MCS Welcomes Its First Tartan Scholars
By Emily Payne
Media Inquiries- Associate Dean for Communications, MCS
This semester, Carnegie Mellon University welcomed its first cohort of Tartan Scholars to campus. The Tartan Scholars program seeks to build a community of support and leadership among incoming first-year students who are academically high-achieving and come from low-income backgrounds. Forty-three students, including six incoming Mellon College of Science Students, arrived in early August for a weeklong pre-orientation.
The pre-orientation program offered students an early peek of life at Carnegie Mellon. They were introduced to various resources on campus and had to chance to begin building meaningful relationships with staff and faculty mentors as well as their fellow Tartan Scholars. It also allowed the students to explore their individual colleges in more in-depth ways than most. For the MCS Tartan Scholars that included embarking on a behind-the-scenes tour of the departments and laboratories within the college.
Beginning in the Mellon Institute, the students visited the Neuroimaging Center and saw the newly installed 3-Tesla Siemens Prisma MRI Scanner in action. They also met with Department Head Veronica Hinman and Professor Jon Minden to hear about undergraduate research opportunities in the Biological Sciences Department. In Wean Hall, they toured a large clean room where Associate Dean for Research Curtis Meyer’s group built a particle detector that was installed in an accelerator at Jefferson Lab in Virginia. At their last stop, the students learned about how Assistant Professor of Physics Ben Hunt’s lab measures and characterizes the quantum properties of 2D materials in temperatures just above absolute zero.
Get to Know MCS’s Tartan Scholars
MarQia Allen, Washington D.C., biological sciences and psychology
Why did you choose to come to Carnegie Mellon?
After heavily deliberating about what school was the best fit for me, I had a chance to visit in April for Admitted Students Day. After touring the science labs where I was familiar with all of the equipment, I heard the tour guide discuss how he does not feel limited at CMU. I knew this school was a good place for me because I could explore all of my passions without feeling forced to follow one discipline.
What was your favorite part of the tour?
My favorite part of the tour was learning about the complexity behind the new MRI section of the neuroscience research labs.
What does being a Tartan Scholar mean to you?
Though I was tentative about moving to campus early and not having a traditional freshman experience, I am truly in awe of the opportunities that exist within Tartan Scholars. From bridging lifelong connections in just a week, I was able to improve my public speaking skills and collaborate with other diligent individuals. The one thing I wanted most out of CMU — a family — I have found in this organization. I always question why CMU chose me out of other applicants who could have taken my spot, but Tartan Scholars remind me that nothing is done on accident. This program is my first step to improving myself as both a student and a person.
Sophie Li, Philadelphia, biological sciences with an additional major in computer science
What were you most surprised to learn about on the tour?
The fact that Batman the Dark Knight was filmed in front of the Mellon Institute really surprised me.
What are you looking forward to getting involved in at Carnegie Mellon?
I am really looking forward to participating in research.
What does being a Tartan Scholar mean to you?
The Tartan Scholars program has provided me with a strong support system that I feel like I can rely on for help when I am struggling.
Ola Owodunni, Philadelphia, biological sciences
What were you most surprised to learn about on the tour?
My favorite part was seeing the MRI room and getting to see a MRI of a tomato.
What does being a Tartan Scholar mean to you?
To be a scholar, it means to be a part of a family. The bond between us all is unbelievable. No matter where we are, we manage to find each other.
David Phan, San Francisco, mathematical sciences
Why did you choose to come to Carnegie Mellon?
I came to Carnegie Mellon because it was good in both math and art. It’s also far away and is located in a great city.
What were you most surprised to learn about on the tour?
I was surprised to learn about the atom-thick graphene sheet that Dr. Ben Hunt is using to try to make transistors.
What does being a Tartan Scholar mean to you?
I’ve only been a Tartan Scholar for a little bit, but I can already tell that it’s going to be very important for me. It’s great to be connected with other people who understand financial struggles and to be in such a close knit community before school even starts.
David Sanchez, Los Angeles, physics
Why did you choose to come to Carnegie Mellon?
I chose CMU because I knew that I would be able to surround myself with people that were as enthusiastic about science as I am and it won't just be for a grade but rather for the knowledge.
What was your favorite part of the tour?
My favorite part of the tour is similar to why I chose CMU: the professors and students were all enjoying their time learning the material and teaching it. I also enjoyed learning about the MRI! It is one of the best built and it is very quick.
What does being a Tartan Scholar mean to you?
Being a Tartan Scholar has taught me that CMU isn't just studying and staying in your dorm but rather socializing and getting to know each other at a more emotional level and having a community that we can all talk to. It has taught me that I am not alone at CMU.
Veronique Wright, New York, biochemistry
Why did you choose to come to Carnegie Mellon?
I chose to apply to CMU because of its extremely talented, challenging, and interdisciplinary academic environment. However, I chose to attend CMU because of the warm and inclusive social environment that I saw when I visited campus. When I visited CMU, I could envision the next four years of my life here.
What were you most surprised to learn about on the tour?
I was most surprised to learn about the variation in (double) minors or double majors that a student can engage in while being associated in MCS. A student's minor subject doesn't have to be STEM-related, it can be areas of study at different ends of the spectrum, such as business, any area of the arts, etc.
What does being a Tartan Scholar mean to you?
Being a Tartan Scholar means belonging to an incredible group of individuals who are all unique and passionate in all different ways. Participating in the Tartan Scholars Programs has provided me with a group of amazing CMU first-year students who share similar backgrounds and who understand me in a way that many of the other CMU students cannot. The Tartan Scholars give me the opportunity to be who I am, uncensored and lacking inhibition, and they have helped me break out of my reserved nature, and socialize and make new friends. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone, and into the hands of acceptance and support. They are my Tartan family.