Presentation in front of a school bus of touring attendees, in a field
CAHNRS Connections
July 2025

CAHNRS Connections July 2025

Newsletter brought to you by CAHNRS Student Success and Academic Programs.

July’s Main Event

Thousands Visited the CAHNRS Tent at Crave 2025!

Emily Libey and Brooke Stutzer dress in demin Coug outfits and dance and laugh at the Crave Festival.
The Crave logo

CAHNRS Student Success & Academic Programs featured WSU honey, Cougar Gold cheese, three flavors of Ferdinand’s Ice Cream, Cosmic Crisp® apples, and Animal Science provided beef sticks at this year’s Crave! NW Festival in Spokane Valley. And thank you to our Viticulture and Enology Dept. for providing and pouring wine all three nights! With an estimated 2300 attendees, as many as 2000 samples of each product were handed out, allowing participants to experience the magic of what our college has to offer!

WSU honey jar is open for sampling
Miguel Inzunza and Emily Libey hold up samples at the CAHNRS Crave Festival booth
Cougar Gold cheese samples in an official Cougar Gold can sit atop a bed of ice on a hot day, waiting to be snatched up and taste-tested at Crave Festival.
WSU wine is served at a booth at Crave Festival.
An aproned chef holds up an incredible pork dish at Crave Festival.
Cosmic crisp apples sit out sliced, never browning, waiting to be sampled at Crave Festival.

Line dancing and live music made the festival come even more alive!

A group of festival goers line dance in front of the live music band.
Learn More About Crave Northwest

CAHNRS Spirit

A presentation at one of the field days
Emily Libey's hair is the last part of her submerging into the pool as the caption reads "jump in the pool fully clothed or not be a CAHNRS coug", a snapshot of what's on the CAHNRS tiktok
A presenter speaks with a mike in front of field day attendees
An employee holds up a pen to toss it into a mug for a tiktok challenge, with the caption reading 'become a CAHNRS coug"

Highlighted Event Dates to Mark on Your Calendar

A Cougars tent with the CAHNRS tablecloth and our banner at the Crave event.

July 17 – 19, 2025

Crave Festival in Spokane – CAHNRS Hosted a Booth
The cougar statue in front of a giant Cosmic Crisp apple

August 11, 2025

Week of Welcome
Hundreds of students surround Nancy Deringer, helping hold the CAHNRS For All banner.

August 14, 2025

WOW ACK – CAHNRS Week of Welcome Academic College Kickoff in Ensminger Pavilion
Cougar statue with a large apple statue next to it.

August 18, 2025

First day of semester
Two presenters stand in front of their posterboard at a previous Top Scholars Science & Research Fair.

August 27, 2025

CAHNRS Top Scholars Science & Research Fair
A coloring-book style poster for Fall Festival, featuring sunflowers, pumpkins, and wheat harvest references.

September 4, 2025

CAHNRS Fall Festival – Spillman Plaza
The cougar statue in front of a giant Cosmic Crisp apple

September 6, 2025

Homecoming
Booths with smiling attendees for the cahnrs career fair.

October 6, 2025

CAHNRS Career Fair
Corey Ciochetti's smiling headshot wearing a suit and tie, leaning against a brick building on campus.

October 6, 2025

Keynote Address – ‘Be the Leader You Would Follow’ with speaker Corey Ciocchetti at the Lewis Alumni Center

Fall Festival – September 4th

A coloring-book style logo for Fall Festival, featuring sunflowers, pumpkins, and wheat harvest references. The text reads "Fall Festival" and "CAHNRS" with a cougar logo.

Bringing students, staff, and administrators all together? What better way than through our annual Fall Festival! Booths, Ferdinand’s ice cream, hot dogs, bingo, raffles, crawling creatures, and other surprises await on September 4th at 4:00 – 6:00pm. Who knows, you might even catch the incoming dean, Raj Khosla, scooping out ice cream!

We are ecstatic for anyone who would like to volunteer to lend a helping hand with tables & chairs, booths, and set-up the morning of, helping replenish snacks and waters, or assisting with takedown the day after. If you’d like to be a part of making the dream happen, please reach out to cahnrs.majors@wsu.edu and let us know to keep you in the loop!

