Ten teams of students from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service will complete public-service projects in partnership with public agencies, nonprofit organizations and others across Arkansas during the 2018-19 academic year.
The projects include researching the rebirth of the Argenta Farmers Market, assisting Ronald McDonald House with work on a potential capital campaign, creating community-based partnerships in the Little Rock School District, and strengthening community-school partnerships in Tuckerman.
As part of the school’s master’s program in public service, the students will earn academic credit. The projects are the first of three public-service projects to be completed during the two-year master’s degree program.
Forty-one Clinton School students will participate while also attending classes that cover topics such as program planning and development, field research and communication.
“What makes the Clinton School unique from other more traditional graduate programs is the field service work,” said Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford, in a statement. “In collaboration with community organizations, our students will help meet some important needs in Arkansas.”
The projects are:
ARGENTA DOWNTOWN COUNCIL
Team: Shelby Morrow (Dallas), Reiko Muranaka (Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa, Japan), Eric Osei (Nkawkaw, Ghana) and Sean Street (Hot Springs). The team will develop recommendations for a new Argenta Farmers Market in downtown North Little Rock, research successful farmers markets and determine need and fit for the Argenta community.
ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Team: Caleb Denton (Bentonville), Molly Emerson (Queens, N.Y.), Christopher Ogom (Marsabit, Kenya), Damien Powell (Sparta, Mich.), Samantha Sheffield (Austin, Texas). The team will assist the department in finding ways to use two large mobile trailers previously used in energy-efficiency education, and find communities that can use them.
ARKANSAS FAITH-ACADEMIC INITIATIVES FOR TRANSFORMING HEALTH NETWORK
Team: Denisse Alanis (Little Rock), Katie Clark (Flint, Mich.), Richmond Osei-Danquah (Nkawkaw, Ghana) and Adam Kleinerman (Buffalo Grove, Ill.). The team will develop a database of health promotion and health education available in faith-based organizations within the state as a resource for other faith organizations looking for assistance.
CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL
Team: Shandrea Murphy (Little Rock), Alexis Pinkston (North Little Rock), Cody Styers (North Little Rock) and Rachel Villafane (St. Louis). The team will identify labor market trends and skills that employers are looking for in employees to influence future Children International programs related to employment training and employment opportunities for young adults.
EVERY CHILD IS OURS
Team: Maggie Benton (Jonesboro), Christian Canizales (Jonesboro), Lara Farrar (Hot Springs) and Brady Ruffin (Clinton, Miss.). The team will conduct an analysis of the community-school partnership between Every Child is Ours and the Tuckerman School District, collect data on student, teacher, and administrator experiences with Every Child is Ours and essentially see what strategies work best.
FORWARD ARKANSAS
Team: Andrew Counce (Memphis), Johnisha Graham (Lake Village), Jordan Sanders (Little Rock) and Megan Wallace (Malvern). The team will assist Little Rock School District middle schools in creating community-based partnerships and increase student and teacher engagement.
LITERACY ACTION OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Team: Bailey Fohr (Nashville, Tenn.), Nathan Keltch (Little Rock), Justin Murdock (Conway) and Jerome Wilson Jr. (Portsmouth, Va.). The team will assess needs in the Little Rock community for a family literacy program in central Arkansas.
RESTORE HOPE
Team: Megan Grubb (Indianola, Iowa), Logan Hunt (Newport), Ben Washington (Jacksonville) and Andrea Zekis (Little Rock). The team will help the Restore Hope Reentry Coordination Office as it helps inmates become better prepared to re-enter the community through individualized case-management services. The students also will help the Restore Hope program build on this activity using technology to reach prisons across the state.
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE
Team: Christian Scott (Mountain View), Corinne Kwapis (Fairview Heights, Ill.), Alex Tingquist (Little Rock) and Zach Baumgarten (Monticello). The team will help develop the Ronald McDonald House Charities’ future capital campaign.
SINGLE PARENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND OF PULASKI COUNTY
Team: Allison Gent (Orange, Va.), Savanna George (Searcy), Robert Morris (Jacksonville) and Maya Tims (Little Rock). The team will help the scholarship program develop a marketing campaign for recruitment, networking, and resource-building that tells the story of the organization as being “more than a scholarship.”