Cougar Kudos

Archived Cougar Kudos:

• November 2025

February 2026

• On January 28, WSU veterinary students served the community at Spokane Homeless Connect, eastern Washington’s largest homeless and at‑risk services event. The team provided care to 54 dogs and 29 cats who might not otherwise have received it. Recognition goes to clinicians Matt Mason and Lexi Botting; technician Becky Brodie; veterinary assistant Shorty Berger; VTH Patient Services’ Chloe Salkield; and Class of 2026 students Julia Al‑Maksosi, Noah Cantor, Peyton Curtis, Jackie Lovecchio, Shelby Oviatt, and Hannah Thom.
• Patrick Bekono and Gabe Heinrichs, undergraduates: Patrick represented WSU Libraries with distinction in the Student Technology Fee grant process and has been an invaluable contributor to Access Services, advancing the Libraries’ mission of broadening access to knowledge. Gabe has strengthened Libraries Systems through contributions to three consecutive Student Tech Fee proposals and expanded community engagement through his work with the Digital Audio Collective.
• Peng He, Tingting Li, Don McMahon, and Jonah Firestone, CESHS: This CESHS research team is collaborating across colleges on the President’s Big Ideas initiative, advancing innovative approaches to AI education and interdisciplinary learning.
• Wyatt Blaszak and Heather Taylor, undergraduates, School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs: Wyatt and Heather have each been awarded European Union Erasmus+ fellowships to study at Linköping University in Sweden. Beginning in fall 2026, they will engage with faculty in philosophy and applied ethics, expanding WSU’s global academic partnerships.
• Kristi Axtel, 4-H Program Specialist 2 and Michelle Green, 4-H State Program Manager: The 4-H Program celebrates Kristi and Michelle for their incredible work leading the transition to our new website platform and bringing the 4-H state site into full digital accessibility compliance. On top of that, Kristi expertly manages our 4-H online enrollment system and continues to serve as our trusted expert in this area. Michelle has also developed a 4-H specific onboarding manual and revitalized our 4 H social media presence, strengthening how we welcome new employees and share our story.
• Vivienne Baldassare, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy: Vivienne has been with WSU in the Department of Physics and Astronomy since 2020. She is focused on the exciting work of detecting and characterizing massive black holes to understand black hole formation and growth. She utilizes new techniques that allow identification of active black holes in low-mass galaxies that are missed by other techniques. Vivienne is very successful in publishing her work and in obtaining grant funding. She is dedicated to graduate student mentoring and education and demonstrates true care and compassion about the well-being and success of graduate students.
• Caitie Blethen, Interim San Juan County Director and Master Gardener Coordinator: Caitie is recognized for her leadership of the San Juan County Extension office and the WSU Master Gardener Program. Since joining Extension in 2017 and becoming Interim County Director in 2023, she has guided a highly impactful volunteer program that, in 2024, engaged 80 active volunteers contributing 4,814 hours, trained 23 new Master Gardeners, reached more than 1,000 community members, and donated 1,520 pounds of fresh produce to the San Juan Island Food Bank. As Interim County Director, Caitie also supervises multiple program areas—including 4-H, Food Preservation, Agriculture, Forestry, and Master Gardeners—while maintaining strong partnerships with county agencies, industry, and community organizations.
• Lisa Blumenshein, Area Finance Officer, Student Affairs: Lisa has gone above and beyond to facilitate conversations and effective planning in support of the closer relationship for Student Affairs in Spokane. She has done reporting, modeling, and forecasting in an effort to better support that staff and the students of Spokane campus. This work, in addition to her regular duties, has been a remarkable demonstration of collaboration.
• Lisa Bruce, Assistant Finance Director, WSU Extension: Lisa embodies the spirit of collaboration and teamwork. Lisa proactively bridged essential gaps during staffing shortages, and she championed team continuity.
• Lindsey du Toit, Department Chair, Plant Pathology and Alfred Christianson Distinguished Professor of Vegetable Seed Pathology & Extension Plant Pathologist, WSU Mount Vernon NWREC: Lindsey du Toit’s received the Christian Hendrik Persoon Medal at the 54th biennial Congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology in South Africa. As the society’s highest honor, the award recognizes her as a world leader in plant pathology and reflects how her research and Extension work advance agricultural systems locally and globally, exemplifying the power and reach of WSU’s land-grant mission.
• Alanna Ellis, Executive Manager for College Administration, CESHS: Alanna provides thoughtful and steady leadership across our college’s programs and campuses, supporting faculty, staff, and leadership with clarity and care. Her ability to communicate across roles, coordinate complex processes, and strengthen collaboration reflects WSU’s land-grant commitment to service, stewardship, and statewide impact.
• Francely Flores, graduate student, Plant Pathology: Francely delivered a standout presentation at the 2026 Washington/Oregon Potato Conference, earning high praise from industry leaders and multiple commendations highlighting her impact. Her ability to engage growers and researchers alike, combined with her enthusiasm, creativity, and spirit of service, reflects the strength of WSU’s research community and our commitment to impactful, industry-connected scholarship.
