Latest news with #McNairScholarsProgram
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Bemidji State students attend Student Leadership and Advocacy Symposium
May 1—SEATTLE — Bemidji State University students recently showcased their undergraduate research at the 2025 Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership and Advocacy Symposium, held April 14-16 at the University of Washington. The event, honoring the legacy of the late Gabriel E. Gallardo, brought together students from across the country to share their work, build networks and celebrate the impact of student research and advocacy. Hosted annually by the University of Washington Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, the symposium serves as a key platform for TRIO McNair Scholars and other underrepresented students in higher education. Representing BSU, the students presented research across a range of disciplines. Kaylee Schmidt, mentored by Judith Zatkin, examined how Participant Demographics Influence Perceptions of Prisoners. Alexia Waller, under the guidance of Shannon Norman, explored The Psychological Effects of Sport-Related Injuries on NCAA Division I Student-Athletes. Quincy Mabin, mentored by Travis Ricks, presented findings on The Willingness to Attend Athletic Events and Its Effect on Mental Health and Well-Being. Damon Cooper, working with Jacob Haus, investigated Scavenger Activity on White-Tailed Deer Carcasses; Implications for Prion Dispersal in Northern Minnesota. Piper Jaakola, mentored by John Gonzalez, shared research on Cultural Connectivity: Enhancing Academic and Personal Success for Native American Students. The BSU McNair Scholars Program, named in honor of astronaut and physicist Ronald E. McNair, supports first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students pursuing doctoral studies. Bemidji State is the only Minnesota State institution to offer the program, which includes faculty-mentored research, graduate school preparation, travel funding and opportunities to present at national conferences. The program aims to help students earn a Ph.D. within 10 years of graduating. According to a release, it serves 25 BSU undergraduates each year. The Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership and Advocacy Symposium, now in its fourth year, continues Gallardo's mission of advancing educational equity and empowering future scholars.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
UCF helping Puerto Rican students pursue their academic dreams
The last-minute preparations are in, and the annual Florida Puerto Rican Parade and Festival is set to kick off in downtown Orlando Saturday. Through the years, the connection between central Florida and Puerto Rico has grown stronger. That connection was on full display with the University of Central Florida giving a helping hand to students on the island in pursuing their academic dreams. The University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla has a beautiful campus, where you'll find plenty of sharks, seeing as its mascots are Sharky and Tintorera. But you'll actually find some Knights there as well. This is thanks to the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, a federally funded program designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies, research and other activities. 'They're UCF McNair program students, but at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla,' said Fernando Rivera, director of the UCF Puerto Rico Research Hub McNair was a physicist, astronaut and scholar. His legacy lives on following the Challenger space shuttle's explosion. Now that legacy inspires new generations through education. "They put a program together to increase the number of unserved and unrepresented populations to go into grad school," said Rivera. The program recently spotlighted Nathalie Nieto-Torres from Aguadilla. She's a first-degeneration STEM student and future Ph.D. candidate in molecular biology. She says McNair empowered her to pursue her dreams. There's also Adriana Camacho-Badillo, a junior studying biology who has a passion for research. She says UCF's McNair program has provided unwavering support. The two visited UCF for a conference recently. It was just one of many opportunities the program offers to give students the chance to network and gain new mentors. "The scholars are doing fantastic, getting a lot of summer programs, placement into grad programs," Rivera said. The director of UCF's McNair program recently visited La Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico and UPR to share insights on graduate school and summer research with current and future scholars on the island. 'A very neat collaboration and sort of tells you sort of the capacity that the students from Aguadilla do actually have, and sort of the collaborations and that tie between Puerto Rico and Florida," Rivera said. Those students are from Aguadilla, which is the city being featured in this year's Orlando parade. WFTV is the official broadcast partner for the Florida Puerto Rican Parade and Festival. It will be streamed live on air and online at starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
I'm a white woman. Here's how white men lie about their climb to the top.
