University of Washington

Pro tip: Wearing purple instantly makes you 100% more awesome. Try it tomorrow for and report back results.

Congratulations to University of Washington grad, Hermona Girmay, who has been crowned Miss Washington 2024. 🎉 Hermona graduated cm laude from the UW School of Public Health with a minor in bioethics.

She is a first-generation Eritrean-American, and has drawn inspiration from her family's journey as refugees to pursue a career in global health. 👑 💜

Test test, is this thing on? 🎤
Announcement: Dubs is the gooddest boi. We will not be taking any questions. 💜



📷: UW Photo, Feb. 2024.

A game-changing breakthrough at the University of Washington could help slash cancer deaths by half by 2047. Backed by up to $21 million from the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative, UW is developing cutting-edge, AI-powered technology to help surgeons ensure no cancer cells are left behind during tumor removals. The future of cancer treatment is happening right here on our campus. -- https://bit.ly/4cDmnDF

Why not celebrate by reading some beautiful words by 24th U.S. Poet Laureate and UW grad Ada Limón?

Lover
By Ada Limón

Easy light storms in through the window, soft
edges of the world, smudged by mist, a squirrel’s

nest rigged high in the maple. I’ve got a bone
to pick with whomever is in charge. All year,

I’ve said, You know what’s funny? and then,
Nothing, nothing is funny. Which makes me laugh

in an oblivion-is-coming sort of way. A friend
writes the word lover in a note and I am strangely

excited for the word lover to come back. Come back
lover, come back to the five and dime. I could

squeal with the idea of blissful release, oh lover,
what a word, what a world, this gray waiting. In me,

a need to nestle deep into the safe-keeping of sky.
I am too used to nostalgia now, a sweet escape

of age. Centuries of pleasure before us and after
us, still right now, a softness like the worn fabric of a nightshirt

and what I do not say is, I trust the world to come back.
Return like a word, long forgotten and maligned

for all its gross tenderness, a joke told in a sun beam,
the world walking in, ready to be ravaged, open for business.

From “The Hurting Kind” by Ada Limón
(Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2022).
Copyright © 2022 by Ada Limón.

The Big Ten is getting a little more pawsome! And the University of Washington is helping to make this conference even more of a powerhouse. With the addition of the UW, the Big Ten represents over 520,000 students and 5.7 million alumni.

More from UW President Ana Mari Cauce: https://www.washington.edu/president/2024/08/02/uw-joins-the-big-ten/

Chasing the summer light. ☀️

UPDATE: Current University of Washington student Jonas Ecker and recent UW graduate Aaron Small have made Husky history by qualifying for the Olympic finals in Men’s Kayak Double— and it's the first time in 24 years a USA entry has reached this final. They finished 8th in the world.

What's even more incredible? Neither Jonas nor Aaron were varsity athletes at UW—they trained for their Olympic debut in their spare time while pursuing their degrees. Jonas is studying Marine Biology and Chemistry, aiming to graduate in 2025, while Aaron, who earned his degree in Oceanography with a minor in American Sign Language, races with waterproof hearing aids to assist with his hearing loss. The two have been roommates during their time at UW and often train at Green Lake near campus.

Their journey is nothing short of inspiring, and we couldn't be prouder of their hard work and dedication. 💜💛

Two University of Washington Huskies are making their Olympic debut in Paris, and you might not have heard of them. Neither Jonas Ecker nor Aaron Small are varsity athletes, but their incredible journey has taken them to the world's biggest stage in men's sprint kayak.

Jonas is a current UW student studying Marine Biology and Chemistry, while Aaron just completed his degree in Oceanography. Together, they form the American entry in men’s sprint kayak doubles. Initially training together for the 2028 Olympics in LA, they surprised the kayaking world by qualifying for Paris. Aaron is also making history as the first kayaker with a hearing disability to compete in the Olympics, racing with waterproof hearing aids. He minored in American Sign Language at UW.

Jonas and Aaron have been training together in Seattle for a decade and have been roommates the past three years as they've been working on their degrees at UW. Today, they qualified for the semifinals and will race again on Friday, aiming for a medal. Let's cheer them on, Huskies!

University of Washington rowing alumni set a record for our program with 11 total medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. On the final day of rowing, former UW Captain Jacob Dawson won gold with Team Great Britain in the Men's Eight, Gert-Jan Van Doorn won silver with the Netherlands, and four Huskies, coached by current UW rowing head coach Michael Callahan, brought home bronze for Team USA — America's first medal in Men's Eight since 2008.

If "UW Rowing Alumni" were a country, it would be sitting in 12th place on the overall Olympic Medal Table. 🏅 -- https://bit.ly/3LRfLXg

It's official. The University of Washington is now part of the Big Ten and the conference officially spans from coast to coast. Good morning from Seattle! -- https://gobiguw.com/

Step into the University of Washington's Suzzallo Library and prepare to be spellbound! The second-floor Reading Room, with its towering stained glass windows and intricate details, is a must-see. Just remember that silence is golden here—perfect for Hogwarts or Huskies in study mode.

