The McNair Voice

Amber Wimsatt (AW) came first in the oral presentations. Our graduate assistant Omer Ari (OA) interviewed her about her presentation. Below are the highlights and the transcription of the actual interview.

Amber Wimsatt receives her award from the director of the Ga. State McNair Program, Mr. Curtis Byrd.

Highlights

The presentation went well because I believe that I can make a difference in the future with this research, and thus I wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible and to get people excited and interested.

Some are good at math…others excel in speech and presentation. I speak : )

I really tried to plainly [explain] the problem so that individuals listening would themselves want to know what is causing it and what we can all do to change it.

One section that was particularly difficult during the presentation was giving background information.

Many times speakers will lose credibility with the audience because of inappropriate or poor diction. It really is a shame because these speakers really may have something important to say.

Eye contact helps you communicate and converse with your audience rather than “talking at them.”

Gestures are more of an icing on the cake. Too much icing however, can distract from the flavor of the cake, so it is important to use them when appropriate and most effective.

Before the presentation, write out a nice and short introductory sentence and memorize it, so that you can [face] the audience directly with it when you start.

Amber explains her research to the viewers during the poster presentation.

Interview

(OA) Congratulations! Why do you think you came first in the orals? How do you think your presentation compared to your peers’?

(AW) Thanks. I did see many of the other oral presentations and I thought they were great. If I had to say any one thing, though, I would say that the presentation went well because I believe that I can make a difference in the future with this research, and thus I wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible and get people excited and interested. The more people realize the importance of this research then the faster we can make changes.

(OA) Did you get special training before for giving presentations? If so, what kind?

(AW) I did not have any special training beyond normal speech communication classes. I will say that I do think one of my talents is to speak well in front of others. Some are good at math…others excel in speech and presentation. I speak : )

(OA) What do you think about your research topic’s presentability? What role do you think topic plays in presenting research?

(AW) Especially because this is a minority focused program, I do think that for this particular event (and other McNair events to come) scholars and other researchers were and will continue to be genuinely interested in this type of research and information. Interested people who believe that this is important work make the effort to go beyond the surface levels of the presentation and understand the information at its core. Beyond the sophistication and technicalities that are often tag-a-longs with research, I really tried to plainly make the serious nature of the problem known so that individuals listening would themselves want to know what is causing it and what we can all do to change it.

(OA) What section(s) did you have the hardest time explaining during your presentation? Why?

(AW) One section that was particularly difficult was the background information. I wanted listeners to understand the nature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) but I did not want to overwhelm them with specific details or address any of the recent points of controversy.

(OA) How do you think you did on diction, eye contact, and gestures during your presentation? How effective do you think these “physical” points are for an oral presentation?

(AW) Clear and appropriate diction is one of the make-or-break points of a presentation. Like Dr. McNeal said, “you are trying to make an exchange with the audience, and thus you must be fluent in the currency with which to make that exchange.” Many times speakers will lose credibility with the audience because of inappropriate or poor diction. It really is a shame because these speakers really may have something important to say. Eye contact is also critical. You want to engage people, so look at them. Eye contact helps you communicate and converse with your audience rather than “talking at them.” Gestures are more of an icing on the cake physical point. Too much icing however, can distract from the flavor of the cake, so it is important to use them when appropriate and most effective.

(OA) Did you use any special strategies to help you remember important information during the presentation (cards, mnemonics, etc)?

(AW) No special strategies; just a simple speaking outline. I do write out a nice and short introductory sentence and memorize it, so that I am able to look directly at members of the audience when I begin the presentation.

(OA) If you could redo your presentation, what would you like to do differently?

(AW) I might present more information about ASDs.

(OA) How did you “flow” your presentation?

(AW) The flow of my presentation closely resembled the layout of my poster.

(OA) How did you use graphics in your PowerPoint presentation? What would you recommend for your peers?

(AW) I used a few simple charts and bar graphs that could be easily and briefly explained. I would recommend that presenters use a graphic that highlights any significant findings, and use a different graphic for each finding rather than trying to explain multiple findings with one complicated graph, chart, or table.

(OA) What would you suggest we include in an “oral presentations” workshop for some of your peers who did not do as well as you did.

(AW) Scholars should NOT re-introduce themselves and their topics once they have already been verbally introduced, unless of course they have some clever way of doing so that directly leads into their background information. If the audience for some reason did not hear their name, they can still read it on their title slide. Re-introductions greatly reduce momentum once on the stage and are distracting to the audience.

