BY ZAWADI NICHOLAS, student writer
| Kristen Donna Patrice McLean, sophomore chemical and engineering major at Oakwood, has been admitted into NASA's Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP). |
Out of
237 applicants nationwide, Kristen is one of the 10 undergraduates to receive
the competitive MUREP scholarship. This program awards an academic stipend
worth as much as $9,000 per year. This includes $6,000 for each 10-week summer
internship she completes at a NASA center. She anticipates working at NASA's
Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, for her internship this summer.
NASA
hopes to increase minority representation in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics, more commonly known as the STEM fields. MUREP targets students
at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Hispanic Serving
Institutions (HSIs); and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs),
and encourages these universities to utilize teacher preparation programs
that improve the quality and diversity of STEM instructors.
Kristen's
ultimate goal is to become a chemical engineer. Chemical Engineers use a
combination of chemistry and engineering to develop economical solutions for
using materials and energy. Chemical engineers produce things like medicine and
plastics, and many work in food production. Kristen is open to all the
possibilities. She says, "I aspire to one day become a chemical engineer
developing materials to better our everyday lives. Whether that means making
more efficient energy sources or traveling to space, I am excited to go
wherever God leads me."
