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Undergraduate Academic Affairs

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Student draws on her past to inspire the future

Written by Hyein Park
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Christina ChanChristina Chan, ’16, knows first-hand the adversity surrounding college entrance for many high school students, especially for low-income students like herself. When she entered her junior year at Franklin High School, college loomed before her, looking more and more like an unattainable goal. College application forms and personal essays were complicated requirements that she didn’t know how to complete.

Then Christina decided to apply to College Access Now (CAN), a nonprofit organization that specializes in helping low-income high school students enter college. Four years later, she graduated from the University of Washington with degrees in English and sociology and returned to CAN as a UW community-based intern.

When you were in high school, what challenges stood between you and your dream of attending the University of Washington?
I’m the first generation in my family to attend college. My parents are immigrants from China and didn’t receive any official education past the third grade. Ever since I was a child, they instilled in me the value of education. Attending the University of Washington was my dream, but when it came to actually applying, the process was overwhelming because there were so many things my parents and I didn’t know. All the required forms, like the FAFSA, the essays and preparing for the SATs, everything seemed so daunting. The FAFSA was particularly confusing — I’d never filed a tax report before! The jargon itself was discouraging.

How did you overcome the challenges of applying to the UW?
In my junior year of high school, I reached out to Franklin High School’s chapter of College Access Now. They really broke down the steps for applying to UW and made college look achievable. They helped me draft my personal statement and made sure I used it to show who I truly was. I had good, but average SAT scores, so I really believe it was the personal statement that helped me get into UW.

The experience that I went through as a financially disadvantaged student has influenced how I perceive the world, how I carry myself, and what I want to do in the future. Every opportunity, encounter and experience that I’ve faced is an advantage because I’ve developed resiliency when faced with adversity. This is something that I will instill in my future students; I want to share my experience and inspire them.

How did you return to CAN as their intern?
Because I knew how difficult it could be to apply to college, I wanted to intern at a nonprofit organization focusing on education. In my senior year of university, UW offered community-based internships at nonprofit organizations in Seattle. I found out that CAN was actually one of the nonprofits that would be hosting an internship through UW! The timing was perfect and I was matched to CAN as their intern.

What do you do as an intern at CAN?
I work on the College Services team that specializes in supporting CAN students through college and beyond. We know that the obstacles you face as a low-income individual don’t just go away after graduating college so we wanted to create a support system for the alumni. In fact, we just recently hosted our first ever CAN alumni engagement event. I helped with the outreach and logistics for the event.

You just graduated from the University of Washington. What’s next for you?
My journey is officially coming full circle as I will be serving as an AmeriCorps 11th grade college coach at my alma mater, Franklin High School. As the students’ mentor, or college coach, I’ll be helping students apply to college and teach them how to better utilize their resources.

How does being an alumni of Franklin and CAN make your insight unique as a college coach?
I feel really passionate about coming back to Franklin High School as a college coach because I want to be the students’ support system. Being from South Seattle, I can relate to the issues that many students at Franklin High School experience. It’s one of the most diverse schools in Seattle, and 60-70% of their students qualify for free/reduced lunch. I also come from a low-income family. I’ve been through the system, I’ve been in their shoes. I’ve seen so many people stuck in the same spot because of the role society sees them in. I want to help them break free of these restrictive labels and take a different path. CAN is a great way to do this because they give everyone a chance to work towards a better future.

 

Interested in learning more about the UW’s community-based internships? Contact the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center Director, Rachel Vaughn,  or 206-685-2705 or visit the website.

Cathy Beyer reflects on her career at UW

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Headshot of Cathy BeyerAfter 30 years of working at the University of Washington, Catharine Beyer retired. During that time, she spent 17 years working in the Office of Educational Assessment and three in the Interdisciplinary Writing Program. We chatted with her to learn more about her time at the UW.

What drew you to the UW?
At 37, we moved to Seattle with our two kids so my husband could start a Ph.D. in applied math, his long-held dream. I had taught college writing courses and worked as an editor for an engineering consulting firm, so, I applied for a lecturer position in the UW’s Interdisciplinary Writing Program (IWP). The last thing I was told in my interview for the job was, “Microsoft is hiring technical writers; you might check over there.” This was 1984. Had I checked with Microsoft, I might be a millionaire today, but I got the job in the IWP and took it.

In your 30-year career at the UW, what work have you done that you believe is the most important to others?
Institutionally and nationally, my big assessment projects — the UW Study of Undergraduate Learning and the UW Growth in Faculty Teaching Study, both of which resulted in books co-authored by beloved colleagues — would probably be considered my most important work. I loved that work, don’t get me wrong, but I think my teaching work might be more important over time. Not only did I have the honor of helping 13-years worth of students become better writers and thinkers, but I learned a ton about what undergraduates and faculty members experience that I then could carry into my later assessment work.

What have you found through your work that has most inspired you?
Our students are always inspiring. They are amazingly bright, interested in and knowledgeable about such diverse things. Sometimes they are shockingly brave — recovering from failure and loss or navigating an environment that feels unwelcoming, for example. They come to us from great pinnacles of success, but they have to start over here, and what counts for success is often very different from what mattered before. They come here hoping to be challenged and to grow. We owe them an experience that does that for each one of them.

What advice do you have for students, faculty and staff about the value of teaching and learning?
Because learning is complex, the ways we assess it must also be complex. Generic tests and surveys of students’ experience can’t tell us much about what our students have learned in college or how to improve our work. If we want to get that kind of information, we need to talk with students about their learning. We need to get faculty involved in looking at students’ work over time and discussing it together, identifying the growth (or lack of it) they find there. We need to also track learning that doesn’t fall neatly within our academic boundaries but that may inform them or have value beyond them.

