Shorewood grad and two Kenmore students named WWU Outstanding Graduates

Western Washington University honored its Outstanding Graduates for the 2014-15 academic year at spring Commencement Saturday, June 13.

Faculty members from dozens of academic departments and programs select one graduate to honor as the Outstanding Graduate of the year. Selection is a high honor based on grades, research and writing, service to the campus and community, and promise for the future.

This year’s Outstanding Graduates include Ellen Olsen of Shoreline and Rachel Hsu and Corena Sharp from Kenmore. 

Ellen Olson, Outstanding Graduate in Geology

Shoreline

Ellen Olsen, the Outstanding Graduate in Geology, graduated magna cum laude in March with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and a minor in Anthropology. Olsen is a recipient of the President’s Scholarship and the James Talbot Scholarship. She received grant funding for her thesis research on the formation conditions of Skagit gneiss rocks called migmatites in the crystalline core of the Cascades Range, using cutting-edge geo-chemical analytical tools. She is working with Geology Research Associate Brian Rusk to continue her research and plans to submit a manuscript to present her work at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Baltimore. She hopes to begin graduate school in fall of 2016 in either igneous or metamorphic petrology studies. A graduate of Shorewood High School, Olsen is the daughter of Patti and Norm Olsen.

Kenmore

Rachel Hsu
Outstanding Graduate in Art

Rachel Hsu, the Outstanding Graduate in Art, graduated in June with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Art and a minor in Art History. Hsu’s work was part of nine exhibitions during her senior year, including two solo exhibitions. She also led the development of the first BFA catalogue for the Art Department. Art faculty members say Hsu is one of the best students they’ve seen in the department in recent years and a promising young artist. Hsu plans to partake in artist residencies and work before attending graduate school. She is the daughter of David and Rose Hsu and a graduate of Inglemoor High School in Kenmore.

Corena Sharp, Outstanding
Graduate in American
Cultural Studied

 Corena Sharp, Outstanding Graduate in American Cultural Studies, graduated in June with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She completed a major in American Cultural Studies as well as a Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies concentration in Law, Diversity and Justice: Transnational Advocacy – along with minors in International Studies, and Education and Social Justice. Sharp presented her research at Scholars Day and at an event for Fairhaven Alumni at Back2Bellingham. She is the recipient of a Libraries Undergraduate Research Award and a Public Anthropology Award for Excellence in Writing. She studied abroad in the Dominican Republic, volunteered at the Womencare Domestic Violence Shelter and worked as a seasonal fruit inspector for the Washington State Department of Agriculture. This fall, she will attend Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she will major in International Relations. Sharp is the daughter of Sally and Gary Sharp and a graduate of Inglemoor High School in Kenmore.