What: Boise State graduate stories
When: Commencement, 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16
Where: Taco Bell Arena
PLEASE NOTE: Media attending Commencement must enter Taco Bell Arena through the security door on the south side of the facility to the left of entrance 2. On the arena floor, please stay within the perimeter between sections seven and 17. Those interested in interviews should plan to arrive 45 minutes early so university public relations staff can assist you.
Boise State University will host its spring Commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16, in Taco Bell Arena, with President Bob Kustra officiating. An honorary doctorate will be awarded to Bethine Church, widow of former U.S. Sen. Frank Church and unofficial matriarch of the Idaho Democratic Party. The student speaker will be Hailey Wilson, an honors student who plans to use her degree in health science studies to pursue a career in rural medicine.
About 1,200 graduates are expected to walk with 2,082 eligible for 2,204 degrees/certificates and 548 eligible for honors: 80 summa cum laude, 157 magna cum laude and 311 cum laude.
This group represents a wealth of individual stories, a few of which are presented below. Contacts are provided, but arrangements for interviews the day of Commencement must be made in advance.
Compelling Graduate Stories
Phillip Price (BA, history, from Boise, 794-7751) did a lot of globetrotting during his time at Boise State. He interned with the Idaho Human Rights Education Center (IHREC) this year and was offered a paid position that will allow him to continue researching, developing and presenting an international teaching model called “Human Rights Education: A Framework of Building Community.” Price already has helped present the model in Colombia, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the Dominican Republic and Jordan, and he soon will take it to South Africa before heading to the Balkans for further research. He deferred a five-year, tuition-free and expenses-paid fellowship in the University of Pittsburgh’s doctoral program in history and international relations in order to take the position with the IHREC. He is part of the national McNair Scholars Program, which cultivates academically promising students from under-represented backgrounds.
Jamie Watson (BS, radiologic sciences, from Medford, Ore., 794-4116) was in high school when she found out she had leukemia. Never one to be intimidated or discouraged, she chose to continue her education in medical imaging, a profession she became extremely familiar with as a patient. Her professors say she has remained optimistic and cheerful throughout her treatments and medication regimens, which included two stem cell infusion procedures. Throughout her time as a student in radiography, she stayed upbeat, never complaining about the fatigue she was experiencing or requesting any special considerations. She will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in radiologic sciences with an impressive GPA of 3.8 and recently accepted a job with Intermountain Medical Imaging.
Nilesh Pawar (MS, exercise and sports studies, from Deola, India, 949-6409) was selected to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University 2009 annual meeting at University of Texas, Austin in Feb. that brought together about 1,200 people from 60 different countries and almost every state in the U.S. to discuss world issues. Attendance at the event solidified Pawar’s commitment to fight HIV/AIDS in India. Upon his return to Boise, he helped start FACE AIDS-Boise, which raises money for people with HIV/AIDS in Africa. Following graduation, Pawar will work in an HIV/AIDS research center in his home country of India.
Dan Isla (BS, electrical and computer engineering, from Boise, 761-0981) took Boise State research to new heights as the student leader of an engineering project conducted in NASA’s Microgravity University program. The project, which dealt with lunar surface traction concepts, will help NASA engineers anticipate challenges in designing better rovers for future manned missions to the moon. Isla was active in engineering student clubs and honor societies and recently was named the College of Engineering’s Outstanding Graduating Student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. After graduation, he is headed to Pasadena, Calif., for a job with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Emma McInturff (BS, chemistry and biochemistry, from Pocatello, 380-1207) has been a student, teacher and researcher at Boise State. In addition to being a teaching assistant and an instructor of two freshman lab courses in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, she moonlighted as a math tutor. In studying aziridinomitosenes, a group of potential anticancer drugs, she completed the synthesis of a target compound. After training in biochemical techniques at Pacific Lutheran University, she contributed to the discovery of novel protein-DNA interactions of aziridinomitosenes. As part of her Spanish minor, McInturff studied abroad in Málaga, Spain, and traveled to Baja, Mexico, for a service-oriented kayaking trip. Other service work includes organizing an annual Locks of Love Cut-off for students through the Honors Association and volunteering at a homeless shelter and for the Salvation Army. One of Boise State’s Top 10 Scholars, McInturff has been accepted into several top graduate programs and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in organic chemistry.
Robert Rainey (BGS, general studies, from Middleton, 965-1001) is one of the first two graduates in the new bachelor of general studies program. While running his own construction company, he took on 32 credits in his last term, maintaining close to a 4.0 GPA. Because of the downturn in the construction industry, he decided to focus all of his energy on returning to school and completing his degree.
For more information, contact Erin Ryan, communications specialist, at (208) 426-4910 or erinryan@boisestate.edu.
Boise State University is “The New U Rising” with record student enrollment, new academic buildings, additional degree programs and a growing research agenda. Learn more at www.boisestate.edu.
