George F. Whitworth Honors Program

Honors Life at Whitworth

Recent:

William Henke

Modern language has become violent in a way that abstracts our words from their actual meanings. Phrases like “slay” “break a leg” “you’re killing it” and many others reveal how violence has settled into quotidian linguistics. This reorientation towards violence desensitizes people to its larger social implications and promotes inadequate communication. Language that was once, and by dictionary definition still is, seen as violent or harmful is now utilized in neutral or even uplifting ways. Desensitization towards larger problems in society like gun violence, racism, global warming, etc. engenders an escalation of language in order to gain an appropriate reaction to said issues.

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May 1, 2025

Salwa Mehreen

My project, MisMatch, started from a real-life frustration — how much time and energy it takes just to pick an outfit. Research shows that people spend around 102 hours a year deciding what to wear (Marks & Spencer), and about 50% of Americans say it’s the most stressful part of getting ready for an event (Trunk Club). At the same time, the fast fashion industry produces around 92 million tons of textile waste each year (UNEP), most of which ends up in landfills. I wanted to create something that helped people in their everyday lives while also promoting more sustainable habits.

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May 1, 2025

Melinda Mullet

Aging Americans and their caregivers should have easy access to dignifying end-of-life care. The rapid increase in the 65+ population requires policy innovation in current Medicare regulation concerning hospice. Coordinated, intentional efforts between government and private sector providers, insurance navigators, community organizations, and houses of worship are also needed to change public attitudes towards hospice care, encourage referrals, increase uptake, and offer emotional, psychological, and spiritual support.

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May 1, 2025

Kate Vaccaro

The publishing world has become one of my passions since being in college, so I knew that I wanted my final project to be somehow related to publishing. As I have learned more about the book industry, I have found myself being drawn to the small and independent organizations more than the larger ones. Therefore, I knew that I wanted my project to be about the promotion of smaller presses so that people could join in on my passion.

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May 1, 2025

Upcoming Opprotunities:

Internships:

On-Campus Spotlights:

A Window into the Honors Floor Experience

Riia Yazepova, a freshman Honors student, has enjoyed how the Honors floor has connected her with motivated students and friends.

Read this article to discover exactly what that experience has looked like and the friends she has made along the way!

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April 6, 2023

“I was Overjoyed”

Every year during the Spring semester, Whitworth hosts a few Honors scholarship weekends. These weekends are times in which highly motivated students are invited to stay at Whitworth. During the weekend, the invited students give a speech, participate in a discussion group, and write an essay in hopes of winning a full ride scholarship or a runner-up $1,000 a year scholarship.

Read about Alex’s experience winning one of the full-ride scholarships this spring!

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April 4, 2023

Study Abroad:

DOA-LA19: The Huntington

#DOA-LA19: The Huntington by Ethan Paxton, ’22 A massive compound spanning a whopping 207 acres, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is perhaps

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August 12, 2021

Research:

Sigma Xi: Five new Honors students inducted

Sigma Xi Five new Honors students inducted This semester, five honors students were inducted into the Sigma Xi branch at Whitworth. Sigma Xi is a well-respected National Research Honors Society that supports quantitative research aimed at positively advancing society, according to Dr. Aaron Putzke.  The five students added this semester include Eleanor Jeffers, Casey Moddrell, Kendall Sandhop, Corrine Vasiloff, and Ethan Worth. While this organization has traditionally focused on STEM fields, Whitworth has made a goal to include other disciplines with quantitative research. This allows Whitworth’s chapter to be more inclusive with students that are both in

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December 5, 2022

Water Rights Research Project: Celia Hagey

As an English Writing major, I am constantly asked the question, “what are you going to do with your degree?” The answer, as I have discovered during my time in Whitworth’s honors program, is that the possibilities are far more wide-reaching than even I would have guessed as I declared my major in 2019. Eighteen-year-old literature-loving me would not have anticipated using my writing skills to interpret and communicate water law— but that’s exactly what I did throughout the fall of 2021. HN300, or the community-based research honors seminar, is a class that divides honors students into

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March 26, 2022

Ryan B. and Lisa H. Present their Research at Genetics Society of America Conference in Washington DC

            During the summer 2019 and continuing into the school year, we worked in the developmental biology lab of Dr. Aaron Putzke here at Whitworth University. We worked on a project that was presented at an international conference by Dr. Putzke and that we presented at the regional Murdock College Science Research Conference in November of 2019. Our project has now been accepted to be presented by us at The Allied Genetics Conference in Washington DC in April. Our project has also led to a paper that we contributed to and is being submitted to the G3

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March 10, 2020