- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

To the Rescue: ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student finds passion working for animal rescue organization

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 17:56:30 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock senior and Donaghey Scholar has found her passion working in animal rescue.�� Brittany Wood of Little Rock has loved working with animals since she was a little girl. Until last year, the anthropology and sociology double major planned for a career as a policy analyst, but life took her in an unexpected direction. “In 2017, I was working at a law firm as a bankruptcy case analyst. One of the lawyers I worked with is a case worker at CARE (Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals),” Wood said. “She sent an email saying CARE needed volunteers, and I thought it would be cool to hang out with some dogs. I went there to volunteer, and my fiancé, Cameron Still, came with me. At the time, I wanted to be a policy analyst, but Cameron mentioned that I should consider working with animals.”�� Still, a May graduate of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock who met Wood in the Donaghey Scholars program, said he’s never seen his fiancée happier than when she is working with animals.�� “When she volunteered at CARE, I could just tell that this was something that made her very happy,” Still said. “When she is working with animals, that is something that makes her happier than anything I have ever seen. I thought I was a dog person before I met her, but I’ve got nothing on her.” Wood strongly considered the idea of working as a veterinarian or veterinarian technician, even going so far as to shadow a veterinarian.�� “It wasn’t for me,” Wood said. “I kept volunteering and hoped that something else would come along. Then a position opened at CARE. It was all really just luck.”�� Now Wood serves as the volunteer coordinator at CARE, where she is in charge of managing dozens of volunteers, planning weekly adoption events, managing social media events, and acting as the nonprofit’s spokeswoman.

Brittany Wood, volunteer coordinator for CARE, plays with with rescue dogs Salsa, left, a black lab, and Milo, a Beagle mix. Photo by Ben Krain.

“One thing I’ve learned is that people are geared to look at certain jobs and ignore others,” she said. “I thought working with animals meant I had to be a vet. I never really gave serious consideration to nonprofits because it’s an overlooked field. Now I’ve discovered my passion. I’m never going to be a millionaire, but it feels amazing to wake up with a job that you love, rather than a job you do just because you need a paycheck.” Wood plans to graduate at the end of the summer after the completion of her final project for the Donaghey Scholars program, where she is measuring how satisfied pet adopters are with their experience at CARE.�� “There will never be a shortage of pets who need homes, but there are only a certain amount of donations people give toward animal rescue shelters,” she said. “We need to be the place where people want to go to adopt pets. We also want to make sure we are doing the adoption process right; that the animals are going to the right home, not just the first home.” Wood and her fiancé are currently the proud pet parents of a cat, Friday, which Wood has had since age 11; a dog, Luka, that they adopted from CARE in January; and Still’s cat of many years, Muppet. One benefit of Wood’s job is that she can take Luka to work. “I think most of us want a job where we can make a difference in the world, and I think the trick is narrowing it down to how you can make the world a better place in a way that you are uniquely suited,” she said. “The first thing I ever wanted to do as a little girl was work with animals. I would encourage everyone to think about how they want to make a difference and how their skills allow them to do so.”

