Staff News
Chemistry’s Employee of the Year: Two Decades of Making a Difference
Congratulations to Nikki Clark, our Chemistry Employee of the Year! Nikki’s journey began on August 29, 2005, during the second week of the fall semester—the same day Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, where her family lived. Starting a new job while worrying about loved ones made for a stressful first day, but Nikki persevered. She credits her success to a simple approach: being kind and greeting others with a smile.
What Nikki loves most about her role is working with students. “You never know who is going to walk through the door,” she says. She views every interaction as an opportunity to show students that someone cares and that they matter.
“She goes out of her way to help students and does so always smiling”
Nikki lives by the motto, “People will never remember what you said or what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” That philosophy is what inspired students and colleagues to nominate her for this honor. For more than two decades, Nikki has made Chemistry a welcoming place and has positively impacted countless student lives.
New Employee
Yizel Zayas is a Software Engineering major at Washington State University and has been an IT Technician with the Department of Chemistry since March 2026. In her role, she supports a variety of technical projects and day-to-day technology needs throughout the department. Yizel hopes to pursue a career as a software engineer after graduation. As a Mexican woman in STEM, she is passionate about encouraging more women and Latino/Hispanic students to explore opportunities in STEM and see themselves represented in the field. Outside of work, she enjoys learning new technologies and growing her skills in software and IT.
Farewell Miles and Ethan
Miles McKeown
Miles came to Chemistry in Fall of 2023, with his IT career well underway having already worked for Cisco, Amazon AWS, as well as a WA school district. When he chose to come to WSU to get his bachelor’s and was looking for work, his experience, personality, and professionalism made him an obvious choice. Miles left Chemistry in February 2026 to focus on his last year of study and prepare for an upcoming internship.
Ethan Knigge
More recently we wished good luck to Ethan, who graduated this past Spring with his bachelor’s in computer science. Ethan came to Chemistry in Fall of 2024 and was with Chemistry for nearly 2 years, always ready to lend a hand and help wherever needed, IT related or not. Ethan is currently working for a security company on track to join their IT Security division. We wish both Miles and Ethan the very best of luck on their new paths and thank them both for their work and dedication.
