Rita A. Snyder, daughter of Cindy and Brad Snyder, has been named a 2008-09 West Virginia University Eberly Scholar and a 2008 McNair Scholar.
Twenty-five Eberly Scholars are recognized each year by WVU's Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. The award is the College's most prestigious scholarship award for undergraduates.
The McNair Scholars Program helps prepare first-generation college students and minorities underrepresented in graduate education for doctoral studies through independent research and other scholarly activities. The program's namesake was engineer, scientist and NASA astronaut, Ronald E. McNair, who was killed in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger explosion.
McNair Scholars also have an opportunity to travel to graduate schools across the nation. Through campus visits, students are able to meet with faculty members and learn about a variety of graduate programs and network with others in their fields of interest.
Faculty mentors and support staff at the University provide academic counseling and assistance as scholars apply to graduate programs. The program also teams participants with a student mentor who has participated in the McNair Scholars Program and is currently enrolled in graduate school.
Snyder, a political science and women's studies major with a minor in history plans to complete her undergraduate degree and pursue a doctoral degree in public policy.