Graduating Scholars Biographies

Adriana Rosales

Adriana Rosales is graduating with a bachelors of science double majoring in Biology and Spanish. She has had experience working with Dr. Sun and Dr. Goodrich-Blair on  hemorrhage causes decrease in blood pressure and hematocrit in rats.  This has been her favorite research experience so far.  Adriana would like to thank Dr. Conhaim, Kal Watson, all her previous mentors and McNair for guiding her through her undergraduate experience. 

Andrea Gilmore

Andrea Gilmore is graduating this May with a BS in Nursing and is currently working with Dr. Barbara Bowers on Pain Management on Adults with Dementia. In fall of 2009, will enter UW-Madison School of Nursing’s doctoral program.

Alex Olson

Alex is graduating this May with BS in Electrical Engineering.  Since 2007 he has been working with this mentor Professor Shohet on the effects of plasma induced charging on silicon oxide wafers.

DeAna McCusky

DeAna McCusky did an Individual Major in Education with an emphasis in Educacional Policy. She has  been in the Madison area her entire life.  She will be the first to receive a bachelor’s degree out of everyone in her entire family.  Her studies at UW have focused on Educational Policy and she had to create an individual major to pursue this field.  During her time as an undergraduate, DeAna has been very active in the greater Madison community, participating in a variety of different activities and volunteer opportunities. 

As a McNair Scholar, she has worked with mentor Mary Louise Gomez in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction to look at ways in which Latino/a identity affect the experiences of Latino/as in the teacher education program here at UW through the analysis of personal narratives and life history reports.

DeAna looks forward to continuing her studies in Educational Policy this fall.  Upon completing graduate school, she hopes to have a significant impact on school policies through a position with the state or federal government. 

Jessica Tilghman

Jessica Tilghman will be graduating with a degree in Biology. During her time at UW, she has participated in many academic programs including the Chancellor’s Scholars Program, the International Research Experience for Students and the Undergraduate Research Scholars. As a McNair scholar, Jessica worked with Dr. Gurwattan Miranpuri in the Neurosurgery, studying the underlying mechanisms of neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury.

This fall Jessica will participate in a postbacculaurate research internship. Following the internship, she plans to begin graduate studies in neuropharmacology, researching potential treatments for various neurological and psychological illnesses.

Jesus F. Arreguin

Jesus F. Arreguin (also known as Zeus) was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and came to Beloit, Wisconsin with his mother where he spent most of his early childhood.  He then moved to his father’s home in Janesville, WI where he lived until he graduated high school from Joseph A. Craig High.  One of his biggest accomplishments was his admissions to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he achieved his highest honor, becoming a Ronald E. McNair Scholar!  As a McNair Scholar, Jesus (Zeus) has elevated his academic work in various research projects; “Mathematical and Reading Comprehension using Physical and Imaginative Manipulation in a pre-dominantly African American Elementary School in Milwaukee, WI”.  Jesus assisted Dr. Arthur M. Glenberg (Department of Psychology) on this project, however after Dr. Glenberg accepted a position at Arizona State University, Jesus seeked a new mentor who he now works with in the research of “Inter-racial Competence in 8th grade middle school students”.  His current mentor is Dr. Stephen M. Quintana (Department of Counseling Psychology and Education).  Jesus will leave UW-Madison with a minor in Psychology and a major in Sociology and has been admitted into both the UW-Milwaukee and UW-Whitewater Counseling Psychology programs but has not decided which one he will attend.  It is my pleasure to introduce Jesus F. Arreguin (also known as Zeus).

Kristen Jones

Kristen M. Jones is a fifth-year senior double majoring in Physics and Astronomy-Physics, and is additionally pursuing a Certificate in Women’s Studies. She is interested in experimental astrophysical research, particularly in the fields of cosmology and planetary sciences; her area of specialty is instrumentation-based research. She has been involved in several research projects including constructing a room-temperature antenna and receiver at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, studying high mass star formation and small radio telescope interferometry. She also did an independent research on the obstacles faced historically by women involved in physics and astronomy, and hopes to submit her findings for publication by the end of the year. Kristen has founded a Women in Physics group to support undergraduates and graduate students as well as scientists and faculty members in the physics department. As a tutor with the Physics Learning Center, Kristen is additionally interested in changing the way that physics is taught to non-physicists.

