Fall 2019 McNair Scholars Announced

Thirteen Trinity University students were selected as participants in the McNair Scholars Program, a prestigious program that prepares participants for doctoral studies through research and related scholarly activities. The program nurtures first-generation, low-income and underrepresented minorities with great promise to attend graduate school. 

Named after Ronald E. McNair, the late Challenger shuttle astronaut and physicist, and funded jointly by Trinity and a U.S. Department of Education grant, the McNair Scholars Program provides paid summer research internships, graduate admission support, conference attendance and travel funding, academic counseling, financial aid advising, and intensive mentoring.

”Trinity students are strong academically and this gives us a strong applicant pool from which to draw,” says Kelly Lyons, Ph.D., professor of biology and program director. “These new scholars will embark on an intense journey with the goal of admission to the best graduate schools in the country with full funding. We look forward to folding them into the McNair community!” 

Since its inception at Trinity in November 2007, the program has served a total of 151 first-generation, low-income, and/or underrepresented students. The new scholars who began participation this summer or fall are: 

Victoria Briggs    
Sophomore/Chemistry
Hometown: Deer Park, Texas

Austin Champagne  
Sophomore/Urban Studies & Political Science
Hometown: Frisco, Texas

Marcus Ellis    
Sophomore/Mathematical Finance
Hometown: Missouri City, Texas

Benjamin Falcon
Sophomore/Chinese Studies & International Affairs
Hometown: Corpus Christi, Texas

Sara Heridia
Senior/Political Science & Latin
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Erik Huynh 
Sophomore/Biochemistry & Molecular Biology  
Hometown: Andover, Massachusetts

Camille Johnson  
Junior/Anthropology  
Hometown: Portland, Oregon

Morgan Jones
Senior/Engineering Science
Hometown: Houston, Texas

Rachel Kaufman
Sophomore/Biology & Sociology
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma 

Diana Long
Junior/Sociology
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Malisse Lummus
Senior/Geosciences
Hometown: Corpus Christi, Texas

Nicholas Smoker
Sophomore/Theoretical Economics & Computer Science
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 

Bygoe Zubiate
Sophomore/Environmental Studies & Studio Art
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

"The program extends a very warm thanks to our current tutorial faculty for the 2019-2020 academic year,” says Lyons. They are Nirav Mehta, Ph.D., associate professor of physics; Rocio Delgado, Ph.D., associate professor of education; and Angela Tarango, Ph.D., associate professor of religion. These Faculty provide one-on-one mentoring that is critical to the program's success.