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Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement Distinguished Scholarships Program

Two WSU Sophomores Land Distinguished Udall Scholars Awards

Shown from left to right are Udall award winners for 2021: Jonnie Bray and Frances Ward.

Washington State University students Frances Ward and Jonnie Bray are the newest recipients of prestigious Udall Undergraduate Scholarship awards. Each woman placing among the top 11 percent of national recipients in their respective Udall categories; a total of 416 eligible Udall applications were nominated this year by 187 academic institutions. Ward and Bray will each receive $7,000. “We are very proud of their achievements and that the Udall Foundation believes in the impact they will have on many lives in the future,” said April Seehafer, director of WSU’s Distinguished Scholarships Program.

Shown from left to right are Udall award winners for 2021: Jonnie Bray and Frances Ward.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University students Frances Ward and Jonnie Bray are the newest recipients of prestigious Udall Undergraduate Scholarship awards, each woman placing among the top 11 percent of national recipients in their respective Udall categories.

Ward, who will pursue nursing studies at WSU Spokane Health Sciences campus in fall, is one of nine U.S. recipients out of 35 in the award’s Native American Health Care category. Bray, an international economics and development major, is one of nine recipients out of 38 applicants in the Tribal Public Policy category.

“We are very proud of their achievements and that the Udall Foundation believes in the impact they will have on many lives in the future,” said April Seehafer, director of WSU’s Distinguished Scholarships Program, part of the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement (DAESA) in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President.

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WSU Senior Jacklyn Brendible Recognized by National Udall Foundation for 2019-20

Closeup of Udall award winner Jacklyn Brendible on a snowy Pullman campus.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Closeup of Udall award winner Jacklyn Brendible on a snowy Pullman campus.PULLMAN, WASH.—Washington State University senior Jacklyn Brendible has received a nationally competitive Udall Foundation honorable mention award in its tribal policy category, said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program. It is part of the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President.

“Udall recognition supports Jacklyn’s goal to advance education systems for Native American communities, and her plan to teach in Alaska where her extended family lives,” said Seehafer.

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Vancouver Senior, Cowlitz Tribe Member Emma R. Johnson Headed to D.C. As WSU’s First Udall Native American Congressional Intern

Emma Johnson, 2018 Udall recipient.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Emma Johnson, 2018 Udall recipient.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University Vancouver cultural anthropology student Emma R. Johnson will spend the summer in the office of U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, serving as the university’s first Udall Native American Congressional intern.

It is Johnson’s second prestigious and nationally competitive award from the Udall Foundation and Native National Institute. For academic year 2018-19, she received a Udall Undergraduate Scholarship in its tribal policy category. It helped cover undergraduate expenses at the Vancouver campus, from which she will graduate on May 4. » More …

National Udall Scholarship Awarded to WSU Vancouver Junior and Cowlitz Tribe Member Emma Johnson

Udall 2018 recipient Emma R. Johnson holding up a cougar flag while studying abroad in New Zealand.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Udall 2018 recipient Emma R. Johnson holding up a cougar flag while studying abroad in New Zealand.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University Vancouver cultural anthropology major Emma R. Johnson has received a prestigious and nationally competitive Udall Undergraduate Scholarship in its tribal public policy category.

“The Udall is incredibly important to me,” said Johnson. “Completing all the work to apply, and then being successful, it’s a really huge deal. It is helping me complete my education.” » More …

WSU Junior Alyssa Norris Recognized by National Udall Foundation for 2017-18

Alyssa Norris standing in a glacial cave.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, Director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program, WSU Undergraduate Education, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

View this article as published on the WSU News website

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University junior and Alaska native Alyssa Norris has received a nationally competitive Udall Foundation honorable mention award in its environment category, said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program, part of WSU Undergraduate Education.

“The Udall nod validates Alyssa’s commitment to the environment and her work toward a career addressing issues on a local, national, and global scale,” said Seehafer. “Alyssa’s personal and professional accomplishments as a WSU student have prepared her very well for this latest and well-deserved honor.”

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WSU seniors Ellenwood, Torpey, and Weyand sweep national Udall scholarship categories for 2016-17

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

MEDIA: Mary Sanchez Lanier, Assistant Vice Provost, WSU Undergraduate Education, 509-335-8239, sanchez@wsu.edu

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University undergraduate seniors Rachel Ellenwood, Tillie Torpey, and Logan Weyand have received national 2016 Udall Foundation awards in each of its three categories: native health care, tribal policy, and the environment.

All of the awards represent a “first” for the university, said April Seehafer, director of the WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program, part of WSU Undergraduate Education.

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WSU sophomore, Nez Perce Tribal member Rachel Ellenwood receives prestigious, national Udall Award; is university’s first Udall winner

MEDIA: Sarah Ann Hones, Director of Distinguished Scholarship Programs, WSU Office of Undergraduate Education, 509-335-8239, shones@wsu.edu

Mary Sanchez Lanier, Assistant Vice Provost, 509-335-7767, sanchez@wsu.edu

Rachel Ellenwood, WSU’s first Udall Award winner, rachel.ellenwood@email.wsu.edu

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University sophomore and Nez Perce Tribal member Rachel E. Ellenwood, 32, of Lapwai, Idaho, has won a nationally competitive, distinguished scholarship from the Udall Foundation for 2015. She is the first WSU student to receive a Udall award.

“We are tremendously proud of Rachel and she has become the first WSU student to receive the prestigious Udall Award,” said Mary F. Wack, vice provost for undergraduate education. “Her career goal to become a nurse practitioner for her home tribal community, plus her many academic and service accomplishments so far, made her a strong candidate for the Udall.”

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