10274 research outputs found
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Helping Ourselves: Creating a Disabled Peer Mentorship Program at Western Washington University
No full textThe Disabled Peer Mentorship Program, through the Disability Outreach Center (DOC), will provide first year, transfer, and recently self-identified* or newly disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent, Blind and low vision, d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing students at Western Washington University (WWU) with individual mentorship from upper-level disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent, Blind and low vision, d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing peers to increase the retention, success, and wellness of mentees and develop mentors as leaders.
This paper explores the necessity of such a program, how it was created, and its future plans
The Diversity Deficit: A Treatment Plan for Pre-Health Studies
No full textThe Diversity Deficit is a three-part podcast series that examines the systemic barriers, identity struggles, and resilience of underrepresented students in pre-health education. Through interviews with five peers—Irene, Komal, Matthew, Wendy, and Alex—I explore how structural inequities in education, from financial burdens to cultural isolation, disproportionately impact minority and first-generation students. Drawing on sociological frameworks, I analyze how institutional failures, including \u27weed-out\u27 courses, advising gaps, and lack of representation, reinforce disparities in healthcare education. Yet, these stories also highlight resistance and community-driven solutions, demonstrating how students navigate hostile systems while advocating for change. Ultimately, this project highlights that diversifying healthcare requires dismantling educational inequities, not just relying on individual perseverance. By centering student voices, The Diversity Deficit challenges institutions to reimagine support systems and create pathways that empower, rather than exclude, future providers of color.
[Accessible transcripts to the podcast episodes are included as supplementary files with this entry.
New Home
No full text\u27New Home\u27 is made in memorial to Bellingham, my education in fiber arts, and my interest in geology. This is an Ikat weaving technique, which uses binding to create resist patterns. Ikat originates from Southeast Asia and is a deeply traditional and ancient technique. In my experience, this technique is process oriented, often requiring the artist to work towards an idea, rather than a specific, thoroughly planned out vision for the final product. Using Indigo and Osage natural dyes, I was able to achieve vibrant blues and greens to represent the elevation gradient of Whatcom County. I explored my initial reluctance in an academic space to engage with science, and found that both in subject matter and in practice, this process is an experiment and highly scientific. From the reactions of the natural dyes to their environment and the other chemicals, to the research involved to create a topographical design, I was able to engage critically with the scientific nature of the art and the process of making.
[Images of the project are included with this listing as supplementary files.
The effect of banded barbell loading on tissue stiffness
No full textAccommodating resistance is a common training method involved in strength and conditioning that involves the usage of bands or chains attached to a barbell that changes the total resistance as the user moves through a range of motion (ROM). Accommodating resistance increases both acute strength and power performance and creates greater long-term adaptations than traditional barbell loading, however, the contributors of this phenomenon are unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether acute stiffness changes in superficial myofascial tissue aided in the strength and power adaptations found in prior accommodating resistance research. It was hypothesized that banded loading would result in greater fascial stiffness when compared to traditional barbell loading in the vastus lateral (VL), biceps femoris (BF), anterior deltoid (AD), and posterior deltoid (PD) muscles. Twenty resistance trained men were recruited for the study. The study contained two conditions, and each subject was randomly assigned to the traditional condition (TRAD), or the banded condition (BAND) which dictated which condition would be conducted first during the data collection in the squat exercise. Subjects increased load in 5% increments until a mean bar velocity of 0.4 m/s was reached. Both conditions were collected on the same day with a 12-minute break between sets. Tissue stiffness was collected using a Myoton Pro device before and after each condition for a total of four collections for the VL, BF, AD, and PD muscle groups. A three-way ANOVA was used to evaluate interactions between time, condition, and muscle. There were no significant three-way or two-way interactions found. There was a significant main effect for muscle (F=92.55, P=\u3c .001). It can be concluded tissue stiffness varies between muscle groups (VL, BF, AD, PD), however, no relationship was found between tissue stiffness changes pre and post banded and traditional loading
Quantifying Irrigation in Washington’s WRIA 1: A Field-Scale Modeling Approach Based on Evapotranspiration and Effective Precipitation
