The Bridges to Baccalaureate Program, supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, has selected five College of Western Idaho (CWI) students to be awarded the first Bridges Fellowships! The students, each of whom will transfer to Boise State University for the fall term, in alphabetical order are: Aliona Chernish, Adriana Rodriguez, Iris Torres, Jason Ward, and Cassie Wigfall.
Each Bridges Fellow has been paired with their faculty mentor based on the student’s career interests, the recommendations of peer mentors, and meetings with faculty. They will work with their faculty mentor this summer, all of their junior year at Boise State, and the following summer and earn up to $15,750 in the process. The students will conduct original research as a part of the faculty member’s research team which includes other research faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates (if applicable). In addition to research, Bridges Fellows will engage with the larger undergraduate research community at Boise State through formal events such as seminars and informal gatherings such as outings to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, for example. Finally, they will present their work at the Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research each July and other regional and national conferences (if warranted).
There is very little rest for our student researchers! They’ll begin work on May 15, 2018, with an orientation to the Bridges to Baccalaureate Program and will be in their new labs on May 16, just days after CWI’s graduation ceremony. We’re very proud of these motivated and talented students and pass them on to Boise State with high hopes and expectations. Good luck to all of you!
