UC Project STEP :: Overview

Maisha Murry, a 1999 Harrisburg High School graduate, is hot on education as a learner and a teacher. Murry is enrolled in a doctoral program in radiological engineering at the University of Cincinnati. When she initially started her undergraduate studies, she was leaning toward pathology. "Then, I did a summer program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [in California], and that's when I got introduced to high-energy physics which led to the radiation side of things," Murry said in a telephone interview from Cincinnati. Murry, daughter of Bruce and Charleszetta Murry of Harrisburg, graduated from Tuskegee University in Alabama with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. In 2006, she got a master's degree in health physics from the University of Cincinnati. She is working toward receiving her doctorate in June 2010. "The field of health physics is the field of radiation safety," she said. "I would eventually like to be a scientist working in one of the national laboratories or for the federal government." While female scientists keep popping up as heroines on television programs and are growing in real-life numbers, they still lag behind men. "From my perspective in my department, it's only four girls out of 20 to 25 people. I don't think it's that great," Murry said. During the 2006-07 school year, Murry was a fellow in a program to encourage the study of math and science in the Cincinnati School District. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the University of Cincinnati, Project STEP -- Science and Technology Enhancement Program -- brings the fellows' knowledge and experiences into the secondary school classrooms. The program's goal is to teach high school students to link the relevance of their education with events and issues occurring in their community. "We were in the classrooms at least 20 hours a week," Murry said. "My obligation was to develop technology and science- and math-based lessons to enhance their learning environment. You have to bring stuff to their level, and you have to get them involved. "If you care and if you show them you care, they look forward to seeing you and whatever you do that day, whether it be DNA or some algebra 2, they want to see you and they look forward to having you in their presence." Murry's message to youths about education and career choices: "Try. If you don't try, you automatically fail. Set goals in life and try to achieve them. Persevere." MARY O. BRADLEY: 255-8147 or mbradley@patriot-news.com