Fourteen West Virginia University undergraduate students will receive academic and financial assistance to help them prepare for graduate programs as the result of winning a prestigious, national scholarship.
The WVU Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program has named them 2008 McNair Scholars. The students will receive academic stipends, faculty mentors, graduate school placement assistance and professional development opportunities to aid them in identifying and gaining admission into masters and doctoral programs.
These students have already achieved a great deal academically,said Betty Mei, assistant director of the WVU McNair Scholars Program.Now, as recipients of the McNair Scholarship, they will be afforded incredible opportunities to develop their professional skills, engage in research projects and be exposed to some of the countrys top academic programs as they decide where to pursue graduate work.
The 2008 McNair Scholars are John Armour , an English and business major from Morgantown; Ashley Barnes , a psychology major from Charleston; Jessica Domer , an English and womens studies major from Parkersburg; Nicholas Fagundo , an English major from Triadelphia; Mariana Freitas , a sociology and Chinese language major from Bridgeport; Deanna Hoard , a Regents Bachelor of Arts student from Morgantown; Jeffrey Mahaney , a philosophy major from Pennsboro; Anand Narayanan , a mechanical engineering and biology major from Morgantown; Luisa Padilla , an exercise physiology major from Morgantown; Jennifer Steele , a psychology, criminology and womens studies major from Ripley; Rita Snyder , a political science and womens studies major from Stow, Ohio; Kayla Tutalo , a communication studies major from Barrackville; Brandon Thomas , a public relations major from Charleston; and Yolanda Wiggins , a political science and womens studies major from Hyattsville, Md.
The McNair Scholars Program helps prepare first-generation college students and minorities underrepresented in graduate education for doctoral studies through independent research and other scholarly activities. The programs namesake was engineer, scientist and NASA astronaut, Ronald E. McNair, who was killed in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger explosion.
McNair Scholars also have an opportunity to travel to graduate schools across the nation. Through campus visits, students are able to meet with faculty members and learn about a variety of graduate programs and network with others in their fields of interest.
Faculty mentors and support staff at the University provide academic counseling and assistance as scholars apply to graduate programs. The program also teams participants with a student mentor who has participated in the McNair Scholars Program and is currently enrolled in graduate school.
Being named a McNair Scholar is a great honor, students say, and will open new doors of opportunity.
To me, McNair means opportunity,Wiggins said.I am ready and willing to accept lifes challenges and make many positive contributions to society. All I need is to be extended the opportunity to do so.
I believe that the McNair Scholars Program will equip me with the tools needed in order to succeed,she added,while reaching back and helping others find their niches as well.
The McNair Scholars Program is open to full-time WVU students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and sophomore status. Applicants must be first-generation and income-eligible or black, Hispanic American, American Indian or native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
For more information, visit http://www.wvu.edu/~mcnair/ .