Undergraduate Academic Affairs is thrilled to announce Adiam Tesfay as the new director of Academic Support Programs (ASP). Tesfay joined Academic Support Programs in 2011, first serving as assistant director, then associate director and most recently interim director. Over the course of her tenure, she has actively worked to help students navigate the transition to the 91爆料 and become their most successful selves.
Tesfay first discovered her passion for helping students adjust to college while an undergraduate resident assistant at Northern Arizona University (NAU). This experience motivated Tesfay to stay at NAU and earn her Masters in Educational Counseling.聽 At NAU, Tesfay joined TRiO Student Support Services and went on to advise first-generation, low-income and disabled students on personal, academic and financial issues. Her programming helped the students considered most at risk of not graduating to graduate at a higher rate than the rest of the university. Tesfay brings this same dedication and tenacity to her work at the 91爆料.
鈥淎diam is a champion of students across the University from all backgrounds, particularly of those students with the greatest needs,鈥� says Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Ed Taylor. 鈥淪he is unwavering in her commitment to the success of all students, and unwavering in her belief that all students can be successful.鈥� Tesfay believes that community is key to students鈥� success and holds this as a guiding principle in her work. She is dedicated to increasing educational equity and access, and works with both professional and student staff on these issues.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud that ASP鈥檚 staff is able to have open and honest conversations about equity. This is really hard to tackle at the university level. We work together to find new, innovative ways to support our students,鈥� explains Tesfay. To accomplish this, Tesfay recently led her team through a strategic plan to evaluate their effectiveness and find new opportunities to reach more students. As a result of this work, Tesfay and her team will be offering additional coaching sessions, workshops on topics including 鈥渨hat to do if you fail a test鈥� and additional events for students to build communities with each other.
We are teaching students what to do when what they鈥檝e traditionally done no longer works. We want them to talk to each other; to share with their friends that they are struggling. But no one does because they are embarrassed. We want to normalize failure. Failure can still be great. It gives you a sense of discovery. 鈥� Adiam Tesfay
Through the work of ASP, Tesfay strives to teach students to be their own best advocate. She maintains ASP鈥檚 programs are so effective because the students open up to their peers in ways that they don鈥檛 with her and the other staff members. To ensure this system works for everyone, Tesfay is committed to training both her student and professional staff and creating an open, collaborative environment for her team.
Academic Support Programs currently runs the and . Both rely on peer-to-peer support. CLUE offers late-night drop-in tutoring, discussion sessions, a writing center and test prep sessions, fielding over 35,000 student visits each year. The 120 undergraduate and graduate student tutors are trained to teach students how to figure out difficult problems, helping develop confidence and creative thinking.
The academic achievement courses are specifically geared toward freshman, sophomore and transfer students who are struggling with their transitions to 91爆料. Every student in these courses is paired with a with whom they meet three hours a week. Both the classes and tutoring sessions focus on note-taking, essay writing, time-management and other study skills. Tesfay explains, 鈥淭he work we are doing is these classes is transformative for these students. Helping change a student鈥檚 trajectory at the 91爆料 will impact the student and their family for the rest of their life.鈥�
Our work within UAA and out across the University is tied together and interdependent. Research, service and scholarship go hand in hand. The first-year experience, and students鈥� transitions through to declaring a major and graduating into lives outside the University are one and the same. Leadership, service and ethics all serve the same purpose: To become a more thoughtful and compassionate public.
Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor offered his thoughts on today’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Links to President Cauce’s statement and resources are also available here.
Congratulations to the 2016-17 Undergraduate Academic Affairs staff recognition awardees. Selected for their dedication to supporting UAA鈥檚 mission of creating innovative academic experiences for undergraduates, these six UAA staff members made an indelible impact on 91爆料 students, faculty and staff.
