literature and cultural studies at the University of Oregon, a master’s degree in literature and a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing at Bowling Green State University, and a bachelor’s degree in English at Macalester College. Curt Whitaker has taught Renaissance literature in ISU’s Department of English and Philosophy since 2001. Raised in Nevada, he attended the University of California, Davis, as an undergraduate and completed a Ph.D. in English at UCLA. His courses range from freshman composi-
tion to literature pedagogy for M.A. and Ph.D. students, and he currently serves as a founding committee member for the Teaching Literature Book Award, a nationally juried prize sponsored by the English Department at ISU. Whitaker’s research and teaching frequently focus on historical representations of nature in poets such as John Milton, Andrew Marvell, and George Herbert, exploring how religious points of view condition our treatment of the environment. As a board member of the Portneuf Valley Audubon Society, Whitaker hosts an annual film and panel discussion on environmental stresses to wildlife, especially birds. Whitaker spent the first six years of his career as a high school teacher in Los Angeles and continues to stay connected to K-12 education by serving every semester as a liaison to two teachers in various locations in Southeast Idaho.
Outstanding Student Award Winners
continued from page 4
“We are blessed at ISU to have such a service-oriented faculty. ISU’s faculty serve our communities in many ways, and it is a true honor to recognize these outstanding faculty for their contributions,” said ISU Provost Laura Woodworth-Ney. Lindsey Marie Hunt, Ontario, Oregon, College of Pharmacy: Originally from Ontario, Oregon, Hunt obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the College of Idaho in 2008. She was employed as a scientist for a biotech company for five years before being accepted into the ISU College of Pharmacy. Hunt will graduate in May with her PharmD degree and maintains a 3.71 GPA. She has served leadership roles within APhA-ASP at the chapter and regional level in addition to serving as the student representative to the Idaho Society of Health-System Pharmacists board and collaborating with the Idaho State Pharmacy Association to implement various advocacy efforts throughout Idaho. She completed a Veterans Affairs Learning Opportunity Residency (VALOR) internship at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System in Reno, Nevada and was a career path intern for ISU’s interdisciplinary Community Health Screening events, connecting underserved populations to medical services. She is currently a pharmacy intern at Rite-Aid in Ontario, Oregon. Hunt was recognized in 2014 with the Outstanding SSHP Professional Development Award, the ISPA Student of the Year and Walmart Scholars Mentor. Her academic achievement has resulted in multiple scholarships, including the Lane Alan Broyles Scholarship, APhA Foundation Scholarship, Sylvan L. Kuhn
Scholarship and the WalMart Scholar Travel Scholarship. Hunt hopes to achieve her long-time goal of completing a pharmacy practice residency and becoming a clinical pharmacist. Jakob P. Meng, Idaho Falls, College of Technology: Meng will graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree in energy systems mechanical engineering technology with a 3.96 GPA, and a 4.0 GPA in his program. Meng received the College of Technology Distinguished Student Award scholarship in fall 2014 and was selected for an industry-sponsored scholarship from Newmont Mining Company in spring 2015. He is also the recipient of the Associated Students of ISU Scholarship and the ISU Credit Union Scholarship. He represented the College of Technology in January 2015 at a Legislative Luncheon in Boise, hosted by the Idaho Division of Professional-Technical Education. While at ISU, Meng competed as a member of the Rupp Debate Society at regional debate tournaments. In 2013, he entered the University of Puget Sound Parliamentary debate tournament and placed first in the junior varsity division and completed the tournament with a perfect 9-0 record. He has also tutored and mentored high school students in debate
and served as a debate judge. Meng is looking forward to his first professional position in the energy industry. Jennifer K. Brooks, Idaho Falls, Division of Health Sciences: Idaho Falls native Jenny Brooks will graduate in May with her Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics. She has a 3.62 GPA and was on the dean’s list in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. Brooks was the recipient of the Jeanette Rowe Memorial Scholarship, the Phi Upsilon Omicron National Honor Society Margaret Jerome Sampson Scholarship and the Agnes C. Foley Scholarship. The research Brooks completed as an undergraduate concerning weight bias has been shared both locally and at the state level. She plans to continue this effort by developing a sensitivity training program for students and practitioners in health care. Brooks has served as the Student Dietetics Club president, mentors new dietetics majors and has been the student manager of ISU’s Benny’s Pantry since it opened in 2013. She also serves as president of the Secular Student Alliance and is the founding supervisor of Coffee and Gift Shop at Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls. This fall, Brooks will attend Johns Hopkins University – Bloomberg School of Public Health where she will pursue her Master of Science degree
in public health. Brooks also earned an associate degree in 2007 from Life Pacific College in San Dimas, California.
