Reflections Magazine Issue #79 - Fall 2013 | Page 38

Alumni Profile

Mission Accomplished

Alumni Profile
M

McNair Graduate Matt
Larson ’07 Completes
PhD, a First for SHUBased Program
By Doug Goodnough

Scholars Reach
Great Heights

att Larson ’07 was the first,
and hopefully, not the last. The graduate of
the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement
Program was the first Siena Heights University student to receive his doctorate since the
program was instituted on the SHU campus.
Larson, who finished his dissertation and
earned a PhD in criminology and criminal
justice from Arizona State University last
spring, is currently an assistant professor in
the College of Public Health and Social Justice at St. Louis University.
“When I started at Siena I had no clue
that I would go on to graduate school,” said
Larson, a first-generation college student.
“I was just thrilled to be pursuing my bachelor’s degree.”
In fact, Larson was perfectly content running on the track team and taking criminal
justice courses until he discovered McNair,
a federally funded program designed to encourage eligible students to pursue graduate
studies leading to the completion of a doctoral degree.
“I found out about the McNair program
at about the same time I started to fall out of
love with running and in love with academics,” Larson said. “I knew a ]