WWU Give Day 2021

Greetings from the Toxicology and Chemistry faculty at Huxley College of the Environment!

What do the following things have in common?  Microplastics, moss, Whatcom county mussels,  new contaminants in Puget Sound, and nanomaterials...  

The answer is that these are all things we've continued to study during a year of unusual circumstances. The Covid shut-downs certainly affected our research, but in ways you might not expect. Instead of fewer students gaining research experience, there are actually more! Most internship opportunities disappeared and students looked to senior research as a way to gain experience. Ruth, Manuel, Wayne and the Institute of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry found ways to support them. It certainly looks different now with limited numbers of students in the lab at a time, face masks, social distancing, and more online work, but the experience and mentorship our students are gaining are the same as it has always been!

We are continuously reminded that our alumni are in careers where they make a difference for the environment. The knowledge, critical thinking, and technical writing skills that students learned here are part of why they are highly valued as employees, but the research experiences they had as toxicology and chemistry students were crucial to helping them stand out in graduate school and their careers. Please help us pay it forward to continuously provide the highest level of training and education!    

Money raised on Give Day will be used to support our students doing independent research and presenting their work. It will pay for lab supplies, stipends, and travel to conferences. Your past help allowed us to be nimble and respond to the needs of our students in 2020. We appreciate your support of the continued legacy of student excellence in the toxicology and chemistry emphasis at WWU. Thank you for all you do.

Thanks! 

Ruth Sofield,