Fifty-three women at the University of Wyoming were recognized at the sixth annual Own It! Awards ceremony Feb. 21. Seventeen honorees are affiliated with the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources.

Sponsored by Wyoming’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Wyoming INBRE (IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence) and the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, Own It! strives to recognize women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at UW. The celebration serves to help increase the visibility of an often-overlooked group in STEM, which can be fundamental in encouraging women to participate in science.

“Own It! was created to specifically recognize women in STEM on campus and in the larger Wyoming community who have done great things in STEM over the past year, so they could own their achievements and we could really highlight them for their successes in research, outreach, leadership, mentoring, and figuring out how to balance it all,” says Shawna McBride, director of the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium. “This year’s nominees, all 53 of them, are all amazing women who have accomplished so many great things in STEM, and Own It! gives us a chance to celebrate them.”

At the awards ceremony, female faculty, staff, students, and alumnae — with connections to multiple UW colleges and departments — were recognized.

Winners in the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources are listed below, along with with the category, department or major, and hometowns for students.

Overall: A woman who is deserving of celebration

— Brenda Alexander, professor, Department of Animal Science.

— Nicole Bedford, assistant professor, Department of Zoology and Physiology.

— Elizabeth Case, assistant professor, veterinary sciences, and director, Biocontainment Facility.

— Quiana Jeffs, zoology and physiology, Program in Neuroscience, hometown unavailable.

— Ema Lujan, zoology, Raleigh, N.C.

— Amy Navratil, Hank Gardner/Marilyn Fiske Associate Professor of Physiology.

— Eunsook Park, assistant professor, Department of Molecular Biology.

— Ashleigh Pilkerton, zoology and physiology, Albany, Ore.

— Sylvia Thiong’o, animal and veterinary sciences, Nairobi, Kenya.

Research: A woman who has made significant contributions to her field of research

— Michaela Kuzniar, animal science, Hanover, Ill.

— Erin Schwalbe, microbiology, Reno, Nev.

— Annie Walgren, molecular biology, Laramie.

Service: A woman who demonstrates service, leadership and mentoring among her peer group

— Rebecca Collins, botany, Loveland, Colo.

— Madison Davis, animal and veterinary sciences, Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan.

— Magda Garbowski, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Botany.

— Elizabeth Quigley, zoology and physiology, Ada, Okla.

— Kassandra Willingham, assistant lecturer, Department of Molecular Biology.

For more information and to see highlights of each featured woman, visit http://wyomingspacegrant.org/wimse/own-it-2023.

This post was originally published on UW News.