This fall, Kristen plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Astronomy at the University of Virginia. She plans to one day pursue a career as a professor at a research university, a research scientist with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, or as the director of NASA.

Padau Yang

I began my college career majoring in art, then biology, and then NURSING. I’ve had the good fortune of attaining scholarly achievements while in nursing school such as being a McNair research scholar, numerous scholarships such as the St. Mary’s Minority Health Care scholarship (St. Mary’s will be including me in a feature of their newpaper), Lora L. Marshall Scholarship, and Helen Denne Schulte Minority Student Scholarship, and co-founding the Multicultural Student Nurses Organization (MSNO).  My vision for MSNO’s purpose was to foster understanding and appreciation for differences in cultures, perspectives, and abilities with a nursing approach, and our Nursing School supports and believes there is such a need.  I also attained good academic standing this past fall semester that State Senator, Dan Kapanke, and State Representative, Jennifer Shilling, personally wrote me congratulatory letters.  My most cherished academic accomplishments though have been the personal ones, the small steps towards knowledge and the comrades bridged.  They are priceless. 

I was born in the refugee camp of Bon Vinai, Thailand.  I am privileged today to be in the United States while many Hmong are dying to live.  I am privileged to receive an education, to sow the opportunities given to me such as being a part of McNair, and to be fruitful in my success.

In near the future, I would like to work at a hospital for the first year or two of my nursing career.  Then attend graduate school, become an advance practice nurse in mental health, and do research.  I would also love to share my nursing skills and research abroad, outside of the United States.

Pao Hou Zeng Lia Her

Pao Hou Zeng Lia Her will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Systems Engineering, specializing in Machinery Systems Engineering. Pao's collegiate experiences range from studying abroad in Japan to internships and co-ops across the  the United States, and of course the McNair's scholars program. Pao has done research with several professors ranging from nanotechnology to research on fish breeding. To Pao, fish is not a hobby; it's a passion and an addiction. This fall, Pao will look to continue his studies in Limnology of fish breeding with African cichlids, and other various exotic fish.

Ryan Adserias

Ryan will be graduating this Spring with B.A.s in History and Gender and Women's Studies and a Certificate of LGBT Studies. He will be entering theMaster's program in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison in the Fall and will one day pursue a Ph.D Educational Policy Studies.

Stefanie Jones

Stefanie Jones is a first generation college student.  This May she will be receiving a Bachelor's of Science in Theatre and Drama, Biology, and Medical Microbiology and Immunology, as well as a Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies. Throughout the past five years, Stefanie has been involved in too many campus and community organizations to name.  The experiences that have affected her most profoundly have been with the cooperative movement and the social justice movement in Madison and beyond.  She has learned so much from these people throughout the years, and looks forward to bringing their work into a new arena.

Stefanie has enjoyed working with her mentor, Dr. Kristin Hunt, even though things were rough sometimes.  Stefanie look forward to work on her PhD program in theatre.  City University of New York graduate center

Theo Sanford

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”-Buddha

Theo Elliott Sanford is 23-years-old and hails from Chicago, Illinois. They youngest of five sisters and brothers, raised by strong minded and hard-working parents; Theo always knew he’d rise out of the slums of his destitute community. In the fall of 2004, he came to UW-Madison as a Posse scholar. The Posse Foundation is a nonprofit organization that identifies, recruits, and trains student leaders to form multicultural teams called "Posses" of 10 to 12 Posse Scholars. These teams are then prepared, through an intensive eight-month Pre-Collegiate Training Program, for enrollment at top-tier universities nationwide to pursue their academics and to help promote cross-cultural communication on college campuses.

His leadership training and innate intra-personal skills have awarded Theo positions such as the 3-year president and charter member of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), Undergraduate Research Scholars-fellow, and the Phi Eta Sigma honor society. But it has been his unmatched ambition and work-ethic which have contributed toward his professional goals. He has held impressive internships and lab stints with medical-science leaders such as the Aseem Ansari Biochemistry lab, Mount Sinai Medical School of New York, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he shadowed doctors in the ER.

Recently, Theo was offered a position at a premiere research lab in New York City where he will work with a mentor and department researching HIV/AIDS. As for the future, he plans to commence his graduate studies in the fall of 2010 as he pursues his MD/Ph.D from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Theo leaves the University of Wisconsin as a graduate of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a Biology/Genetics major and dedicates his degree to his late father, Clarence Sanford Sr., who always shone light on his path.