Twelve West Virginia University students have been named Ronald E. McNair Scholars.

The program, federally funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, assists first generation college students and minority college students in preparing for graduate education. The program bears the name of Ronald E. McNair, who died along with six of his astronaut colleagues aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.

Once accepted, students remain in the program until they earn undergraduate degrees. McNair Scholars also receive funding for a six-week-long research project, research writing and skills training, standardized test preparation, graduate school campus visits, graduate placement assistance and other professional development opportunities.

WVU s newest group of McNair Scholars are: Tochukwu Aguoji, management/marketing major from Elmont, N.Y.; Nicole Bono, exercise physiology major from Morgantown; Jon Bosley, environmental geoscience major from Durbin; Amber Davis, psychology major from Charleston, Donald Hill, finance major from Westover; Adrian Thompson, psychology major from Apopka, Fla.; Daniel Trejo, Regents BA program, Morgantown; Rose Mazza, foreign languages major from Clarksburg; Patricia Underwood, art education major from Morgantown; Brianne Williams, mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Hyattsville, Md.; Christopher Williamson, political science major from Dingess; and Jonathan Young, economics and political science major from Charleston.

These scholars will be participating in the McNair Summer Research Internship, which will run from May 19 to June 26. Students will be conduct research with a faculty mentor in their discipline. Other activities include graduate school campus visits and cultural enrichment activities in Washington, D.C., in June.

The program is open to full-time WVU students who have completed their sophomore year of study, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and are considering graduate school. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and/or permanent legal U.S. residents and be first generation college students with demonstrated need or a member of the numerically under-represented, such as African-Americans, Latino-Americans and Native Americans.

For more information contact the McNair Scholars Office at 293-4316 or visit their website: http://www.wvu.edu/~mcnair .