The McNair Voice

The McNair scholars at Georgia State University have put in eight long and grueling weeks of research now it is time for all of that hard work to pay off. The experiments are over; the interviews have been conducted; and the analyses have been performed. It’s Showtime!!! The scholars will present their research posters on Monday, August 3^rd   in room 480/485 of the University Center from noon to 2:00 pm and they will give oral presentations on their work on Tuesday, August 4^th   in the Sinclair Suite in the Student Center from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.

The scholars are taking the last few days before the presentations to make sure they are prepared, through mock presentations and meetings with their mentors.

The presentations will be judged and there will be awards given for the best poster and oral presentations.

Good Luck to all the presenters!!!

Last week the McNair scholars elected the officers for the 2009-2010 Student Advisory Board. This marks the first time the officers of the board have been elected by the entire cohort. In the past the McNair Staff picked the members of the board and the board picked its officers. The new officers are Taiwannika Walker, President; Keisha Parker, Vice President; LaTrenda Dumas, Secretary; and Tarey Milton, Coordinator of Volunteer, Public Relations, & Special Events

The remaining non-officer board members were selected by the McNair Staff. These scholars were selected based on their level of participation in the McNair Program this summer and the contributions they could make to the board. The non-officer members are Bianca Islam, Farzana Saleem, and Daniel Smith.

Congratulations to all of the new members of the 2009-2010 Ronald E. McNair Student Advisory Board!!

MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

Mrs. Symone Simmons is the newest member to the Georgia State University’s Ronald E. McNair Family. Mrs. Simmons serves as the program’s Educational Program Specialist. Mrs. Simmons hails from Iowa by way of Chicago. She attended Iowa State University where she earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Psychology. Prior to becoming the Educational Program Specialist for the McNair Program, Mrs. Simmons was the Senior Admissions Counselor/Program Coordinator at Iowa State University. Her job duties included counseling high school students on their post secondary educational options. That will go right in line with what Mrs. Simmons will be asked to do for the McNair Program the only difference is that the students will be undergraduate students that will need to be counseled about post-baccalaureate educational opportunities. Mrs. Simmons has been here for a little more than a month and she has already become a big hit with the scholars partly due to the fact that from her first day she has had an open door policy.

The McNair Program wants to welcome Mrs. Simmons to the family we are fortunate that you are apart of the team.      

The 15^th annual SAEOPP McNair Conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia this year. This is a major change from years past because the SAEOPP McNair Conference has been held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. This year the conference was co-hosted by the McNair Programs at Georgia State University and Morehouse College. The conference started on Thursday with a powerful theatrical performance entitled Peaches by the world renowned Progress Theatre. The performance was held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel located on the historic Morehouse College campus. During the day on Friday the McNair scholars had a chance to present their posters. Friday night the gap between the past and the present of the McNair Program was bridged with an alumni reception. The purpose of the reception was for the new McNair scholars to get advice and words of wisdom from former McNair scholars who understand the challenges that the new scholars are facing. On Saturday it was time for the scholars with shy personalities to leave them at the door because it was time to do oral presentations. A McNair conference would not be complete without a Graduate School Fair. The Graduate School fair at this conference had an added twist. This grad fair did in fact have tables set up where the students could stop by a speak with the recruiters and get information on the schools but the students also had a chance to sit down and have lunch with recruiters from the school they were most interested in. This approach allowed students the chance to get more face time with the recruiters as well as the chance to interact on a more personal level. When Sunday came around most of the scholars were beat from the long days and short nights, but there was still unfinished business that had to be settled. The conference organizers did not want the efforts of the scholars that gave exceptional posters and oral presentations to go unnoticed or unrewarded, so there was an awards ceremony. The highlight of Sunday and perhaps the conference was the keynote speech that was given by Mrs. Cheryl McNair the widow of Dr. Ronald E. McNair.