Booker Cooper of Prattsville won first place in humanities research last week in the 16th Annual Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Programs and Scholars Research Conference in Atlanta.

Booker, a vocal performer, is one of eight UALR students and members of the McNair Scholars Program who presented their research in either poster or oral presentation formats. They were among the 25 McNair Scholars from UALR participating in the conference held from June 24 to 27.

Booker presented his research, “The Function of 18th Century Negro Spirituals and Its Influence on 20th and 21st Century Gospel Music,” which he started producing under the mentorship of Dr. Bevan Keating and is completing under the mentorship of Dr. Sharon Young.

The research conference is designed to attract undergraduate and graduate students from all TRIO programs ─ Transforming Roadblocks Into Opportunities ─ within the U.S. and the Trust Territories. It provided opportunities for young scholars to share their research and offered exposure to key issues in research and higher education.

“We are proud of all of our scholars for the hard work they exhibit and wish to thank everyone who continues to support them on their journey to graduate education,” said Gwendolyn C. Middleton, assistant director of the McNair Scholars Program.

Other McNair Scholars from UALR presenting research at the conference were: Damone Dickerson of North Little Rock; Justin Bryant of Stuttgart; Denesha Wiggins of Texarkana; Roderick Daniels of Pine Bluff; and Thaddeus Pearson, Aaron Kelsey, and Susanna Garcia, all of Little Rock.