A&M-Commerce Planetarium Staffer Wins Fellowship

COMMERCE, Texas – Cheri Davis, assistant director of the Texas A&M University-Commerce Planetarium, has won a fellowship from the Texas Space Grant Consortium.

The $5,000 fellowship will assist Davis in her doctoral degree studies at A&M-Commerce. She is seeking the doctorate in higher education.

“These graduate fellowships are highly competitive with students from such institutions as Rice, University of Texas, UT-Dallas, and Texas A&M in College Station applying,” said Dr. Keith West, A&M-Commerce physics faculty member and Texas Space Grant Consortium Institutional Co-Representative.

Davis is the first person from A&M-Commerce to receive a fellowship. A&M-Commerce has had undergraduate students receive scholarships each year since the university joined the consortium, West said.

Winning scholarships this year were Trenton senior Amber Bowman, an interdisciplinary studies major specializing in science; Royse City sophomore Donald May, physics and computer science major; and Mesquite senior Robin Riddel, grades 4-8 science education major.

The Texas Space Grant Consortium offers many opportunities for students of all levels and academic fields, said Davis, who received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at A&M-Commerce.

On winning the fellowship, Davis said she feels privileged to receive the TSCG Fellowship. “Several other graduate students applied and my receiving the fellowship is truly a privilege and was a surprise to me,” she said. After completing her doctorate, she plans to continue her present position as assistant planetarium director, as well as looking forward to more opportunities to teach.

“I miss teaching the younger students, but working at the planetarium provides an opportunity to work with students of all ages,” Davis said.

Since the planetarium opened in 2006, the facility has had over 60,000 visitors and the majority of those who attend the shows are school groups. “It is always a bonus to share ‘a tour of the night sky’ and the joy of discovering astronomy with our visitors,” she related.

The A&M-Commerce Planetarium is open for shows on Friday nights and this month matinees are presented on Wednesdays. Reservations are urged and can be made in advance by calling 903-468-8650.

SPACE FELLOWSHIP — Cheri Davis, assistant director of the Texas A&M University-Commerce Planetarium, has won a fellowship from the Texas Space Grant Consortium. Davis will use the $5,000 fellowship to help fund her doctoral studies at A&M-Commerce. She competed with graduate students from other Texas universities for the fellowship and is the first graduate student from A&M-Commerce to be honored with a fellowship from the Space Consortium.