McNair Scholars present at Mokanne Heartland McNair Research Conference

Twelve McNair Scholars and two staff attended the 26th MKN Heartland McNair Conference from Sept. 23-25 in Kansas City, Missouri. On Saturday, Sept. 24, 11 of the scholars presented research from their summer internships, which they completed under the guidance of faculty mentors and the McNair Team.

The McNair Scholars who presented include the following:

• Bailey Britton, senior in mass communications and English, was mentored by A. Abby Knoblauch, Ph.D. She presented "Settler colonialism and indigenous (mis)representation in Manhattan, KS."
• William Crankshaw, junior in social work, was mentored by Lavinia Horner, Ph.D. He presented "Independence of a nation, not of a mind: the identities of Algerians in France implicated by cross-generational trauma."
• Estefani Fernández, senior in psychology, was mentored by Amber Vennum, Ph.D. She presented "Mental health and well-being impact of college students' romantic relationship quality."
• Brandon Green, junior in animal sciences and industry, was mentored by Erika Geisbrecht, Ph.D. He presented "RNAi screen of kinases in Drosophila melanogaster muscle tissue."
• Jaime Knight, senior in agronomy, was mentored by Harold Trick, Ph.D. She presented "Tissue culture and transformation of Amaranthus weed species."
• Hieu Nguyen, senior in biology, was mentored by Kathrin Schrick, Ph.D. He presented "Optimization of genome editing for a developmental pathway in Arabidopsis."
• Julia Rivera, senior in feed science and management, was mentored by Eva Horne, Ph.D. She presented "Bison wallows with longer water retention impact the biodiversity of the Konza Prairie."
• Bailey Roberts, senior in animal sciences and industry, was mentored by Roman Pogranichniy, Ph.D. She presented "Assessment of African swine fever (ASF) risk in Asian farms."
• Katie Rodriguez, senior in psychology and biology, was mentored by Michi Tobler, Ph.D. She presented "Post-copulatory gene expression in gonoducts of Pecilia Mexicana females."
• Lexe West, junior in psychology, was mentored by Kimberly Kirkpatrick, Ph.D. She presented "Abbreviated fixed-interval intervention effects on accuracy and precision in interval timing."
• Agel Yor, senior in apparel and textiles, was mentored by Kim Hiller-Connell, Ph.D. She presented "Students' knowledge of, perceptions about, and behaviors towards the sheep and wool industry: an examination of changes through participation in the Flint Hills Farm to Fashion Camp."

In addition to presenting, the scholars attended a graduate program fair, networked with McNair Scholars from other institutions, and engaged in an overall conference experience. For the fall semester, scholars have also been attending weekly seminars to discuss professional development and engagement and prepare application materials.

The TRIO McNair Scholars Program is currently recruiting for the 28th cohort. Eligible students with an interest in graduate study are still encouraged to apply, though the priority deadline has passed. Faculty and staff who know good candidates should refer them to the program and/or contact the McNair office. For more information, see the program website at k-state.edu/mcnair. The McNair Scholars Program is a Federal TRIO Program administrated by the Department of Education and authorized by Congress and is part of the Kansas State University Office of Student Success.