Twelve students will get the opportunity to share a year's worth of research with the OU community Thursday and Friday.

Students in the McNair Scholars Program will be presenting their research in the form of a poster presentation. The McNair Scholars Program is designed to assist and prepare students for graduate school.

Shannon Freeman, director of the McNair Scholars Program, said they started the idea of a poster presentation to give the scholars a chance to present their research and get recognition for the program.

"The McNair Scholars are very talented," Freeman said. "Their research topics are interesting to me, and I think they will be to others."

Freeman said she would like as many as possible to view the presentations the scholars have worked so hard on. The topics range from disciplines of mechanical engineering to education to psychology.

The posters will be displayed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union Beaird Lounge lobby.

Freeman said the posters will be visible and people can walk around and ask questions about the posters, program and research.

Even though this is the first time Scholars will present posters, they have attended various conferences, across the nation. Scholars have traveled to Colorado and Denton to give PowerPoint presentations on their research.

Baranda Fermin, elementary education senior, has been a part of the McNair Program for a year and will present her research on Friday.

Fermin's research focuses on emergent literacy and how adults can help children develop their language skills. She said she conducted her research so she could share it with others.

"You don't research to keep it to yourself," Fermin said. "You share with others to change something about your world."

Danielle DeHaas, project specialist for the McNair Scholars Program, said she and Freeman would like to use the poster presentations as an opportunity to spread the word about the program.

"We want to promote the McNair Scholars Program," DeHaas said. "We want to spark interest and show support for our Scholars."

DeHaas said they will have a booth set up to answer students' questions about the program.

The McNair Scholars program is a government funded program named after Ronald E. McNair, who died aboard the Challenger.

Freeman said Scholars are paired with a faculty mentor who will help guide their research. She said the program provides resources such as GRE test preparation, assistance with graduate school applications and incentives from universities nationwide who recruit McNair Scholars.

"It's a wonderful program," Freeman said. "Each year the applicant pool becomes more competitive." Currently, only 20 are excepted into the program.

Fermin said it is not as competitive like most scholarships.

"You don't have to think about if you're good enough," Fermin said. "You just have to have a dream."
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