USCBe Informed: News & Happenings

Two USCB Students Selected for Prestigious McNair Scholars Program

Two University of South Carolina Beaufort students got a boost toward their academic and professional futures by being selected for the highly competitive Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

This honor is for high-achieving students with aspirations toward graduate study. The McNair Scholars program is part of the federally funded TRIO initiative designed to increase the number of Ph.D. recipients from first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented backgrounds.

The McNair program offers students expanded faculty mentoring, hands-on research experience and academic enrichment, including a summer research symposium.

For sophomore Cybella Migliaccio, a Psychology major, the opportunity represents both a personal milestone and a path toward her long-term goal of becoming a clinical mental health counselor.

“I heard about McNair last year, but I didn’t really understand what it was until I was nominated,” Migliaccio said. “It gives students like me—especially first-generation college students—a head start toward pursuing a Ph.D.”

Migliaccio is deeply involved in campus life. She is a Student Ambassador for USCB Admissions, where she serves as the Ambassador student organization's fundraising chair, works the front desk in the Hargray administration building and leads campus tours. She is also active in the Psychology Club and serves as vice president of the Women in Business student organization. Migliaccio is from from Long Valley, New Jersey.

Her academic interests are rooted in personal experience. After losing a close friend to mental health issues, Migliaccio felt called to help others who are struggling.

"People have always said I'm easy to talk to," she said. "I want to use these skills to become a therapist."

For the research component of the McNair Scholars program, she plans to investigate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy compared to supportive counseling for patients with depression. 

 

USCB's other 2026 McNair Scholar is junior Brittney Aquino, a Biology major and pre-med student. A graduate of Bluffton High School, she balances academics with service. Aquino's passion for healthcare is shaped by her work as a volunteer interpreter at the Volunteers in Medicine clinic on Hilton Head Island.

“Seeing the relief on patients’ faces when someone understands them and can advocate for them—it made me want to pursue medicine even more,” she said.

Her research interests center on improving outcomes for patients whose first language is not English, a topic inspired by her volunteer work and family experiences as patients in public health clinics.

Aquino has presented research at Discover USC on telomere length and its protective role in cellular aging. She has also presented on genetics and gene editing. 

Both Aquino and Migliaccio credit peers — friends at USCB who are previous McNair Scholars —for encouraging them to apply for the program and inspiring them through their own research presentations and conference experiences.

When USCB's spring semester ends, Aquino and Migliaccio will head to Columbia, where they will live in residence halls, attend workshops, and work with faculty mentors who will guide them through their research projects. Both admit to some nerves: Migliaccio jokes about getting lost when navigating a new city and Aquino has never taken an interdisciplinary course. But they are eager to take on the challenge.

Through the McNair Scholars program, they willl present their research findings at the USC Summer Research Symposium at the end of July. Throughout the next academic year, they will continue their research and receive support in preparing for post-graduate study.

Participants in the McNair program are recognized nationally and are often actively recruited by graduate programs that offer incentives such as admissions fee waivers, assistantships, and fellowships.

 

- USCB -

CW 03/18/2026