91制片厂

Under-represented Students Find Confidence (and Funding) to Pursue Advanced Degrees

Cathleen Turner 鈥�12 is headed to the University of Rhode Island this fall to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in chemical oceanography.

That wasn鈥檛 always the plan. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have considered going to graduate school without McNair,鈥� says Turner, an environmental science major who participated in the McNair Scholars Program at 91制片厂. Part of the national Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (named for the black astronaut and physicist who died in the 1986 Challenger disaster), the program aims to encourage students from under-represented groups to pursue doctoral studies and enter academia.

Since it began operating at 91制片厂 in 1991, the program has played a key role in shaping the post-college plans of some 260 students 鈥� minorities and, especially, those with high financial need whose parents lack bachelor鈥檚 degrees.

For Turner, a first-generation college student and one of 11 McNair Scholars who graduated last Saturday, the program鈥檚 research focus was especially important in helping her decide to attend graduate school. After her sophomore year, she participated in an intensive two-month summer session on campus (for which McNair students receive a $2,800 stipend plus room and board) that allowed her to work on a self-designed research project with a faculty mentor. Under the guidance of Matthew Davis, associate professor of hydrogeology, she examined how land-use changes over many years had affected water quality in the Lamprey River Watershed.

She鈥檇 become interested in the issue after visiting relatives in Ecuador鈥檚 gold-mining region, where she heard about water-related conflicts between miners and locals, saw trash dumped into a river, and experienced periods without running water. A course taught by Davis (called Water 鈥� How Much Is Enough?), which she took her first semester at 91制片厂, also made her more aware of water issues. 鈥淚 wanted to do something about the problem in Ecuador 鈥� or at least do something related to that,鈥� she says.

During her junior year, she learned through McNair of a program called SURGE (Summer Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering) at Stanford University. Last summer, she traveled to California, where she studied the role of microorganisms in producing nitrate, an important step in the nitrogen cycle in Monterey Bay.

Turner isn鈥檛 yet sure whether she鈥檒l get her Ph.D. However, she says the McNair program introduced her to the possibility of working as a scientist at a college rather than at a company and exposed her to the world of academia. 鈥淚鈥檓 more confident about entering this different world because of McNair.鈥�

Of the nearly 260 McNair Scholars in the program鈥檚 first two decades at 91制片厂, more than 100 have earned master鈥檚 degrees and 38 have received doctoral or professional degrees. This academic year, a $270,000 federal grant (along with a 32 percent match from the university) financed 34 91制片厂 McNair Scholars and served an additional 34 first-year participants through advising, networking and academic seminars. Because of government budget cuts, however, fewer universities will receive funding for McNair next year 鈥� and that means the program鈥檚 future at 91制片厂 isn鈥檛 assured.

Living the McNair Dream

For now, though, the program is celebrating its twenty years on campus by sending a new crop of graduates to do advanced study. When Matthew Richards 鈥�12 applied to the McNair program as a freshman, he wasn鈥檛 convinced that graduate school would be in his future. Among his reasons: he wasn鈥檛 sure where he鈥檇 get the money for tuition, and he was afraid he wouldn鈥檛 be able to handle it academically.

Three years later, Richards, who received a B.S. in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport studies, plans to earn a master鈥檚 degree in exercise science with emphasis in sport performance at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. He says the McNair program changed his view of graduate school, showing him that it could be tailored to his interests. He also received a McNair Fellowship that, along with a graduate assistantship, will provide full financial support while he pursues his degree. Perhaps most important, his success in the McNair program helped him realize that he could do well in graduate school.

鈥淚 tell my friends that I鈥檓 living the McNair dream 鈥� going through the McNair program, completing it, and getting full funding,鈥� Richards says.

Richards was born and raised in Worcester, Mass., after his parents emigrated from Jamaica with his older sister. 鈥淢y parents moved to the States for a better life and more opportunities,鈥� he says.

His father has no post-secondary education; his mother took a few courses at a community college but did not earn a degree.

For his research project, Richards, a four-year intramural basketball player at 91制片厂, naturally turned to his longtime passion, sports. Working with Associate Professor of Kinesiology Karen Collins, Richards examined whether high school coaches who took part in a coaching seminar reported improved confidence in their abilities. 鈥淐onducting research on high school coaches was dear to me because, like many students I talk to, I did not have the greatest high school coach experience.鈥�

Ultimately, the study revealed no significant change after the seminar, most likely because of a small sample size. However, the experience taught Richards how to read and critique scholarly articles, how to write for an academic audience, and how to present his work to others, as he did in April at a McNair symposium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

And this spring, he got published for the first time when his article about the coaching study appeared in 91制片厂鈥檚 online undergraduate research journal. 鈥淚 never dreamed for one second that was something I could do,鈥� he says.

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