Madeline Woodhouse, Pocatello, School of Nursing: Woodhouse will graduate in May 2015 with her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. She began her college career with one year at the University of Montana and then another year at Boise State, majoring in psychology. In 2010, Woodhouse applied to the ISU nursing program and was accepted. Her course work has provided career-related experiences that improve health in the community. She was selected to teach foot care assessment and supervise student performance among participants in rural community health education sessions. She is a Faith Community Nursing volunteer and a volunteer at Ruth House in Idaho Falls that provides health care services to women with an emphasis on single mothers and their children. She volunteered to be a tutor for the junior medical surgical nursing students. Woodhouse was a member of the Idaho and National Student Nurses Association. In 2013 and 2014, she won the Portneuf Medical Center marathon for her age group and is a qualifier for the 2015 Boston Marathon. Woodhouse is now employed at Portneuf Medical Center as an operating room nurse.
Congratulations to all the Winners
The Path to Success - Graduate Stories
Hands-On Dad Achieves Dream of Becoming a Nurse
There was a time Ken Harris slept with his phone on. He’d set it next to his bed, eager to take late-night calls from a friend or classmate in need. “I’ve always enjoyed people. I’ve always enjoyed taking care of them,” he said. So it’s not surprising Harris decided to become a nurse, a career that will allow him to do what he does best while delivering a good paycheck. May 11, Harris will graduate from Idaho State University’s rigorous 16-month accelerated bachelor’s program in nursing. The program is the only one of its kind in Idaho and offered exclusively at the ISU-Meridian Health Science Center west of Boise. Harris’ life has changed dramatically since the days he first received those late-night calls. The 30-year-old is now married and a hands-on dad to three children under age 5 with a fourth due in late July. Despite a hectic life, Harris has landed on the ISU dean’s list twice and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society of nurses. How has he managed it all? Harris is quick to thank his supportive wife, Rachel, who has held two part-time jobs while he completed school. Harris also worked part time while honing his timemanagement skills. “Do what matters most at any given time,” he advises. “Some pieces may fall, but they don’t have to be the important pieces. You learn to select the ones you are not going to worry about.” Harris, who grew up in southern Utah, entered the accelerated nursing program in 2014. Before moving to Merid-
ian, he worked in the customer support division at Portneuf Medical Center for a year. In Pocatello, he and his young family lived with his wife’s grandfather – a retired Pocatello cardiologist – who encouraged Harris to study nursing at ISU. “The accelerated program – where I already had a bachelor’s degree – was a great fit for me especially with a growing family,” said Harris, who also holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho. To enter the accelerated nursing program, students must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university or college. As for the future, Harris is considering a career in pediatrics, a rotation he enjoyed at ISU-Meridian. “While it’s hard to see kids with debilitating illnesses, it’s rewarding to see them smile,” said Harris. To find out more about the program, visit http://www.isu.edu/nursing/accelerated.shtml or call 208-373-1785.
Idaho State University Geosciences Master’s Student John Whiting Spent 101 Days in Frank Church Wilderness to Earn His Degree P O C AT E L L O – After spending nearly three months in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness last summer John Whiting, who will graduate from Idaho State University this summer with a Master of Science Degree in geosciences, found it strange to stand on concrete. “I was out there 101 days, and when I flew back just stepping on the sidewalk was a weird feeling,” Whiting said. “Just having that kind of level, smooth ground under my feet for the first time after living 100 days without it, just felt odd. It blew me away. The whole summer was
incredible.” The first day after he flew into the Taylor Wilderness Research Station last April, Whiting saw a cougar. One of the last days there he saw two wolves. The station is located in the middle of the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states on Big Creek, about eight miles from the Middle Fork Salmon River. “Those were the highlights as far as wildlife goes, but I was there with some amazing people, too,” said Whiting, who is originally from Connecticut, but earned his undergraduate degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. “The people who take care of the Taylor Ranch (a facility owned and administered by the University of Idaho) and live there all year long, the Gag family, were an amazing group of people, and it was just fun being out there with them and the other researchers.” Whiting walked hundreds of miles off trail and would spend nights away from the research station while completing his research, which was mapping how streams expand and contract, and setting up stations to measure tree-sap flow rates to understand plant transpiration rates in three different climate zones. He set up sophisticated data-collections stations in rain, snow and transitions zones to monitor the different transpiration rates by Douglas Fir trees in those zones, measuring the amount of moisture the trees release in the air. He was studying if plant water use in rain-dominated low elevations is different of that in snow-dominated elevations, which has important implications for water storage and water quality, particularly if the climate changes. He encountered some unique challenges while attempting to complete his research. He discovered that black bears were attracted to the shiny insulation that he wrapped around sap-flow sensors that he had inserted into the trees. “In the Frank Church we discovered we had to wrap a black fabric around the shiny stuff, because if we didn’t have the black fabric the bears ripped them up,” Whiting said. “After we covered them up we didn’t have that problem, but it was