Sixteen current or former University of Washington rowers are competing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. A Husky Rowing alum has won a medal in each of the last six Olympiads. 🐾 -- https://gohuskies.com/feature/2024-summer-olympics

The UW has been awarded $50M to lead a U.S. research center dedicated to bolstering national research security.

The grant, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), will help establish a national infrastructure and collaborative partnership of academic institutions, nonprofits and businesses, engaging them in the design, development and delivery of capabilities and information that will be used to safeguard the U.S. research investment.

Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE)

https://www.hcde.washington.edu/news/article/2024-07-24/nsf-secure

85-year-old Winifred Pristell is not just a powerlifting powerhouse with 23 world records—she's the only lifter her age competing in the United States. Winnie is also a well-known face at the Sports Medicine Center at Husky Stadium on the University of Washington campus, where she works with doctors who help keep her in top form. -- https://bit.ly/3zWFT0c

Seattle summers... 😍

LEGO mania strikes Husky Stadium! 🤯

Shane has been a lifelong UW fan (if that wasn't clear from the pics). We asked him a bit about his passion for the Huskies:

"My dad grew up here in Seattle before there was professional football, so the Huskies were his team, and they became my team as a young kid," writes Shane. "I've been to multiple Rose Bowls, I've traveled around the country going to games, and it's always been my biggest personal passion, so as my daughter and I started building LEGO together a few years ago it was always something I wanted to come back to."

Have a restful and safe Fourth of July, Huskies! 🎆 🎇

The University of Washington is ranked No. 7 in the world on the 2024 U.S. News Best Global Universities list just released. The UW also holds the No. 2 spot among public institutions in the United States. 💜🐾 -- https://bit.ly/3L4fY9j

Sometimes, life-changing journeys start by accident. Simon Njoroge came to UW Tacoma from Kenya and accidentally ended up in an engineering class instead of a physics course due to a mix-up with the floor numbers. Now, he's the first in his family to earn a college degree, and he did it in mechanical engineering. -- https://bit.ly/4chsC0v

Soak up all the sun 🌞 while you can PNW and don't forget your sunscreen! 😆

📷 : UW Photo / Alex Alspaugh / April Hong / Mary Levin / Raymond Smith

Dubs' favorite person is whoever has the food, his weakness is cheese 🧀 and his favorite trick is waving 🐾 and "woo woos". He is the goodest boy and an Alaskan Malamute! Harry, on the other paw, is a Husky! See those blue eyes? 👁️👁️

Summery vibes on campus. 😎 🌞 🐝 💐

University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce announced Wednesday that she will step down from her leadership role at the conclusion of her second five-year term in June 2025 and return to her faculty position. In her upcoming final year in office, Cauce said she is committed to advancing the work of the UW and ensuring a smooth transition. The impact of her presidency has touched all corners of campus life, enhancing access to higher education for students, advancing research and patient care, uniting disciplines to address global challenges, and fostering the UW’s relationships with communities near and far. President Cauce also championed the Husky Promise, expanding access to higher education for all eligible students in Washington, leading to record increases in enrollment.

Manpreet Kaur Kalra graduated with a Master of Jurisprudence in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington School of Law. 🎓 She received the Academic Excellence Award and served as a Sustainable Business Law Fellow and as a Hazelton Fellow.

Manpreet is passionate on bridging the gap between human rights and legal mechanisms to enhance corporate due diligence. She will continue to work in the field of business and human rights as a social impact advisor and working with non-profit Global Rights Advocacy as a business and human rights fellow. 💪

Congratulations, Manpreet! 🎉 💜

A first-gen student from East Wenatchee, Washington, Alexis Moreno is a graduate of University of Washington Foster School of Business in marketing and information systems, and was part of various organizations like the Omega Delta Phi and Kappa Psi Professional fraternities. 🎓

Growing up, he experienced the hardships his family faced in the agricultural industry. With his degree, Alexis hopes that he can support local minority businesses in eastern Washington to improve treatment and resource accessibility for minority communities and install a safe and inclusive working culture. 💜

Congratulations and well done, Alexis! 🎉

Last week, Linda Allen, class of 2024, showed no matter where you are in life, a college degree is attainable.

Allen started college in 1959 in West Virginia, completing a certificate of dental hygiene and working as a dental hygienist for six years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. She later worked full time. Two years ago, she enrolled in the Integrated Social Sciences (ISS) online bachelor’s degree program in the UW College of Arts & Sciences.

Congratulations, Linda! Whether you know it or not, you're an inspiration to many! 🤩



https://artsci.washington.edu/news/2024-05/never-too-late-graduate