Student stories

For 25 years, the UW’s Thomas G. Thompson has conducted research in nearly every ocean on Earth. This year, the ship is being upgraded to extend its life for another quarter century.

In the name of holistic mental health, Christopher Brown, ’16, created Growing Veterans, a sustainable farming organization that reconnects veterans to each other — and to life.

Each summer, aquatic and fishery sciences professor Daniel Schindler and his students travel to Bristol Bay, Alaska to observe one of the most valuable fisheries in the world.

United by a passion for problem-solving, UW undergrads are putting their minds — and paddles — together to build and race a canoe made out of concrete.

From the Paralympics to Husky crew, blind student athlete Eleni Englert continues to blaze her own trail.

From Brazil to Berlin, UW senior Kainen Bell has trekked the world as part of his student experience. Now, he’s helping students who share a similar background make their dreams of traveling come true, too.

Graduate student and veteran Lindsay Zike wanted to help others make the transition from soldier to student. The Office of Student Veteran Life, recently established with her help, is doing just that.

Back when nirvana was just a state of transcendence, campus-based KCMU was incubating a new kind of rock. Forty-some years later, Seattle’s broadcast pioneer KEXP is settling into its new home.

From volunteering to lobbying, Faith Ramos built an impressive resume of service. Now at UW Tacoma, she’s applying her passion for environmental justice to create widespread impact.

With a scholarship-supported internship, Victoria Chambers broadened her understanding of how trauma affects children — and how she could help.

When psychology major Marissa Pighin was diagnosed with ADHD, her doctor wrote her a prescription and sent her out the door. Now, Pighin is working toward a better treatment at I-LABS, using neurofeedback to help boost reading retention.

For soldiers-turned-students of the Red Badge Project, creative writing in UW English Professor Shawn Wong's class isn't just therapeutic — it's life-saving.

Thanks to a partnership with a local nonprofit, students in the UW’s Law, Societies & Justice program are getting real-world experience in a mixed-enrollment class alongside inmates at the Monroe Correctional Complex.

At UW Nurse Camp, Karissa Sanchez found the motivation to pursue her dream of going to college and serving her Eastern Washington community. Now a UW graduate, she’s inspiring underrepresented high school students to do the same.