The newest group of program participants, including 14 new UD alumni who will be attending graduate school this fall, were recently honored at the eighth annual McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars Achievement and Celebration Dinner, held Thursday, Aug. 9, in Puglisi Orchestra Hall of the Louise and David Roselle Center for the Arts.
The Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program honors the African-American astronaut who died in the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986. The University Undergraduate Scholars Program helps students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds get into graduate programs of their choice and obtain funding. University Undergraduate Scholars is modeled on the McNair program.
“It has been another banner year,” Maria Palacas, program director in the Office of Undergraduate Studies, said. “Fourteen graduating scholars were listed as participants, and all 14 were accepted into grad school.”
The event, attended by parents, supporters and friends of program participants, as well as UD administrators and faculty, also honored special guest and keynote speaker Cory Ocasio, the first program alumnus to earn a doctoral degree.
“Seven years ago Cory Ocasio walked into my office and said he was interested in doing research in my lab,” John Koh, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, said. “He has done quite well, and I am very proud of him.”
Koh said that Ocasio's success embodies the true spirit of the McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars programs in helping students fulfill their dreams of academic success.
“All I did was give Cory the opportunity. The truth of the matter is that he did all the work,” Koh said. “I really believe that the McNair Scholars and University Undergraduate Scholars programs are really about giving opportunities, and Cory is an example of how successful a person can be.”
A biochemistry major who graduated from UD in 2001 with an Honors Degree with Distinction, Ocasio credited Palacas and the McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars programs for encouraging and preparing him to pursue his graduate studies at the University of California in San Francisco.
“Maria is known for her generosity, enthusiasm, kindness and understanding. She set a really high bar for us,” Ocasio said. “I participated in a lot of programs at UD, but the McNair program was the first one to address the issue of what I was going to do after getting my bachelor's degree.”
Ocasio, whose graduate school research efforts included combining synthetic organic chemistry with molecular modeling and structure, recalled growing up in Wilmington's Hillside neighborhood.
“It's not the kind of place where you would expect a scholar to grow up, and it's not the kind of place that you would expect to foster someone who wanted to understand something that cannot be seen,” Ocasio said. “I do remember that my parents were hard-working people struggling to get by, and that my grandmother was a huge influence. They all encouraged me to strive for things beyond my environment.”
The co-author of numerous research papers, including “Design and Characterization of a Thyroid Hormone Receptor ƒ¿ (TRƒ¿)-Specific Agonist,” with Thomas S. Scanlan, (currently professor of chemical biology at the Oregon Health and Science University), Ocasio said that he wants to pass on to others the opportunities for academic success he experienced in the McNair and University Undergraduate Scholar programs.
“When I become a professor, I want to help other scientists. I want to help diversify the face of science,” Ocasio said. “I may be the first Ph.D. of the McNair program at UD, but not the last. I can't wait until you all join me.”
Palacas said that the fact that all 115 participants in the McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars programs have successfully made the transition to graduate school is a result of UD support, faculty dedication and a lot of hard work by program participants.
“Our scholars get the best of research opportunities in addition to a community which supports their intellectual and interpersonal development,” Palacas said. “The UD McNair Program is inique in that it is one of the only McNair programs to require a full commitment to research at least 400 hours per summer. Most McNair and University Undergraduate scholars complete more than 1,000 hours of research by the time they graduate.”
Graduating McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars are listed below with their hometowns, majors and grad schools:
- Laura Armstrong, Bel Air, Md., art history, University of Delaware;
- Melody Casagrande, Yonkers, N.Y., math/economics, Harvard University;
- Megan Fernandes, Villanova, Pa., English/biology, University of California at Santa Barbara;
- Brandi Gilbert, Owings Mills, Md., bilingual education, University of Colorado at Boulder;
- Christopher Hamilton, Hockessin, computer and information sciences, University of Delaware;
- Jason Graham, Newark, entomology, University of Florida;
- Andrew Larason, Middletown, Latin American studies, Vanderbilt University;
- Darrell McBride, Parkville, Md., biological sciences, University of Delaware;
- Sally Mikhail, Newark, biological sciences/English, Philadelphia College of Optometry;
- Parag Mital, Wilmington, computer and information sciences, University of Edinburgh;
- Petra Palmer, New Castle, English education, University of Delaware;
- Samuel Rivera, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, electrical engineering, Ohio State University;
- Claudia Rodriguez, Dallas, international relations, University of Texas at Austin; and
- Candice Tolud, Piscataway, N.J., chemistry, Philadelphia College of Optometry.
Special awards
Havidán Rodrîguez, vice provost for academic affairs, presented several special awards to program participants who have recently graduated from UD, including:
- Leadership Award--Brandi Gilbert;
- Collegiality Award--Shawneila Pierre;
- Spirit of McNair Award--Oscar Romero and Modupeola Fadugba;
- McNair Scholar of Promise Award--Carlos Planchart; and
- Team Award--Odyssey (Brandi Gilbert, Donald Scott; Modupeola Fadugba, Shawneila Pierre, Janoah Wynn and Matthew Stieglitz).
Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo by Duane Perry