College of Arts and Sciences

Briana Abrahms, a University of Washington assistant professor of biology and researcher with the UW Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, has been named a 2023 Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering, according to an Oct. 16 announcement from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. As one of 20 new fellows across the country, Abrahms, who holds the Boersma Endowed Chair in Natural History and Conservation, will receive $875,000 over five years for her research.

In a paper published Sept. 6 in Physical Review Letters, an international team of researchers in the United States, Germany and France reported that a distinctive strategy they have used shows real promise to be the first approach to measure the mass of the neutrino. Once fully scaled up, their collaboration — Project 8 — could also reveal how neutrinos influenced the early evolution of the universe as we know it.

"To me, being a first-generation student means the ability to bring awareness to the only 3% of aged-out foster youth that go on to obtain a college degree. I aged out of foster care at 17 and college was something that felt unobtainable to me. By being a first-generation student, I can be a beacon of hope for foster youth, spread awareness about educational difficulties foster youth face, and break the cycle of trauma." - Sara Smith (B.S., Speech & Hearing Sciences, 2024)

"Transferring does not have to be a difficult or scary time. Make sure you are using every resource given. If you don't know where to look, that is what your advisor is for. Success for you is success for all those who made the resources available to use." - Reyna Smith (B.S., Speech & Hearing Sciences, 2024)

As a first-generation college graduate, my experience has had a profound impact on my approach to work and my connections with students and colleagues. I understand the unique challenges that first-gen students face, and I'm passionate about creating pathways for their success. I also feel a strong sense of kinship with colleagues who have similar backgrounds, and we share a deep commitment to supporting and empowering first-gen students.  - Travis Finney, Director of Development, College of Arts & Sciences

"First-generation students are pioneers. No one before us had the opportunity to do what we’re doing right now. It requires immense determination and resilience to continue moving forward into this wild unknown. Cultivate your support system, establish routines that nourish your mental, physical, and emotional health, and ask for help every time you need it. Remember: You are legitimate proof that anything is possible and you are worthy of success right now, as you are. Don't let anyone or anything keep you from achieving your dreams. You got this!" - Audrey Mikal (B.A., Sociology, 2025), Treasurer, First-Generation Leaders in Law 

"I would encourage first-gen students to never stop asking questions. I was often far too shy to do this during my undergraduate years. It took a long time to figure out how things worked and even longer to figure out how to succeed in academic spaces. There are UW employees whose sole role is to support you in this journey so find out who they are!" - Tasha Mosher, M.A. Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention & Treatment

"I would also tell students to not count themselves out. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take and there is a reason you got into college in the first place. You are capable of anything you may put your mind to, even if no one before you has done it" - Kaitlynn Lilly (M.S. Applied Mathematics, 2023), Ph.D. Applied Mathematics, 2027

Yasmin Garfias (B.A. Psychology, 2021), Graduate Student, M.A. Special Education with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis, 2025

"Having to pay for my college education also felt like I should always prioritize saving every penny for future mishaps. However, the UW experience is more than immersing yourself in textbooks; it is about connecting with others on campus and learning more about yourself through attending the institution. Obtaining a degree should be a joyful experience. Know that it's okay to take care of yourself and your health. Yes, you can definitely plan out that trip abroad and go to that concert after clocking out from your part-time job—it's all about balance. Enjoy being a UW student and pursue your wildest dreams." - Fani Medel Martinez (B.A. Communication, 2024)

When you hear a cover of a favorite song, comparisons are inevitable. There are obvious similarities – the lyrics, the melody – but there are also enough differences to make each version unique. Those deviations say more than you might expect. Maya Angela Smith, associate professor of French, introduces translation studies through the lens of the song "Ne Me Quitte Pas."

An empty wallet, a hairbrush, a diaper. These are just a few of the items left behind by migrants at the United States-Mexico border, photographed for a 2021 article in the Los Angeles Times. In this episode, Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Studies Diana Ruíz discusses how the same images can be used on both sides of the same debate. In this case, pro- and anti-immigration.

Who gets to be a superhero? What about a villain? It depends on where you look. In the 1940s, comic book villains were often distinguished from heroes through physical disability. That changed in the 1960s and 70s, when it became more common for heroes to be built around disability. In this episode, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures José Alaniz analyzes the physical depictions of superheroes and villains through the decades.

Picture a series of uniform mounds of earth, each about 6-feet high. Enclosing 50 acres, the mounds form an octagon that is connected to a circle. This is The Octagon Earthworks, located in central Ohio, and it’s one of thousands of Indigenous mounds across the eastern half of North America. Chadwick Allen is a professor of English and American Indian studies at the University of Washington, and he studies Native American earthworks and cultural erasure.

Centuries ago, writers depicted the natural world as terrifying and dangerous, no place for humans. But that fear, in the decades to come, gradually turned to appreciation, awe and joy, for poets and artists, sightseers and backpackers. This episode features Louisa Mackenzie, associate professor of Comparative History of Ideas.