Honors Life at Whitworth

Recent:

The Pursuit of a More Perfect Union

On October 14th, Jon Meacham visited Whitworth at President McQuilken’s 2026 Presidential Leadership Forum, this year hosted at the Fox Theatre. I attended his evening talk at the Fox called, “American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union,” a nod to the title of his most recent book published earlier this year.

Read More »

Summers Capturing Lilacs

Some people go to the lake, some people pick up extra shifts, and some spend hours tanning in the sun. Me? I spend my summer Saturdays attending regional festivals and parades with the Spokane Lilac Festival.

Read More »

Micro-Internship: KSPS PBS LearningMedia

The KSPS PBS micro-internship is focused on their online educational content. PBS has a learning platform called PBS LearningMedia where any station from across the country can upload lessons, videos, and teaching tools for free use by teachers and students. KSPS is one of the stations that contributes material, but they’ve become increasingly aware that the material currently up isn’t as robust as it could be.

Read More »

Upcoming Opprotunities:

Honors Floor Past and Present

Honors Floor Past and Present At Whitworth, first-year Honors students have the unique opportunity to join the Honors Floor learning community. From 2021-2023, the Honors

Read More »

Infinite and the Void: Interdisciplinary learning through mathematical concepts

Next spring, SC-126: Infinite and the Void will become an Honors class, allowing it to count towards Honors credit for Honors students.
This course examines concepts of math through an interdisciplinary lens. Charlie Rodriguez, a senior math major who TA’d for the class, said that people often think that mathematics has no meaningful connection to life. He says this “couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Read More »

Internships:

Summers Capturing Lilacs

Some people go to the lake, some people pick up extra shifts, and some spend hours tanning in the sun. Me? I spend my summer Saturdays attending regional festivals and parades with the Spokane Lilac Festival.

Read More »

Micro-Internship: KSPS PBS LearningMedia

The KSPS PBS micro-internship is focused on their online educational content. PBS has a learning platform called PBS LearningMedia where any station from across the country can upload lessons, videos, and teaching tools for free use by teachers and students. KSPS is one of the stations that contributes material, but they’ve become increasingly aware that the material currently up isn’t as robust as it could be.

Read More »

Whitworth Launch

We are proud to announce that micro-internships, mentors, and upcoming professionalization events now have a home on the Whitworth Launch website. This site hosts the applications and internship postings, connecting you directly with the people who want to give you a job.

Read More »

On-Campus Spotlights:

Fall 25 Wrap Up

This Fall semester went by fast! With many speakers on campus, a new Democracy Lab, Honors Lunches galore, a new Co-Director Joy York, Banned Books week, many literary journals, and mentorship opportunities it’s no surprise we lost track of time!

Read More »

Collecting Dust

Elizabeth Atwood is published in WSU’s The Palouse Review, an Honors Literary Journal, for her art piece “Collecting Dust.”

Read More »

Jubilation Dance Ministry

Whitworth’s primary goal as an institution is to educate the ‘Mind and Heart’ of its students, but further than that, the Honors Program wants students to thrive in the world they are stepping into. A crucial part of that is in movement and education of the body, in addition to the trademarked ‘mind and heart.’

Read More »

Study Abroad:

A Day in the Life: Jan Term in Italy

During Jan Term 2023, a group of freshmen Honors students took a trip to Italy. Part of the trip was a day spent in the Academia followed by watching a game of football (soccer). Read about the experience written by two of the students on the trip.

Read More »

Research:

Micro-Internship: KSPS PBS LearningMedia

The KSPS PBS micro-internship is focused on their online educational content. PBS has a learning platform called PBS LearningMedia where any station from across the country can upload lessons, videos, and teaching tools for free use by teachers and students. KSPS is one of the stations that contributes material, but they’ve become increasingly aware that the material currently up isn’t as robust as it could be.

Read More »

Madalyn Dotson

In September of 2025, youth and Gen-Z individuals in Nepal overthrew their corrupt government through a series of protests and riots. They voted for their interim prime minister through Discord, and throughout the protests, the world saw Gen-Z laughing and joking their way through a major historical event. Gen-Z has been nicknamed the “unserious generation”, but in Nepal they also led the movement that led to a significant change in government. This begs the question of how this will inspire other Gen-Z protestors and activists across the world. How does Gen-Z view violence as an actor for change? Do they use humor as a tool, strategy, or a way to cope? How necessary is humor for Gen-Z’s activism? In my academic project, I explored these questions by looking at a variety of examples all over the world, with a focus on Nepal. As someone who is Gen Z, loves memes and humor, and is interested in political activism, I think that this project is important to see how young people are actively changing the world around them.

Read More »

Claire Tolo

Students with disabilities (SWD) make up 17-19% of the student population in higher education institutions. However, research focused on them accounts for only 1% of papers published in education journals. Furthermore, disabled students are less likely to enroll in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) courses compared to their abled peers. Researchers have posited that this may be due to both physical barriers, such as inaccessible laboratories, and cultural ones, like negative experiences with peers and faculty. So what can universities do to improve the landscape of their STEM cohorts to make them more equitable and inclusive for students with disabilities? Existing research has suggested a variety of solutions, ranging from implementing Universal Design Learning (UDL) to purchasing specialized lab equipment. But there does not yet exist a compilation of the current recommendations for interventions and best practice for improving equity and accessibility in STEM departments. In this project, I will examine the specific challenges faced by SWD in the classroom and laboratory, interventions to improve challenges faced, and practical suggestions institutions can utilize to effectively implement the interventions in their STEM programs.

Read More »

Chloe Stelly

Since going through the Education Department here at Whitworth, I have become increasingly interested in the academic achievement of our students here in Washinton. Education has changed so drastically over the years, and the hope is that we are still meeting the needs of our students in an ever-shifting society. Since Covid, state testing has dropped and has continued to do so which raises concern; how can our children get the best education when standards are so demanding? Is the education we are providing right now the education our students need? I wanted to study the effects that state standards have on primary children and whether or not an increase in academic performance is happening in our schools. The reason for this project is to study the impact of our state standards on the growth and development of our students.

Read More »