UAFS health sciences
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith's College of Health Sciences will hold 2017 pinning ceremonies for its surgical technology, dental hygiene and nursing programs in this month.
Surgical technology students receiving their pins today include Kelsie Cline of Alma; Anna Nelson of Barling; Jheri Buchanan, Brittany Roberts and Gwen Sayaphath, all of Fort Smith; Kimber Bennett and Cameron Spoon, both of Greenwood; BreAnn Grady of Mansfield; Colette Ross of Mountainburg; Sonya Bounkhong of Springdale; and Erick Metcalf of Waldron.
Dental hygiene students will receive pins Friday, including Emily Gauger of Alma; Lindsey Doss of Berryville; My Truong of Fort Smith; Kimberly Bowers of Lead Hill; and Morgan Hollis of Prairie Grove.
Northern State University
Erin Noehre of Bentonville received a bachelor of arts degree in English from Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., during 2017 spring commencement ceremonies May 6.
Haas Hall Academy
Barnes & Noble in Fayetteville honored Tad Sours, social sciences teacher at Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville, as the local winner of the 2017 "My Favorite Teacher Contest." Chloe Hansberger nominated her favorite teacher by her writing that shared how Sours had influenced her life and why she appreciated and admired the teacher.
Sours received a special award acknowledging his achievement. Hansberger received a certificate of recognition and was honored at the ceremony. Each regional winner will receive a $500 Barnes & Noble Gift Card and a NOOK by Samsung and be considered for the national prize.
UAFS education
Beginning this fall, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith will offer students the opportunity to earn the pre-kindergarten-level, grades 3-4 endorsement online through its School of Education, making UAFS the first university in the state to offer the endorsement completely online.
The endorsement requires 13 credit hours of coursework, and students can add the endorsement to their Arkansas teaching license, allowing them to teach in a preschool classroom. The endorsement is available for those teaching kindergarten through sixth grade in Arkansas, as well as students admitted in any bachelor of science in elementary education program across the state.
The application deadline is Aug. 18.
Information: [email protected], 788-7917.
UAFS research
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has announced the 16 best research presentations delivered at the 10th annual Student Research Symposium.
Research projects presented at the conference included both oral and poster presentations. Among the research disciplines represented were animation technology, applied science, biology, business, chemistry, computer graphic technology, dental hygiene, ecology, education, electronics, engineering, English, finance, geology, health care administration, history, information technology, international business, literature, marketing, mathematics, music, organizational leadership, psychology, radiography, rhetoric and writing, robotics, Spanish, studio art and theater.
The 26 students whose presentations were selected by judges for recognition received monetary awards.
Local winners include:
Alma: Aaron Dickson, "Isolation of Bacteriophages for Use as Disinfectants"; Christina Seaton (team of 3), "Predicting Customer Satisfaction Using Business Intelligence."
Booneville: Ivy Cox, "The Effects of Green Tank Rearing on Oreochromis Niloticus Fry."
Elkins: Kayla Keller (team of 4), "North and South in the 21st Century: Navigating the Pedagogical and Accessibility Implications of Digital Humanities as a New Discipline."
Fort Smith: Wyatt Benjamin (team of 5), "Animation and Horticulture"; Kimberly Cloud, "The New and Outspoken She"; Rebecca Ferguson (team of 5), "Animation and Horticulture"; Kimberly Green, "Congenital Zika Syndrome"; Liz Harms, (team of 4), "North and South in the 21st Century: Navigating the Pedagogical and Accessibility Implications of Digital Humanities as a New Discipline"; Danny Kopack (team of 3), "Predicting Customer Satisfaction Using Business Intelligence"; Gage Parker (team of 5), "Animation and Horticulture"; Grant Piechocki, (team of 3), "Predicting Customer Satisfaction Using Business Intelligence"; Jesus Sedeno Gutierrez, "The Embodiment of Nahuatl Ideology in the Poetry of Natalio Hernandez."
Green Forest: Kendra Turner (team of 4), "North and South in the 21st Century: Navigating the Pedagogical and Accessibility Implications of Digital Humanities as a New Discipline."
Greenwood: Andrew Bonin, "3D Printed Lightsaber"; Eric Castanon (team of 5), "Animation and Horticulture."
Van Buren: Cesar Cuevas (team of 2), "Machine Learning in the Age of Automation"; Israel Cuevas, (team of 2), "Machine Learning in the Age of Automation"; Bridget Moore (team of 5), "Animation and Horticulture"; Lela Nickell, "Dancing with Dandelions: The Magical Mix of Music and the Mind".
Waldron: Shane Hale, "Foreign Aid: Using Internationally Respected Instructional Strategies to Improve Students' Achievement in the United States."
Winslow: Cynamin Jarnagan (team of 4), "North and South in the 21st Century: Navigating the Pedagogical and Accessibility Implications of Digital Humanities as a New Discipline."
Classical Conversations
Seven students at the Classical Conversations home school group Fayetteville 2 Campus earned the title of "Memory Master." This award recognizes excellence in memorization, recitation and diligence in their studies. Students honored include Avery Baber, Conner Baber, Lillian Clinehens, Kayle Hardesty, Cami Harrell, Lara Little and Joshua Wilburn.
