student news

Tiia Koppel wins LAGRANT scholarship

UW Communication senior Tiia Koppel is a 2009 recipient of a LAGRANT FOUNDATION Scholarship. She is one of 10 undergraduates from universities all over the United States to receive this prestigious award. Koppel traveled to New York City last spring to receive her award.

THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION awards $100,000 in scholarships each year to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. Foundation chairman Kim L. Hunter is a graduate of the UW Foster School of Business (’82). He started THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION in 1998; which has since awarded more than 150 scholarships nationwide totaling close to $1 million.

Tiia has this to say about her scholarship:

I am really excited and honored to be a part of THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION Scholarship recipient group, as they all have accomplished great things academically and professionally. I am also proud to represent the University of Washington for the former alumni and founder, Mr. Kim L. Hunter. I have just recently completed my second year interning at Nordstrom and this fall, I will be using my scholarship to fund a trip to Japan to connect with my Japanese roots and see where I spent my early childhood — something that I would have definitely not been able to do without this unique opportunity. As part of a foundation that supports ethnic minorities pursuing various communication careers, I feel that my trip is a good way to utilize my scholarship and embrace my heritage!

Department participates in "Dialoguing Difference" conference

Graduate student Manoucheka Celeste participated in the first annual "Dialoguing Difference" conference, put on by the UW Women of Color Collective on June 5, 2009. Celeste delivered the Welcome/Convocation with UW Women Studies professor Angela Ginorio, and Communication professors Leilani Nishime and Ralina Joseph were guest speakers. Other UW Communication department presenters were graduate students Rebecca Clark, Kristine Mroczek and Vanessa Au. Undergraduate Camille Elmore served on the conference committee.

Maks Goldenshteyn writes front-page story for Seattle Times

Journalism undergraduate Maks Goldenshteyn has the featured-display byline on page one of the June 8, 2009 edition of The Seattle Times. UW Communication professor Lecturer Mike Henderson writes: Maks has only been in our program for a couple of quarters and is yet another example of the quality of professional journalists we've been putting out for a long time.”

Chantal Anderson wins Dick Larsen Scholarship

The 2009 Washington News Council (WNC) Dick Larsen Scholarship winner is UW Communication senior Chantal Anderson (majoring in journalism and international studies with a minor in Spanish). Chantal was a reporting intern for The Seattle Times in Olympia during the 2009 Legislature. She also is on the staff of The Daily, and has been a reporter intern for Real Change, a nonprofit weekly newspaper. She is secretary of the UW chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and also runs a wedding photography business. In an essay accompanying her scholarship application, Chantal wrote:

“The convergence of print and online journalism has redefined the way reporters and readers interpret and define ethics today. The new mantra of newsrooms to churn out stories at high speeds, mixed with emerging professional and personal blogs, has created an upsurge of content on the net. These new forms of media have blurred ethical ideas…. I believe honoring ethical standards has become more challenging for professional journalists in the digital age.”

The WNC Council awarded two scholarships to Washington state students planning careers in communications. The scholarships are named after Dick Larsen and Herb Robinson, both former editors at The Seattle Times. Mr. Robinson was a UW graduate with a degree in Journalism.

Camille Elmore named 2009 UW Edward E. Carlson Student Leader

Undergraduate Camille Elmore was named a 2009 Edward E. Carlson Student Leader at UW, an award which recognizes students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to public service, provided outstanding leadership in the community, and who are committed to continued creative civic participation. Elmore was also accepted into the Summer Research Institute in the Arts and Humanities, a highly competitive program of study wherein student participants develop individual, original research ideas related to an interdisciplinary theme, create a scholarly research paper or project, work through a faculty and peer critique process and formally present their work to their colleagues and the larger community at a closing symposium.