Family and Consumer Sciences
Graduate Students (Current)

Child and Family Studies
            Human Nutrition and Food
            Textiles and Merchandising

Textiles and Merchandising

ANN WASSERBERGER – biographical sketch

I am a native of Lusk, WY. I received an Associate's Degree in Business Management from Casper College in 2005. Continuing my education at the University of Wyoming I earned a BS in Family & Consumer Sciences in the Textiles and Merchandising option with a minor in Apparel Design in 2007. 

After two years of continuously being inspired by the amazing wearable art of the faculty in the department I decided to pursue a Master's Degree (Textiles and Merchandising option). My thesis work is studying what influences fiber artists’ inspiration. I am also actively working on creative scholarship. I have submitted designs to the American Quilter’s Society/Hobbs Bonded Fibers Fashion Show and Competition, Make it Yourself with Wool, International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA), and American Association of Family and Consumer Science (AAFCS) competitions. In 2007, my "A Garden Walk" was accepted to the international American Quilter’s Society/Hobbs Bonded Fiber competition. My three piece wool outfit, "Wholee Semester," placed second at the Wyoming State Make it Yourself with Wool competition in 2007. 

I am currently anticipating results of acceptance to AAFCS and the 2008 American Quilter’s Society/Hobbs Bonded Fiber competitions. I have seen a new light for my career while attending the University of Wyoming. My new goal is to continue my education, earn a Doctoral degree and ultimately become a faculty member in a fashion/design program.

 Human Nutrition and Food

ALEKSANDRA KUZMANOV – biographical sketch

I graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Belgrade, Serbia in 2004. After two years' experience as a general practitioner I was convinced that a good physician must insist on prevention. Thus my career goal changed and I enrolled in the College of Agriculture with the intention of receiving an MS in Human Nutrition.

During my Med. school studies, I was awarded several different scholarships and took part in international conference presentations. In addition to my academic background and extensive internship, I gained valuable experience through myconstant contact with patients, covering a wide range of diseases and afflictions. My responsibilities included examining patients on a daily basis, taking their histories, ordering laboratory tests and other diagnostic procedures, prescribing and administering medications, as well as providing emergancy care. However, despite my enthusiasm, I realized I needed to dedicate more time and resources to prevention. As a graduate assistant at the University of Wyoming, I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in scientific research and promote nutrition as a critical part of prevention and disease treatment.

My current interest focuses on the ovulatory problem of PCOS in women, a common cause of female infertility. My MS research under the guidance of Dr. K. Shane Broughton will focus on the influence of a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids on establishment of normal ovulation in women with PCOS and the potentail for fertility improvement.

JOSEPH OTIENO OKOMBO - Biographical sketch.

I am a Kenyan national from the Luo community on the western side of the country. I always intended to pursue further education after my first degree (BSc. Food Science and Technology, University of Nairobi, Kenya 2002). This came true when I was offered a chance to join the University of Wyoming for a Master’s degree for which I am very grateful. It is quite an experience to study in a foreign land in a place where people are so welcoming like Wyoming.

BRIEF WORK HISTORY:

Before joining the University of Wyoming, I worked with a vegetable processing company, Frigoken Company, which dealt in green and yellow French beans for export market. Once harvested, they were transported to the factory in company refrigerated trucks, packaged and finally retorted (thermal processed) in preparation for the shipment to the European markets as shelf-stable, ready-to-eat vegetables.

RESEARCH POSITION:

I am a graduate student in Food Science and Human Nutrition where my adviser is Prof. Michael Liebman. My lab research area involves the study of dietary and urinary oxalates. Oxalates are found in various foods with the levels depending on food type. Hyperoxaluria, excretion of ≥45mg/day in urine, is a predictor of complications associated with kidney stones and other metabolic disorders. So far I have completed oxalate analysis of various food samples. I am helping in a study where volunteers are given supplements of citrate (calcium citrate) and observed for the amount of oxalate excreted in urine. Calcium citrate is known to reduce the amount of insoluble calcium oxalate in the body. My research will focus on the effects of probiotics on oxaluria. This involves the use of GRAS (generally recommended as safe) bacterial cultures to degrade oxalates. We will be testing the efficiency of these cultures to degrade oxalate in vitro and in human volunteers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Fun and other activities - Watching live games when opportunity and time allow, watching action movies at home, listening to all kinds of music with a particular liking to ‘ohangla’ (luo traditional music) and other contemporary luo music. I read a vast collection of novels, with a particular interest in history and international relations.