so sad to lose a sap-flow sensor. Each one takes hours to make. You lose one and it is a sad moment.” He constructed the sensors himself, with the help of ISU lab assistants including undergraduates Dylan Refaey and Kimberly Archibald, using hypodermic needles and soldering them together with miniscule wires. The data stations he set up included solar panels hung in the tops of trees and car batteries used to power a variety of sensors setup that where all connected by data cables to data logger, which researchers can plug their laptops into to download the data collected. It wasn’t all work, however. For example, Whiting went on a backpack trip with a group of undergraduate interns from the University of Idaho who were at the Taylor Wilderness Research Station. This group hiked from Taylor Ranch up into the Bighorn Crags. “We hiked to the Middle Fork, across the Middle Fork and them up a creek to Crags,” Whiting said. “From a geologist’s standpoint, it was interesting going from the river up to the granite peaks, but it was all beautiful. I caught my first fish flyfishing in an alpine lake in the Bighorn Crags. That was pretty sweet. That place will blow you away.” Whiting, who is looking for jobs in hydrology after graduation, thanked the DeVlieg Foundation, which provided the funding for him to complete his research. This foundation sponsors graduate stipends, inquiry-based undergraduate learning programs, and professional workshops to attract researchers to the Taylor Wilderness Research Station. “I got to spend a summer in the Frank Church,” Whiting said. “I can’t complain. It was amazing. I’d definitely say it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The Path to Success - Graduate Stories
Nicole Martin came to Idaho State University from Rupert on a track scholarship, but she never ran a race for the Bengals.
Upon arrival at ISU, she discovered she was highly anemic and could not compete in track. This setback, however, didn’t stop her from continuing her education and being an exceptionally active student. Martin, who grew up in a household with 21 other siblings and was originally from Maryland, will graduate May 9 with a bachelor’s degree in general studies and a minor in sociology. Arriving in Pocatello, she said she was struck by the community’s lack of diversity, which inspired her to restart the student chapter of the NAACP and be its president. She became active in Black History Month, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and other community activities. She said she was well aware of the fact that she was the minority here, which she described as “shocking.” “Idaho State University has an underrepresented minority rate of AfricanAmericans, with about half that being African-American women,” Martin said. “Being a part of that was a big drive to graduate for me.” Martin was extremely active with ISU’s Student Success Center and TRIO program. She was vice president of the ISU student TRIO Club and involved with New Student Orientation. “She is a bright shining star in our office,” said Sari Byerly, director of TRIO student services. “She was always willing to help out students who were beginners in our programs and really helped out our TRIO freshmen and sophomores.” Martin attributes a lot of her success in college to the student service TRIO, a federally funded program that provides
students with a variety of support services including tutoring, advising and academic, personal, financial and career counseling. With the help of TRIO tutoring, Martin was able to overcome her struggle with math, a subject that had given her troubles. “TRIO was able to provide a math tutor for me to prepare for the compass test and I was able to test out of numerous math classes, and be placed into the appropriate math class to graduate on time,” she said. Martin’s advice to her fellow TRIO members is “stay in contact with your advisor, on a weekly basis and stay involved.” “If it wasn’t for my advisors I probably wouldn’t be graduating with as good of grades as I do,” Martin said. “I wouldn’t have gotten into graduate school as easily without TRIO either, because it’s a long process, and took me about six months to get everything in order.” She is currently applying to graduate schools and has already been accepted to several. Ultimately, she wishes to join the military and become an international social worker. “The military runs in my family and it was always something I have wanted to do,” Martin said. “I am adopted so working with adoptions has been something I was interested in. I thought implementing both of them would be perfect.” “I’ve really enjoyed my time here at ISU, I’ve made so many friends and there is so much to do around town and campus if you are involved,” she said.
Yiran Wang didn’t come from China to Idaho State University to study acrobatics, but a chance encounter with a class in Pocatello changed her life.
