nna Erickson, a junior from Dalton, Minnesota, majoring in psychology and cell biology and neuroscience, and Derek Jollie, a junior from Butte majoring in mathematical sciences and physics, are Montana State University’s two newest winners of the scholarship given by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
The foundation announced Friday that 441 students received the competitive scholarships honoring the top undergraduates in the country pursuing research in STEM fields. The scholarship comes with an award of up to $7,500 per year for tuition, books, and room and board. MSU is one of the top universities nationally in terms of the number of its students who have received the prestigious award, with a total of 92 recipients since the scholarship was established in 1989.
Erickson and Jollie are students in the university’s Honors College and College of Letters and Science, and Erickson also studies in the College of Agriculture. Both have been involved in research since they came to MSU as freshmen.
“MSU has a really strong undergraduate research program, and I knew I would receive opportunities here I couldn’t find elsewhere,” said Erickson, when asked why she chose Montana State.
Since 2022, she has worked as a research assistant on a study led by Nadya Modyanova, assistant research professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. Funded in part by Montana INBRE, the Rural Autistic Individuals – Supporting Expression, or RAISE study, was designed to investigate how using hand gestures may enhance communication for children in rural communities with language and cognitive disabilities. Montana INBRE and the MSU Undergraduate Scholars Program supported Erickson’s work on the project.
Modyanova said the students working on the project have demonstrated great commitment, since the project has required traveling around Montana and throughout the Gallatin Valley to interact with children of various ages and abilities.
“Learning how to communicate with children with disabilities can be very difficult sometimes, and Anna has excelled in that and figured out ways to engage with children of various abilities,” said Modyanova. “She is amazingly smart, organized, committed, passionate and curious. I’m trying to think of the best superlatives I can use.”
Erickson said she knew when she came to MSU that she wanted to pursue a career in research and that her work with the RAISE project has helped her narrow her focus. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuropsychology to study the cognition of autism and other neurodivergencies in children.
“Joining RAISE and getting to work with kids from all different backgrounds and with a variety of neurotypes has shown me where my passion lies and given me valuable experience performing research in the field I want to go into,” she said. “My current interests revolve around play therapy and the cognitive basis of autism, but I will see where my studies take me.”
Erickson is studying education, neuroscience and psychology this semester in Finland, an experience she sought to immerse herself fully in a new culture and opportunities. She said she chose Finland because she wanted to learn more about the country’s highly ranked educational system and reputation for early childhood wellbeing.
Associate professor of mechanical engineering Bernadette McCrory, co-principal investigator of the RAISE study, said Erickson possesses the intellectual and personal qualities key to succeed in research.
“I have no doubt that Anna will thrive, and that her future and current research contributions will make a meaningful impact,” McCrory said. “I look forward to seeing the change she will make in the world.”
Erickson is the first author on a number of research abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at research conferences and is first author of one paper under review, McCrory added.
At MSU, Erickson is the vice president of the Painting and Drawing Guild, an ambassador for the Student Commons, and an active member of the women’s outdoor adventure club, Backcountry Squatters.
Jollie said he chose to study at MSU because of its proximity to his hometown, as well as for the financial and mentoring support he was offered through the MSU Hilleman Scholars Program, which is designed for Montana residents who demonstrate significant academic, leadership and career potential.
“Derek is the first Hilleman Scholar to receive a major national scholarship, and this award exemplifies the full power of MSU’s public land-grant mission,” said Carina Beck, vice provost for the Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success. “Derek earned the Goldwater Scholarship through his curiosity, tenacity and by working with incredible faculty and staff who understood and nurtured his remarkable talent and investigative mind. His example is powerful, and he has cleared the way for other students to aspire and apply for nationally competitive scholarship awards.”
As an officer of two student clubs – the Math Club and Society of Physics Students – Jollie still uses the leadership skills he learned during the first four weeks of the Hilleman Scholars Summer Success Academy, which were held just before the start of his freshman year. Outside of class, he also works at the MSU Math and Stat Center as a tutor.
Jollie has been involved in undergraduate research since he was a freshman. As part of a group led by Brian D’Urso, associate professor in the Department of Physics, he worked to develop new components for levitated optomechanics experiments, in which small objects are suspended by magnetic fields and measured with light. After realizing that he liked math more than physics, Jollie began researching dynamical systems – the study of things that change in time, such as the functions of gravity – with associate professor of mathematical sciences Scott McCalla.
“I am extremely pleased he won this award and think he’s very deserving,” said McCalla. “Derek is talented, able, ambitious, curious, and happy to learn and try new things. These are great traits in someone who wants to do research.”
Elizabeth Burroughs, head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, said the department is thrilled about Jollie being named a Goldwater Scholar.
“Since he arrived on campus as a first-year student, Derek has been an engaged and enthusiastic member of the undergraduate mathematics community,” she said. “We are all so proud that he has achieved this honor.”
Jollie said his work with McCalla led to him landing the opportunity to conduct research last summer at the University of California, Los Angeles. It’s one of the schools he is considering for his doctoral studies, with the ultimate career goal of continuing his research as a university professor. He credits his experiences at MSU for his success to date.
“The connections are really special at MSU,” Jollie said. “The professors here are all willing to help, both in class and at office hours. They want you to be involved in research and are supportive of the goals you want to pursue.”
This year’s Goldwater recipients nationwide were selected from 1,350 science, engineering and mathematics students nominated by 445 academic institutions. For more information about the Goldwater Scholarships, go to goldwaterscholarship.gov/. To learn more about major scholarship winners at MSU, go to www.montana.edu/honors/major_awards/major_scholarship_award_winners.html.