• Jamie Garlinghouse, Employer Development Manager, Carson Center for Career Success: Jamie works to engage potential employers for internships and full-time positions, and to organize events like our Career Networking Night where students and employers can connect.  Colleagues find Jamie easy to work with and very supportive of our students and our college.
• Olivia Grose, undergraduate, Hospitality Business Management: Olivia intends to graduate in May 2026 and recently accepted a position in the Marriott Food and Beverage Voyage program at the St. Regis Deer Valley location. The prestigious program offers recent college graduates 12 to 18 months of full-time immersive job training focused on their discipline, with short rotational experiences in other departments.
• Jacki Hudec, Academic Operations Manager, Office of Educational Affairs, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine: Jacki manages a complex portfolio of staff and operational needs to keep the MD educational program humming. She’s our project manager-in-chief, and our go-to problem solver. Staff and faculty love working with Jacki and the energy she brings to the ESFCOM.
• Jordan Jackson, Academic Coordinator, CESHS Vancouver and Educational Leadership Statewide Programs: Jordan serves as Academic Coordinator for the Teaching & Learning Department in Vancouver and for WSU’s statewide Educational Leadership programs, where she skillfully balances dual roles in service of students across the system. Her leadership in building responsive advising systems, supporting recruitment, and ensuring timely, student-centered communication exemplifies WSU’s land-grant mission to access and service across the state.
• Paula Kimmerling, Coordinator, Outdoor Adventures: Paula makes significant contributions to WSU and its land-grant mission by expanding student access to outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship. Through their leadership, hundreds of students each year build community, develop outdoor skills, and practice Leave No Trace principles. Paula’s progression from Adventure Facilitator to Coordinator reflects sustained excellence in leadership, education, and program development, achieved alongside the completion of a PhD in Mathematics. Paula applies her strong analytical skills to evaluate historical participation data and emerging industry trends, using these insights to strategically shape and improve programming. Paula strengthens WSU’s mission in tangible, campus‑wide ways—leading a comprehensive redesign of UREC’s Teams structure to improve collaboration and operational effectiveness, while delivering professional development sessions that elevate staff learning and practice across the department, the division, and national associations. 
• Martin Maquivar, Associate Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, CAHNRS: Martin is an exceptional teacher providing both hands-on and didactic instruction. He provides critical and essential service to our dairy and beef livestock centers. His large animal expertise in reproduction (PhD) and his DVM degree have been irreplaceable and relied upon heavily. His compassion for the animals and willingness to serve outside of regular hours as our on-call emergency response has been an invaluable component to our ability to ensure the highest standard of care for our valued livestock. Martin has been essential for our training of new dairy managerial staff and happily transfers his years of experience to our departmental students, staff and faculty.
• Debra Marsh, Graduate Academic Coordinator for the CAHNRS Graduate Center: Deb serves graduate students in the Departments of Plant Pathology, Entomology, Crop and Soil Sciences, Horticulture, and Food Science. Deb works tirelessly to provide important, timely information to our students as well as the faculty who advise our students. She displays tremendous patience and empathy in her support of all these students and has been instrumental in helping implement efficient and effective ways of supporting students and faculty. Deb is a wealth of knowledge on all things related to our graduate students and is always willing to answer numerous questions and help address the many problems that arise with oversight of such a large group of students and faculty.
• Keri McCarthy, Professor and Director, School of Music: Keri has been with WSU since 2006 and has served as Director with the School of Music since 2022. Keri is an incredibly thoughtful leader and outstanding musician. CAS is grateful for her emotional intelligence, openness, and collaborative approach to leadership.
• Katherine McCloskey, Extension Coordinator, Spokane County Extension: In Spokane County, Kate achieved an outstanding milestone in 2025 by ensuring that 100% of the 4-H youth exhibiting market animals at the Spokane Interstate Fair were fully certified in Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA). YQCA is a nationwide educational program that helps young livestock exhibitors build strong foundations in responsible animal care, safe food production practices, and the personal values expected of ethical producers. Kate’s dedication to preparing youth for success strengthens both the quality of their projects and the integrity of the Spokane County 4-H livestock program.
• Kathleen McDonnell, Assistant to the Dean, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences: Kathleen is an incredible partner whose professionalism, generosity, and steady presence make a meaningful difference every day. Both behind the scenes and in moments that matter most, Kathleen exemplifies what it means to be a supportive colleague and true collaborator. Her willingness to share expertise and listen thoughtfully strengthens partnerships across teams.
• Corrie McGrath, Academic Coordinator, Sport Management, CESHS: Corrie supports more than 340 undergraduate students while serving as a consistent student-centered voice in program development and faculty decision-making. Through equity-focused advising and community-building leadership in a field where women and students of color remain underrepresented, she strengthens student success and departmental culture in ways that reflect WSU’s public-serving land-grant tradition.
