(Update on Michael Pashkevich - He has just received notification that he has been awarded a Gates-Cambridge Scholarship for his Ph.D. work at Cambridge, starting fall 2017. He plans to study spider communities in oil palm plantations through the Insect Ecology Group in the Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, where he has already been granted admission.)

     Michael Pashkevich, a motivated young scholar and Honors senior here at Loyola, has been honored with a 2016 Goldwater Scholarship. “The Barry Goldwater Scholarship,” he explains, “is awarded to undergraduates intent on pursuing research careers in the STEM fields.” The Scholarship provides capable students from around the country with the opportunity to conduct field research.

     Pashkevich, a Biological Sciences major, proposed a project that works with diverse spider populations in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve in Belize. This research idea stemmed from his Honors thesis research, under the direction of Dr. Aimee Thomas, during which he has been working with “the indirect effects of white-tailed deer herbivory on southeast Louisiana spider diversity.”  

     But The Goldwater Scholarship is no easy feat. Only 250 Scholarships are awarded nationwide each year. Pashkevich emphasizes the invaluable help he received from Loyola’s faculty. He had several mentors, advisors, and professors who wrote his recommendations. He particularly wishes to thank Dr. Aimee Thomas, who he believes “is phenomenal not only as a mentor but also as an all-around human being. Truly, she's someone who embodies the magis and also foregrounds student development and mentorship as foci of her career.”

     In fact, Pashkevich applied for the Scholarship both his sophomore and junior years at Loyola, receiving a rejection the first time and the Scholarship the next. “I'd highly recommend any potential applicants to apply as sophomores,” he says. “This way, even if they fail, they are all the more prepared to apply again as juniors.”