As we ring in the new 2025-2026 school year, the Honors Program has taken off running. Whitworth Honors is the proud recipient of a large endowment from the Mullet Fund. Full press release below:
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.
The stereotype of women apologizing more than men was tested by a psychology study which found that women apologized at higher frequencies. Yet, each gender apologized for an equal proportion of their offenses if it was recognized by them as a transgression (81% mean for men and women). My question was inspired by considering the compliment to an apology, forgiveness. If women engage with apology behavior at higher frequencies, whether or not a transgression has been fully realized, does this water down their engagement with relational repair? Conversely, does a lower frequency and a higher threshold for viewing a situation as apology-worthy influence greater levels of sincerity in the interpretation of forgiveness for men?
With the overturing of Roe V Wade came a plague of misinformation surrounding reproductive health. This led to medical practitioners and specialists being misinformed and fearing prosecution for providing lifesaving procedures on pregnant women. Reproductive healthcare doesn’t just involve abortion, it includes emergency care, about the right to survive a pregnancy. The misinformation flooding the system is making everything worse. State laws are murky and full of vague language state by state, leaving medical professionals unsure if they’d be prosecuted for providing necessary, lifesaving care for their patients. To me, it is wrong that in a first world country, people are left to suffer because of this misinformation. My goal is to bring light to proper information about abortion care even in the most restrictive states.
SIRC is a conference sponsored by Whitworth and Gonzaga University for undergraduate students across Spokane to present their research and creative works.
The first Honors Lunch Network of the Spring semester focused on how to get internships and faculty research assistantships.
Whitworth to send 9 presenters to the Sigma Tau Delta, an international English Honors Society, Conference March 19-22 in Pittsburg, PA.
Come admire Honors student research, final projects, and creative works in the HUB MPR from 5:30-7:00PM on Monday December 9th.
Kyle Marquez spent his summer interning with the Department of Agriculture, specifically the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington.
This semester, the Honors Program and its students were hard at work promoting our message of thriving in the world as it is and developing it as it should be.
Come admire Honors student research, final projects, and creative works in the HUB MPR from 5:30-7:00PM on Monday December 9th.
Whitworth’s 6-person Ethics Bowl team has set their eyes on the podium this weekend at Regionals.
Over Jan Term, a group of Honors freshmen students took a trip across Italy to learn and grow. Read about two of those students’ experiences in the Vatican City, and how it didn’t meet many of the expectations they had set.
While freshmen were exploring Italy, they had the opportunity to visit the city of Assisi. Read this story, written by two of the students, detailing that experience and the lessons learned.
Over Jan Term, freshmen honors students took a trip to learn in Italy. Read about the adventures of two of the freshmen and how they learned to venture into a new culture on their own, appreciate the art of the Borghese Gallery, and make new acquaintances.
During the freshman Jan Term trip to Italy, some of the students had the unique experience of attending the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI. Read about the insights and awe this experience inspired.
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.
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.
Broadly speaking, our world tends to see religion as a sort of ‘meaning-making’ device. In faith, one is able to carve divine order into the chaos and fragmentation of the human experience. This makes faith a vehicle for hope—for settling the existential realization that nothing in our lives makes sense. The premise of this project, however, challenges that assumption: What if grasping after order and unity is not a source, but an obstruction to our ability to embrace life?
Ultimately, my project seeks to foster a more informed healthcare environment. One in which researchers, healthcare professionals, and patients are better equipped to navigate the unique complexities of women’s health.