Bryan Nakata, digital media producer, Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Award for Excellence
Awarded to employees who have worked in UAA for at least five years, this award celebrates the employee鈥檚 leadership in creating formative student experiences and building the necessary infrastructure to support their vision. Recognizing the critical role advisers play in the undergraduate experience, Aley Mills Willis evolved the Honors advising program to be an essential piece of her students鈥� experience. Understanding the importance of experiential learning, Kathryn Pursch Cornforth actively works with peers across the campus and community to lay the foundation for students to engage in service learning.
Aley Mills Willis, the advising mastermind
鈥淎ley is a natural and gifted adviser, always fully engaged with each student she works with, while simultaneously thinking about the bigger picture of academic services. She is thoroughly dedicated to students and works tirelessly and creatively to ensure that they have rich and challenging experiences, while also supporting them in that journey. When recent graduates of our program are asked 鈥楬ow did Honors help you in your time as an undergrad?鈥� the nurturing, individually tailored advising experiences is most-often cited.鈥�
鈥� 91爆料 Honors Staff
Achievements of note: Created the Honors advising program, consistently provides support for her staff to grow; founded the Honors Field Studies Program; played a key role in building the Honors admission process; integral in developing the Honors 100 first-year seminar and the 2010 Interdisciplinary Honors curriculum; instrumental in creating the peer mentoring program; and formalized the National Collegiate Honors Council鈥檚 Partners in the Parks program.
Kathryn Pursch Cornforth, the visionary facilitator
鈥淜athryn is an inspirational, thoughtful and patient lead for UAA and for faculty teaching around the presence of Tent City 3 on campus during winter quarter. She worked tirelessly with the Tent City Collective, Tent City residents and with faculty to ensure that our collaborations were substantive, ethical and appropriately engaged. I could not have successfully offered my own class, 鈥楨ngaging Homelessness,鈥� without her wonderful partnership. We are so lucky to have Kathryn in the Carlson Center!鈥�
鈥� Dr. Vicky Lawson, director of Honors and professor of geography
Achievements of note: Played a critical role in fostering an impactful stay for Tent City 3, including building relationships with Tent City 3 residents, vetting learning opportunities with Tent City 3, including classes, conversations and meals; led the development of MLK week; heads the service learning teams, which impacts 3,000 students, 350 community partners and 100+ faculty; assisting with the development of a pilot study aboard program in Berlin, Germany.
See highlights from MLK Week, which Kathryn Pursch Cornforth plays a large role in organizing.
Outstanding Achievement Award
Recognizing the innovation, collaboration and tenacity it takes to initiate change, this award acknowledges the leaders behind some of UAA鈥檚 innovative programming. Ali Albrecht鈥檚 commitment to serving transfer students led her to create more robust experiences for them. Carey Christie鈥檚 vision for an Honors alumni network inspired her to build an active and engaged community of alumni.
Ali Albrecht, the transfer student advocate
“Ali has taken the lead on improving the transfer experience for more than 2,000 new transfer students every year. Even before she formally took on this role, Ali exhibited innovative thinking by hosting a Transfer Husky Kick-off event with remarks from President Cauce … Ali has always thought creatively about how we can broaden the UAA footprint to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity a transfer student brings to our campus.”
鈥� The First Year Programs Team
Achievements of note: Collaborating cross campus to improve the transfer student experience, including: hosting a Transfer Husky Kick-off event, establishing the Transfer Ambassadors peer mentor program, a seminar for transfer students and strategic plan to stay engaged with these students year-round and actively mentors students.
Virtually attend Transfer Dawg Daze, which Ali initiated:
Carey Christie, the alumni network architect
鈥淐arey has made the position her own, defining and crafting it to create a model of innovation, imprinting her creativity, her ‘can do’ attitude, and diverse communication skills to the task of alumni outreach and community building. Her special achievement of increasing alumni engagement in Honors has accomplished many layers of good for the Program and ripples across our work in Honors, as well as advances UAA鈥檚 mission to deepen and strengthen community.鈥�
鈥� 91爆料 Honors Staff
Achievements of note: Establishing the Honors Alumni Program from scratch; producing and coordinating the Global Challenges Event; creating the Honors Alumni Panel, now an integral part of the program; managing and steering the Advisory Board; Honors Hearths, which brings faculty and alumni into the residence halls for heartfelt conversations; and marketing the Honors Program.
