Web Extra
by Marcia Hill Gossard ’99, ’04 Ph.D. | Photo by Henry Moore Jr.
Unlike a lot of high school students, Ross Rowsey, a senior in the School of Molecular Biosciences, and Kathryn Jewett, a graduate student in the Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology (now Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience), knew they wanted to go to graduate school. So when each learned about the accelerated graduate school programs in the college, they knew it would be the right course for them.
“The accelerated neuroscience program was a good thing for me. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school and I had finished my courses by my junior year,” said Kathryn Jewett, who began as a neuroscience undergraduate in the College of Veterinary Medicine. “Taking the required graduate classes early cut a year off my school time.”
Now in her third year of graduate school, Jewett is conducting research in the Krueger sleep lab at WSU Spokane and plans to finish her doctorate in the next two years.
“The STARS program has been an extremely enjoyable and beneficial experience for me. With early integration into the laboratory setting and lab work starting my freshman year, I am truly ahead of the curve compared to my peers.”
—Ross Rowsey, STARS student in the School of Molecular Biosciences
Ross Rowsey started in the Students Targeted toward Advanced Research Studies (STARS) program in the School of Molecular Biosciences as a freshman.
“The STARS program has been perfect for me,” said Rowsey, who was admitted to the program right out of high school. “I like the accelerated pace. It keeps me interested and I’ve been able to start on my research sooner.”
Rowsey’s research interests are in reproductive biology and how maternal age affects abnormalities. He is working to better understand how age influences the number of abnormal chromosomes. Rowsey will be one of the first graduates of the STARS program when he finishes his doctorate in 2015.
Since the STARS program began four years ago, students have been recognized by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program in science and engineering, published scholarly papers, and finished their undergraduate degrees a full semester ahead of schedule.