PULLMAN, Wash. — The CAHNRS Ambassadors have won the 2010 Outstanding Organization Award from the Washington State University Student Involvement and Leadership Development. WSU President Floyd presented the award to the Ambassadors at the President’s Award Banquet earlier this month.
The Ambassadors were honored for their ability to engage with students both on campus and in high schools all over the region.
CAHNRS Ambassadors is a registered student organization that encourages students to pursue higher education and serves as a liaison between CAHNRS — the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences — and the greater community.
“We figure we made contact with over 6,800 students in the past year,” said Bridget Slaybaugh, an Ambassador majoring in agricultural communications. “So far this year we’ve been to Stanwood, Buckley, Mountlake Terrace, Kent, Auburn, Yakima, and Walla Walla, among other places. We travel all over the state talking to visit high school classrooms and talk to young people, but we also do a lot of outreach right here on the Pullman campus by attending campus events where we can represent our college and engage in conversations with students about the things they’re passionate about.”
The award is presented each spring by Student Involvement and Leadership Development to a distinguished Greek chapter, ASWSU subcommittee, sports club, or Registered Student Organization that has made a significant impact at WSU or in the Pullman community. The recipient of the award is able to demonstrate their ability of engaging students and contributing to overall student and campus life.
The Ambassadors engage in a wide variety of campus-wide professional development activities. The group has sponsored visits to campus by agricultural industry professionals to speak about successfully interviewing for career-track jobs. The group has also developed a speaker series called “Money in the Real World,” which engages students in discussions about money management, debt, job benefits and credit.
“This award really validates the work these outstanding students have been doing,” said Kate McIlraith, the group’s advisor and CAHNRS assistant director of recruitment and retention. “This organization has completely changed and expanded its reach in the past two years, and winning this award is such a reinforcement of how far they’ve come. It’s incredibly gratifying to see all their hard work being recognized by their peers in this way.”
CAHNRS Ambassadors represent every department in the college with an undergraduate degree program.
The 2010-2011 CAHNRS Ambassadors and their hometowns are:
- Matt Allan, Food Science from Wapato
- Michael Anderson, Agricultural Business Economics and Management from Othello
- Rachael Barrett, Agricultural and Food Business Economics from Wenatchee
- Greg Beale, Agricultural Economics from Pomeroy
- Tammy Bennett, Agricultural Education from Lynden
- Casey Burnette, Apparel Design from Hamilton, MT
- Heidi Craig, Interior Design from Lynnwood
- Luis Cuevas, Agricultural Biotechnology from Zillah
- Kimmi Devaney, Animal Sciences, Agricultural Communication from Enumclaw
- Mikaela Easter, Food Science from Yakima
- Ryan Fallgren, Economic Sciences from Bellevue
- Anna Gibson, Agricultural Education from Puyallup
- Nick Hamad, Landscape Architecture from Spokane
- Randi Hominda, Family & Consumer Sciences Education from Yelm
- Kelly Hughes, Apparel Merchandising from Burien
- Kodi Jo Jaspers, Wildlife Ecology from Wenatchee
- Kristin Jones, Wildlife Ecology from Seattle
- Katie LaPlant, Human Development from Ephrata
- Chelsea Larse, Human Development from Ritzville
- Tyler Markwart, Organic Agriculture from Miller Place, NY
- Maureen McFerson, Food Science from Wenatchee
- Katie Nickels, Agricultural Education from Stanwood
- Brianna Oas, Animal Science from Poulsbo
- Michaela Padilla, Wildlife Ecology from Covington
- Craig Pfaff, Interior Design from Chehalis
- Noelle Podlich, Fruit and Vegetable Horticulture from Orondo
- Haley Saam, Field Crop Management from Prosser
- Yukiko Sakai, Food Science from Sendai, Japan
- Bridget Slaybaugh, Agricultural Communication from Pomeroy
- Kathryn Slaybaugh, Human Development from Puyallup
- Chelsey Slosar, Animal Science from Gig Harbor
- Ian Youngren, Agricultural Technology and Production Management from Lind
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