McNair scholars present research
10/2/2009
By Stephanie Tahtinen
Copy Editor
Nathaniel Crowley discusses his research with Jim Miller.
Months of research have finally paid off for the 2008-2009 McNair Scholars as they presented the results of their research in a poster session held Thursday afternoon in the Multicultural Center.
The presentations dealt with topics covering everything from coral reef communities, to the effects of prenatal mercury exposure, to sex trafficking in the Twin Ports.
The McNair scholars were chosen last fall and decided on their research topics in the spring. They then completed their research over the summer.
“It was a great learning experience,” said Miguel Alvelo-Rivera, whose project was titled “Puerto Rican Environmentalism: Social Movement Spillover.” For his research he went down to Puerto Rico and spent some time down there interviewing social movement leaders.
The participants said that participating in this program really prepared them for their work in graduate school.
“Just being able to say I can do this was a great experience,” said Jennifer L. Johnson, who studied the costs/benefits of the UWS campus child care services. She looked at what UWS students and staff want in available child care versus what the school currently offers. “I discovered that what we currently offer doesn’t fit their needs,” said Johnson.
The McNair Scholars Program prepares undergraduate students for graduate school through seminars, GRE test preparation, and a research project. The results of their research are then presented in a poster session and published in The McNair Scholars Journal of the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Applications to be a McNair Scholar are now being accepted until October 30. In order to qualify for the program, a student must be income eligible and a first generation college student or be from a group that is underrepresented in graduate school (such as Native American, Hispanic, or African American) and be a sophomore to senior undergraduate student who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
For more information about the program, stop by the McNair Scholars Program in Old Main 340 or email mcnair@uwsuper.edu
The presentations dealt with topics covering everything from coral reef communities, to the effects of prenatal mercury exposure, to sex trafficking in the Twin Ports.
The McNair scholars were chosen last fall and decided on their research topics in the spring. They then completed their research over the summer.
“It was a great learning experience,” said Miguel Alvelo-Rivera, whose project was titled “Puerto Rican Environmentalism: Social Movement Spillover.” For his research he went down to Puerto Rico and spent some time down there interviewing social movement leaders.
The participants said that participating in this program really prepared them for their work in graduate school.
“Just being able to say I can do this was a great experience,” said Jennifer L. Johnson, who studied the costs/benefits of the UWS campus child care services. She looked at what UWS students and staff want in available child care versus what the school currently offers. “I discovered that what we currently offer doesn’t fit their needs,” said Johnson.
The McNair Scholars Program prepares undergraduate students for graduate school through seminars, GRE test preparation, and a research project. The results of their research are then presented in a poster session and published in The McNair Scholars Journal of the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Applications to be a McNair Scholar are now being accepted until October 30. In order to qualify for the program, a student must be income eligible and a first generation college student or be from a group that is underrepresented in graduate school (such as Native American, Hispanic, or African American) and be a sophomore to senior undergraduate student who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
For more information about the program, stop by the McNair Scholars Program in Old Main 340 or email mcnair@uwsuper.edu
2008-2009 McNair Scholars Research Projects
Heterogeneity of Coral Reef Communities in the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve
McNair Scholar: Kevin Anderson
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Edward Burkett, Department of Natural Sciences
Allelopathic Affects of Briareum asbestinum and Gorgonia sp. On the dispersion Patterns of Octocorals Inhabiting the Patch Reefs of the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve, Belize
McNair Scholar: Jacqueline Smith
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Edward Burkett, Department of Natural Sciences
The Effects of Prenatal Mercury Exposure
McNair Scholar: Colleen Winkler
Faculty Mentor: Mr. Matthew TenEyck, Lake Superior Research Institute
Cost/Benefit Analysis of Campus Childcare Services: A University of Wisconsin-Superior Case Study
McNair Scholar: Jennifer L. Johnson
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Robert Beam, Department of Business & Economics
Children and Maternal Incarceration: The Significance of Facilitating Healthy Mother-Child Attachment
McNair Scholar: Jessica Mayo-Swimeley
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hal Bertilson, Department of Human Behavior, Justice & Diversity
Puerto Rican Environmentalism: Social Movement Spillover
McNair Scholar: Miguel Alvelo-Rivera
Faculty Member: Dr. Kevin Schanning, Department of Sociology & Social Justice, Northland College
The Cracked Foundation of Equality: How 19th Century American Nationalism Defined Freedom in the United States
McNair Scholar: Leann Stoll
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joel Sipress, Department of Social Inquiry
Deaf Adolescents in the Twin Ports: An Analysis
McNair Scholar: Sunny Brysch
Faculty Mentor: Ms. Elizabeth Blue, Department of Human Behavior, Justice & Diversity
Career Satisfaction Among UW-Superior Social Work Alumni
McNair Scholar: Veronica Winterscheidt
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Monica Roth Day, Department of Human Behavior, Justice & Diversity
Media Discourse of Black Fathers in Contemporary U.S. Society: A Case Study
McNair Scholar: Nathaniel Crowley
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eri Fujieda, Department of Social Inquiry
The Effects of Neoliberal Economic Trends and the Hukou System on Rural Chinese Citizens
McNair Scholar: Jennifer E. Johnson
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Marshall Johnson, Department of Social Inquiry
Heterogeneity of Coral Reef Communities in the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve
McNair Scholar: Kevin Anderson
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Edward Burkett, Department of Natural Sciences
Allelopathic Affects of Briareum asbestinum and Gorgonia sp. On the dispersion Patterns of Octocorals Inhabiting the Patch Reefs of the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve, Belize
McNair Scholar: Jacqueline Smith
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Edward Burkett, Department of Natural Sciences
The Effects of Prenatal Mercury Exposure
McNair Scholar: Colleen Winkler
Faculty Mentor: Mr. Matthew TenEyck, Lake Superior Research Institute
Cost/Benefit Analysis of Campus Childcare Services: A University of Wisconsin-Superior Case Study
McNair Scholar: Jennifer L. Johnson
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Robert Beam, Department of Business & Economics
Children and Maternal Incarceration: The Significance of Facilitating Healthy Mother-Child Attachment
McNair Scholar: Jessica Mayo-Swimeley
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hal Bertilson, Department of Human Behavior, Justice & Diversity
Puerto Rican Environmentalism: Social Movement Spillover
McNair Scholar: Miguel Alvelo-Rivera
Faculty Member: Dr. Kevin Schanning, Department of Sociology & Social Justice, Northland College
The Cracked Foundation of Equality: How 19th Century American Nationalism Defined Freedom in the United States
McNair Scholar: Leann Stoll
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joel Sipress, Department of Social Inquiry
Deaf Adolescents in the Twin Ports: An Analysis
McNair Scholar: Sunny Brysch
Faculty Mentor: Ms. Elizabeth Blue, Department of Human Behavior, Justice & Diversity
Career Satisfaction Among UW-Superior Social Work Alumni
McNair Scholar: Veronica Winterscheidt
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Monica Roth Day, Department of Human Behavior, Justice & Diversity
Media Discourse of Black Fathers in Contemporary U.S. Society: A Case Study
McNair Scholar: Nathaniel Crowley
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eri Fujieda, Department of Social Inquiry
The Effects of Neoliberal Economic Trends and the Hukou System on Rural Chinese Citizens
McNair Scholar: Jennifer E. Johnson
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Marshall Johnson, Department of Social Inquiry