Mongolian
WWU - 2016
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Ambassadors
Day One
Our fearless leaders
Holly Diaz
I am faculty with the WWU Karen Morse Institute for Leadership, co-leading this study abroad program to Mongolia.
I have another position at the university, as an administrator for Residence Life, implementing leadership, training and assessment initiatives. In addition to these roles, I am also a full-time
pre-candidacy doctoral student in the Leadership and Change program through Antioch University. I consider myself a practitioner-researcher, someone who studies theory and research and how to practically apply this information for the common good. Last but not least, I am the mom of my awesome eight year old daughter, Ruby and wife to my compassionate husband, Abel. None of this would be possible without their support.
I am so excited for the opportunity to travel to Mongolia with a group of students and conduct research exploring Mongolian Women Leaders. This is truly a dream come true. I am looking forward to exploring Mongolian culture and the women who have contributed to cultivating it.
Karen Stout
Karen Stout, Ph.D. is the Director of the Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership and the Bowman Distinguished Professor of Leadership. This will be her second time visiting Mongolia and she is ecstatic about heading back to a country so full of history and culture! The only challenge Karen sees in traveling to Mongolia is in leaving her family for extended periods of time. But Karen’s so grateful that her family so supportive of her work and travel, which makes these kinds of trips possible!
Our students
Megan Duncan
I am in the last year of my Technical Theater major at Western Washington University. Since the fall of 2012, I have been taking theater courses in a variety of departments to have a well rounded technical basis. Most often, I find myself as a Stage Manager, who is basically the link between the director, the cast, and the designers; I enjoy cooperative roles that bring people together for a creative vision. I have also been working in video production for the past few years. I have certainly become more interested in film and photography in recent years. I enjoy the production of it all and ensuring others are ready for their debut. In my free time, I enjoy crafts, singing, and dancing.
I applied to this program because I was looking for more ways to feature my film and photography. The journalism aspect of study abroad and documenting the trip was fantastic and I loved Karen's lectures from Leadership Studies 101 in the winter of this past year.
Krista Wagner
I am majoring in Human Services and minoring in Leadership. This will be my fifth and final year at Western. I am interested in working with people and service. I have been interning with foster youth and children with disabilities. I am interested in learning about people experience and how people see the world in different ways. I wanted to come on this trip because I am interested in Women in Leadership and how we can learn from each other as women. I am excited to learn about Mongolian culture and share what I have learned with my family and peers.
Pollete Trana
As a Fairhaven Student I have titled my own major as Leadership in Sustainable Urban Ecology, with a minor in Leadership Studies. Essentially, it means that I want to have a job in a metropolitan city with a specific and passionate lens on environmental protection. I feel very fortunate to say this will be my second study abroad trip as an undergrad at Western. I was able to participate in service learning in Nepal and India last fall--rebuilding earthquake torn homes and volunteering in a remote school. But Mongolia was the original program I wanted to go on... Let's just say I'm very aware of how long passports take to be delivered now!
My mission is to fill up this passport now. I want to immerse in Mongolia's music, food and weather. I am excited to be with this group and represent Western, but most importantly I want to see the vast lands of Mongolia, and the women in charge of it all.
Schyler Duryee
I just got accepted into the Human Services program and I will be starting it this fall. I am also minoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and I am excited to incorporate my minor and major into a career that is to be determined. Another point of interest of mine is painting anything else hands on like crocheting. I have used my skills in crocheting to make hats and scarves for homeless people in the Seattle area. I also love animals so I'm looking forward to volunteering with my partner at a local animal shelter sometime in the near future.
I chose to apply to this study abroad in Mongolia because I really had two places in mind that I really wanted to go to for studying abroad and that was India or Mongolia. So when I got an email from Vicki Hsueh, the head of WGSS about going to Mongolia and interviewing women in leadership positions there I immediately filled out the application. I think this opportunity to be able to listen to other women's stories and experiences is something that I am very thankful for and it is such a great privilege to be doing this.
