Faculty Senate Approves New Honors College HABILE Certificate Program  

By Phyllis Shier, WSU Honors College, peshier@wsu.edu

On November 16, 2023, WSU’s faculty senate approved the Honors and Business Innovation and Leadership Experience (HABILE) certificate, created by HABILE Director and Associate Professor of Accounting Sue Gill. The HABILE program began in 2016 and since then has provided special opportunities for Honors College students in the Carson College of Business (CCB). Students gain knowledge, skills, connections, and real-world exposure preparing them for outstanding careers in business-related fields.

The new certificate will require 15 credits consisting of four core courses and electives from an approved list, along with the co-curricular requirements associated with the Carson Career Amplifier Program. HABILE students earn the new credential by completing selected Honors and CCB courses along with co-curricular business activities in the CCB Amplifier Program (which includes “Meet the Deans” events, research and professional presentations, mentoring programs, and networking events).

The certificate program will allow students to leverage CCB capstone courses to jump-start their honors theses.

“A formal certificate will result in tangible recognition of the HABILE students on their WSU transcripts,” HABILE Director Gill said. “It will also assist in marketing the program and identifying a group of top business students to our external constituents.”

Honors College business majors who are invited to join HABILE benefit from exclusive sections of the Honors First-Year Experience course led by CCB faculty, early access to high demand Honors courses in economics and accounting, special co-curricular activities in CCB, and scholarship support from the Honors College and CCB.

“We are very pleased with the faculty senate’s addition of the HABILE certificate program. This certificate will provide recognition to students for the focused work they’re completing and increase the visibility of the exciting partnership between the Honors College and the Carson College of Business,” Honors College Dean M. Grant Norton said.

Honors College Student Fosters Community Through ASWSU

By Sophia Flippin, Honors Student Intern, sophia.flippin@wsu.edu

Honors College senior Luke Deschenes, a construction management major, hadn’t planned on heading Washington State University’s student government until a pivotal experience lobbying at the state capitol on behalf of WSU students, coupled with a nudge from his boss, led him to reconsider. Deschenes’ passion for serving students and extending his learning beyond the classroom led him to get involved with the Associated Students of Washington State University at the beginning of his junior year.

During Luke’s first semester on ASWSU, business senator Maccabee Werndorf approached him about running together for president and vice president for the 2023-24 school year. Initially he declined. ASWSU presidents begin their term over the summer, and Luke planned to return to the construction company where he previously had interned. He gave the offer more thought over winter break after his boss at the construction company encouraged him to explore the opportunity. That coupled with his experience at “Coug Day at the Capitol,” the annual student lobbying event organized by ASWSU, finalized his decision to run just weeks later.

Experiencing the legislative aspect of ASWSU made Deschenes realize student government extends far beyond planning campus events. “It honestly is changing students’ lives and changing their ability to go to college, to have an experience and grow as a person,” he said.

Deschenes put his name on the ballot shortly after, and he and Werndorf ran unopposed. Now, as president, he leads ASWSU’s executive staff and senate.

His administration’s goals are centered around what students want, Deschenes said. They have dedicated efforts to improving parking and transportation and to increasing drug and alcohol awareness amongst the student body.

Luke sits on two university transportation-related task forces and advisory groups. One focus is offsetting the loss of 90 campus parking spots caused by building construction. He hopes to relax some of the parking permit requirements in the area and to find alternative student parking spaces. Within these groups, he is also advocating for expanding bus routes and operating hours.

Enhancing the vibrancy of green space around campus and sustainability efforts are also primary pillars of Deschenes’ presidency. “Catastrophe of Man,” an honors course discussing ecologically conscious lifestyles and humans’ impact on the environment, ignited his passion for environmental sustainability.

Luke is working with WSU landscape architecture students to make Ruby Street Park more community-oriented. Possible plans include constructing a stage to allow for performances or building a parking area to increase access to food trucks. The goal is to maintain a park in an area that is primarily for student residences.

Deschenes is also collaborating with ASWSU’s director of campus sustainability, Kassandra Vogel, to create a new executive position centered around organizing monthly campus clean-up initiatives, undertaking beautification projects, and working alongside various Pullman organizations to keep campus clean. His experience planning a collaborative Earth Day event last year inspired him to create the new position, he said.

In his role as ASWSU’s Director of Community Affairs during his junior year, Luke served as the liaison between ASWSU, Pullman City Council, and the Pullman Chamber of Commerce. He focused on city issues, especially those impacting WSU students, and increased student engagement within the Pullman community, working to become a familiar face to Pullman city leaders by regularly attending city government meetings. Cultivating relationships with Pullman city officials was the most beneficial part of this experience.

