Ten scholars from Cal State Fullerton’s McNair Scholars Program will be graduating this spring and advancing to graduate and doctoral programs all across the country.
The federally funded McNair Scholars Program was established at CSUF in 1999 to provide low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students with opportunities to prepare for and succeed in advanced degrees.
As part of the program, McNair Scholars take part in special seminars and are paired with professors who mentor and conduct research with them. Scholars present their findings at conferences throughout the world and publish research articles in academic journals, boosting their chances of getting accepted into graduate programs.
Four of this year’s graduating class will be attending doctoral programs this fall with full scholarships. They are:
- Robert Cortes of Fullerton, Texas A&M University doctoral program in philosophy
- Sirena Ibrahim of Riverside, Stony Brook University/State University of New York, doctoral program in psychology
- Jennifer Spencer of Rancho Santa Margarita, Baylor College of Medicine, doctoral program in molecular virology and microbiology
- Jose Zavala of Chino, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, doctoral program in chemistry
In addition, Christina Tran of Glendora, received a full scholarship to attend the master of science in mathematics program at Portland State University.
Other graduates, their cities of residence and the programs they are entering this fall:
- Ashley Adams of Irvine, MFA program in design, California College of the Arts
- Jaime Cabrera of Santa Ana, master of science in computer science, Cal State Fullerton
- Kelly Logan of Long Beach, master of social work, University of Pennsylvania
- Donald Nguyen of West Covina, master of arts in psychology in education, Teachers College at Columbia University
- Lucelli Porron of Santa Ana, master of science in psychology, Cal State Fullerton