They learned 161 events and people in a chronological timeline; U.S. presidents; 24 historical sentences, covering Charlemagne, the Renaissance, the Reformation and wars from World War I through the Gulf War; more than 100 locations and geographic features in Europe, Asia and other regions; 24 science facts (including biomes, planets, laws of motion and laws of thermodynamics); Latin verb endings in the first conjugation; English grammar facts (including eight parts of speech, pronouns, four purposes of sentences, noun usages and conjunctions); and multiplication tables and skip counting up to 15 times 15, common squares and roots, as well as basic geometry formulas, unit conversions and math laws.
Kansas State University
Jordan Abernathy of Fayetteville, a 2017 candidate for a doctor of veterinary medicine degree, will be the vocalist at his commencement ceremony Friday at Kansas State University in Manhattan.
Centenary College
Devin James Bench of Springdale received a bachelor of arts degree in economics during 2017 commencement exercises held April 29 at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport.
Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
Local students were among the top winners in the 26th annual "Preserve Our Past" art and essay invitational sponsored by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
Kristina Hancock of Hartford Elementary School, drawing of the Suburban house in Fort Smith, third place; Andrew Rodriguez, Hartford, drawing of the Klusmeier house in Fort Smith, honorable mention; Gavin Biggerstaff, Alma Intermediate School, essay on Old Main at the University of Arkansas, third place; Madison Mainer, Ozark Junior High School, drawing of the Bristow Hotel in Ozark, third place; Gavin Biggerstaff of Alma Intermediate, a piece on Old Main at the University of Arkansas, third place; and Marissa Jones, Ozark Junior High, drawing of the Franklin County Jail in Ozark, third place.
First-, second- and third-place winners in each division will receive trophies; honorable mention recipients receive ribbons; and all students who entered will receive certificates. Winning entries and honorable mention entries will be displayed at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock throughout May or at arkansaspreservation.com/Learn-More/preserve-our-past-winners.
Williams Baptist College
Brandon Brigance of Gentry was inducted April 27 into Alpha Chi, the national college honor scholarship society at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge. Alpha Chi admits members from all academic disciplines who are in the top 10 percent of their junior and senior classes.
Brigance, a junior at Williams, is majoring in Christian ministries. He is the son of Michelle and Scott Brigance of Gentry.
Lynch Middle School
Two sixth-grade teams from Farmington won recognition at the 15th annual eCYBERMISSION competition, sponsored by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP). Team LST was a first place-state winner, and Team Project Earth was a second place state winner. Both LST and Project Earth teams worked together with Melissa Miller, team advisor.
eCYBERMISSION challenges students in grades six through nine to develop solutions to real-world problems in their local communities, using science, math, technology and mathematics (STEM).
LST designed a system for filtering waste water -- leachate -- that escapes from a landfill. They built a model landfill and included their filtering system. The students compared the contaminates in the unfiltered water to those in their filtered system.
Project Earth developed a project comparing the effects of using a chemical pesticide to an organic pesticide. They used three identical plants, treating one with a chemical spray, one with an organic garlic spray and one as the control. The runoff was collected and tested for pH levels and contaminates.
State winning first-place teams receive $1,000 per student in U.S. EE Savings Bonds and second-place teams receive $500 per student in bonds. Both team's projects now will be judged in regional competition.
McNair Middle School
Gable Sloan of Fayetteville, a sixth-grader at McNair Middle School, was presented with an engraved silver medallion to recognize her selection by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards as one of Arkansas's top two youth volunteers of 2017. The presentation was held April 24 at the school.
Gable operates a nonprofit bakery and catering business that has raised more than $4,000 for a variety of charities and causes, and is now funding an annual scholarship for graduating high school students who have demonstrated a commitment to volunteerism.
As a state honoree, Gable also will receive $1,000 and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., for several days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 of the state honorees will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. The event is sponsored in conjunction with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
University of Kansas
Several local students will earn degrees from the University of Kansas in Lawrence during 2017 commencement ceremonies May 14.
Local degree candidates include:
Bentonville: Taylor Austin, bachelor of science in journalism, with a business minor; Grant Bertram, bachelor of arts in sociology and bachelor of arts in psychology, with a French minor; Tayler Estrada, bachelor of science in exercise science; and Phoebe Lathrop, bachelor of science in marketing.
Fayetteville: Taylor Brumbelow, master of public health; Sydney Conley, bachelor of science in journalism, with a communication studies minor; Andrew Dalton, bachelor of science in electrical engineering, with a business minor; Ross Kerr, master of arts in museum studies; Sara Schenkelberg, doctor of pharmacy; and Mohammed Soliman, bachelor of science in biology, with an economics minor.
Fort Smith: Holly Smith, juris doctor; and Addison Spradlin, master of urban planning.
Rogers: Matthew Armstrong, master of accounting; Austin Degn, doctor of pharmacy and bachelor of science in pharmaceutical studies; Madison Flint, bachelor of science in marketing; and Zachary Raphael, bachelor of science in pharmaceutical studies.
Siloam Springs: Ryan Acord, master of science in education; and Delisa Phillips-Harrington, doctor of philosophy in anthropology.
NAN Our Town on 05/11/2017