Charee Holloway

I’ve noticed a pattern in life, just when you think you have things figured out, just when you get comfortable with things, your world seems to have remarkable and inevitable tendency to change. Honestly I didn’t come to this realization until just this past year when I became aware of the fact that in just one year, God willing, I will be graduating, having completed my time as an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame. Everyone keeps saying I’m supposed to be happy and excited; a bright eyed, young graduate ready to take on the world, right? What they don’t tell you about or talk about is the uncertainty of the future and the fear that comes with taking the next step. All of us McNair Scholars are entering our Junior or Senior years, which means that our lives are fast approaching some drastic changes.

While the future may be uncertain, I have no doubt that all of us will land on our feet. I know this because of the people I have met in this program. You’d be surprised at how well you get you get to know people when you go through something like what we have experienced this summer. You get to know everyone’s individual quirks and idiosyncracies sometimes maybe better than ever really wanted to. But the most important thing that I learned is that I am not alone. I am not alone in my fears and uncertainties of the future. I am not alone in my determination and my will to succeed and prosper. I am also not alone in my anxiousness for the future to be today. I cannot explain to you enough how much this has meant for all of us here.

Beyond the classes that have helped us prepare for Graduation Record Exam, the Graduate School application process and doing research and writing at the graduate level, this program has allowed us to build relationships that will last long past the time that we cash that very last check. The late nights spent in the lounge sharing our goals and aspirations for the future, at least for me, have helped me to breathe so much easier. Simply being exposed and surrounded by our incredible mentors has helped many of grow not only as academics and scholars, but as people.

This program has given all us a foundation that we will can stand on and the luxury of being able to share our burdens and experiences. The relationships that we have developed both with the McNair Scholars administration, our teachers, our mentors and each other has contributed significantly to the support system that we will need for the rest of our lives.

This program has been an amazing opportunity that I am supremely grateful for. On behalf of the McNair Scholars I would like to extend our most sincere and heartfelt thanks to the extraordinary people that have made this possible. First off, I cannot express enough gratitude to our wonderful mentors... thank you so much for sharing your time and the incredible breath of your experience, knowledge and skill with us. Thank you to Dr. Donald Pope-Davis for having the faith and trust to allow each of us the chance to be here and show you what we can do. To the McNair Scholars Administrative Assistant Mary Nichols for the many things she does including giving us unlimited use of her copy machine, delegating those biweekly checks, and all of the countless unseen things she does for all of us and the program all year long. To our Graduate student resident assistants Marcee Turner and Roger Brooks, for your confidence and support (and a special thanks for those always fun movie nights:) To our Professors and instructors Dr. Terence Akai, Connie Mick, Erica Benavides, Dorian Warren, thank you for your efforts to help us become the academics of the future and your support and aid that extended and continues to extend far beyond the classroom. We would also like to thank the University of Dame for sharing its campus and facilities with us. I know that all of us would like to thank our families who have shared in all of our moments, both good and bad, for the last eight weeks. Finally, I would like to extend a personal thank you to all of my fellow McNair Scholars who have all become not only a tremendous resource that I will benefit from for the rest of my life, but my friends as well. Again, thanks to you all for this incredible experience.