Kate Rogers is an agriculture intern for Utahns Against Hunger’s summer youth program called Real Food Rising. Rogers is teaching high school students how to use gardening tools, stimulate herb and vegetable growth and proper planting and weeding techniques. The program grows organic produce in community gardens then distributes the food to organizations that feed people in need.

Mai Ho is one of just nine U.S. students to earn an internship with Deloitte in London. Deloitte is the second largest professional services network in the world with nearly 200 thousand employees who provide audit, tax, consulting, enterprise risk and financial advisory services. Ho’s internship beings in January of 2013 when she will focus on tax consulting for hedge funds and private equity. Ho is a double major in finance and accounting.

Mikki Whitworth’s short story Masks of a Superhero will be published in  The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard. Whitworth’s story was chosen from hundreds of submissions from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. She is among 28 authors represented in the The Collection, to be released by Topside Press in October, 2012.

Daniel O'Hare, Angelique Pappas, Lauren Seidelman, and Matthew Hardy took first place in the Utah CFA Institute Research Challenge. Westminster’s team beat out the University of Utah, BYU, and Utah State University with their research report and oral presentation on Energy Solutions. The team now heads to New York City where they’ll compete against international institutions in the Americas Regional Finale.

Heather McPhie finished second in the Putnam Investments Moguls Competition at the 2012 Visa Freestyle International FIS World Cup. McPhie’s impressive jumps on the mogul course wowed the huge crowd at Deer Valley Resort. McPhie is a Westminster student under the Westminster/USSA tuition grant program. She was one of three women on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team to finish in the top four at the World Cup. (Photo credit Sarah Brunson)

Westminster's Institute for New Enterprise announced the top ten finalists for the 2011-2012 Opportunity Quest business plan competition. A total of 29 teams submitted an executive summary for the business category  and the top ten finalists are; Jennifer Williams, Michael Odernheimer, Eleanore Guthrie, David Pang, Caitlin Jolley, Greg Troester, Chris Kilbourn, Chris Ricci, Stephen Mahnken, and Meindert Kooistra. The top three of eight submissions in the social category are Bakir Hamza, David Pang, and Caitlin Jolley. The students will compete for $10,000 in prize money on January 20, 2012. Opportunity Quest is a business plan competition designed to encourage students to venture into the world of entrepreneurship.

Westminster College's Ethics Bowl team once again qualified for Nationals during the 2011 Regional competition held at Weber State University on Nov. 12, 2011. This marks Westminster’s sixth straight year they have qualified for the national competition.This year’s Ethics Bowl team includes: Jillian Edmonds (Honors program), Tess Graham (Honors program), O'Ryan Moore, Dailey Haren (McNair Scholar), Kira Costagno, Victoria Valencia (Honors program), Katrina England (Honors and McNair Scholar), John Allred (Honors Program), Carlye Dalkert and Rachel Westmoreland.

Westminster sophomore and Olympic snowboarder, Graham Watanabe, was recently featured in a video about his  genealogy on BYUtv.  The video can be seen at http://byutv.org/watch/0d2330e1-e88f-4509-9962-237f6c49b022.

Seventeen Westminster students have been named to the 2012 U.S. Alpine and Freestyle Ski Teams. This year’s Alpine roster includes: TJ Lanning, Alice McKennis, Leanne Smith, Travis Ganong, Colby Granstrom, Hailey Duke, Chelsea Marshall, Megan McJames, Jared Goldberg, Brennan Rubie, Julia Ford and Brooke Wales. The Freestyle roster includes: Bryon Wilson, Heather McPhie, Dylan Ferguson, Hans Gardner, and Landon Gardner.

Westminster freshman and U.S. Freestyle Ski Team member, Landon Gardner, recently organized a fundraiser to raise money for victims of Hurricane Irene in Killington, Vermont.  Gardner set up several eBay auctions to sell personal skiing items such as googles, bindings, and a bib from when Killington hosted the National Championships in 2007. All proceeds will go to Killington Community Relief (KCR). 
 

Westminster’s Taylor Wuerth is performing in Hale Centre Theatre’s “My Fair Lady” running October 4 – November 6, 2011.

