Maxson hails McNair recipients

Cal State Long Beach President Robert Maxson praised McNair scholarship students at a reception held Thursday at the North Campus Library.

Maxson urged the students to reach out and help the next generation come along once they reach their attained goal.

The McNair Scholarship Program was established in1986 by the U.S. Department of Education and named after astronaut and Challenger space shuttle crew member Ronald E. McNair, who died in the 1986 Challenger explosion.

The program provides academic support services, research opportunities and involvement in scholarly activities to 30 low income, first-generation and underrepresented students enrolled at CSULB.

This will increase the likelihood of enrollment and success in doctoral programs according to information released by the program. "The McNair program is designed to help minorities and low income students join the ranks of university faculty," said John Jung, the faculty coordinator of the program and one of the speakers at the reception.

The program, according to Jung, has two main ingredients: faculty members who act as mentors to the students and are dedicated to the program, and an amazing talent and willingness to succeed among students.

"Not all students have full support at home and from friends as some of them are first generation students, so the mentors have to understand how the academic game is played," said Jung.

Maxson was the second speaker. He thanked the mentors for the nurturing they provided the students.

He said that if he was asked to start a new university and had to take his core faculty with him he would choose the professors at the reception.

Cherryl Arnold-Moore, director of the program, said that the program also helps students graduate as well as be admissible for a graduate studies program. Nancy Shenoudah, an African-American enrolled in the program is graduating this May in Bio-Chemistry. She has been accepted to do her doctorate at UC San Diego and UC Riverside but is waiting to be accepted at UCLA.

"It's a great program because it helped me financially and my mentor gave me a lot of advice I couldn't have done without," Shenoudah said.

Benjamin McNair, a liberal and black studies junior, who is the cousin of Ronald E. McNair, said the program has made it possible for him to visit schools and attend conferences directly related to his field.

"It also helped me meet a lot of new interesting people," McNair said.

Anna Perez, a micro-biology student who got accepted to UC San Diego, said it was a wonderful experience being in the program and it helped her make the decision of where to go to graduate school.

Margaret Marryfield, a chemistry professor and also one of the mentors, said that the program opens a lot of doors for students. It helps students build up credentials that will be helpful to them in the future.

The program coordinators selects the students first and then the mentors, Jung said. Faculty members are asked to volunteer and then chosen by the coordinators.

"The faculty members don't do it to get rich but for the experience," Marryfield said. "Students work with you as colleagues so you further your own interests as well as the student's."

"Minorities are greatly underrepresented in the faculty world," said Bradley Hawkins, a religious studies professor and mentor. He said this program will help change that.

"The program helps prepare a future generation of professors," Maxson said.

To be eligible for the program, a student must be a United States citizen or a permanent resident, a sophomore, junior or senior and a first generation college student who has a low income or a member of an underrepresented group in graduate studies.