March 7, 2024
First-year students explore communities, earn recognitions for outstanding projects
The University of Washington Communities & Research (CoRe) project is an opportunity for incoming first-year students at the UW to examine population health on a personal level. In interdisciplinary and collaborative groups, students analyze various factors impacting population health in different Seattle neighborhoods, all through the lens of their expertise, discipline and experience.
For the third year in a row, UW First Year Programs and the Population Health Initiative have partnered to recognize CoRe projects that excelled in their exploration of population health.
“I am continually energized to discover the impacts of the CoRe project. Not only does it require collaboration among new students, it is a prime example of cross-campus collaboration, as staff and faculty from Population Health, FYP, the Library, and other areas come together to examine, revise, and promote this work,” shared Emily Kolby, Director of First Year Curriculum and Engagement in First Year Programs.
Since 2018, the First-year Interest Group (FIG) program, in partnership with the Population Health Initiative, has assigned the CoRe project to first-year students to examine various factors that impact the health and well-being of neighborhoods in Seattle. Students work in groups to analyze the assets and challenges the neighborhood possesses. Each group conducts initial background research, visits their neighborhood as a team and creates a final project showcasing their findings of the neighborhood.
“The CoRE project allows first-year students to physically go to Seattle neighborhoods and explore population health topics that can be visibly analyzed–a lot of factors that we don’t normally consider when we are in these neighborhoods,” Kathy Yin, a 4th year FIG leader explained. “CoRE encourages students to research and explore interest areas, observing different areas as a group, and being able to communicate with other teammates and exchange ideas.”
From more than 100 FIG group submissions for top project, the FYP office selected 10 projects to comprise the group of Top CoRe Awards. Members from each winning group have since received a CoRe Award certificate, a gift card in recognition of their outstanding research efforts and their project highlighted on the Top CoRe Awards web page. The winning projects are highlighted in the following table.
| Project | Names of students |
| International District Social Media | Ella Waterman, Julia Fraczek, Megan Lasala, Krystal Nguyen |
| Capitol Hill Website | Janeth Mendez Pacheco, Maria Inoeu, Kenneth Chau, Axel Ramierex, Julius Chon |
| Ballard Video | Fiona Rosales, Emma Mcintosh, Ethen Li, Chendur Jayavelu, Marc Tandoc |
| Green Lake Website | Isabel Waier, Constance Lawson, Mia Wesman, Abigail Paul |
| Ballard Video | Edith Holmsten, Grace Lam, Ryan Liu, Kyla Polack |
| Capitol Hill Website | Savannah Gordon, Madeleine Luna, Niyara Dokukina, Luz Romero Diaz, Hannah Tran |
| Central District Website | Lily Gutierrez, Kelly Ma, Jayce Blanchard, Ava Louise Wright |
| Capitol Hill Video | Chris Steinbronn, October Babin, Ariana Cao, Megan LaDue |
| Greenlake Mind Map | Lorelei Cassman, Gabriella Long, Jaida Wiley |
| Northgate Video | Aaron Ly, Richard Wildman, David Mac, Chikera Okoye |
The Top CoRe Award site and prize funding are part of the combined efforts of FYP and the Population Health Initiative to promote interdisciplinary collaboration on population health-related research and projects.