Janet Petro, NASA's acting administrator, wrote the following about diversity, equity and inclusion in a memo on Jan. 22: 'These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.' Relevant things about me: I am a white woman. I grew up in a low socioeconomic status family from Appalachia. I am a first-generation college student. I am a smart, hardworking American. Despite #4, I had very little chance of going to graduate school thanks to #1-3. If not for the McNair Scholars Program, I would not be an associate professor with 30 peer-reviewed publications in my field today. I am a proud beneficiary of affirmative action. We all know women who are recipients of affirmative action. If you are any kind of "successful" woman in academia or industry, you likely benefited from affirmative action whether you are aware of it or not. This has nothing to do with how smart women are, how hard we work, how qualified we are. It has to do with the fact that powerful men have not wanted us in their spaces. Women and minorities have been forcefully and sometimes violently barred from the traditional spheres of wealth and influence. Affirmative action is one way to correct the wrongful exclusion that has occurred throughout history. People will say, 'But talented white men are being passed over for less qualified women and minorities.' Others have done a better job at unpacking that faulty logic, so I want to focus on this: Those white men had help, too. Opinion: You think Republicans realize they've started hurting the wrong people? Today, no one climbs the ladder unless someone before them made the ladder, gave them access to the ladder and demonstrated how to use the ladder. White men are shown the ladder from birth. They are shown how to climb it successfully. They can even block other people's access to it. Women and minorities aren't privy to the ladder from birth. Sometimes people forget to tell us about it. Sometimes they don't teach us how to use it. Sometimes people actively hide the ladder from us. Worst yet, they may lie and tell us it doesn't even exist. We ask, and they say, 'What ladder, you silly girl?' Your Turn: As a white man, DEI means I get passed over. It's time to eliminate it. | Opinion Forum White men have been lying about climbing the ladder on their own. They are not successful due to talent, but because they have the access and support necessary to climb, and fewer active barriers. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. White men have been getting affirmative action all along from other white men. What the rest of us have been asking for, fighting for, is the same access to and support to climb the ladder. I don't know if Janet Petro has personally benefited from affirmative action, but she was in only the second graduating class from West Point to contain any women in 1981. For her to oppose DEI programs is hypocritical and it shows a deep ignorance of the history that has made affirmative action necessary. Kira Bailey is a West Virginia native and associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Ohio Wesleyan University. Her path to earning a Ph.D. began as a McNair Scholar at Concord University, class of 2007. This column originally appeared in the Columbus Dispatch. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: White men lie about affirmative action. Theirs is the ladder | Opinion
USA Today
29-03-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
I'm a white woman. Here's how white men lie about their climb to the top.
I'm a white woman. Here's how white men lie about their climb to the top. | Opinion If you are any kind of 'successful' woman in academia or industry, you likely benefited from affirmative action whether you are aware of it or not. White men are shown the ladder from birth. Show Caption Hide Caption Dolphins welcome NASA astronauts back to Earth A pod of dolphins welcomed astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth after an unplanned 280 days in space. Janet Petro, NASA's acting administrator, wrote the following about diversity, equity and inclusion in a memo on Jan. 22: 'These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.' Relevant things about me: I am a white woman. I grew up in a low socioeconomic status family from Appalachia. I am a first-generation college student. I am a smart, hardworking American. Despite #4, I had very little chance of going to graduate school thanks to #1-3. If not for the McNair Scholars Program, I would not be an associate professor with 30 peer-reviewed publications in my field today. I am a proud beneficiary of affirmative action. Women benefit from affirmative action We all know women who are recipients of affirmative action. If you are any kind of "successful" woman in academia or industry, you likely benefited from affirmative action whether you are aware of it or not. This has nothing to do with how smart women are, how hard we work, how qualified we are. It has to do with the fact that powerful men have not wanted us in their spaces. Women and minorities have been forcefully and sometimes violently barred from the traditional spheres of wealth and influence. Affirmative action is one way to correct the wrongful exclusion that has occurred throughout history. People will say, 'But talented white men are being passed over for less qualified women and minorities.' Others have done a better job at unpacking that faulty logic, so I want to focus on this: Those white men had help, too. Opinion: You think Republicans realize they've started hurting the wrong people? White men lie about 'the ladder' Today, no one climbs the ladder unless someone before them made the ladder, gave them access to the ladder and demonstrated how to use the ladder. White men are shown the ladder from birth. They are shown how to climb it successfully. They can even block other people's access to it. Women and minorities aren't privy to the ladder from birth. Sometimes people forget to tell us about it. Sometimes they don't teach us how to use it. Sometimes people actively hide the ladder from us. Worst yet, they may lie and tell us it doesn't even exist. We ask, and they say, 'What ladder, you silly girl?' Your Turn: As a white man, DEI means I get passed over. It's time to eliminate it. | Opinion Forum White men have been lying about climbing the ladder on their own. They are not successful due to talent, but because they have the access and support necessary to climb, and fewer active barriers. White men have been getting affirmative action all along from other white men. What the rest of us have been asking for, fighting for, is the same access to and support to climb the ladder. I don't know if Janet Petro has personally benefited from affirmative action, but she was in only the second graduating class from West Point to contain any women in 1981. For her to oppose DEI programs is hypocritical and it shows a deep ignorance of the history that has made affirmative action necessary. Kira Bailey is a West Virginia native and associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Ohio Wesleyan University. Her path to earning a Ph.D. began as a McNair Scholar at Concord University, class of 2007. This column originally appeared in the Columbus Dispatch.