KENTZ WILLIS – Biographical sketch

I grew up in northern Montana and graduated from Lovell (WY) High School in 1998.  I received my B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science from South Dakota State University, where I also competed for the university wrestling team.  I’m currently working towards my master’s in Food and Human Nutrition here at the University of Wyoming under the direction of Dr. Larson-Meyer.  My research interests are the effects of exercise and nutrition on appetite, metabolism, and immune system function.  I enjoy spending time outdoors with my fiancé Lindsey and our two dogs, and will be racing this spring for the UW cycling team.

Child and Family Studies

AMANDA HEARNE – Biographical Sketch

I was raised on a small farm/ranch in southeastern Idaho and moved to Laramie to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science with a Production Option, graduating from UW in 2004.  I met.  I consider Laramie to be home because it is near my husband’s family since he is a Laramie native, my mother’s family, and not far from Idaho.

For fun, I also hold a certificate in Nail Technology from Idaho State University which started as a way to pay for school, but turned into a nice hobby/side job.

I am currently the Project Coordinator for Wyoming AgrAbility, a program intended to assist farmers and ranchers and their families who have disabilities in the hopes that they can continue to farm and/or ranch. 

I have spent the past three years working in various aspects of the disability education which is not where I ever pictured myself working, but I’ve have found it enlightening and enriching field.  

Though my field of study has not been clearly defined, but I am considering pursuit of my interest in consumer issues.  I am very interested in Financial Literacy in secondary education, but am still working on details.

I chose this UW program because my work prompted my interest in pursuing a higher degree in family relations.  Living in Laramie and working at UW, as well as my experience here as an undergraduate, made the University of Wyoming the obvious choice to further my education. 
 

CAROLINE SOPHIE OMOLO – Biographical Sketch

My name is Caroline Sophie Omolo from Nairobi, Kenya (East Africa). I got my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Nairobi, Kenya before coming to the US for my graduate studies. Pursuit of graduate studies has become an important tool for rising to the ever increasing challenges of the modern world. These challenges imply that attainment of the first degree alone can no longer be viewed as an end in itself but rather a preparatory stage for both intellectual and career development. Moreover the intricate nature of the current world problems calls for a high level of training in every area of professional engagement. My interest in graduate studies has therefore been motivated by the aspiration to develop a strong and dynamic research career in the area of early childhood development within the context of physical, cognitive, health, social and emotional development of the child. My current research interest focuses on examining the teaching staff efforts that lead to greater father involvement in early childhood programs. The purpose of my ongoing thesis work is twofold: 1) to examine early childhood educators’ efforts to involve fathers in their programs, and 2) to determine which program efforts lead to greater father involvement.

Just like any important choice in life, the place one chooses to pursue graduate studies is of paramount importance. My decision to choose the University of Wyoming was motivated by a host of different factors. I was attracted to the M. Sc-Family and Consumer Science/Early Childhood Development program because it presented the right experience that I felt fit perfectly with my personal needs as well as my professional goals. I was excited about the program’s direction and its emphasis on practical application not forgetting the competencies and excellent reputation of the professors. The school setting has provided an important geographical and cultural change suitable in providing me with a different experience and expanding my world view. I am aware of the superb reputation of the department and the school in general and my conversations with a number of people in the Laramie community served to deepen my interest in attending the school. I can proudly say that I do not regret being a part of this department.

CORINNA SEELEY – Biographical Sketch

My name is Corinna Seeley.  My family roots are in northeast Nebraska, but I grew up mostly in South Dakota.  I married a Wyoming native in 2006 and now consider “The Equality State” to be my home.  I graduated with a degree in teaching from the University of South Dakota because I wanted “to make a difference in the world.”  Now, I am pursing a master’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Child and Family Studies because I see a need to make a difference in the lives of families, the place where I believe foundational elements of all human relations intersect.  The UW FCSC Department is helping me realize this dream and to meet that need. 

My interests have led me to women’s access to healthcare and the impact this has on the family system.  I recently worked with the Wyoming Health Council (2006-2007) where I was afforded the opportunity to help facilitate a qualitative research study, which concerned itself with the health experiences of rural/frontier women in Wyoming, a collaborative study with the UW School of Nursing, Dr. Susan McCabe, principal investigator.  The results of this study were presented at the “Wyoming Women’s & Girls’ Health Summit” in Cheyenne (June 2007) and at the “National Rural Women’s Health Conference” in Washington, DC (August 2007).  I hope to further this study in my thesis work as I am drawn to qualitative research and its rich data.  The stories one hears are compelling and powerful, and certainly it is intriguing to see how these stories fill in the gaps where quantitative data simply cannot speak.