You’ve always had a rocking chair in your office. What meaning do rocking chairs hold for you?
Rocking may well be our first memory of comfort. I have always had a rocking chair in my office at the UW and elsewhere because I want whomever is talking to me — friends, interviewees, colleagues — to feel at home, comfortable and accepted in my presence. My rocking chairs are always big, capable of accommodating every size, age, color, temperament, mood and shape.

What’s next for you?
Really, I have no idea. I’ve written a letter to the mayor and the chief of police asking them what changes they are making to get rid of discriminatory policing, but beyond that I’m reading, doing a little creative writing, and researching Angry Birds — once such an amazing, creative, beautiful set of games and now in the toilet. I want to find out what happened there. Other than that, I’m hoping to have the chance to get bored.

 

 

UW Alums Gonzalo and Danielle Guzman Think Global, Act Local


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Portrait of Gonzalo and Danielle Guzman
UW alumni Danielle and Gonzalo Guzman Photo: Bryan Nakata

When UW alumnus Gonzalo Guzman, ’04, ’06, took American Ethnic Studies as an undergraduate, he realized the absence of Latino history in his schooling. As a Latino growing up in the Yakima Valley of Eastern Washington, this felt like a big oversight.

This realization motivated Gonzalo to take action. He received both a Mary Gates Leadership and Research scholarship, and along with two other classmates, went on a lecture tour. The trio visited schools and community centers in Wapato and Toppenish, Washington, sharing what they had learned about their community’s history. Their audiences responded warmly, and the schools were touched to have alumni return to share their knowledge.

“Before college, working in the education field was not even on my radar,” reflects Gonzalo. “My experience in Eastern Washington cemented my interest in the field, since I was able to see first-hand the potential of public schools in fostering community change and empowerment.”

Today, Gonzalo’s commitment to community remains just as strong. He is currently pursing a Ph.D. in the social and cultural foundations of education. Over the course of his studies, he met his wife Danielle, ’10, ’11, who was earning her master’s degree in teaching at the time. The two shared a passion for making education equally accessible to all students, regardless of race or economic status.

Danielle’s work as an elementary school teacher gave them the opportunity to enact their ideas. When a local elementary school closed, the students were reassigned to Danielle’s school. The closed school offered a Montessori program alongside its contemporary program, which it moved as well. The Montessori program was open to all students. However, enrollment required in-person registration during a specific time window which was tough for several families. This resulted in a segregated school.

The school-within-a-school problem spoke to Danielle and Gonzalo’s interest in making education more equitable. To address the immediate situation, Danielle and the Montessori teacher designed a non-enrollment model, which mixed their classes. Students would spend half of the day in Montessori classes, and the other half in the contemporary program. This blended model worked, and the whole school has since adopted it.

Through this experience Danielle and Gonzalo recognized a larger need for teachers and students to start talking about issues of race and class. They wanted to teach a course at UW to address this.

The Guzmans worked with Christine Stickler, director of the Pipeline Project, to make the class a reality. In addition to mixing working teachers and UW students, the class offered unique benefits — free continuing education for teachers and the opportunity for students to learn alongside working teachers and visit their classrooms. Both parties had a safe space to discuss the issues surrounding equity and education.

Teachers brought their learnings back to the school almost right away. For example, at the school’s Black History Night, the elementary students talked deeply about issues of class and race. The kids studied pictures of marches and responded by sharing their feelings and questions. Through activities like these, the teachers are hoping to develop socially aware students.

The Mary Gates Scholarship Gonzalo received as an undergraduate provided encouragement and financial support for Gonzolo to develop his leadership skills and passion for education. Through his work with Danielle, he’s creating a world of good by educating socially aware children and teachers. Upon receiving his Ph.D., he hopes to become a professor of ethnic studies or education.

The Guzmans will be teaching an updated version of this class, sponsored by Undergraduate Academic Affairs, again next year. It will span two quarters – one quarter at the UW; the other at a local elementary school. The Guzmans are “excited to cross fields and address issues that matter to the community.”

UW student and alumna named Gates Cambridge Scholar

Written by Undergraduate Academic Affairs
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“My undergraduate research experience creating software for developing countries has motivated me to pursue a career as an academic researcher,” reflects UW senior and Gates-Cambridge scholar Krittika D’Silva. D’Silva is one of two University of Washington students selected for the prestigious, international scholarship.

2014-15 President’s Medalists contribute to a world of good, as undergraduates

Written by Bryan Nakata
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Each year, undergraduate students of the highest caliber are selected for the prestigious President’s medal. For 2014-15, the President’s Medalists are active within and beyond the four walls of a classroom. Whether it’s through research, teaching dance or volunteering in hospitals, these students aren’t waiting until they graduate to contribute to a world of good. They’re busy making the world a better place right now.

Remembering King: Students’ voices push arc toward justice – and we should listen

Written by Ed Taylor
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Some 48 years after his death, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will undoubtedly bring protests to college campuses around the country, including here at the University of Washington. The students will march peacefully and forcefully. They will ask how long it will take to create a climate that welcomes every student. They will ask how we, as a university, plan to address “economic colonialism“ and how administrators plan to create a true multiracial campus that will serve as prelude to a “multiracial nation where all groups are dependent on each other.”

Transfer students realize their dreams, thanks to Martin Family Foundation

Written by Undergraduate Academic Affairs
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For 20 years, the Martin Family Foundation has supported students transferring to the University of Washington from Washington state community colleges. Martin Scholars cite not just the financial help in supporting their dreams of a college education, but also the encouragement that came with the recognition.