Celebrating Senior Highlights from the Class of 2023
Allison Salvador | Burbank, CA
"Throughout the challenges of finishing senior year, applying to law schools, and more, Allison has been so involved at CCE and greets everyone with kindness. I'm sad to see her go but she is going on to great things no doubt!!"
Amber Pike | Snohomish, WA
"She has exemplified herself as a model student leader among all the others on campus. She is highly dedicated to her club involvement, as well as roles within housing and inspires others to put in a similar amount of work ethic and effort towards their own organizations."
Anisia Khammala | Tacoma, WA
"Anisa presence on Gonzaga's campus has made my college experience significantly better. When I first came to GU and saw her role as leader and someone who calls attention to the room as soon as she walked in inspired me. She plays an active role in UMEC, CCP, first year students and much more."
Bailey Harkness | Bellingham, WA
"Bailey has been an incredible student worker for the Music Department. She's thorough, proactive and has an unstoppable work ethic. Bailey majors in both the hard sciences AND the Arts at GU, and participates in the Bulldog Band, as well. She's a great teacher and leader amongst her peers and is always happy to help and go the extra mile."
Benjamin Brown | Portland, OR
"Ben is doing great work at the climate center and is an excellent student. He helped the climate center do a survey of over 1,000 Spokane residents about heat resilience and is helping the climate center analyze the data to make Spokane a more heat-resilient community. He also is a member of the cross country team. He plans to attend graduate school in the fall."
Brooke Harkness | Bellingham, WA
"Brooke is a senior Dance and Pre-Med/Bio majors. She has shown great leadership and has grown immensely at her time at Gonzaga."
Catherine Vaughn | Redmond, WA
"Catherine never fails to make all those around her laugh. She runs the Gu chicken nugget account, and she is so involved with Mission and Ministry. She invites those around her to be themselves and to laugh with her. She is a beautiful soul who also can’t go five minutes without saying 'Slay!'"
Clyde Twitty | Olympia, WA
"He plays at Den after Dark all the time and is a super genuine and solid guy."
Dagny Hadley | Sherwood, OR
"Dagny Hadley has shown herself to be an outstanding member of the Center for Lifelong Learning team and President of the Women in Business Club while managing tremendous adversity this year. As the President of the Women in Business Club, she has helped her team enhance their offerings to members and the public and partnered with Women Lead to share knowledge and skills with students. Additionally, Dagny is now in her second year working as a marketing and administrative intern for the Center for Lifelong Learning. Dagny's professionalism and experience was significant in creating the foundation for the Center last year, and she continues to be a tremendous asset. For example, using her experience from a summer internship with a marketing company, she has helped CLL develop strong processes and protocols for drip campaigns and nurture emails, as well as marketing guidelines for future interns. It is also important to note that she continued to be a reliable team member while going through a major crisis this fall. Her significant other was in a life-threatening vehicular accident at the start of the year and overnight, Dagny became a full-time caregiver, as well as a full-time student. She has managed all of this - school, work, extra-curriculars, and caregiving - with grace and patience. We have been so proud to see her grow as a person and student while part of Gonzaga and the Center for Lifelong Learning."
Dawson Oen | Issaquah, WA
"Dawson is a prominent leader on campus both as Program Director for New Venture Lab and a Board Member/officer for the Filipino American Student Union. In addition, Dawson has participated in club sports while pursuing a career in accounting, challenging himself since his freshman year. Dawson has been a mentor for me this past year and has taught me what it means to be a leader and a Zag."
Emma Feeney | Snohomish, WA
"Emma has been working on the C2C (coffee to career) project with the Northeast community center over the last two years. She connected local businesses with the center leadership to help build a coffee shop inside the center. it will be a great venue for professional training and provide job opportunities for women in the neighborhood."
Evan Nessen | Spokane, WA
"Evan is everywhere! He is a Embedded Tutor for HPHY 242 through Learning Strategies. He volunteers at a local elementary school. He shadows professionals in his future field and he is an exceptional student. Evan is the first one to volunteer to help out and always has a smile on his face. When he is on the schedule as a one-on-one tutor in the Learning Studio he is ALWAYS booked. He just has a way of explaining the concepts to his peers that they respond to and retain. Evan is one that will go out and set the world on fire."
Grant Plotner | West Linn, OR
"Grant works as a Climate Literacy Fellow at the Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment where he visits elementary and middle school classrooms to teach kids about the impacts of climate change and how they can make a difference. Grant's ability to engage with kids and share his love for the environment is evident in every interaction he has with students. He is a shining example of who I hope all Gonzaga graduates become, a person called to impact the lives of others for the better."
