Three Mississippi State University students recently received honorable mentions from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program.
 The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established in 1986 in honor of Sen. Barry Goldwater, who served 30 years in the U.S. Senate. The reward is awarded to college students who are interested in pursuing research professions in the fields of engineering, science and mathematics.
 The recipients of the award are as follows: Matthew Blair, junior civil engineering major, Kate Thompson, junior biochemistry major and Cameron Clarke, junior physics major.
Those endowed applied to their school, and their applications were then sent to a national committee. Qualifiers for the award include undergraduate scientific research activity, the quality of that research and being a sophomore or junior.
Each of the three students who received honorable mention applied for the scholarship for the prestige of the award, to give back to the university and for their resumes.
Matthew Blair, native of Clear Spring, Md., said he was overjoyed upon discovering he had received honorable mention, but still wished he could have gone further.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because people put so much into us as students and help us along the way that we really want to give back as great as we can,” Blair said. “At the end of the day it’s still great for the university, great for ourselves and great for how our careers are moving forward.”
Blair has two years of research experience in the MSU environmental lab under Dr.  Veera Gude, which he plans to continue during his senior year.
In addition to receiving honorable mention, Blair has previously been selected into a competitive research experience for undergraduates where he worked in a biohazard research laboratory and served as a paid research fellow.
Kate Thompson, graduate of Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus and President of the Humane Society chapter at MSU, said for her to receive an honorable mention is inspiring.
“It means that my work and stem is being recognized nationally. It also means that they see me with potential as a professional scientist, which is inspiring. I was really surprised and I was very excited,” Thompson said. “I called my mentor and I told him that I got the research honorable mention and he was very excited.”
Thompson also said she looks forward to doing more research.
“Now we’re working on how we can use that, to get more grants, to do more research so I can back myself up more before I go get my PhD,” Thompson said.
Thompson said her future endeavors provide her with motivation as a student.
 “I want to go into a DVM PhD program which is incredibly competitive so I have to be the best,” Thompson said.
Thompson said she also wants to do her best in extracurricular activities, such as working with the humane society and playing roller derby.
Cameron Clarke, who previously attended the Veritas School in Ridgeland, Miss., said being a student at MSU has helped some of his dreams to come true.
“Many of the faculty at Mississippi State have active research programs that are conducive for undergraduates to join in on,” Clarke said. “I know that several of the physics professors have undergraduate students working with them.”
Clarke received the opportunity several years ago while taking an intro level course to assist his professor in research.
Clarke applauded MSU for having so many active researchers and described the campus as a research university.
Only 1,000 students in the country are
selected for the scholarship and 1,000 students are recognized for honorable mention. Each year millions of students enroll or continue their college educations. Blair, Thompson and Clarke were selected for superior work and plan to continue striving toward success.