Whitworth holds in high esteem it’s plethora of high achieving students, including Misikir Wondaferahu Adnew. Misikir is a senior who is double majoring in Health Science and Community Health.

As head coordinator of the Health Professions Peer Mentorship Program since 2018, Miskir has helped to “overseeing a team of Health Science and Community Health students that will provide experience-based advising through meetings conducted using a variety of mediums.”

Over the years, Misikir has been awarded the Volwiler Family Scholarship, Health Sciences’ Department Scholarship, Baugh Scholarship, Outstanding Freshman in Chemistry Award, George F. Whitworth Founders’ Day Award, all along with being a Honors Program student and this year’s first ever honors floor RA.

She is honored to be speaking at the 2019 commencement ceremony.

We asked Misikir a few questions to get to know her better and to hear about her experience in the George Whitworth Honors Program.

1. What is your “Why Whitworth” story? Knowing that I was interested in studying in the US and was looking specifically into private Christian schools, a family friend highly recommended Whitworth for me. As I looked into the health science and community health core classes and electives and learned more about the school, I knew that Whitworth was where God was calling me to go to.
2. What experiences have you had with the Honors Program? When I was first informed that I was eligible for the honors program, my automatic thoughts were that it would be a program that would make all my classes harder and that I wouldn’t be able to get much else out of it besides an honors designation on my diploma. The George Whitworth Honors Program, however, has taken me through a diverse set of learning experiences that have included honors teaching assistantships, research with faculty, honors courses within my major, general education honors courses, an honors internship, and various campus activities. It was through the continuing encouragement of my professors and my honors advisor that I saw that, by tailoring my honors classes to my Health Science and Community Health majors, I could get the most out of the experience. The experience has added so much more depth to the understanding I have in my majors and has prepared me well for graduate school.
3. What activities/clubs have you been involved with while attending college?
   At Whitworth, I have served as a Teaching Assistant for General Chemistry Lab, Anatomy and Physiology Lab, and Core 250. In addition, I have served in different capacities within Residence Life and Student Life as an RA, CDA, and Student Success coach. Besides that, I have served on the Chapel Advisory Team [and am a member of the International Club and the Phi Eta Sigma National Honors Society]. Outside of Whitworth, I have worked with the Spokane Regional Health District and the Health Team of Compassion International Ethiopia. At both offices, I worked with the staff to analyze community health goals and helped develop new projects.
4. What are some of your favorite memories from your years at Whitworth? Some of my favorite memories have been having quality time with my friends and teammates. I love taking nature walks with the people that are closest to me. In addition, I will forever cherish the long conversations I have had with my professors both about my time at Whitworth and about life after college.
5. What are your plans after graduating Whitworth? I have been accepted to about six graduate programs of which Emory University, Dartmouth College, and Yale University are my top choices. All of these graduate programs are for a Master’s in Public Health but have differing concentrations/tracks including Global Health, Health Policy, and Healthcare Management.