Wang, who is graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in statistics, took an acrobatics class in Pocatello, and, while there, learned about the art of aerial silks, a theatrical and athletic sport where performers climb to great heights on long rows of fabric, performing acrobatics while suspended. For Wang, the experience was indescribable. She is afraid of heights, and never liked twirling, but when she tried aerial silks, she was hooked. The art has given her a sense of freedom, and the ability to think independently, she said. “I never thought of it when I was in China,” she said. “Aerial silks totally changed my life. It’s a connection. It’s magical. It’s meant to be.” Wang studied aerial silks in Pocatello, then, when her instructor moved, travelled six hours every week, commuting from Pocatello to Sandy, Utah to learn more. Today, she teaches aerial silks in Pocatello to children ages 7 to 17 at MP Dance Company. She loves sharing her passion. “They love to learn it. They’re passionate about it,” Wang said. “I’m so glad I can be a part of that.” When she is not in the air, Wang is busy in the classroom, maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average. She plans to attend graduate school in the fall, and is interested in data science and statistical computing. She has also been a cultural ambassador of sorts. Each year, Wang, who has danced since she was a child, performs
w P a s d for Chinese Night, one of many student-s sponsored cultural nights at ISU. Al- though she was disappointed that morec Chinese students didn’t dance, she hasm been able to teach others to dance ats Chinese Night. Chinese Night also gavem her the opportunity to choreograph, which was a new experience. “I never choreographed a dance when I was in China,” she said. Aerial silks and statistics have provided a wonderful balance for her life, Wang said. “When my body hurts from silks, I can do statistics. When I am tired from statistics, I can go do my silks,” she said. “They are both challenging.”
Anushka Burde, Idaho State University international student Originally from Mumbai, India, has enjoyed the international flavor of ISU while earning three degrees, first Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry and biochemistry, and then a Pharm.D. degree she’ll be awarded at ISU commencement May 9. “A lot of students come from other countries to ISU because the United States has a good educational system at the college level. It has been really good here,” Burde said. “At ISU I have had a chance to meet friends from all over the world. It has been very nice.” Those experiences will be a bonus for her down the road. “As a pharmacist it will help me a lot because I can relate with people from different parts of the world with different cultural backgrounds,” she said. When her father’s job was transferred to Pocatello, Burde moved to Southeast Idaho with her family, including her mother and brother. She had already attended college in India for two years before the move. “I think the biggest thing for moving from India to Pocatello was adjusting to the weather,” Burde said. “In Mumbai the
weather is hot and humid all the time. Pocatello is really cold and dry. It was really a big change for me.” Burde said she felt at home at ISU and studying here has helped build her confidence and improved her communication skills. “We have excellent teachers and the curriculum has been designed well to make us successful pharmacists,” she said. “The ISU pharmacy program has made me achieve a sense of responsibil-
ity and compassion for people.” Burde is an accomplished student who was listed on the Dean’s List at both the ISU College of Pharmacy and the College of Science and Engineering. She has also worked at the Eli M. Oboler library where she has helped at activities and events such as the miniature golf fundraiser, ISU Author’s Exhibit, Week of Welcome, library displays, documentation, filing and many more. “I have always enjoyed studying at
the library. Everyone at the library was really friendly and nice to talk to,” Burde said. “This made me want to work there. I love my job. I have had great supervisors and I was able to make some great friends and I will always be thankful that I got such a wonderful opportunity to be a part of Eli M. Oboler library.” She also worked at the Bengal Pharmacy on the ISU campus. “Working the Bengal Pharmacy was very helpful overall, helping me learn
how to counsel people on their medications, how to take it, and just dealing overall with patients, the computer systems and insurance companies,” Burde said. As for Burde’s future, she said, “I think education at ISU will help me find a really good job as a pharmacist and it will also allow me to serve our society as a health professional.”
Continuing a Proud Tradition
POCATELLO – The Idaho State University Graduates March through the Arch will be held beginning at noon May 8 at the Swanson Arch located on the ISU Pocatello campus between Frazier Hall and the Physical Sciences Building. “This is a wonderful and popular activity for 2014-15 graduates,” said Allyson Johnson, events coordinator for the ISU Office of the President. “Members of the campus community, as well as family and friends of graduates, are encouraged to gather at the Arch to say farewell to the graduates, to socialize and get some good pictures.” Graduates will “March through the Arch” and then proceed to an outside picnic on campus.
Swanson Hall, constructed in 1902, was the first building at the Academy of Idaho, now Idaho State University. The structure was razed in 1973, but the Swanson Arch, the building’s entrance, was saved and now stands on campus. The “March through the Arch” tradition was started in 2000. A spirited ceremony takes place each fall when new students pass through the arch southward into campus. In May, graduates look to the future by passing northward back through the arch symbolizing their exit from the university and entrance into new life adventures.
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