When Dr. Angelia Gibson and I were dreaming up this program, we weren’t sure it would ever become a reality.  We waited and waited to hear from NSF and then, BOOM, there it was, the letter saying that we had convinced them this program was up to their standards.

We  created promotional and  application materials, distributed them, and waited for the applications to come in. We  created peer mentor applications and waited for those to come in. We  made the the offers and waited for the students  to accept.

Peer mentors Josh Hunley, Kayla Lewis, Emily Pickett and Travis Wilson

We spent the summer organizing and planning everything from field trips to Oak Ridge National Labs to box lunches.  We purchased equipment for labs, we created activities and spreadsheets.  We had meetings and more meetings and we depended on people from the admissions office, residence life, the financial aid office,  and the business office in ways we never had before.  Finally it was all set up and ready to go.

Then, we all waited for everyone to show up and after all that waiting, here they are!

These 13 students will always have a place in Maryville College history as the first class of Scots Science Scholars. We wish them luck in their college journey.

It was worth the wait.

Posted by Dr. Maria Siopsis