The Honors Program at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jackson County Campus received a $7,500 NASA Secondary Education Grant for its Student Research and Enrichment Program. This is the tenth year the college has received the grant. The in-kind grant requires the college to also provide $7,500 to the program.

The award allows the program to offer a small stipend to chemistry, physics and biology students for research conducted at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, student teaching at Jackson County elementary and middle schools and docent positions at the Pascagoula River Audubon Center. This semester, MGCCC has 46 honors students participating in the program.

“We are so pleased that we are able to offer our students these opportunities,” said Steve Manis, science instructor at the Jackson County Campus and the grant’s author. “Research in the lab and in the field are vital parts of what a scientist does, so being able to participate in these activities prepares our students for future careers in science and also strengthens their problem-solving abilities.”

Manis said that at the end of the research projects, students are required to write about it, and if possible, present the project to the Mississippi Academy of Sciences at their annual conference in February. The grant also provides bus transportation for students going to the conference and pays for materials for the presentation.”

Three students participating in the program this semester are Jacob Hughes, Katlyn Scott and Meghan Nguyen. They are all working at the Pascagoula River Audubon Center this semester. The three do everything from talking to visitors and working on landscaping to fighting erosion and feeding the various birds that call the area home.

“Participating in the important work that goes on at the center is an awesome way to fulfill the Honors contract,” said sophomore Jacob Hughes. “Working with the wildlife and learning about the problems that face our wetlands, especially in such a beautiful area of the Pascagoula River system, brings so much of what we learn in science classes to life.”

Membership in the Honors Program at the Jackson County Campus requires students to take two honors courses each semester. Students contract a science class and meet with a science instructor to go over the requirements necessary to fulfill the Honor’s contract. The instructor may require the honor student to write a paper or participate in the research program. Students completing the Honors Program are recognized at graduation and receive credit for the program on their transcripts.