VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Creative Media and Digital Culture program at Washington State University Vancouver has received $10,000 from the Northwest Wine and Food Society to support program needs and student fellowships.

Four students who received $1,500 fellowships for tuition and other needs are creating a website, logo and social media promotions for the society, collaborating over the web on Zoom and Slack to complete the work by mid-June. They began the 10-week project in March, just days before the state of Washington’s “Stay Home. Stay Safe.” order went into effect, and students left the campus.

The students are Jakeob Maygra, who serves as multimedia designer; Mykell Sloan, social media promotions specialist; Elaina Sundwall, web developer; and Andrew Thompson, content developer. Maygra, Sundwall and Thompson are digital technology and culture majors. Sloan graduated this spring as a communications major with a digital technology and culture minor. Dene Grigar, director and professor in the CMDC program, is the project’s faculty mentor.

Founded in 2006, the Northwest Wine and Food Society raises funds for food and wine education, and research in Southwest Washington. It holds several high-profile events each year, such as the Robert Burns Supper, and supports WSU Vancouver’s Hospitality Program, Clark College’s Culinary Institute and the Skills Center of Clark County. Donors since 2008, NWFS was instrumental in getting the Hospitality Business Management program to WSU Vancouver through their philanthropy.

The CMDC program integrates research and teaching in an intellectually diverse, technologically innovative experience, applying inter- and transdisciplinary approaches that foster civic engagement from local-to-global contexts in the areas of digital humanities, media art, media communication, media studies and information systems.

About WSU Vancouver

As one of six campuses of the WSU system, WSU Vancouver offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations. 

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