McNair Scholars Program offers higher education help, launches lunch-and-learn
The McNair Scholars Program launched its first lunch-and-learn series of the semester on Wednesday.
The Troy’s TRIO Program is aimed at first-generation college students interested in graduate programs. The program aims to help these students achieve their higher education goals.
“The McNair Scholars Program helps undergraduate students learn about research and produce research outcomes such as poster presentations or research articles that can be published, and that really helps you get into graduate school and into your PhD,” said Dr. Retisha Warr, an assistant professor of social work. “In essence, if you’re a first-generation, low-income college student, then it’s an excellent opportunity to apply.”
Not all students are eligible to be McNair scholars. Students interested need to be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident, be determined to pursue a doctoral program, be a Troy University undergraduate with a minimum of 30 credit hours, have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 and be a first-generation college student, low-income and/or a member of an underrepresented group.
For Dr. Warr, the program has special meaning because she was a McNair Scholar at Texas Woman’s University.
“Once I was accepted, it allowed me to learn about research, which was absolutely not a thing that I thought I would be doing in my undergrad,” Warr said. “It financially supported me not only in my undergraduate degree, but in my master’s and my Ph.D.”
The McNair Scholars Program doesn’t just help students stand out on a resume, though – it also has benefits for the members who choose to join.
Some of the benefits it offers are academic counseling, graduate school assistance, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) preparation, graduate school application fee waivers, faculty-guided research experience, meritorious research stipends, cultural enrichment opportunities and research travel opportunities.
One freshman hopes the McNair Scholars Program is the next challenge she hopes to take on.
“I will go through that application process,” said Kamsiyochukwu Azogini, a freshman computer science major from Cartersville, Tennessee. “I’ve heard that it’s really challenging, but I’ve never been afraid of a challenge before, and I hope to apply as soon as possible and meet with some of the other mentors.”
The next McNair Lunch-N-Learn series will be in room 218 in Trojan Dining Hall on Sep. 30 at 12:15 p.m.
Dr. Miguel Duran and Marquis Reynolds will be speaking at this event, both of whom are Troy University McNair Scholars.
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