Chatter and laughter filled the great room in the Joe Crowley Student Union as students and faculty milled about waiting for the 13th Annual Summer Research Colloquium Closing Ceremony Luncheon to begin last Tuesday afternoon. It's at this luncheon that the 11 participants in the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program celebrated their hard work and summer research. In the case of this year's cohort, their research spanned from looking into the effects entrepreneurship has on inequality in Nevada and neighboring states to the neural basis of visual object recognition and reading.

The McNair Scholars Program is a federal TRIO program that works to make graduate school possible for first-generation college students that demonstrate financial need, or members of a traditionally underrepresented group in graduate education, through taking various steps in their undergraduate education. The University's program receives $237,930 in annual funding from the U.S. Department of Education which helps cover the cost of research and the $3,500 stipend scholars receive.

While the program has numerous benefits, one of the biggest boons for young scholars is its mentorship component. As part of the program, McNair scholars are paired with a faculty mentor whose research interests are similar to that of their academic interests. In addition they write an abstract and paper that is presented at the McNair Research Symposium and later published in the McNair Scholar's Journal. The program also helps send scholars to conferences and provides them with intensive GRE preparation. They must also complete a seven-week summer research internship with their faculty mentor.

"For many first-generation and underrepresented students, I think the prospect of graduate school can be very daunting and unfamiliar," Perry Fittrer, assistant director of the McNair Scholars Program, said. "McNair Scholars really provides students with the skills needed to navigate the graduate school admissions process and demystify graduate school. But perhaps more importantly, the program develops an academic connection and a culture that they can contribute to the scholarship in their field. I think our greatest success is not only our high graduation rate from the University, but also the 50 alumni who are currently enrolled in graduate school and the nearly 70 graduate degrees that have been earned by our alumni."

Much like Ronald E. McNair, the man after whom the program is named, the McNair scholars are encouraged to push the boundaries of what they believe to be possible and to pursue work that will make a positive change in their fields of choice. This year's cohort includes students in physics, English, public health, neuroscience, chemistry, molecular microbiology & immunology, criminal justice, psychology, chemical engineering, economics and mechanical engineering.

"This cohort, like all of our cohorts, is poised to do great things," Fittrer said. "By gaining this experience now, they will be able to earn admission into some of the best graduate programs in the country and continue to conduct research. Through their future research in these areas they will be able to discover new knowledge that can have an impact across the broad spectrum of our world. Additionally, I hope that they will educate and inspire a new generation of scholars that will come after them by sharing their experiences as first-generation and underrepresented students."

For many of the scholars, the McNair Scholars Program is what allows them to pursue not only their research, but their goals in receiving a doctoral degree. First generation students who earn a doctorate are by and large underrepresented, and according to the National Science Foundation there has been a 3.7 percent drop in first-generation college students who earn their doctorate from "very high research" universities between 1994 and 2014.

Programs like the McNair Scholars Program look to increase the numbers of not only first-generation students in graduate education, but the numbers of minorities as well. The University's McNair Scholars Program has seen success with 82 percent of its participants enrolling in graduate school making it an important part in changing the landscape of higher education.

The McNair Scholars Program is accepting student applications until Sept. 30.  For more information about the McNair Scholars Program and how to apply visit www.unr.edu/mcnair.