Outstanding Student Employee Award
Student employees are an integral part of the UAA staff. This award recognizes the outstanding achievements of two student employees. Chloe Lee鈥檚 enthusiasm for her work as a TA is contagious and regularly inspires those around her to get involved with causes they feel passionate about. Bryan Nakata鈥檚 creativity has played an integral role in shaping UAA鈥檚 communications work.
Chungeun 鈥淐hloe鈥� Lee, leading by example
鈥淢any Robinson Center students have been inspired by Chloe鈥檚 initiative and leadership and have followed her into these groups to give back to their community in ways that Chloe has modeled. … Chloe鈥檚 contributions to the Robinson Center鈥檚 mission have been vast and, in every role she takes on, she demonstrates exceptional professional integrity, personal responsibility and care for others. We simply could not ask for a better teacher, leader and mentor for our community of students, and we feel so lucky that Chloe has given so much of her professional and personal energy to supporting others who wish to follow in her footsteps.鈥�
鈥� Curtis Hisayasu鈥�, associate director of programs, 91爆料 Academy, Robinson Center
Achievements of note: Founder, 鈥淗uskies for Kids鈥� registered student organization (RSO) which raises awareness of childhood poverty and illness; officer in 鈥淗and2Hand,鈥� which works with several women鈥檚 and youth shelters. As a T.A. performed better than most graduate students and set the bar for future T.A.s
Bryan Nakata, the up-and-coming filmmaker
鈥淏ryan has great technical knowledge and ability, and he also has a strong degree of self-awareness, creativity, drive, narrative instinct, receptivity to others鈥� ideas, and empathy to tell stories really, really well. His technical ability supports his creativity in his video work. He knows the effect of a particular camera lens, or lens flare, or angle, or lighting. And he鈥檚 constantly striving to push himself to learn more and use the technical to support the story.鈥�
鈥� Kirsten Atik, communications director, Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Achievements of note: Consistently producing top quality films and photos, including the MLK video above. Here are some additional videos he’s produced:
Mary Gates Endowment 20th Anniversary
Making art out of rejection: Miha Sarani paints his heroes
Lupita Tovar originally intended to major in business. However, the opportunity to get involved with research changed her mind. Now an astronomy major, Lupita investigates telescopes to map exoplanets (words outside our solar system). If successful, she鈥檒l pitch her ideas to NASA and the greater science community.
“The ideas of service and leadership connect to each other because a good leader is one who serves.”
鈥� Ernie Tao, 鈥�18, political science and biochemistry and volunteer firefighter
For 91爆料 student Ernie Tao, volunteering as a firefighter allows him to serve our communities with the highest level of engagement: 鈥渉is own hands and feet.鈥�
Throughout the 2016-17 school year, our undergraduates and alumni made the most of their Husky experience聽 鈥� designing their own research projects, developing their leadership skills, mentoring each other and more 鈥� all with an eye towards leading the way to a better tomorrow.
In 2016-17, 80 CLUE tutors fielded more than 35,000 student visits. On top of that, they ran 12+ weekly discussion sessions and 75 exam reviews per quarter.
That鈥檚 20 years of students researching alongside faculty mentors, learning to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world settings and contributing to the 91爆料’s research powerhouse.
More than 200 undergraduates helped 3,500+ newbies navigate the ins-and-outs of campus life. This includes teaching , leading and .
As Washington state solicitor, Purcell argued Washington鈥檚 challenge to the controversial Trump administration travel and immigration ban, winning both in District Court and the 9th Circuit, earning a temporary restraining order of the ban.
21 91爆料 students, including 10 undergraduates will embark on Fulbrights. This year鈥檚 class will travel all over the world – including Lithuania, Nepal, Mexico and Israel – to teach English and pursue independent research projects.
