Word to the WIldcats, Season 7, Episode 1 kicks off with our two co-hosts Zaire and Molly engaging in a conversation around Health and Wellness ..read more

Ronnie Burris is a current senior at Central Washington University actively pursuing graduate school education in some of the top educational departments in the world. Ronnie has worked in a variety of different offices throughout his undergraduate experience including Housing and Residence Life, Orientation and Transitions Programs, and Student Leadership, Involvement, & Community Engagement/Diversity & Equity Center Mentoring. Ronnie hopes to further empower black students through the systems of education and the world ..read more

Dr. Cindy Bruns received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.  Her experience includes 20 years in university counseling centers, with specialty background in college student mental health, trauma, and the interaction between social justice and mental health.  Dr. Bruns has been at Central Washington University for nearly 13 years, serving first as Counseling Services’ Training Director.  She has been the Director of Counseling for CWU since 2019 ..read more

Professor Andrea Eklund has been at CWU teaching Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising for 15 years. Starting out with 25 students she solely built the program for 11 years to a thriving industry-relevant program with graduates working at small and large companies like REI, Eddie Bauer, Zumiez, Zulily, Amazon, and Nike to name a few. Andrea’s time in the industry as a Quality Engineer for Nordstrom’s private label division, Nordstrom Product Group gave her experience working with men’s, women’s, kid’s, at home, accessories, and shoes. Part of her position at Nordstrom included social responsibi ..read more

Makenna Thuringer is the President of CWU SISTERS and has been an officer on the board for SISTERS for three years and a member her freshman year. Makenna is a senior at Central Washington University majoring in Public Health with a specialization in Population Health. She intends to further her education after receiving her bachelor's degree by applying to MPH Graduate Programs around the US. She is heavily involved on campus and currently works at SLICE (Student Leadership Involvement and Community Engagement) as a student program leader and at the Wellness Center as a Peer Health Educator ..read more

Season 5, Episode 4 features Nathaniel McMillion with the CWU Black Student Union. Nate dives into conversations exploring Foundations of Leadership and the reality of being black in Ellensburg. During his time at Central, Nate has had the opportunity to serve as the student trustee, president for the Black Student Union, worked with multiple Equity and Service Counsel organizations such as CASA and Polycentral, and has worked in the Diversity and Equity Center since his sophomore year. He is majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Africana Black Studies. Nate's interest in Public Relatio ..read more

Episode 2 features Katie Parks. Katie recently joined the Wellness Center team as the Health Promotion Coordinator for Violence Prevention and Response. She received her B.S. in Psychology and Women & Gender Studies from Central Michigan University in 2019 and her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan in 2021. She has previous experience working in the field of violence prevention and response and is very passionate about this work. Katie takes pride in offering compassionate, trauma-informed services to survivors and working to create a healthy and safe campus envir ..read more

Season 5 kicks off with two members of the Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH) club. Bianca Sanchez and Andrea Gullien-Hernandez are members of PUSH and dive into an engaging conversation around normalizing needs. Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH) is a national effort to encourage college and university presidents to commit to fighting hunger. At the urging of faculty, staff, and students the previous CWU President, James Gaudino, signed the commitment in 2015. The CWU chapter is committed to reducing hunger and resource insecurity on campus. PUSH is a combined effort from students ..read more

Season 4, Episode 4 is an ENCORE episode from Season 2 featuring Teresa I. Francis, J.D., LL.M. (aka Divine). Divine is an Associate Professor at Central Washington University in the Department of Law and Justice. She was born and raised in the Bronx. As a young person, she waited in the hallways of New York City night court awaiting her mother’s arraignment.  At eighteen, she fought in family court to win custody of my younger siblings.   Divine’s past family issues permitted her to share her first-hand vivid stories about urban life with students and the community. Her life ex ..read more

Emma Cottle is a 2019 Central Washington University graduate with a major in elementary education and minor/certificate in accessibility studies. Following graduation, she accepted and has taught Kindergarten in the Puyallup School District. She is currently wrapping up her second year of teaching. Her focus in the classroom is to create a safe space by offering students and their families an interdisciplinary approach of accommodation and individualization to ensure each student will thrive, and to foster a love of life-long learning. She practices being a lifelong learner herself, by continu ..read more