No full textIn Washington’s Water Resource Inventory Area 1 (WRIA 1), a potentially decades-long legal process to clarify legal water use, called the Nooksack Adjudication, began in 2024. About 70% of water used in WRIA 1 is for agricultural irrigation, yet accurate, field-level estimates of irrigation withdrawals remain unavailable. Agricultural water meter data are sparse, inconsistent, self-reported, and difficult to validate or link to specific water rights. Previous studies in WRIA 1 have focused on basin-wide water budgets or theoretical crop demand estimates and lacked the spatial resolution or reliability needed to provide evidence for adjudication proceedings. To address this gap in data, I developed four models based on satellite-derived evapotranspiration and precipitation data to estimate monthly water withdrawals for irrigation at the field scale across WRIA 1 from 2011 to 2023. All models were optimized and validated using the best available water meter data as ground truth controls. The highest-performing model, SWBR-13, uses a soil water balance approach with 13 tunable parameters to account for effective precipitation and stored water. The SWBR-13 model demonstrates strong performance, with area-normalized irrigation depth errors symmetrically distributed around zero (mean = 1.35 mm, median = 0.17 mm) and moderate overall accuracy (mean absolute error = 19.8 mm; median absolute deviation = 21.66 mm). The expected percentage error for a single prediction is 62%. While this level of uncertainty limits its use as a definitive accounting method, the model provides a transparent, scalable approach for estimating irrigation in WRIA 1. These results mark a critical step toward filling longstanding irrigation data gaps in the region. They can help farmers document their water use, support policymakers in evaluating claims under adjudication, and inform regional water management and planning efforts
Strategic Planning: One District\u27s Journey
No full textSchool districts across the United States engage staff, school board members, district officials, and the community in the process of developing strategic plans. The development of strategic plans utilizes resources of the district to include financial, human, and time. I examined one district’s journey in the development and implementation of various strategic plans and, posited, to what extent, if any, have these strategic plans impacted student achievement. The research was a qualitative case study of this district and their strategic plans. Interviews were conducted with former and current superintendents, teachers, school board members, and the organization that led the development of the latest strategic plan. These interviews provided data on the impact of strategic plans on various district stakeholders and determined the impact on student achievement
Hutchinson and Camhope Irrigation District Intern
No full textBoth districts sit directly above the Spokane aquifer, a clean source of groundwater. At district 16 we have 4 pumps on two wells. These wells are no deeper than 100 feet. At district 7 we have 3 pumps that sit on 2 wells that are also relatively shallow. Districts that utilize ground water do not have any requirement to treat their water as long as there is no contamination. At our districts we run directly from the ground to homes, no need for filtering, flocculating, and settling like you might see at a district that utilizes surface water. That said, we do have a chlorination set up at both districts and use this if we get a positive coliform or E. coli hit
GIS Intern - Lewis County Public Utilities
No full textThe Lewis County Public Utilities District is a not-for-profit, locally regulated utility company created in 1936 to provide electricity to about 60 customers. In the present day, the PUD serves over 35,000 customers with over 3,000 miles of electric lines, as well as a new program providing fiber internet access to rural communities in the county. Being publicly funded means the district can provide cheaper electricity to more rural communities, as well as be more transparent and be held more directly accountable through three locally elected commissioners. Lewis County PUD serves the majority of the county’s electricity needs, but Centralia City Light serves the city of Centralia and the surrounding area
Skagit County Noxious Weed Intern
No full textFor the Summer of 2025, I returned to my position as a seasonal noxious weed aide for the Natural Resources Division (NRD) of Skagit County’s Public Works Department. As part of the Noxious Weed Control Board, I worked with a team of two other seasonals under the county’s noxious weed coordinator and another field technician. The majority of our work was dedicated to assisting in two WSDA-funded grant programs: the Spartina Program and the Knotweed Control Program. This work allowed me to gain professional experience performing environmental monitoring tasks, field work in the environmental sciences, and land management practices. I felt a great sense of pride and satisfaction being able to work for the county again and lead my coworkers more efficiently with my previous year’s experience
Science Communication: Media Organization and Social Media Creation Intern
No full textHawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, or HIHWNMS, is a marine wildlife sanctuary based in Kihei, Maui, Hawaiʻi, with interaction centers on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. This sanctuary is co-managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as part of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), and the Department of Land and Natural Resources of the State of Hawaiʻi. HIHWNMS performs research, outreach, education, and wildlife rescue centered around humpback whales and their habitat. Because humpbacks are part of a complex ecosystem, the sanctuary takes a holistic approach to its work, recognizing that whales require thriving ecosystems to remain healthy