The Associated College Press awarded The Forum, Westminster’s student run newspaper, 3rd place in Best in Show for a four-year, non-weekly newspaper during the 2011 National College Media Convention. The Forum publishes 1,000 copies every other Wednesday. The Forum’s editor-in-chief is Justina McCandless. Staff reporters are Molly Evans, Gary Gonzalez, Jana Lindsey, Christie Lovell, Kaylene Moulton, Katherin Nelson, Tyson Olcott, Corinda Santos, Lauryn Simmons, Jessica Walker, Taylor White, and Adam Wojcik. Contributing writers are Kevin Packer, Isaac Merrill, Heidi Saxton, Tory Hallenburg, and Dallin Vanleuven. Kendra Black is the production manager, Emilio Casillas – business manager, Laura Ward – assistant editor, and online manager – Devin Lane.

Westminster Honors students presented during the 2011 National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Phoenix. Mai Ho and Lauren Johnson led a discussion about transformation in study abroad programs, drawing on their own experiences. Sara McCaskey presented during "How Should Honors Programs Use Facebook?" McCaskey shared strategies for maximizing social media and student opinions on social networking. Elizabeth Nelson and Jackie Wilson judged the NCHC newsletter contest and were on a panel exploring what makes a winning honors newsletter.
 

Jessica Jerome and Alissa Johnson helped accept the 2011 Wilma Rudolph Courage Award on behalf of the Visa U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team. More than half of the team attends Westminster. Women’s ski jumping was excluded from the Olympic Games until April, 2011. The U.S. team’s courage and tireless activism for recognition of girl’s and women’s sports earned them the prestigious award.

Dayna Kirkpatrick led a service-learning project with a class of 3rd graders at Hawthorne Elementary School. Kirkpatrick received donations from Whole Foods so Westminster and Hawthorne students could make dog biscuits that will be donated to No More Homeless Pets and the West Valley City Animal Shelter. The biscuits were one of several service projects during the “Day of Service and Learning” that teamed 70 Westminster students with 500 elementary children. The teams made blankets for families at the Ronald McDonald House, assembled craft kits for patients at Primary Children's Medical Center and decorated donation boxes for the Utah Food Bank.

Jerika Michel was one of only 135 students nationwide to be honored with a Newman Civic Fellow Award from Campus Compact in May 2011. Campus Compact is a national organization that aims to improve community life and to promote student engagement in civic and social responsibility. The Newman Civic Fellows Awards recognizes inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country.

 

Emma Gratteau was recently recognized in the Spring 2011 Catholic Community Services newsletter for her volunteerism. After she was severely injured in a four-wheeling accident and spent months in counseling and rehabilitation, she decided to pursue a career helping people. She is currently a grad student at Westminster and is working towards becoming a mental health professional. After graduation, she is interested in pursuing a job in the field of substance abuse treatment or physical rehabilitation.

Cara Cerise was recently awarded the Utah Young Humanitarian Award by Youthlinc, a Utah-based local and international service program for youth. Cerise was awarded a $5,000 college scholarship – the state’s largest service scholarship – by an independent panel of community leaders. The purpose of the award is to recognize Utah young people who excel at giving back to the community. The award is funded by the George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

Stevie Norcross was recently awarded two study abroad scholarships – the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship for Study Abroad ($1,500) and the Michaela Farnum Memorial Scholarship from International Studies Abroad ($1,000). Norcross, a chemistry major, is currently studying Spanish in Peru for the summer.

Lauren Allen, Erika Rodriguez, and Miranda Hogenson presented at the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research on February 18, 2011, at Weber State University. UCUR is modeled after the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and organized by a committee of representatives from educational institutions across the state. The conference celebrates academic, professional and personal achievements resulting from undergraduate research projects or creative endeavors.

Lauren Allen, Elizabeth Nelson, and Tavish Bell presented at the Rocky Mountain Peer Tutoring Conference April 1-2, 2011, at Westminster. The 2011 Rocky Mountain Peer Tutoring Conference invites peer tutors to submit proposals for papers, workshops, and poster presentations that focus on this “coming of age” process.

Carrie Merino, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Professional Couseling program, recently had a paper accepted at the annual Rocky Mountain Psychological Association meeting. She presented "The Relationship Between Attachment Theory as Manifested in Current Close Relationships and Strategies of Coping with Weight-Related Guilt and Shame in the Clinically Obese" in April 2011.

Cassidy Jones is the first recipient of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) in Westminster’s history. Jones, who is a student in the Honors program, applied for the ETA in Turkey through the prestigious Fulbright program. Participants are chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential. The Fulbright ETA grant enables Jones to teach English in Turkey for approximately 10 months, and to perform independent research – all fully funded. She will work in a new university in eastern Turkey, and will be assigned various activities designed to improve her students’ language abilities and knowledge of the United States. Jones was a member of Westminster’s Honors program. In May 2011 she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English. Jones will depart for Turkey in September.