For 18 lucky recipients of the Bonderman Travel Fellowship, the end of the year meant packing and planning for eight months of solo travel! With funding in hand, they will travel through at least six countries and two distinct regions. Fellows are not allowed to pursue research or academic study, but are instead directed to experience, learn and grow as they immerse themselves in new cultures and communities.
68 students spent their spring breaks immersed in rural communities throughout Washington state. While there, they volunteered in local schools and learned about the broader issues facing their host communities.
134 students earned a Husky Leadership Certificate. Guided by mentors, these students looked deep within to define their leadership philosophy, envision the impact they will make and develop the skills to achieve their vision.
Fall 鈥�16 marked the first time 18 out of 22 teams had GPAs above 3.0. #GoDawgs!
Washington Husky Softball earned an average GPA of 3.44 and made it to the College World Series semifinals. Photo: Joshua Gateley
12. Discovering their passion. More than 4,000 students received funding to pursue their own research, leadership and innovation projects through the Mary Gates Endowment for Students. Many credit this experience with giving them the confidence to pursue advanced degrees and prestigious careers. The Endowment turned 20 this year.
These scholars are now researching in the Arctic, investigating how the brain functions and developing new research techniques, using genome engineering to phenotype thousands of mutations in a single experiment.
Helicopter and supplies in Antarctica Photo: Jeff Bowman
Honors student and founder Lauren Mittleman discussed the power of sharing our failures on KUOW.
Levinson Emerging Scholar alumnus Jeff Bowman prepares for field work in Antarctica Photo: Jeff Bowman
Since 2007, the Levinson Emerging Scholars Awards have supported undergraduate researchers whose passion for science never rests. Mentored by and working alongside some of the 91爆料’s most accomplished researchers and teachers, these students participate in the invigorating work of advancing knowledge to solve some of society’s most intractable problems. Meet this remarkable group of young scientists.
President Ana Mari Cauce awarded three outstanding undergraduate students with the President鈥檚 Medalist award. Selected for their academic performance as well as their co- and extra-curricular involvement, their high grades and well-rounded extra-curriculars, this year鈥檚 recipients are: Hannah Werbel, a computer science major; Siena Traverso, an early childhood and family studies major; and Evan Wang, an electrical engineering major.
Portrait of Hannah Werbel. Photo: Bryan Nakata
Hannah Werbel
Award: Freshman Medalist
Major: Computer science
Hometown: Sammamish
“Winning this award means a lot. I love to learn, and have always aspired to make the most out of every opportunity I have to gain new knowledge, both inside and outside of the classroom. This award validates all of the hard work and effort I’ve put into my studies. It was very unexpected, which makes it even more rewarding. I’ve never considered myself to be the “smartest” kid in the class (and still don’t), but this award shows that with hard work and determination, anyone can learn anything.”
Hannah Werbel鈥檚 desire to use her creative and analytical skills to make a positive impact on the world led her to study computer science. Werbel鈥檚 introduction to research came as junior in high school, when she worked in an 91爆料 electrical engineering lab writing scripts to analyze data from brain computer interface experiments. Now at 91爆料, she has continued with research and enjoys finding practical applications to what she鈥檚 studying in class. Werbel also loves teaching, and is currently a TA for an introductory computer programming class. Outside of academics, Werbel plays piccolo in the marching band and basketball pep bands. Being legally blind, she is dedicated to increasing accessibly for other blind students. She is president of the Washington Association of Blind Students and works for DO-IT (disabilities, opportunities, internetworking and technology), where she frequently attends panels about disability in the technological fields.
Portrait of Siena Traverso. Photo: Bryan Nakata
Siena Traverso
Award: Sophomore Medalist
Major: Early childhood and family studies
Hometown: Corte Madera, California
“I was incredibly surprised and honored to receive this award. After the initial shock wore off, I realized that I could not have achieved this without the support and guidance of my incredible teachers. They inspired me to love learning and to work hard, which has allowed me to get to where I am today. This award has motivated me to become more like those teachers, in the hopes that I can have the same impact on my future students.”