Isha Metzger (IM) came first in the poster presentation. She tells her secret to our graduate assistant Omer Ari (OA), who has transcribed the interview for you. Read and learn her trick. Before the interview, however, you should read a short summary of her research study printed below.

Summary of Isha’s study

In her research study, Isha used an alternate vocabulary test (i.e., the KidCategories Test) to attain a more comprehensive understanding of the semantic knowledge of African-American children from low-income families (Pena, 2001). She administered both a receptive one-word picture vocabulary test and an alternate test (the KidCategories test based on Nelson and Nelson’s 1990 study) to thirty-nine participants.

She compared responses from the African-American children in her study to those from White American children in Nelson and Nelson’s (1990) study and to those from Latino American children in Pena, et al’s (2002) study. She found that African American children from low-SES backgrounds performed differently from White American children, but they were similar to Latino American children of the same age group.

Interview

(OA) Congratulations on winning the poster competition. Why do you think your poster came first?

(IM) It was well-organized and done in a way in which people from multiple disciplines can look at it and understand exactly what I did.

(OA) Can you tell us about the organization of the poster?

(IM) I started with a little background info section and added a relevancy section so that people who were not familiar with the field would understand why it was an important topic to study. Then I gave my purpose for my study and described the participants. Next, I explained the test I gave in the study in a separate section, which is followed by a results section where I showed how my kids did in comparison to the studies. In this section, I also compared the different categories based on the past studies and showed that my kids in fact were comparable to the Latino American children although they are different from the White American children, but not deficient in comparison. This information of course was included in my conclusions section. Overall, I think the section flow well and are pretty coherent.

(OA) What else do you see in your poster that made the difference for you?

(IM) I would say it is important to make everything simple so that someone coming by who are tired (because they have been perusing other posters in the conference) can look at a specific section and pinpoint the info that they want to find. Also, it is important to make it aesthetically appealing and to make it flow and come together well.

(OA) How did you go about using graphics in your poster?

(IM) I think graphics should be used to summarize anything that would take a lot of words to express. Graphics should complement and enhance the content of the poster.

(OA) Any suggestions about graphics in a poster?

(IM) Graphics should not be too complex, or overpowering. There should be a good balance between graphics, words, and white space. Everything should be labeled clearly.

(OA) What challenges did you face while putting together your poster?

(IM) It was hard to condense all the information I wanted to put in such a small space. It is a challenge to make the poster clear enough so that someone with no or little background info could look at it and completely understand the study. My most important tip would be to pay attention to all the little details. People think it is funny when you obsess about little things, but sometimes it is that attention to detail that pays off in the end. Text should be used in a way which highlights the important points and gets the message across clearly in as few words as possible.

(OA) Poster is certainly another way of disseminating information. Did you feel that it fulfilled the purpose for you?

(IM) Definitely! A poster is a great way to summarize an extensive project and to pinpoint all of the important parts of something that you work so hard on and that you want people to be aware of.

(OA) What did the poster not do for you and your research?

(IM) In comparison to the oral presentation, the poster is shorter and less detailed.

(OA) Congratulations again and thanks for your time.

(IM) You are welcome.

One of our goals for our students is to intern at another school. One of our current scholars, Salamatu (Sallay) Barrie, is doing just that. Sallay had the following to say on the challenges and rewards of conducting research abroad:

Everything at the University of Michigan is great! I am learning a lot from Dr. Shah (a researcher in the area of Working Memory). I had a difficult time in the beginning, but managed to adjust mostly due to my previous research experience with the McNair program and with my mentor at Ga. State–Dr. Rihana Williams. Currently, I am working on several projects dealing with training effects on improving Working Memory capacity. The best part about doing research abroad is meeting different faculty members here. It is a lot easier to make connections (e.g., for finding future advisors and possible funding opportunities) over here in person than over the phone or via email; many of these professors do not have time to reply to inquiry emails.

The biggest challenge here is the amount of work. Not only do I have to do complete the work from my advisor, I also have weekly GRE test prep sessions, SROP meetings, and weekly lab meetings. So time management is definitely the biggest challenge so far. However, I am enjoying my time here, and hopefully next summer I will be here again.