“Being connected with the community greatly eased the transition into my presidential role,” Deschenes said. “Any time somebody reached out regarding something in the community, I already knew that person.”

Luke sees value in thinking critically about issues impacting his community and discussing them with a diverse group of students. The discussion-centered nature of honors classes helped broaden his worldview and created an openness to new opinions.

“When I get to hear students talk through their beliefs on certain things, it helps me change my perspective and put myself in their shoes,” he said.

The best part of his ASWSU position is seeing his team engaged in issues they are passionate about. “Seeing our executive staff and senate pursue things they genuinely care about is something that I cherish and appreciate every day.”

Much like learning to assemble effective student team leaders and uniting the executive staff, Luke will soon be leading a construction team on job sites. He recently accepted a job with a general contractor in Seattle and looks forward to beginning his career in construction upon graduation.

“I feel like all the things I’ve learned from this year and the skills I’ve developed from being involved in ASWSU, I’ll carry that with me for the rest of my career,” he said. “Even though I’m not going into politics, the things I’ve learned this year will still be very relevant in my life.”

Combining Research and Practice in a Global Society: Stevie Fawcett Draws on WSU Honors College and Microbiology Experiences to Envision an Innovative Future

By: Phyllis Shier, WSU Honors College, peshier@wsu.edu

Stevie Fawcett believes taking a global approach to virology and immunology research makes good academic sense. It’s a path he’s forged as an Honors College student in the WSU STARS program, which provides undergraduate students with three research rotations. Fawcett is a senior microbiology and Spanish major, minoring in German and jazz studies. He presented the West Nile virus research results he completed during his rotation in Dr. Alan Goodman’s lab at the European Virology Conference last May in Gdańsk, Poland. Fawcett’s trip was funded by the Honors College and is just one of the international experiences that has enriched his WSU education.

“The Honors College is a huge motivator for me because they really encourage their students to go abroad and have those experiences,” Fawcett said.

In the Goodman lab, Fawcett studied how the West Nile virus replicates by examining the mechanisms that inhibit the immune response in insects. He compared two West Nile virus strains, Kunjin, a less dangerous version from Australia, and NY-99, the deadliest form found in the United States.

“Stevie has a passion and commitment for research, and science. This is exemplified by his eagerness to rotate among labs with diverse research interests as a STARS student and his enthusiasm to present his work at national and international scientific meetings,” Goodman said.

Fawcett studied genes in the JAK/STAT pathway, which is broadly conserved in most species, to learn if the viruses were stopping flies from mounting an immune response. He saw that the Vago gene and same named molecule, for instance, weren’t upregulated as much when flies were infected with NY-99 as with Kunjin virus, where upregulation inhibits virus replication.

“What I thought was happening was that NY-99 had a way of stopping insects from mounting this immune response and producing Vago,” Fawcett said.

Seeing Europe and North America as the largest powerhouses in immunology, Fawcett searched for and found the virology conference in Gdańsk. “I thought it would be a really good opportunity to go abroad and present work and talk with folks who are doing that research over in Europe.”

Last summer, Fawcett received a Fulbright-Mitacs Program Scholarship to the University of Toronto, where he was introduced to research that directly impacts human health. He helped to optimize the way that T cells upregulate a transcription factor that leads to the formation of immunity “memory cells,” with an end goal of increasing the body’s ability to produce more of these cells.

“These cells are very important for identifying and eliminating pathogens and things that are not supposed to be there, like cancer cells,” Fawcett said. That experience inspired him to switch his focus from zoonotic virology to using oncolytic viruses to specifically kill cancer cells.

“You take the concept of a virus, which is incredibly deadly as we’ve discovered in the last few years and…(create) this new treatment option, which I think is incredibly interesting… for me, going forward, that might be a really nice combination,” he said. Fawcett hopes to become an oncolytic researcher while working simultaneously as a medical clinician.

“I changed my focus because the whole experience was just so incredible that I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else.”

In addition to his experience in Dr. Goodman’s lab, Fawcett’s first and final STARS research rotations are with Dr. Michael Letko and Dr. Stephanie Seifert, studying hantaviruses. “The idea of the STARS program is to prepare you to pursue a PhD,” he said.

For Fawcett, that includes building on the international collaboration gained through his WSU experiences. When he graduates in May, he hopes to attend the University of Glasgow’s program in cancer research and precision oncology that looks to breakdown the barrier between medical practice and research.

“If I’m successful in my career path, I’m going to be doing both sides; I’m going to be a physician but I’m also going to be in a lab. Washington State University has been amazing in terms of helping me develop research skills… I have this really nice skillset that is designed to address and study viruses and I can take that and apply it to viral oncolytics.”