GSAC Chair, Woodring College of Education
Jasmine Balasa knew from 10 years old that she wanted to be involved in the field of education. After completing her TESOL certificate and undergrad at WWU, she realized she wanted to continue working with non-traditional students. She is now a second-year graduate student in the Adult and Higher Education program while working as an assistant ELL instructor at Bellingham Technical College.
Being a part of GSAC fulfills Jasmine’s desire to be part of the campus community and wants to work towards fostering collaboration between all the graduate schools and programs, and making changes as needed to support all students as much as possible.
Outside of school Jasmine loves to spend time in the beautiful outdoors kayaking and hiking, design tattoos for herself, cook new and delicious foods, and travel as much as possible!
Representative, Huxley College of the Environment
Aden Nevler is a first year graduate student in the Environmental Studies Department from Shoreline, Washington. He graduated from Western Washington University in 2017 with a BA in Energy Policy & Management along with a BA in Political Science. The focus of his research is Energy Policy and the topic of energy efficiency as it applies to Washington Residents. At WWU, he is a TA for courses in the Energy Department like Energy Efficient Design, Energy and the Environment, and Energy 101. He helped create the Energy Union club on campus and is working on bringing an Energy Tool-Lending Library to WWU. Outside of classes and work he is a big fan of the movies and can often be found watching films of all types, from Oscar nominees to Super Hero films.
Representative, College of Science and Engineering
Cory Hughes is a graduate student in the Geology Department studying planetary science. During his undergrad in Texas, Cory published research about the rock formations on the surface of Mars, and he hopes to continue doing so at WWU. Cory also looks forward to working with the university administration to empower and uplift all graduate students, who he thinks are integral to the university’s success.
Representative, College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Blake Corl-Baietti is an Exercise Science student and future Doctor of Osteopathy candidate, with a deep intrinsic drive to learn and help. His role in the GSAC is to serve, whether as a point of contact for information about GSAC, an aid to resolving a pressing issue, or a friendly ear to listen. Blake’s passions in life include music, great food, traveling, physical activities, and dogs :-). It is a privilege to be a part of GSAC and WWU. Let’s be great together!
“Bless the journey, practice gratitude, win the day.”
Representative, Woodring College of Education
Betty Anzaldua is a graduate student in the Adult Higher Education program at WWU. She maintains a full-time job at Whatcom Community College as a Work First Educational Navigator. She serves students who are in poverty and want to pursue higher education. Betty completed her undergraduate degree through Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary in American Culture Studies with a Minor and TESOL. Her primary focus is to move forward the work of race and pedagogy. Which includes researching topics of inequality, poverty, and social identity through multiple intersections.
Representative, College of Science and Engineering
Nathan Roueche spent several years as a technician for natural resource management agencies before returning to school. His inspiration to restart his education came while mapping tundra fires in the western Arctic and with it his first exposure to GIS. Ever since childhood his shelves and backpacks were stuffed with maps and field guides so the intersection of ecology/evolution and geography was a natural fit. After receiving his BS in Biology and certificate in GIS at Western in 2017, he enrolled in a graduate certificate program in remote sensing at Penn State University in the hopes of incorporating satellite imagery analysis into his Master’s research. Nathan is eager to explore the phylogeography and climate factors that influence snow algae communities past, present and future.
Representative, College of Science and Engineering
Jake Lawlor is a Master’s Student in WWU’s Marine and Estuarine Science Program working at Western’s Shannon Point Marine Center in Anacortes. After coming up to Shannon Point as an intern during his undergraduate degree in Texas, Jake was hooked on the diverse marine life of the PNW and came back as soon as he could. Jake now studies impacts of global change on early-life morphology and behavior of marine invertebrates around the Pacific, and will try his best to convince anybody that invertebrate larvae are the coolest things in the ocean. He’s currently studying larval stress response in temperate oyster species in Washington and tropical oyster species in Hong Kong. When he’s not running experiments in the lab, you can find him sea kayaking around the San Juan Islands, trying his hand at film photography, and traveling every chance he gets. Jake is excited to join GSAC to help improve the graduate experience for Western’s other mostly-out-of-Bellingham students.
GSAC Ex-Officio
Michael Barr, Graduate School Associate Dean
Megan Spiegel, Graduate School Program Manager
Want to be a Representative of your college? We need your voice! View the “Becoming a Member” page or contact the GSAC Chair for more information.