鈥淯W Chicas鈥� team members Alexis Brendible, Veronica Rodriguez, Yesenia Rosales, and Erica Chavez Santos are the fall quarter 鈥淪cholarly, Meritorious Achievement Requires Teamwork鈥� (S.M.A.R.T.) Challenge champions.聽 As winners of the challenge, the 鈥淯W Chicas鈥� claimed the top prize over five other teams and will split a $1,000 scholarship.
Members of team 鈥淯W Chicas鈥� are all science majors with ties to Eastern Washington.聽 Santos, team captain, is a neurobiology major from Brewster, Wash.聽 Brendible is a physiology major from Sumner, Wash., and Rodriguez and Rosales, both neurobiology majors, are from Royal City, Wash. and Cashmere, Wash., respectively.
The S.M.A.R.T. Challenge is not a 鈥渃ontest,鈥� but a new way of thinking about how to achieve long-term educational and career goals.聽 Consequently, members of the OMA&D freshman and sophomore Challenge teams receive points by engaging in activities that will help each member attain academic success including group study; participating in professor office hours; meeting with advisors on a regular basis; participating in workshops and social events; and participating in research and volunteer experiences.
The next S.M.A.R.T. Challenge will occur spring quarter, 2012.