{"id":32701,"date":"2026-06-30T15:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T22:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/connected-learning\/?p=32701"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:11:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:11:05","slug":"making-the-most-of-a-second-chance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/connected-learning\/news\/2026\/06\/30\/making-the-most-of-a-second-chance","title":{"rendered":"Making the most of a second chance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Thomas Purchas, returning to the University of Washington Bothell was more than a second chance. It became the start of a journey shaped by research, mentorship and discovery. After taking an econometrics course with Dr. Xiahua (Anny) Wei, he was encouraged to pursue an independent research project through the UW Bothell Summer Research Award, where he studied how extreme weather affects stock prices in U.S. energy firms.

That experience sparked a passion for research and opened doors beyond the classroom. Thomas went on to present his work at an international conference, earn the 2026 President’s Medal and receive direct admission to a Ph.D. program in Economics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas’ story highlights the impact of Research & Creative Projects<\/a> and Connected Learning<\/a> at UW Bothell, where faculty mentorship and hands on research help students explore new ideas, build meaningful skills and discover opportunities they never imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
continue reading thomas’s journey<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Thomas Purchas, returning to the University of Washington Bothell was more than a second chance. It became the start of a journey shaped by research, mentorship and discovery. After taking an econometrics course with Dr. Xiahua (Anny) Wei, he was encouraged to pursue an independent research project through the UW Bothell Summer Research Award,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":628,"featured_media":32702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,6],"tags":[],"school":[],"class_list":["post-32701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connected-learning","category-research-and-creative-projects-for-undergrads","category-student-cohorts-fellowships-and-awards"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Research and Creative Projects","email":"uwbur@uw.edu","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Connected Learning","email":"uwbocl@uw.edu","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nMaking the most of a second chance - Office of Connected Learning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/connected-learning\/news\/2026\/06\/30\/making-the-most-of-a-second-chance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making the most of a second chance - Office of Connected Learning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For Thomas Purchas, returning to the University of Washington Bothell was more than a second chance. 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