THIBODAUX ā BP invested $50,000 in a ¹ū¶³APP program that provides biology students with yearlong research and mentoring experiences.
Created to improve the retention of science majors, the Scholarship āNā Action program targets first-generation freshmen and sophomores as well as minorities and women. Selected students are teamed up with faculty mentors and work on laboratory and field research projects in various biology disciplines. Dr. Raj Boopathy, distinguished service professor of biological sciences, said Scholarship āNā Action enhances one-on-one mentoring, elevates the quality of research being done at ¹ū¶³APP, engages diverse students in science and enriches the undergraduate research experience.
āThis program broadens studentsā horizons regarding science careers and produces well-qualified science teachers who have research experience,ā he said. āOur program has several successful alumni who have gone on to graduate school and impressive careers. BPās generous support will help make it possible for eight more students to participateĀ in this yearās program.ā
Al Ledet, a 1982 ¹ū¶³APP graduate and facility manager of BP Preservation & Maintenance Facility in Schriever, said this donation is one of several investments BP is making to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
āBP is very proud to partner with ¹ū¶³APP to continue this program and help keep students interested in the sciences,ā said Ledet, whose son Dylan is a pre-medicine major at ¹ū¶³APP. āWe hope that these long-term relationships will help build up the next generation of mathematicians, engineers and scientists.ā
Previously, Scholarship āNā Action was funded by the Louisiana Board of Regents through a five-year, post-Katrina stimulus grant. For the program to continue as its current level, ¹ū¶³APP must raise $100,000 in private funds each year to cover student stipends, research supplies and travel funds. For more information on donating to Scholarship āNā Action, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement atĀ 985-448-4005.