George F. Whitworth Honors Program

Honors Life at Whitworth

Recent:

Jacob Soo

One of the main reasons that kids quit sports is because of poor coaching. When coaches are hired, they are often not properly trained. This project aims to fill a gap in the research when it comes to youth sports coaching and training and can be a valuable piece for coaching journals and local athletic associations. This project also sheds light on how youth sports coaches could be more comprehensively trained and can be valuable to any parent seeking a better athletic experience for their child. This project does not only focus on the basic skills needed for youth sports coaches, like CPR and first aid, but also on more complex skills like emotional control and creating an inclusive space for young athletes.

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April 27, 2026

Lizzy Bradford

Families that have children who experience Down Syndrome are confronted with many demanding needs in order to help their child thrive in today’s society. Unfortunately, several limitations can interfere with getting help for these families who are in need of additional services including therapy for their children. This proposed project aims to decrease the disadvantages and clarify the resources and research available to them. It hopes to combat the limited access to physical therapy, by producing a social media page with extensive resources, up-to-date research, and exercise videos related to improving quality of life and development for children with Down Syndrome along with their families. What inspired my project was my interest in pediatric physical therapy as well as my close relationships with people who have Down Syndrome. I have had wonderful opportunities to volunteer at Down Syndrome Success Organizations and have learned about techniques that help further the development of children with Down Syndrome. I have seen firsthand how much joy they bring to the lives around them and how many stressors they (and their families) can encounter in everyday life. Even though I am not a licensed Physical Therapist yet, and thus can’t provide any actual therapy, I hope that my social media page will help clarify the research and resources available for families who need it.

Read More »
April 27, 2026

Kaitlyn Hawker

With the legalization of gay marriage in 2015, legal queer families entered the societal view. However, normalization cannot happen without positive visibility, which usually comes in the form of representation in the media society consumes. Queer characters in movies, tv shows, and adult books have appeared for decades, sometimes even centuries, but limiting queer representation to adult-only content does more harm than good. It teaches children and the culture at large that queer stories are explicit, shameful, and not appropriate.

Read More »
April 27, 2026

Andrew Doughty

This project had two facets: one was working with the Books to Prisoners organization to put on a book drive. Through this drive we collected over 200 books which will be mailed to prisoners across the country as well as a grant for 500$ from the Sigma Tau Delta Honor society as a part of the Chapter service project to provide them with new shelving, postage, and specifically requested books. This meets a physical demand: access to the books prisoners want to read.
The other aspect of this project was volunteering in the Juvenile Detention Center in downtown Spokane where I was able to work with high school students in their English classes through creative writing workshops. I was able to connect with individual students who come from a variety of situations and use the tools I’ve learned about creative writing to help them to process and create though creative writing of their own.

Read More »
April 24, 2026

Upcoming Opprotunities:

Fall 2025 Speakers on Campus

Whitworth traditionally hosts a large selection of speakers for students, visitors, and faculty to hear and learn from. Honors students, in particular, will find these experiences valuable and instructional.

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September 26, 2025

Internships:

Jacqui’s Story

Hello! My name is Jacqui and I’m a junior in biology at Whitworth. I love working with plants and animals and I’m especially interested in horticulture and aquaculture. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to embark on an Honors internship semester at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. this fall term, and I’d like to share a little about my experience.

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August 12, 2021

On-Campus Spotlights:

Banned Books Week 2025

The Whitworth Democracy Lab’s Banned Book Club hosted our 2025 Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week ran from Oct 5-11 this year. The Banned Book Club finished reading 1984 by George Orwell and initiated several projects on campus.

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October 22, 2025

More Than Just Language

When reading current or aged literature pieces, in Spanish, English, or any other language, the words we encounter in our readings can feel timeless or oddly foreign. The use of linguistic terms can tell the reader a lot – not just about the language itself, but about the period the piece was written in and how languages have evolved alongside their culture, class, and other impacting aspects.

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May 16, 2025

Sarah Immel

Sarah Immel is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh studying Responsible Natural Language Processing.

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March 8, 2025

Study Abroad:

Love and Healing

Along with a group of thirteen Whitworth students, I traveled to Guatemala, unaware of the profound impact this experience would have on us.

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February 6, 2025

Jan Term in Oxford

The class ‘Oxford & Christian Imagination’ sent Whitworth students abroad this Jan Term to Oxford, England. Olivia Blank spoke to me about her experience

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January 25, 2025

New Zealand Perspectives

New Zealand Perspectives Honors Junior Megan Hirasaki has been in New Zealand since July on a study abroad trip focusing on seeing viewpoints outside of

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September 28, 2024

Research:

Jacob Soo

One of the main reasons that kids quit sports is because of poor coaching. When coaches are hired, they are often not properly trained. This project aims to fill a gap in the research when it comes to youth sports coaching and training and can be a valuable piece for coaching journals and local athletic associations. This project also sheds light on how youth sports coaches could be more comprehensively trained and can be valuable to any parent seeking a better athletic experience for their child. This project does not only focus on the basic skills needed for youth sports coaches, like CPR and first aid, but also on more complex skills like emotional control and creating an inclusive space for young athletes.

Read More »
April 27, 2026

Lizzy Bradford

Families that have children who experience Down Syndrome are confronted with many demanding needs in order to help their child thrive in today’s society. Unfortunately, several limitations can interfere with getting help for these families who are in need of additional services including therapy for their children. This proposed project aims to decrease the disadvantages and clarify the resources and research available to them. It hopes to combat the limited access to physical therapy, by producing a social media page with extensive resources, up-to-date research, and exercise videos related to improving quality of life and development for children with Down Syndrome along with their families. What inspired my project was my interest in pediatric physical therapy as well as my close relationships with people who have Down Syndrome. I have had wonderful opportunities to volunteer at Down Syndrome Success Organizations and have learned about techniques that help further the development of children with Down Syndrome. I have seen firsthand how much joy they bring to the lives around them and how many stressors they (and their families) can encounter in everyday life. Even though I am not a licensed Physical Therapist yet, and thus can’t provide any actual therapy, I hope that my social media page will help clarify the research and resources available for families who need it.

Read More »
April 27, 2026

Kaitlyn Hawker

With the legalization of gay marriage in 2015, legal queer families entered the societal view. However, normalization cannot happen without positive visibility, which usually comes in the form of representation in the media society consumes. Queer characters in movies, tv shows, and adult books have appeared for decades, sometimes even centuries, but limiting queer representation to adult-only content does more harm than good. It teaches children and the culture at large that queer stories are explicit, shameful, and not appropriate.

Read More »
April 27, 2026

Andrew Doughty

This project had two facets: one was working with the Books to Prisoners organization to put on a book drive. Through this drive we collected over 200 books which will be mailed to prisoners across the country as well as a grant for 500$ from the Sigma Tau Delta Honor society as a part of the Chapter service project to provide them with new shelving, postage, and specifically requested books. This meets a physical demand: access to the books prisoners want to read.
The other aspect of this project was volunteering in the Juvenile Detention Center in downtown Spokane where I was able to work with high school students in their English classes through creative writing workshops. I was able to connect with individual students who come from a variety of situations and use the tools I’ve learned about creative writing to help them to process and create though creative writing of their own.

Read More »
April 24, 2026