Siena Traverso is passionate about teaching and mentoring others. Recognizing this interest while in elementary school, Siena started tutoring in 5th grade, and hasn鈥檛 stopped since. Today, she is a peer educator with the Honors Program, where she teaches a weekly class to incoming honors students. She also volunteers her time as a peer mentor, where she fields questions from prospective honors students. Beyond her involvement in honors, Siena also works as a peer adviser for undergraduate academic advising and a tutor-mentor with academic support programs.
Portrait of Evan Wang. Photo: Bryan Nakata
Evan Wang
Award: Junior Medalist
Major: Electrical engineering
Hometown: Monroe, Washington
“I think in large public schools such as 91爆料, its very easy to become lost in the crowd; to just see yourself as one of many thousands of students. So it is a great honor聽to be individually聽recognized by the university.聽Receiving this award has helped me realize that my research and my accomplishments can make an impact.”
Evan Wang鈥檚 drive to better understand the natural world led to a fascination with learning how things work at the atomic level. Over time, this led to learning the math and physics involved in reactions, and ultimately to his choice to study electrical engineering. Evan has been researching with Professor Anantram to model properties of devices that may one day be able to serve as a faster, smaller and cheaper memory source in computers. Because it鈥檚 too expensive to run experiments on today鈥檚 devices, Wang is working on computer simulations to study this technology en masse. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing French horn. Last year, he went on a tour to China with the wind ensemble.
For students at the 91爆料, internships are key to crossing the gap between college and the world of work. However, financial need is a major setback that prevents many students from doing unpaid internships.
This is the situation that faced Ruby Vigo. A student from the , Ruby鈥檚 longstanding desire to help others turned into a passion for helping youth and an interest in criminal justice.聽 Ruby knew an internship in a nonprofit would help her gain valuable professional experience and help shape her future plans. Nonprofits, however, typically can鈥檛 pay their interns, and Ruby didn鈥檛 have the time or financial ability for a volunteer internship.
Between the hours spent at school and a job waitressing at a restaurant five days out of the week, Ruby often had to choose between school and her job. Her friends would organize group study sessions that she would miss. In order to attend mandatory class meetings, she would call into work to ask for some hours off. The restaurant would not budge on her work hours. Ruby could not find the time to explore her career options in social work and she found herself struggling to keep up with both work and school. But her situation changed when she found out about the 91爆料鈥檚 new paid community-based internships.
In spring of 2016, the 91爆料 funded 30 paid internships for students to gain work experience in nonprofits. Ruby was excited to be accepted as one of the interns and was matched with , a nonprofit specializing in foster youth care. This opportunity enabled her to leave her part-time job as a waitress to focus on her future.
鈥淚t was so nice because the hours I would have spent waitressing, I was able to spend on schoolwork and my internship.鈥� With more time to study for her exams, Ruby鈥檚 grades improved and her stress level dropped. Her time with Treehouse reaffirmed her interest in nonprofits and nurtured her confidence in the professional work place.
At Treehouse, Ruby conducted outreach to clients, keeping clientele well-informed about the organization鈥檚 programs. At first she felt a little shy interacting with her co-workers and making phone calls to clients, social workers and caregivers. However, over the two quarters of the internship, Ruby鈥檚 confidence grew as she took on different tasks, from translating documents into Spanish to making phone calls and creating information pamphlets. She now feels confident asking questions to her co-workers and feels like a valued part of the Treehouse staff. 鈥淚 love Treehouse and the work environment here,鈥� she says, 鈥淚鈥檝e grown so much by applying my skills to new tasks, like translating documents.鈥�
The internship has only made Ruby鈥檚 passion for nonprofit work grow stronger. Having graduated this past spring, Ruby now works full-time at , a nonprofit specializing in political advocacy. She鈥檚 excited to see what else there is to discover in the world of community-based work.
Interested in learning more about the 91爆料鈥檚 community-based internships? Contact the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center Director, Rachel Vaughn,聽 or 206-685-2705 or visit the website.