Lelia Rosenkrans named 2018 Whitbeck Award winner

Janea Snyder — Wed, 02 May 2018 17:45:39 +0000

Lelia Rosenkrans’ academic interests pull in seemingly opposite directions. She is passionate about dance and the artistry and self-expression that comes from the creative process. And she is equally in love with science and the possibilities of discovery through disciplined research.�� Both, she discovered, have the capacity to transform lives. At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Rosenkrans didn’t have to choose between the two. On May 12, she will graduate with a BFA in Dance Performance with a minor in chemistry. She is this year’s recipient of the Alpha Kappa Psi Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award, a prestigious award given to one student chosen by the Faculty Senate Honors and Awards Committee who has demonstrated exceptional scholarship, leadership, character, and citizenship. The award comes with a $2,000 prize. “Lelia is that rare student whose talents truly transcend their major,” said Jessica Scott, assistant director of the Donaghey Scholars Program. “Even though she is a gifted dancer, she has the mind of a scientist.” Growing up in Springdale, Rosenkrans started dancing at age 4 at Rhythm and Shoes Dance Studio in Tontitown. “I fell in love with jazz,” she said. “I was a shy kid and jazz gave me the opportunity to be someone else, outgoing and spunky.” ��She started ballet at age 7 but didn’t become a serious ballet student until age 15. She comes from a family of educators: her father is a professor of animal physiology at the University of Arkansas, and her mother is the associate vice president of Learning and High School Relations at Northwest Arkansas Community College. When it came time to choose a college, she looked near and far. She auditioned for a few conservatory programs and was accepted to Wellesley College in Massachusetts as well as the University of Arkansas, which is close to her home in Northwest Arkansas. However, she was drawn to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, which offers the state’s only Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. “I knew I wanted to have the option to take both dance and pre-med classes,” Rosenkrans said. “I came to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as a chemistry major and then decided to have a dance/chemistry double major. Eventually, I realized that I could major in dance and minor in chemistry, and still achieve my goal of being prepared for medical school.” What sealed the deal was a Donaghey Scholars Program scholarship, and with it the ability to study abroad and to graduate with no debt. During her first two summers, she worked as a medical intern in Sri Lanka and as an English teacher in Peru, both of which gave her invaluable perspectives on global policies. “In Sri Lanka, I saw a country striving to aid its people through free health care, yet patients were turned away simply due to a lack of time and space to treat everyone,” Rosenkrans said. “In Peru, I was inspired by the community’s connection to their Incan farming traditions. However, I saw a community whose grains were being purchased for pennies in comparison to the price they are sold for in grocery stores within the United States.” As part of the Whitbeck Award competition, Rosenkrans wrote an essay on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. “I find myself returning to the idea of acknowledging the humanity and needs of others,” she wrote. “This involves creating and fostering an environment with meaningful cross-cultural dialogue, striving for and supporting breakthroughs in science and technology that help humanity, and advocating for and preserving communal works of beauty.” With her eye on medical school, Rosenkrans completed the pre-medicine courses, taking as many as 23 credit hours per semester and finishing with a 4.0 grade-point average. Her friends joke that she never sleeps, and she admits that between dance rehearsals and lab work, she stays busy. As a junior, she received one of the state’s Student Undergraduate Research Fellowships to study the biological, psychological and social impacts of a modern dance class. Her research examined salivary biomarkers indicative of fitness training and stress in modern dancers and compared the biomarker levels to dancers’ self-reflection surveys. The results provided evidence in support of modern dance as a source of stress relief, and also served as a step toward developing more specialized nutritional and cross-training guidelines for modern dancers. “She took her two passions and combined them into a very novel research project,” said Dr. Brian Berry, chair and associate professor of chemistry. “I was impressed with the way she approached the idea and executed the work.” Rosenkrans also works as a research assistant for , where she completed an eight-week internship last summer. The scientists there liked her work so much that they asked her to continue working remotely. Her current work involves annotating behavior traits indicative of Parkinson’s disease. Outside of the lab, Rosenkrans spends much of her time in dance studios. As part of her BFA major, she created four original dance works. She has performed in the spring Bodyworks, the fall Dance Harvest, and with the Department of Theater Arts and Dance’s annual dance tour to high school and middle schools across the state. Yslan Hicks, senior faculty and chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, has watched Rosenkrans progress as a dancer, choreographer, scientist and scholar for four years. As a first-semester freshman, Rosenkrans replaced a senior dancer in a highly athletic piece. “I have known many first-semester freshman; I have seldom witnessed a comet on stage,” Hicks said. “Lelia was all light and speed and fire. Her broader academic and personal goals are often fixed on making things better for others. Even before her university experience she has given of herself with a global awareness.” Off campus, Rosenkrans has performed with the Arkansas Festival Ballet’s productions of “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” and “The Nutcracker.” She is a member of UnTapped, the state’s only professional dance company, and she teaches dance workshops for members of the UnTapped Youth Ensemble. “I love leading workshops in schools,” she said. “I have experienced the unity and joy created through free community dance workshops as children and adults alike find themselves possessing untapped capabilities within a body they have known for years. The discovery is truly empowering.” Despite a hectic academic schedule, Rosenkrans has mentored younger Donaghey Scholars and served as an ambassador for the College of Arts, Letters and Sciences and as a student leader in Chi Alpha Campus Ministry. She has volunteered more than 200 hours at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center, the VA Hospital and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock theatre box office. “Her work has benefitted the university and contributed to the central Arkansas community, and through it all, she has grown as a person, a dancer, a scholar, and friend,” Scott said. After commencement, Rosenkrans plans to take a year off – to travel, study, reflect, and focus on her future – before starting medical school in fall 2019. This summer, she heads to eastern Germany to study dance improvisation and then to India to become certified to teach yoga. “I find myself both forever grateful and inspired by the experience I have been afforded during my time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, and I hope to continue my traditions of scholarship, leadership and character throughout the rest of my life,” she said.

