Texhoma graduate to present intensive research at West Texas
CANYON, Texas — Valeria Porras-Viezcas, a 2017 graduate of Texhoma High School, is one of the top West Texas A&M University (WT) undergraduate students to present results of months of intensive research in upcoming video presentations.
Eleven students in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program will be featured in five-minute video presentations beginning Tuesday, Nov. 17. Typically, students give in-person presentations, but this year’s situation is different due to the pandemic. Faculty of the McNair Scholars program hope the new platform will work in the students’ benefit.
These students have researched topics like “the impact of sleep on performance, the perception of safety for activities during the pandemic, superconductors, Texas Panhandle allergenic fungi, Mexican identity expressed through the arts, the impact of chronic stress on cardiovascular health, accessibility for the physically disabled and how COVID-19 has affected employee morale,” according to WT Communications Specialist Chip Chandler.
Porras-Viezcas chose to study the barriers that students with disabilities face on college campuses for a number of reasons. “My younger brother had a physical disability that restricted him to only being able to use a wheelchair as his daily navigation source,” Porras-Viezcas explained. “Once I got into college, I began to realize little things walking-abled people might not give a second thought to... like cutting through the grass to make quick time to get to class or accessible entries to buildings. I would realize these things, but I [had never] investigated just how much of a difference it is to navigate around a college campus in a wheelchair. When I got the opportunity to conduct research as a McNair Scholar, I already knew what I wanted to investigate... This topic needs to be spoken about as it affects so many students with physical disabilities.”
As a 2020 McNair Scholar, Porras-Viezcas
feels she has learned research skills that will aid her further in her educational path. “Being a part of the McNair program has taught me so much about research and the importance of it. This program is for students that plan to attend graduate school— it helps prepare students for their future doctoral studies through involvement in research,” she said. After completing her undergraduate studies at WT, the senior plans to attend physical therapy school in Texas to pursue a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.
WT’s 2020 class of McNair scholars includes: Gabriel Martinez, a junior history major from Hereford, Texas; Mariela Castanon, a senior sports and exercise science major from Amarillo, Texas; Isaias Colunga, a senior sports and exercise science major from Silverton, Texas; Lyanna De Leon, a senior biology major from Amarillo, Texas; Sharon Quintero Diaz, a junior political science and history major from Waxahachie, Texas; Nicholas Dominguez, a junior physics major from Hereford, Texas; Eliana Flores, a senior history major from Denver City, Texas; Yanai Otero La Porte, a senior psychology major from Killeen, Texas; Adriana Martinez, a junior mechanical engineering major from Amarillo, Texas; Jennifer Martinez, a junior psychology/pre-med major from Amarillo, Texas; and Valeria Porras-Viezcas, a senior sports and exercise science major from Texhoma, Oklahoma.
The program is named for Dr. Ronald E. McNair, who was killed in the 1968 Challenger mission and was the second African American to fly in space. Over the course of the program’s 21-year history at WT, 70 percent of McNair scholars enter graduate school directly after graduation, 81 students have completed a master’s degrees and 18 scholars have completed doctoral or professional degrees, according to Chandler.