Cara Cerise received the 2011 Utah Young Humanitarian award by a panel of community leaders. Recipients receive a $5,000 college scholarship. Cara is dedicated to the equality and inclusion of all people no matter what age, race, social status, religion or sexual orientation. She is volunteer at Camp Anytown, a human relations/student leadership retreat ran by the Inclusion Center for Community and Justice, where she also serves on the board. Cara is working toward HIV prevention as a Woman’s Health Intern at the Utah Pride Center where she is also a translator.

 

This year's Arts and Sciences McNair Scholars are Leslie Brown, Yvonne Clark, Christine Della Iacono, Sheena Nyann and Dexter Thomas. Both Dailey Haren and Kamille Sheikh attended the 18th annual UC Berkeley McNair Conference last August.

Erika Rodriguez won the 2011 Giovale Library Undergraduate Research Award. She was also chosen by poet Henri Cole as a co-winner of the Academy of American Poets student prize and was published in the Ellipis: Literature and Art. She is also a student in Westminster's Honors program.

Melanie Long and professor Peter Goldman received a Gore Student-Faculty Undergraduate Research I Travel Grant to attend the 5th Annual Generative Anthropology Summer Conference held at High Point University. Long is also a student in Westminster's Honors program.

Richard Leeflang completed a 336 hour internship working as a student nurse in various hospitals in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Leeflang had previously worked with Spanish speaking patients in the U.S. and found many had terrible health care experiences due to insensitivities and misconceptions. Leeflang, a senior majoring in nursing and Latin American studies, says the internship in Colombia has better equipped him to work with patients who have Latin American roots, and he feels that gives him an advantage amongst others in the nursing field.

McNair Scholars conducted exciting research and produced quality presentations during the 2011 Summer Research Symposium. Topics spanned a range of interests: Dailey Haren, What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? An Ethnographic Study of Catholic Seminarians, Duke Jon Cruz, I’m Late! I’m Late! For a Very Important Date! Down the Rabbit Hole in Search of Rationality, Yvonne Clark, Robin Smith & Dexter Thomas, The Effect of Physiological Arousal on Adolescent Aggression, Christine Della Iacono, Developing an Assay for Polymorphisms in the 5-HTT, DATI, and BDF Genes to Determine Their Effects on Attention and Emotional Regulation, Brett Archuleta, Coccidia Treatment in Captive Exotic Birds, All About Bird Poop, Sheena Nyann, Who is Really Helping the Help? Reinforcing Oppressive Ideologies in Popular Fiction.

Sarah Tumpowsky and Kimberly Cheney were among youth leaders who shared their perspectives on the role of youth in building a pluralistic society during a panel discussion held at the Salt Lake City Main Library’s Cultural and Religious Pluralism Conference. KCPW broadcasted the discussion called The Role of Youth in Building Pluralistic Society. The Examiner.com also covered the event. http://www.examiner.com/community-activism-in-salt-lake-city/youth-leaders-look-to-the-future-and-a-more-accepting-world

Hilary Makris, vice president of P^HAT (Public Health Activities Team), organized a barbecue, held in the Richer Commons, to promote a “Drive Now Text Later” campaign. Hilary partnered with KUTV 2 News’ “No Text Zone” to get the message out. The barbecue was a huge success with live music, food, numerous sponsors and most importantly hundreds of students signed a pledge to “Drive Now Text Later.” Makris wrote a research paper on texting while driving last fall that included statistics on young drivers. She discovered drivers aged 15 to 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes in the country, which was 59.5 per 100,000 licensed drivers.

Humanities undergraduate students conducted compelling research and presented their projects during the 2011 Humanities Summer Research Symposium. Paul Whisman - Tim DeChristopher and Civil Disobedience, Jillian Edmonds – Social & Justice Distributive Theories, Tyler Seldomridge – Moab’s Environmental History, Sam Webster – Towards a Theory of Urban Green Space: A Geographical Inquiry into the Nature of Urban Spaces, Carson Chambers – The Real Food Challenge: Applying the Real Food Calculator to Campus Dining Services, Alizabeth Potucek – Garden Education & Outreach on Campus, Shelby Shaw – Green Roofs.