The McNair Scholars Program is one of eight different programs that comprise the Federal TRiO programs. These programs were created to serve the needs of individuals who might find themselves at a disadvantage in the course of their educational careers, and they typically target students from low-income backgrounds, students from groups underrepresented in higher education, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities. In addition to the McNair Program, other TRiO cluster programs include Upward Bound, which is designed to furnish disadvantaged high school students with opportunities to attend college; Talent Search, which seeks to identify and support high school students via intervention strategies to encourage the pursuit of college education; Student Support Services, which assists college students in ways designed to bolster college retention and graduation rates; Educational Opportunity Centers, which provide interested adults with counseling and education regarding the college admissions progress; Veterans Upward Bound, which seeks to assist veterans in enrolling in college programs through mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and core academic instruction; Upward Bound Math-Science, which offers disadvantaged high school students programming to help them enter into college programs in STEM-related disciplines; and the Training Program for Federal TRiO programs, which aims to increase the effectiveness of other TRiO programs through staff training and development.

 

Below are a list of some of the notable, famous, and/or inspirational alumni/alumnae from across the TRiO spectrum. It is the hope of the CSU McNair Scholars staff that these individuals will give scholars some idea of the wide range of accomplishments and careers that TRiO programs can help to foster and that learning about them will give students a sense of what they too might someday accomplish.

 

 

Kenneth Corn (Democrat) is a former member of the Oklahoma Senate and of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, both stations in which he set records for being the youngest elected official, having become a representative at age twenty-two and a state senator at age twenty-five. He holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma.

 

A. C. Green (A.K.A "Iron Man") is a former NBA player who is noteworthy for having played in more consecutive games (1,192) than any other player in NBA/ABA history. With 1,192 straight games played, he earned the nickname "Iron Man". He has played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. He holds a degree in Speech Communication from Oregon State University.

 

 

 

 

Hector Balderas is an attorney and politician (Democratic Party) who is the current Attorney General of New Mexico. He notably became the youngest Hispanic elected official in the nation after he became State Auditor at the age of thirty-three, and he has additionally served as a member of the New Mexico Legislature. His political work has focused on such issues as criminal justice reform , combatting crime, and improving public education. He holds a B.A. in Politic Science from New Mexico Highlands University and a JD from University of New Mexico Law School.

 

 

 

Patrick Ewing is the present associate head coach of the Charlotte Hornets and a former NBA player. He spent most of his career with the New York Knicks as their starting center and also played with borh the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. He won Olympic gold medals as part of the American Olympic basketball team in both in 1984 and in 1992. He holds a B.A. in Fine Arts from Georgetown University.

 

José Moreno Hernández is a politician, engineer, and former NASA astronaut, who served as chief of the Materials and Processes branch of Johnson Space Center. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of the Pacific and an M.S. in Electrical and Computer engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis are a team of R&B musicians/songwriters/record producers who can boast of more Billboard number ones than any other songwriting/production team in history. The pair met in high school while attending an Upward Bound program on the University of Minnesota campus.

 

 

 

 

 

Oprah Gail Winfrey is a media personality, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist, known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. She has been ranked the most wealthy African-American, lauded as the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and is currently North America's first and only multi-billionaire black person. In 2013, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. She holds degrees in Speech Communications and Performing Arts from Tennessee State University.

 

 

Wil Haygood is a journalist who authored the influential 2008 Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served By This Election." This piece concerned the story of Eugene Allen and later served as the basis for the 2013 movie The Butler. Haygood has since written a book about Allen entitled The Butler: A Witness to History. He holds a B.A. from Miami University