Sallay

Hello Ga. State McNair Scholars,

I truly believe that we have a very impressive groups of researchers this summer and think that all of you are doing a fantastic job! On that note we are HIGHLY recommending that you attend the “Mock Presentation” and actually sign up to do a “run-thru” on your oral presentation. We will have Mr. Mike Wyatt (President of the GSU Graduate Student Association and “Toast-masters” ) who will give a discussion on “Public Speaking”, particularly geared for presentations at conferences. So this will be great opportunity for you to develop your skills with speaking in front of an audience. In fact we are looking to have this workshop in the room that you will actually be doing the “Oral Presentations” the following week.

Again, the “Mock Presentations” will be on Wednesday, July 23 from 4-7pm and Thursday, July 24th (if needed) based on those who sign up for this day. If you have any questions please contact Ms. Robinson.

Have a great weekend and look forward to seeing your work!!

Peace,
Byrd.

Dear Scholars,

With our first workshop on June 9th, we kicked off the research seminars series scheduled for this semester. The seminars are designed to provide you with an overview of how to conduct quality research and answer questions pertaining to your specific research study. We will post here all relevant information from our workshop before and after the seminars and email you the powerpoint presentations. 

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Omer Ari at ariomer@hotmail.com.

McNair Scholars,

For research-related issues, please direct your questions/concerns to Omer Ari at ariomer@hotmail.com. For example, if you have questions about or need help with Endnote, please do not hesitate to contact him; he is an expert on Endnote.

Cheers!

We are proud of our students who have received various awards. The following scholars have been awarded in Spring 2008 for various accomplishments.

Jessica Ekhomu

Advanced Honors Recognition (Honors Program): granted to students who complete at least 12 credit hours of Honors coursework at the upper division (i.e., 3000-level and above courses), plus two Honors colloquia or forums.
Faculty Scholar Award: for maintaining 4.0 GPA in semester
Dean’s Key Recognition: for maintaining over 3.5 as a senior
Undergraduate Scholarship Award: given to student in the department graduating with the highest GPA
Board of Regents Academic Award (given to 1 student from each University in Georgia): based on academic merit and leadership

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Julie Owens

Deans Scholarship Award

The Outstanding Undergraduate in Early Childhood Education

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Giselle Delgado

The Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Chemistry

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Tenina Jenkins

William G. Nolan Memorial Scholarship Award was given to Tenina by the Biology Department for undergraduate students who excel in academic achievement, based on GPA, intellectual inquisitiveness, and research activities, and who show leadership and good citizenship at Georgia State University and in the community.

We are proud of our graduates. Two of our former scholars graduated in December 2007; five of our current scholars are graduating in May 2008. Committed to excellence and bound for success, these graduates are definitely prepared for their journey toward obtaining a Ph.D. We appreciate their perseverance and look forward to their continued success. In our next issue, we will provide further information about their graduate admissions.

December 2007 Graduates: Nelson Barnes & Francisco Fedullo (from left to right)

May 2008 Graduates: Julie Owens, Giselle Delgado, Tenina Jenkins, Jessica Ekhomu, Arlyne Simon, and Amanda Pollet (from left to right)

The Office of Educational Opportunity and TRIO Programs staff wishes you the best in your future endeavors. As you continue your journey, remember to uphold the mission of the Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program by aiming high and dreaming big.

To honor the accomplishments of students supported by TRIO programs, Atlanta hosted the Southeast Regional National TRIO Day on Saturday, February 23^rd. In attendance at the Hyatt Regency Hotel were middle school and graduate students from eight southern states. The speakers urged the youths and young adults to stay in school, pursue higher education degrees, and improve the quality of their lives and the lives of their families and people in their communities.

TRIO day kicked off with an address by the Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and continued with a speech by Dr. Arnold Mitchem, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, DC. A college and graduate school fair and a career fair were held, after which TRIO students from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia marched from the Hyatt Regency Hotel to the Georgia State Capitol. The McNair Program at Georgia State University was represented at the convention by five of our scholars: Fatimah Smith, Julie Owens, Giselle Delgado, Rachel Quick, and Jimmy Owens (pictured above from left to right).

McNair Scholars headed to the beautiful Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wisconsin, November 2-4, 2007 for the 16^th Annual National McNair Research Conference and Graduate Fair.The conference featured a graduate/professional school fair, representing more than 50 of the country’s top graduate schools; networking opportunities for the scholars to meet informally with faculty and representatives of graduate schools; workshops on the application process; and research presentations by McNair scholars from all over the country. Accompanying Mr. Byrd to the conference were Tenina Jenkins, Jessica Ekhomu, and Mariam Saibu, as well as seven other scholars not pictured above.