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	Outstanding graduate students and alumni With a low faculty/student ratio (1:10) and a culture of inclusivity, students engaged in graduate programs at Western Oregon University are tackling important and complex research alongside faculty experts. A WOU master's degree will prepare leaders in a wide variety of professions throughout Oregon and beyond. Read on to learn about just a few of our successful graduate students and alumni. Jane K. Kaser - Masters of Science in Rehabilitation 2008 Jane received her B.S. in Social Science from PSU and has worked in several different human service areas including two different Willamette Valley school districts. What has impacted you the most during graduate school? I received satisfaction with a strong foundation for my career development as an effective rehabilitation counselor and acquired appropriate work experience. This positive outcome has broadened the impact I have had on individuals with psychiatric, physical, and developmental disabilities to assist in their recovery progress to community-based programs through encouragement and collaboration. The RCE Program assisted me to realize my potential in rehabilitation counseling, which in turn allows me to assist individuals with disabilities to realize their potential in their recovery process. Where was your internship? My internship was at the Oregon State Hospital as an employment specialist in Supported Employment for the Community Reintegration Program in Salem, OR. I work with forensic clients with psychiatric, physical and developmental disabilities in an inpatient state-run psychiatric facility for adults who are judged guilty except for insanity and civil commitments. Lior Azen - Masters of Science in Rehabilitation 2008 Lior received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Sign Communication, from Gallaudet University, the world’s only liberal arts university for Deaf students in Washington, D.C. What has your experience been like in the RCE program? The past two years as a graduate student in the intensive Rehabilitation Counseling program have passed in a flash. I will dearly miss my professors who have been an enormous source of support. I cherish their humane attitude of caring and respect toward the students. I appreciate their vast knowledge and support of Deaf-related issues. It is a place where I can relax knowing that my professors are proponents of the causes for Deaf people. I have immensely enjoyed the small class size of the program; it allowed students to discuss and share experiences, enhancing our text-book learning and giving us an opportunity to learn from one another. What was your internship like? The program’s emphasis of practical experience is instrumental in the field of counseling. My internship training for the past six months was with the West Salem mental health clinic affiliated with the Northwest Human Services. The clinic has a program called the Connection, which serves the Deaf and hard of hearing population. It is actually the only program in Oregon that provides mental health counseling and case management services to this underrepresented and underserved population. The culture of the workplace and the friendly staff who were willing to help and support my learning has enriched this internship experience. Academic Excellence Showcase The WOU Academic Excellence Showcase is a campus-wide day each May devoted to celebrating noteworthy student academic achievement and scholarly activities. Presentations include original research papers, projects, artwork, performances, and musical compositions. The event provides experiences useful in furthering education and careers, and exposes the entire student body to the breadth and importance of the scholarship being conducted across campus. Related link: Academic Excellence Showcase Master of Music in Contemporary Music degree Compositions Adam Bates, candidate for the Master of Music in Contemporary Music degree: He traveled to Columbia, SC, in April to participate in a performance of his composition, Refraction, at a meeting of the North American Saxophone Alliance, which was attended by 500 saxophonists from the U.S. and Canada. Refraction was commissioned by Tom Bergeron and Keller Coker, both WOU Music faculty members. It features saxophone and trombone soloists with a standard jazz orchestra. Bate's piece was accepted for presentation at the one evening performance devoted to jazz at the conference. Also in April, Teal Creek Music released "Bugbear: Whirled News Plays the Music of Adam Bates," a CD that features 10 of Bates' compositions. Whirled News is a band fronted by Coker and Bergeron. To hear excerpts of each piece, please go to TealCreekMusic.com. He was named WOU's Outstanding Graduate Student for 2008 (the award's inaugural year) and will speak at WOU commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 14. WOU graduate admitted to doctoral program Shannon Talbott, 2008 Master of Science in Education, Health Education: Accepted to University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Health Promotion and Education Ph.D. program and Graduate Teaching Assistantship. Begins the three to four year program in August 2008. 2006-2007 Prestigious research internship awarded to graduate assistant Shannon Talbott, a graduate student in the Health and Physical Education Division, was selected to participate in a summer 2007 research internship on poverty and adolescent risk at the University of Alabama School of Public Health. She worked on longitudinal research, administered annually since 1998, funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, National Institute for Drug Abuse, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study addresses challenges that face young people growing up in impoverished neighborhoods including violence, alcohol and drug use, sexual behavior, psychosocial development, and family dynamics. Talbott conducted field research of adolescents living in public housing and other very low-income neighborhoods in Mobile and Prichard, Ala. She had access to the data for academic purposes and planned to complete her master’s thesis using these data. This nationally competitive internship accepts only 20-30 students a year. Research on intimate partner violence impacts curricula Ingrid Adams (MS in Education: Health, 2006) presented a research paper at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) conference in Baltimore, MD, in March 2007. The paper, "Health care providers and intimate partner violence: Attitudes, beliefs, and education," was part of her master's thesis. The purpose of her study was to investigate the relationship between health care workers' attitudes about female victims of abuse and the providers' education about intimate partner violence. The results of her study gave evidence that medical schools and universities should provide comprehensive and continuous curricula about intimate partner violence to physicians, nurses, and other health care workers. The abstract of her study was published in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (February 2007, p. 23).
Contact Graduate Programs phone: 503-838-8597 \| or e-mail: graduateoffice@wou.edu
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