The McNair program is nationally recognized for helping students who aspire to gain their doctorate. This program at UNC Greensboro continuously encourages students to apply and gain the experience they need to succeed in their careers. From March 15-19, scholars Theresa Cole, Mulubrhan Kidanu, Kevin Bunga, and I traveled to the University of Maryland, College Park to participate in the 24th annual National McNair Conference for Undergraduate Research.
This undergraduate conference gave students from across the country the opportunity to learn from Ph.D. candidates in their field of research. They get to present their research in a way that builds their understanding of what it’s like to go forward and pursue their goals the fullest. Complete with panels of student and faculty success, a graduate school fair, a trip to the National Mall, performances by award-winning musician Chelsey Green and The Green Project, student presentations, and more, this conference allowed us UNCG students to both learn and celebrate our accomplishments.
While I make progress on my own undergraduate research, I was invited to attend the conference to learn more about what it means to present and succeed in my field. This was the first research conference I’ve ever attended, and I was able to network with fellow scholars from across the country and learn what it takes to get into a graduate school that fits me.
I was able to watch my fellow scholars Theresa Cola and Kevin Bunga present their findings and see the results of their hard work and their experience with the professors at UNCG. We were able to proudly represent our University and bond as some of the few humanities-based researchers at the conference. To be in an environment that included so much diversity in so many different fields of research, and to hear and participate in scientific conversations in other languages happening all around me, is an experience that I will not soon forget. I am incredibly grateful and excited for the opportunity granted to me by UNCG McNair.
The goal of the McNair program at UNCG “is to diversify faculty demographics across the nation by providing experience and training to students typically under-represented in the academy.” Scholars in the McNair program receive benefits such as mentoring from faculty for graduate school preparation, financial planning, participation in professional and academic conferences, a community of scholars, research opportunities and presentation experience, graduate school preparation, and summer research internships.
McNair scholars at UNCG are currently accepting applications for sophomores and juniors from a low-income first-generation college households or are members of a traditionally underrepresented group in graduate studies. To see the rest of the eligibility requirements please visit this link.
Story by Dana Broadus, University Communications
Photography courtesy of Sandra Hunter
