The McNair Scholars Research Symposium is conducted annually on campus. Working together with some of the scholars from Adrian College, these scholars come together to present their research projects that they have been working on.

The junior scholars present a poster presentation that showcases their research topic, the methods that are involved and the conclusions that have come from this research. The seniors have a different role. They present their posters again from their junior year, but also do an oral presentation that involves presenting their research projects through a Powerpoint.

“Being able to see all of the posters up and being able to see the progress from junior to senior is something the Siena community looks forward to,” said Leah Mayer, interim McNair director.

She said the McNair program also helps these students get ready for this symposium.

“We do a lot of rehearsing to help the students get practice with getting their research topic out there so that students from other majors can understand their topic,” said Mayer.

There were 11 juniors and seven seniors involved in the symposium this year. One of the seniors who did an oral presentation was Patrick Allen. His research topic was “Developing Hispanic/Latino Cultural Competence Among Undergraduate Nursing Students.” He highlighted many different ways that undergraduates can be prepared in the nursing field, such as taking more classes during their undergraduate degree. He said that can make a big difference in the future with approaching Hispanic/Latino patients – and how to approach them when actually in the field.

Another senior who did an oral presentation was Angel Ward. Her research topic was “Rape Myth Acceptance Effects on Risk Detection in a Sexual Assault Vignette.” She discussed many different facts that she discovered by doing her research and also from doing surveys. She then presented her conclusions.

“Women have even higher levels of rape myth acceptance rather than men,” said Ward. She then thanked everybody who had helped her throughout her research process, which is what all the senior scholars did after their oral presentations.

After the senior oral presentations take place, there is a special ceremony that follows. The junior scholars receive a pin from the current senior scholars. Each senior scholar gives two students a pin and wishes them good luck.

This symposium shows the dedication and hard work of the junior and senior scholars – and gives them a chance to show how it has paid off.