Jessica Santana is one of the few Latinas in her major, and she wants to discover why.

Santana, a senior accounting major, is conducting research as part of her involvement in the McNair Scholars Program. After figuring out why so few Hispanic students pursue degrees in accounting, she hopes to increase those numbers in the future.

‘Coming from a low-income neighborhood, I understand the obstacles low-income and underrepresented students face, and I’m trying to figure out how to help them overcome those obstacles,’ Santana said.

That’s the premise behind the McNair Scholars Program, an effort at college campuses nationwide that provides resources, support and guidance for first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students who want to pursue a graduate degree.

The federally funded program helps students plan for life after graduation but also requires them to engage in a research project within their major with a faculty adviser so they can develop professional skills in the field they want to enter. The program was started in 1986 in honor of Ronald McNair, an astronaut who lost his life in the Challenger explosion and came to SU in 1999. Since then, it has provided students with resources and research experience they can apply toward bettering their field. Scholars can receive up to $2,800 for their research each year, based on evaluations from their professors.

‘Our program is really about providing resources and services to students who we know are capable but who may have to deal with obstacles that other students don’t,’ said Christabel Sheldon, director of the McNair Scholars Program at SU.

Santana said she is interviewing accounting and non-accounting majors in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management to find out why they chose their majors. She said she has discovered that many students from low-income communities don’t feel mathematically prepared for careers in accounting and have misconceptions about the profession.

‘Low-income public schools aren’t getting the funding they need for strong science and math programs, so students aren’t getting the skill or career prep they need to be successful,’ Santana said. She said she hopes to eventually work in policy analysis and increase representation because there are so few Hispanic Certified Public Accountants.

In addition to conducting research with a faculty member, McNair Scholars participate in community meetings every Friday afternoon in Bowne Hall. Each week, the community meetings offer a different workshop about graduate school, Santana said. Some meetings give students tips on preparing for graduate school exams, some teach students how to ask for recommendation letters, and others help students figure out how to fund graduate-level education.

‘We go over all the little things that people assume are simple, and it’s given me an amazing support system for figuring out how to go about dealing with grad school,’ Santana said.

The program has slots for 25 eligible juniors and seniors interested in graduate school each year, Sheldon said. Sophomores can apply for the program for their junior and senior years, and juniors for their senior year.

According to federal guidelines, two-thirds of the 25 positions must be filled by low-income, first-generation college students. The remaining third of the group can be any student from any minority, Sheldon said. The number of graduating seniors determines the number of open spots each year.

At SU, applicants must have at least a 3.0 grade point average, interview for a slot and commit to an academic research project and a preparatory summer academy.

‘The research component turns a lot of students off, but it’s actually one of the most rewarding parts of the program,’ Sheldon said. ‘Students choose a basic issue within their field that they want to address and seek answers under the tutelage of a faculty mentor.’

The idea of mentorship is also what draws students to the program, Sheldon said.

‘If you don’t have a parent in your household who’s been to college and can guide you through the graduate school process, you may be turned off from grad school altogether,’ she said.

Santana said working with program mentors made her realize she could make her goal of attending graduate school a reality.

‘I knew I had to get to grad school, but I had no idea how to get there. I didn’t have the resources or information,’ she said. Under the guidance of her mentors in the McNair program, she said she has developed a determination to go to graduate school and a tangible plan to get there.

Tagbo Niepa, an engineering graduate student, said he never would have been interested in graduate school if was not for the McNair program.

Niepa said the program motivated him to reach for opportunities he never would have had otherwise.

‘I would encourage anyone who’s even considering applying to apply,’ he said. ‘Some of the best people I’ve met and opportunities I’ve had have been through the McNair program.’

ertocci@syr.edu

Published on November 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm