News Release

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June 29, 2005

Boise State University Names 20 Inaugural Graduate Residential Scholars

Twenty standout graduate students from as nearby as Boise and Caldwell and as far away as India and Germany have been named to the first cohort of Boise State University’s Graduate Residential Scholars Program.

The 20 scholars are scheduled to arrive on the Boise State campus in mid-August to begin the program with the start of the fall 2005 semester. The GRSP is designed to provide a high-quality residential experience at the university for highly capable, full-time graduate students representing diverse personal backgrounds and academic disciplines.

The GRSP will provide a one- or two-year graduate assistantship where the scholar will live in campus housing and work within an academic unit as a teaching, research or service assistant. Based on current lodging fees, graduate school fee rates and stipends, the total annual value of each award exceeds $26,000.

The graduate scholars will live in a new 20-person graduate residential community consisting of five four-bedroom apartments or quads in Boise State’s new University Square housing development. Each scholar will have his or her own living quarters throughout his or her assistantship.

“I’m really excited to meet new people with similar academic interests,” said Kuna resident Katey Irwin, one of the 20 selected scholars. “I’m looking forward to being able to immerse myself in this project. It’s going to be an incredible program. I really wanted to go to graduate school, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to afford it until I was accepted into this program. The fact that most of our expenses will be covered will alleviate a lot of stress and allow me to really concentrate on my studies.”

Irwin is one of the graduate residential scholars who will already be familiar with her surroundings. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in English from Boise State last May. A 2001 graduate of Cascade High School, Irwin will pursue a master’s degree in bioinformatics —the science of using data analysis to understand biology — through Boise State’s interdisciplinary studies master’s program.

Her graduate program will include molecular biology, computer science programming and possibly graphic design. “I think graphic design may become an important piece because once you have done your data analysis, you need to present it in a way that is pleasing and people are able to understand,” she said. “If it’s just data, people are less likely to look at your work.”

In addition to Irwin, the other members of the inaugural Graduate Residential Scholars Program and their areas of interest are:

  • Michele Alfieri, Glendale, Ariz., instructional technology
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  • Janel Allison, Belgrade, Mont., health science
  • Amber Beierle, Caldwell, history
  • Chadwick Davis, Boise, biology
  • Amy Douglas, West Jordan, Utah, physical education
  • Jennifer Eldredge, Boise, social work
  • Jordi Figueras, Boise, civil engineering
  • Kimberly Fowler, Boise, geology
  • Somenath Ganguly, West Bengal, India, geology
  • Joshua Haskett, Boise, history
  • Megan Keating, Colorado Springs, Colo., exercise sports
  • K.C. Longoria, Boise, bilingual education
  • Tiffany Rivera, Leesburg, Va., geology
  • Michelle Sutherland, Boise, geosciences
  • Rayna Traneva, Sophia, Bulgaria, mathematics
  • Maria VanSkiver, Boise, social work
  • Rachel Wheatley, Boise, public administration
  • Magdalene Wozniok, Heidelberg, Germany, business
  • Martina Zucchini, Buenos Aires, Argentina, raptor biology

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Contact: Jack Pelton, Graduate College, (208) 426-4203

Media contact: Bob Evancho, communications and marketing, (208) 426-1643


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Last reviewed on Thursday, December 22, 2005