• Alaina McCully, Animal Sciences Administrative Manager, CAHNRS: Alaina has diligently served the department with over 30 years of experience and service at WSU. She has played a critical role facilitating successful operations through recent successive budgetary challenges and faculty/staffing turnover. Animal Sciences has a complex organizational chart with a USDA inspected Meat lab, a WSDA certified Feed Mill, our Knott Dairy Center, Ensminger Beef Center, Cattle Feeding lab, Farm Maintenance shop, and aquaculture facility as well as classrooms, offices and laboratories. Alaina serves as the unit’s post-award coordinator, facilitates our graduate student and staff appointments, supports classroom/course management as well as emergency repair and the coordination of preventative maintenance of equipment and facilities. Without her experience, dedication and coordinating service the Animal Sciences department would be in more precarious situation.
• Erin McKee, Educational Leadership, Superintendent Certification Program: Erin is a second-year student in WSU’s Superintendent Certification Program and principal of Cougar Mountain Middle School (Issaquah School District). Erin was recently featured in Education Week for her leadership in establishing an innovative intergenerational mentoring partnership between students and residents of a neighboring senior community. Her work exemplifies the land-grant mission by fostering community connection, strengthening students’ social-emotional development, and modeling transformative educational leadership.
• Nehemiah Mejia, undergraduate, Sport Management: Nehemiah, a Sport Management major, Tacoma native, and transfer student from Pierce College, translated his WSU coursework into professional practice this year through his work with the Seattle Seahawks Street Team, culminating in an opportunity to support Super Bowl LIX. His success reflects the strength of WSU’s applied learning model and our land-grant commitment to preparing students to lead and thrive in industry settings.
• Carol Miles, Professor of Vegetable Horticulture, WSU Mount Vernon NWREC: Carol’s research and Extension leadership in sweet potato production continues to create tangible impact for Skagit Valley growers, who are now successfully growing and marketing sweet potatoes as a result of the program. Her work was recently highlighted in regional press during the Winter Crops of the Skagit Valley Farm Tour, showcasing how WSU science translates directly into on-farm innovation and community engagement
• Jose Perez-Olmos, undergraduate, Horticulture: Jose embodies what student engagement should look like. He has been the CAHNRS Student Senate Chair, President for WSU MANRRS, and leadership team member of the CAHNRS Ambassadors. Jose volunteers tirelessly (even as emcee) for all CAHNRS SSAP events (including Washington State FFA). He is an undergraduate student researcher and worked at the Horticulture Center and the Honey Bee Pollinator program. His next steps are to apply for the Horticulture MS program at WSU.
• Laura Pires Gifford, graduate student, Educational Psychology and Methodology: Laura is recognized for her leadership on the Washington Assessment of Risk and Needs of Students (WARNS), where she partners closely with Washington school districts to address chronic absenteeism. Through this work, she advances WSU’s land‑grant mission by translating research into practice to help students stay engaged and connected to school.
• Robin Scarlett, 4-H Program Administrative Manager: The 4-H Program recognizes Robin for the tremendous dedication she has shown over the past three years in supporting our 4-H faculty and staff as they navigate the EIN and 990N IRS processes for their clubs. She skillfully manages our 4-H budgets and personnel processes, and she has partnered closely with the CAHNRS Office of Development to ensure donors receive meaningful impact reports that highlight the difference their contributions make for 4-H youth.
• Mary Steele, graduate student, Plant Pathology: Mary has been named a 2026 WSU Woman of Distinction in the Graduate Student category, a prestigious honor recognizing her outstanding academic excellence, leadership, and commitment to advancing equity and building community. Her achievements exemplify the very best of WSU’s land-grant mission.
• Erin Thornton, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology: Erin joined the Department of Anthropology in 2013 and is an integral member of the department, CAS, and WSU. Erin serves as co-chair of Faculty Status Committee, she has a newly funded NSF project on turkey domestication, and she’s a leader in animal domestication research. Erin is also a creative educator teaching a class on forensic archeology.
• Tiara Vasquez, undergraduate, Psychology and Criminology: Tiara has built a record of standout leadership and service during her time at WSU. She serves as a Peer Advisor for the Passport to College program, where her lived experience and mentoring have been invaluable in supporting students who’ve experienced foster care and unaccompanied homelessness.  As an ASWSU Senator and Secretary of the Crimson Group, she is deeply engaged across campus through Leadership WSU, the Cougs Lead Alumni network, TAG Committee, and the Chancellor’s Challenge to Feed Cougs Well, while also giving her time as an AVID volunteer. As vice-chair of the Cougs Lead planning committee, Tiara helped organize last spring’s Coug Carnival, the most highly attended event in the program’s history. Through her commitment to community, involvement, and student leadership, Tiara continues to strengthen the Cougar experience for those around her.
• Zami Wilson, Senior HR Strategic Partner, Human Resource Services: Zami has been with WSU since 2001, and she has helped keep the wheels on the WSU bus for years. Her support for the College of Arts and Sciences and all its complexities does not go unnoticed. She brings her intellect, humor, and deep institutional knowledge into all that she does.
• Josue Zuniga, Coordinator, Student Engagement Services: Josue has worked to build relationships with students leading the ASWSU recruitment conferences which bring students to the Pullman campus. VIBES, SHAPING, and CASHE are critical leadership development opportunities for current students as well as building community for perspective students. He has worked to build efficiencies, supported growth in those programs, and pushed the student leaders to build their own professionalism, navigate risk management, and communicate with campus leadership.