Haylee Pollard | Federal Way, WA
"Haylee is an amazing young scholar and person. She helped found a new student club on campus (SACNAS) which provides community and support to people of diverse identities. SACNAS is a national organization and the work Haylee did in bringing the chapter to campus will benefit our students for years to come. She also has been very active in the BRIDGE program, which helps students from underrepresented groups transition to life as a college student at GU. She is also the VP for BSU. All in all, she has made GU a better place over her four years here."
Hayley Nigrelle | Seattle,WA
"Hayley has been a key member of the Art Dept. team since her freshmen year when she began as a work-study student in the art studios. She was of enormous help to faculty during the early days of the pandemic in spring 2020, during the 2020-21 pandemic school year, and in the installation and preparation of shows at the Gonzaga University Urban Arts Center (GUUAC) over the last two years. She's one of the hardest workers and most mature students I've ever known and embodies so much of the Zag can-do spirit. She has been a steady, responsible presence in the department that will be sorely missed."
Izzy Girtz | Spokane, WA
"Worked in UMEC for 3 years under the social justice programming pillar. Planned great programs like the School to Prison Pipeline with the School of Ed. Now works in GSBA as the Advocacy Coordinator."
Jessica Elias- Gutierrez | Wenatchee, WA
"Jessica is my bridge mentor, i am a student of color and she has made the experience of being here at Gonzaga. She is one of the sweetest souls, she is extremely caring. She tends to overload her self but she will ALWAYS make herself available if i were to need her."
Kaitlin Le | Coeur d'Alene, ID
"Former AAU President, RA, and FASU Barrio Chair. Also works in CSI and Foley Library."
Malia Hanson | Seattle, WA
"Malia was a Student Leader this year at a brand new mentorship program with Gonzaga's Center for Community Engagement. This program occurs at the Gonzaga Family Haven which is a permanent housing apartment complex for families who were previously unhoused. She has provided so much support and passion into growing the program, even extending her commitment from one semester to a full year. We are so grateful for her service and are excited to see where her next steps post-graduation take her!"
Montse Gasca | San Jose, CA
"Montse's involvement with Mission and Ministry extends far beyond what one might see on paper. Upon first meeting Montse in the fall of 2021, she carried a sense of warmth and leadership conducting Mission and Ministry's infamous Search retreat. Since then, I've watched Montse lead with compassion, determination, and a great sense of humor. She is someone who immediately can become your friend. I don't know Montse's full story about her time at Gonzaga, but I know it will be worth sharing."
Natalie Siller | Scottsdale, AZ
"Natalie works as a student assistant in the mission and ministry office. Her role is to assist Meredith McKay with coordinating the Search retreat 4 times a year. At the start of this year, this retreat was struggling to recover from Covid, with low participation and a relatively small community. She has successfully rejuvenated the Search community with the help of the other SA, Megan, and the pro-staff coordinator, Meredith McKay. Today, Search is thriving- we fill up every retreat and fully staff the crew, and people talk about it! She leads with endless love and kindness and is the perfect embodiment of what Search, and to the greater extend Gonzaga, is all about."
Rod Gonzalez | Santa Ana, CA
"Rod was a Student Leader during the Spring semester at a brand new mentorship program with Gonzaga's Center for Community Engagement. This program occurs at the Gonzaga Family Haven which is a permanent housing apartment complex for families who were previously unhoused. After volunteering at the Gonzaga Family Haven over the summer of 2022, he came highly recommended by GFH's Director of Community. His passion and dedication for helping the youth at GFH find connections with college students has left numerous positive impacts on the growth of the mentorship program. We are so grateful for his service and are excited to see where his next steps post-graduation take him!"
Sarah LaCarubba | Marin County, CA
"Sarah is a passionate and dedicated senior who is making an impact on the lives of K-8 students in Spokane. Sarah serves as a Climate Literacy Fellow for the Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment. She visits elementary and middle school classrooms to teach kids about the impacts of climate change and they ways they can make a difference. Her enthusiasm and joy in the classroom is evident and she is the perfect example of who we hope the graduates of Gonzaga become."
Zachary Lee | Sammamish, WA
"Zach is an amazing RA. I spend a decent amount of time at his building and he is always friendly and welcoming. He seems to truly care about his residents and wants to make sure they have a good first year."