Beyond the classroom

In 2022, NMSU welcomed the return of the McNair Scholars Program, a federal TRIO program designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities.

Three years later, several NMSU students have the program to thank for the progress they’ve made toward their future, both academically and in their careers.

“What I want our first-generation students to know about McNair is this: If you want to go beyond the bachelor’s degree with your education, if you’re a curious person who loves learning and are willing to work hard, then going for the Ph.D. or graduate school may be for you, and the McNair program can help you get there,” says Marko Mohlenhoff, NMSU McNair Scholars Program director.

Karyme Gomez-Sanchez ’25, a native of Columbus, New Mexico, applied for the McNair program to further her goals, especially as a first-generation college student.

“I often felt like programs that advertised themselves to be sources of help for students who wanted to apply to graduate school in the future ignored the disparities that first-generation college students face,” Gomez-Sanchez says. “These disparities felt even worse if we looked into Hispanic populations and the percentage of women who are part of that population.”

For Gomez-Sanchez, who majored in counseling and community psychology and worked as a writing tutor on campus, being a McNair Scholar has given her several opportunities, including getting to present at national conferences in her area of study, like the annual National Association of School Psychologists Conference.

“These opportunities were all made possible by the academic and financial support that the program offers its scholars as they begin to engage in research and create new knowledge in their respective fields,” Gomez-Sanchez says. “I also feel like I made some amazing connections with my fellow scholars, and they’re people who I still hold close to my heart and hope to see succeed.”

Ruben Morales, a first-generation college student who is double-majoring in sociology and justice, political philosophy, and law, graduates in spring 2027. The Los Lunas, New Mexico, native learned about the McNair program at the end of his freshman year at NMSU when he met Mohlenhoff while volunteering for a Hispanic Scholarship Fund event.

“That simple, yet life-changing introduction felt like the opening of a door – one that revealed a future brimming with possibility, even when I had once doubted my own potential,” Morales says. “McNair is not simply another program; it is the foundation upon which one can build a transformative future.”

Morales, who is also a TRIO mentor and Honors College ambassador, says what he’s learned through the program has extended beyond just research and academics.

“I have been able to gain a sense of belonging and empowerment that comes from sharing my journey with peers and mentors who truly care,” he says. “I have grown and learned so much about myself, and my passions for helping those in need through the policy research I aim to conduct through the help of McNair.”

Saul Hernandez says he learned about the McNair program by reading a flyer but doesn’t recall if it was posted outside of Zuhl Library, or if it flew to him. Either way, it was fated in the stars, so to speak.

“I started college with just the idea of getting a bachelor’s degree and wasn’t sure what to do other than get it,” says Hernandez, a physics major and Deming, New Mexico, native who graduates in spring 2026. “I think the program gave me an academic goal, it gave me a career goal, and it helped me understand what each was.”

Hernandez’s research focuses on the molecular dynamic simulations of the KIF-14 molecular motor protein. A U.S. Army veteran, Hernandez presented at a national conference in March 2025, and is currently working on a research paper as the first author.

“College at first didn’t seem like anything I wanted. I wasn’t sure what to do until I came to the McNair program,” Hernandez says. “At the same time, I found out about physics. It captivated me and made me realize what I wanted to learn and pour my time into.”

For more information about the McNair Scholars program, visit nmsu.link/mcnair.