Millennium Scholars say program key to success

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State student Matias Moreno sees a path to bettering his own future in higher education. He sees the engineering skills he’s learning along the way as a path to a more sustainable future for all of us.

Moreno, a sophomore majoring in materials science and engineering, has already found opportunities to expand his knowledge of using materials to create a better, more sustainable society. He’s among dozens of undergraduates to take part in the Millennium Scholars Program through the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS).

The Millennium Scholars Program (MSP) began in 2013 at Penn State — EMS joined in 2016 — as a way to expand opportunities for academically talented students from underserved communities while opening doors for these students to become leaders in their chosen field. This GivingTuesday, EMS again is focusing on increasing funding for Millennium Scholars, aiming to support three additional scholars with a $30,000 goal. EMS already is near the halfway point, thanks to three alums donating $13,500 in matching funds.

Moreno, like many of his peers, hit the ground running at Penn State. He’s an undergraduate researcher at Penn State and the University of Michigan. He also completed a coastal sustainability course in Belize, offered through The GREEN Program.    

Moreno said the Millennium Scholars Program, which offers assistance for tuition, housing and travel, is key to these opportunities.

“The program allowed me to pursue hands-on experiences in materials science, both on and off campus,” Moreno said. “I joined an embedded study abroad program in Belize, where I worked with the Belize Women’s Seaweed Farmers Association to design sustainable solutions for local communities facing environmental challenges. Next semester, I’ll study at the National University of Singapore, learning about their urban sustainability efforts, which will give me a unique perspective on how different countries address environmental issues.”

He said it also helped him earn the summer research position at Michigan. There, he helped create materials to improve solar energy production.

“By working on these projects, I’ve built skills and a broader view of how sustainable technology can be applied in real-world settings, and I hope to inspire others from similar backgrounds to see the impact they can make in STEM,” Moreno said.

Similarly, Ava Yurchak found a home in EMS and in the MSP. Yurchak took advantage of research experiences through NASA’s Pennsylvania Space Grant and as a lab assistant at Penn State. Yurchak, a senior majoring in geosciences, wants to earn a master’s or doctoral degree and credits the program with opening doors.

“The Millennium Scholars Program has supported me through every step of my undergraduate degree," Yurchak said. “From the financial assistance to the mentoring to the community, I am so thankful for everything they have done for me. I was able to start off already having friends and goals for my educational career, and now I am graduating with a family and a clear path to graduate school.”

The program is already producing results. About half of the roughly 40 MSP students in EMS have gone on to graduate programs at elite universities such as Penn State, Clemson or Stanford. Others joined national labs or entered industry at places such as Hyundai.

Delián Colón Burgos, a MSP graduate who was inspired to study severe weather events after watching storms ravage her home of Puerto Rico, is a master’s degree student and graduate research assistant at the Colorado State University’s Tropical Weather and Climate research group. She credits the program with helping her get there.

“The Millennium Scholars Program played a substantial role in my development as a young atmospheric scientist, thanks to its supportive community,” Colón Burgos said. “MSP gave me the confidence and tools I need to perform impactful research in graduate school and continue to break barriers in the STEM fields.”

Gifts to GivingTuesday advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.