Coastal Carolina University provides many opportunities for student research and scholarship, among them, the Swain Scholars program. Ten years in, this program has not only impacted those students involved, but the entire local community, as well.         

The Swain Scholars program is composed of high-achieving students who have expressed interest in health science research and community health outreach. The program was made possible through generous donations from Kenneth Swain, a retired pharmacist who resides in Myrtle Beach. This program, housed in the Gupta College of Science in Swain Hall on CCU’s main campus, was founded in 2009. Sharon H. Thompson, professor of public health and coordinator of the Swain Scholars, began her work with the program a year after its inception in 2010.

“The Swain Scholars program is a competitive scholarship program composed of top undergraduate students from the public health, biochemistry, exercise and sport science and chemistry programs,” said Thompson. “The students receive scholarships up to $5,000 for two years based on academic and financial criteria.”

Program participants believe it stands out from other scholar programs because it combines the research aspects of community health with outreach and advocacy. This means the Swain Scholars program has, and will continue to have, the opportunity to make a difference in our local area. The intent of work completed by the Swain Scholar participants is to improve health locally – right here in Horry County.

Although there have been 10 different local research projects that have been completed by the scholars over the past decade, only a few will be highlighted here. One example is the Biking In Kind Environment (BIKE) Campaign in 2013. The BIKE campaign focused on speaking with residents on their thoughts about future plannings for new road construction. The scholars found overwhelming support for new roads to include sidewalks and bike paths. The Swain Scholars presented their findings to local governments such as the City of Conway, City of Myrtle Beach as well as to the Horry county R.I.D.E. Committee. After surveying more than 1,000 local residents, the scholars discovered more than 90 percent of Horry County residents believed that bicycling would lead to a higher quality of life in the community; and more than 85 percent of residents reported they would ride bicycles if there was a better infrastructure to ride on such as bike paths or multi-use pedestrian lanes.

Another example is the 2015 Souls without Solace Homelessness project, which was a joint research effort between the Swain Scholars and agencies in the area who provide support for the homeless community in the Grand Strand area. The scholars surveyed 518 people in Horry County to determine attitudes towards homelessness, beliefs on community outreach, and perceptions of government’s effectiveness in supporting the homeless community. During the second year of this project, the scholars partnered with the Athenaeum Press to publish a book titled, “492 and counting……” to raise awareness on homelessness in Horry County.

A few other projects over the years include: “Eat Healthy: Play Hard” (2010) which focused on prevention of pediatric obesity; “Positive Beings at Palmetto Bays Elementary School” (2011) which promoted physical activity and healthy food choices; “Enhancing Horry County Recreation and Health Initiative” (2014) which was a collaboration with Horry County government to conduct a community needs assessment; “THRIVE Program: Study of Food Insecurity” (2017); and “Horry Hope: Opioid Awareness Program” (2016).

The Swain Scholars participate in a number of research competitions, such as the Coastal Carolina University Undergraduate Research Competition, where scholars have won six awards over the past eight years. They also conduct presentations at national conventions, and publish books and peer-reviewed manuscripts.

One of the current projects is “Breaking Suicide and Depression” (S.A.D.). The group of 2018-2019 Swain Scholars have completed research locally and are now planning advocacy events for this project.

“This initiative’s goal is to find the correlations between screen time use and rates of depression and suicide in college-aged students,” said Kassidy Smith, Swain Scholar ’20. “Currently we are in the early stages of planning our advocacy event that will take place in the community, and we are also working to expand our research on a national scale in order to present at a national conference in the spring.”

Students in the Swain Scholars program have been granted opportunities to network and expand their research and learning beyond Coastal Carolina’s campus. The Swain Scholars, who created the Souls without Solace Homelessness project, had the opportunity to meet with Horry County's U.S. Congressional Delegation in Washington, D.C., at the prestigious Poster’s on the Hill conference to discuss the problem of homelessness. Each year, only 60 teams are selected from hundreds of applicants to present at the highly selective conference. This research competition is sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and offers undergraduate researchers the opportunity to share their work with those on Capitol Hill. This was only the second time in CCU history that a group was accepted to present at this competition.

After induction, students in the program first conduct a needs assessment where they find out what the community is lacking in community health. They are asked to choose a community health issue they are passionate about so their passion extends into the work of helping others.

“Over the past ten years the impact of these student-developed projects have helped in a range of areas including: addiction awareness, nutrition improvements, exercise promotion, food scarcity, diabetes education/outreach, among others,” said Michael H. Roberts, dean of the Gupta College of Science. “We, in the Gupta College of Science, are proud of the work these students have done to improve the community within which we reside, and are proud of their personal accomplishments.”

To be considered for the program, students must be a biochemistry, biology, chemistry, exercise and sports science, public health or sociology major with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or more. Also included in the application, students are asked to provide a complete resumé, academic transcript, recommendation from a faculty member familiar with the student’s coursework. Applicants also provide a personal statement about their community health efforts, previous involvement in community health and why they should be picked to be a Swain Scholar.

“Applicant numbers vary from year to year and the number of scholarships available for Swain Scholars fluctuate from year to year based on the success of the endowment investments,” said Thompson. “I have had as many as eight Swain Scholars and as few as four.”

If a student is accepted into the program, they are required to enroll in six course credits of Swain Scholars classes during their junior and senior years. In these classes, students conduct health science research and find out how it applies to the community. They must maintain at least a “B” average in their Swain Scholars classes and keep an overall GPA of 3.25.

“When I heard the news that I was accepted as a Swain Scholar, I felt extremely grateful and rewarded,” said Caroline Durham, Swain Scholar ’21. “I felt that all of my hard work and dedication to making a change throughout the years at CCU and in high school was finally paying off.”

Kenneth Swain continues to be actively involved in the program and provides monetary donations as a means of support for program growth. Students, faculty and staff in the Gupta College of Science are excited for the future of the Swain Scholar program.

“When reflecting on previous Swain Scholar graduates, I am very pleased about their professional successes and the fact they have continued to make a difference in community health through their careers,” said Thompson.

Although the intention of this program is not to simply grow in numbers, it is estimated that in the upcoming years, there could be up to 16 students selected annually.

To learn more about Swain Scholars, visit coastal.edu/science/academicprograms/swainscholars.

Swain Scholars:

2009-2010: Christina Eells, Tyler Gebauer, Kaile Laurenzo and Sherri Tomlinson

2010-2011: Alex Hamm, Allyson League, Miguel Mendoza and Thomas Niemela

2011-2012: Christine Po, Janel Reeves, Katie Roach and Iesha Wade

2012-2013: Kaitlyn Essel, Kayla Liland, Jessica Otten and Ina Troutman

2013-2014: Dori Sanders and Chelsea Thomas

2014-2015: Christina Auth, Briana Laws and DeVariay White

2015-2016: Kerry Dittmeier, Emma Kroger and Nancy Phillips

2016-2017: Sydney Brown and Ashley Lynch

2017-2018: Amber Rahman and Rachael Trudon

2018-2019: Jeremy Evans, Kassidy Smith and Hailey Wimmenauer.

2019-2020: Caroline Durham, Jonah Nordeen and Armani Sumpter