The CAHNRS Top Scholars Program Kicks Off with Science & Research Fair on August 27th

The 2025 CAHNRS Top Scholars Program welcomes its newest cohort of first-year students to a year of research, mentorship, and professional growth. This initiative invites WSU Top Scholars who are CAHNRS majors to register and join the program. These students will connect with faculty, explore cutting-edge projects, and engage in enriching personal and community-building relationships that will shape their academic careers.

An Entomology representative holds a large furry tarantula in her hand, gently petting it with a huge smile on her face.

Science and Research Fair –
August 27, 5–7 pm in Ensminger Pavilion Highlights

  • 5–6 pm: Researchers will meet CAHNRS Top Scholars and recruit them for paid research roles associated with the Ignite Undergraduate Research portion of the program, which pays up to $1,500 in hourly wages.
  • Researchers will showcase their lab’s projects and facilities with a display table
  • Have one-on-one conversations with eager students ready to join their research
  • Forge interdisciplinary partnerships and strengthen our community
  • 6–7 pm: Open to all CAHNRS students to explore research, internship, and job opportunities
Register for the CAHNRS Science & Research Fair Here
An experimental lab setting where a professor teaches plant testing one-on-one.

Program Highlights for 2025-26 CAHNRS Top Scholars Program

  • No GPA requirement to remain in the Top Scholars community
  • Year-long calendar of workshops, professional development, networking events, and dinners to open and close out the year
  • Optional Ignite Undergraduate Research track with paid positions
  • Certificates of completion and scholarship opportunities for active participants
  • Access to faculty mentors and industry contacts to guide internships and job searches
Register for the Top Scholars Program Here

2025 Field Tours

Field day tour attendees stand in the back of a truck as they are transported to a day of education and fun.

Lind Field Day Tour

WSU hosted grain growers and industry members Thursday, June 12, at the Lind Dryland Research Station,  sharing the latest research on new grain varieties, innovative crop rotations, and other practices serving one of the nation’s driest grain-producing regions. Participants also heard from several speakers, including our Acting Dean, Scot Hulbert.

Lind Dryland Research Station
The Acting Dean, Scot Hulbert, speaks to the group in front of a podium on Lind Field Day.
A school bus transports folks to more field day activities.
Wheat is featured at one of the field days
The front of the WSU Wilke Research & Extension Farm with tractors and farm equipment

Wilke Farm Field Day Tour

This field day took place Thursday, June 26, at WSU’s Wilke Research and Extension Farm near Davenport, Washington. Participants were able to see equipment, hear field lectures, and learn more about the farm.

Find out more about Wilke Farm, including research, management, on-farm testing, weather, and resources for insects and weeds, at the facility’s home page.

Wilke Farm Home Page
A tractor featuring the WSU logo and flag.
A field close-up
The inside of the Wilke farm facility.
Canola flowers in front of the Wilke farm field day attendees.

Wilke Farm Field Day Topics Included:

  • Preplant herbicide application for winter annual grassy weeds
  • Weed control with herbicides and the Seed Destructor
  • Spring canola variety and agronomic practices
  • Peola production in the PNW
  • Winter wheat breeding for the intermediate rainfall zone
  • Does glyphosate impact soil and wheat microbiomes
Othello Research Farm potato field

WSU Potato Field Day 2025

Taking place June 26 at the Othello Research Farm, Potato Field Day showcased research and Extension activities that are specifically designed to keep Pacific Northwest potato growers competitive.

CSS – Othello Research Station
A man in WSU logos inspects the potato plant's leaves in the field.
Blossoms in the field and people in the background at the potato field.
A speaker presents with a posterboard with graphs on the topic of a Systems Approach for potatoes.
Small Grains WSU Events

SOAR: Student Outreach and Retention

The SOAR logo resembling a sun's rays, with text reading "Student Outreach and Retention" and SOAR.

CAHNRS flies high above the status quo with SOAR, a mentorship program designed to foster meaningful connection between student mentees and their faculty, staff, or graduate student mentors. SOAR stands for Student Outreach and Retention, a testament to the CAHNRS mission of helping students who are seeking guidance and support.

Providing such collaboration allows CAHNRS to grow as a community and to ensure students are able to see through their entire degrees under the protective wing of a program that helps them glide steadily through troubling winds. With the opportunity for mentorship comes invaluable educational, social, and professional development opportunity for the students.

See a full list of the SOAR members, meet the SOAR team, explore frequently asked questions, read student experiences, and learn more about the SOAR mission at the What is Soar? webpage.

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