May 10, 2006

President's Cup Recipient Excels in the Sciences

The President's Cup is Whitworth's highest academic award, given to graduating seniors who have completed their entire undergraduate degree at Whitworth and have done so with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Whitworth has three honorees this year, all of whom have made the most of their education of mind and heart and have graced this college with their excellence.

President's Cup recipient Melissa Hinman, who hails from Kennewick, Wash., will pursue a doctorate in biomedical sciences at Case Western Reserve University this fall.

A biology and Spanish double-major with a math minor, Melissa has participated in an undergraduate research fellowship, working on helper T-cell and natural killer-cell activation and killing. She also had an undergraduate laboratory internship, doing research on the effects of organophosphorus insecticides on rats. She co-authored a paper published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology and had an abstract published in the Department of Energy Journal of Undergraduate Research.

Also excelling in the non-science disciplines, Melissa has worked for the English department as a writing-center consultant; was a Spanish live-lab leader for two years; has graded calculus homework; and has served as a teaching assistant in Core 150.

Melissa's advisor, Professor of Biology Finn Pond, says of her, "Melissa is among the most talented and enjoyable students I've known. She is curious, conscientious and diligent in her work, and she always demonstrates an eagerness to learn."

Contacts:

Julie Riddle, public information officer, Whitworth College, (509) 777-3729 or jriddle@whitworth.edu.