When Monica Bowman, a fourth-year history student, applied for the Magellan Grant, she was just hoping to receive some financial aid for her research project.
She never expected that she would also become a representative of the program as the one-thousandth Magellan Scholar.
“I initially applied for the Magellan Grant because I knew I wanted to engage in undergraduate research during my undergraduate career,” Bowman said in an email. “As Magellan Scholar 1,000, I hope to be a representative of the Magellan Program by sharing my experience with others and encouraging others to get involved as well. It is a wonderful program that can open many doors of opportunity.”
Bowman is conducting her research on former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Richard Howell Gleaves, a fairly unknown politician who played an important role in South Carolina’s Reconstruction period. Bowman is specifically looking at how Gleaves’ masonic, business and political careers met, as well as why there is so little known about him.
Not only was Gleaves lieutenant governor from 1872 to 1877, he was also a businessman and a freemason.
“My favorite part about this project was gaining a greater understanding of how historians go about their research and how interpretation is vital to historical research,” Bowman said. “The hardest part about this project was finding several sources that spoke to Gleaves. He is a bit of an enigma, so I had to be creative in terms of places to look.”
Since 2005 when the Magellan Program was founded, it has provided students with nearly three million dollars in grant funding. Now, the current director of the office of undergraduate research Julie Morris is looking to continue the tradition of funding students’ research.
“It was really started in order to provide students an opportunity to engage in undergraduate research, make it very visible on campus. We’d had undergraduate research for a long time at USC, but it did not have the visibility to get more students involved,” Morris said. “Being able to see it come this far and so quickly and really be embraced by the university I think is very meaningful for me.”
The Magellan Program is working to encourage students from all majors and disciplines to apply for a research grant. Many of the projects that are funded, including Bowman’s, are not for scientific research.
“I really love that her project is the one thousandth because it does truly highlight the discovery for every discipline,” Morris said. “We have students in all majors doing research, and I love that humanities and social sciences can be highlighted in this way. It’s a great project that’s very representative of the scholars that we have on campus.”
Morris also thinks Bowman’s project reflects the ideal mentor-researcher relationship, as Bowman is very involved with her mentor, history professor Melissa Cooper.
She hopes that students like Bowman continue to apply for Magellan Grants, since it recognizes students for what they are doing and gives them “confidence in what they’re doing as important and valuable.”
“I think other students should apply for a Magellan Grant because it is a wonderful way to engage in research that pertains to your interests. It allows you to be creative and to learn more about your field,” Bowman said. “Additionally, you are able to build a relationship with the faculty member that serves as your advisor.”