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Alumni Achievements

Additional Alumni Achievements

Featured Alum
Sean McGuire, '10
Major: Physics

Current Position: McGuire is a graduate student in the mechanical & aerospace engineering department at Princeton University, where he's taking coursework and conducting research in an applied physics research group.

Awards and Honors: As a Whitworth senior, received a full tuition scholarship and a stipend to conduct research in the lasers and applied physics doctoral program at Princeton University. The award amounts to $65-70,000 per year for up to six years. Spent the last three summers of his undergraduate career conducting research at Whitworth, the University of Michigan and Princeton, and for General Atomics, in San Diego.

Why Whitworth? "My sister had attended Whitworth and enjoyed her experience. I decided to follow in her footsteps."

Whitworth Activities: Worked to fulfill the requirements of a piano scholarship, which involved playing in an ensemble and performing for juries at the end of each semester.

Quote: "The professors in the physics and mathematics departments worked hard to challenge and encourage me. While coursework was very difficult, the professors were available and willing to help at all times. I believe that I learned a lot from my courses and feel prepared for a career in science and engineering."

Influential Whitworth Experience: "I will always be grateful to the professors in the physics department for constantly encouraging me to go one step further. In graduate school, things are very difficult. However, I am excited to see what the future has in store for me. Without the support and encouragement of the Whitworth professors in the physics department, I would most likely not have the opportunities I now have."

Career Goals: "I see myself pursuing one of two career paths: I would like to work in the aerospace industry, where a lot of exciting progress is being made. However, I also would enjoy teaching at a small college where the primary focus is to educate the undergraduate, as opposed to being a professor at a primarily research-oriented institution."

Here's what some Whitworth graduates are doing with their physics degrees:

• Ben Spaun, '08, landed a full scholarship for a six-year doctoral research program at Harvard. The scholarship covers two years of schooling and four of research, and includes a living stipend.
  
  
• Justin Jones, '10, is enrolled in the University of Colorado–Boulder, graduate program in biomechanics.
  
  
• Kellen Oetgen, '10, is pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering University of Washington.
  
  
• Corey Dolph, '09, is a Navy officer in nuclear propulsion.
  
  
• Brian Harms, '09, is in the M.D. program at University of Washington School of Medicine.
  
  
• Carissa Humrickhouse, '09, received a full scholarship to pursue a master's degree in nuclear engineering at Texas A&M University.
  
  
• Alisha Anderson, '08, is a mechanical engineer for The Boeing Company.
  
  
• Matt Lincicum, '05 (physics and theology double major), earned a master's degree in engineering from the University of California–Irvine, and entered Harvard Law School in fall 2007.
  
  
• Preston Hoffman, '08, is a nuclear operator for Exelon.
  
  
• Cale McPherson, '05, earned a master's degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
  
  
• Nick Foster, '06, is a transportation planner for Kittelson & Associates, Inc., in Boise.
  
  
• Caleb Hug, '04 (physics and computer science double major), earned a Ph.D. in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; he is now a software development engineer in Microsoft's Experimentation Platform (ExP) Division.