First-generation college student builds legacy through education

Jenny Lambert — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 14:00:54 +0000

Nora Bouzihay, a doctoral student of education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, became the influence that she wanted to see. She was the first female in her family to graduate from high school, attend college, obtain a bachelor’s and master’s degree, and pursue a doctorate.

Bouzihay’s parents had always stressed to her and her siblings the importance of getting an education. They traveled from Morocco, a country in North Africa, to the United States as a young couple to provide a better life for themselves and the children they planned to someday have. From the start, they realized education would be the key to their children’s success.

“Go to school, get an education, the more knowledge the better,” Bouzihay recited. “That’s always been ingrained in my mind.”

‘I had to do everything on my own’

When Bouzihay completed her tenth-grade year at Nettleton High School, she made a decision that would put her educational pursuit into overdrive. She was accepted into and attended the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts (ASMSA) in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

“[ASMSA] was really amazing,” she said. “I got a lot of exposure to and preparation for college. In fact, I did my senior thesis on diabetic research here at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in the chemistry department.”

Once Bouzihay became a freshman at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, she was more than confident in her ability to succeed in higher education because of her pre-college experience at ASMSA. Bouzihay understood that she would encounter challenges that were unique to her, so she did everything in her power to ensure that none of those obstacles slowed her stride. ��

“It was tough because I had to do everything on my own like explore, network, and figure out what I needed to do to become successful,” Bouzihay said, “but I received endless support from my parents who continued to push me.”

Finding her passion

While weaving her web of connections and opportunities, Bouzihay stumbled across a program that changed the course of her quest as a future scientific researcher. Although she’d enjoyed being a part of the Donaghey and Science Scholars programs at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, it was the National Model Arab League that resonated with her inner self.

The National Model Arab League is a student leadership development program designed to give students a taste of life as international diplomats. Once Bouzihay graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with her bachelor’s in biology, she took her talents to the Clinton School of Public Service where she learned the ins and outs of diplomacy through public service.

Life in Dubai

Photo by Ben Krain — Photo composite of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate student, Nora Bouzihay, who studied in Dubai

As a requirement of the master’s program at the Clinton School, Bouzihay was tasked with choosing an international location for her public service abroad. Bouzihay was cleared to study in Dubai and spent eight months working with the country’s U.S. Department of State and United Arab Emirates.

Once again, Bouzihay was on her own. This time, however, she found herself in need. Nine days after she arrived in Dubai, Bouzihay’s appendix ruptured.

“I had to have emergency surgery,” Bouzihay said. “It got so bad that the doctor said if I didn’t have surgery right away I would die because of the rupture.”

Bouzihay’s mother rushed to the Middle East to be by her daughter’s side and helped nurse Bouzihay back to health. Once Bouzihay was able to work, she did so non stop, so much so that she was asked to extend her semester-long stay in Dubai to work on other projects, as well as projects in Morocco.

This time allowed Bouzihay to reconnect with her roots and visit her family. Her grandmother in Morocco had fallen ill and was hospitalized, so Bouzihay felt joy, comfort, and security being by her side, helping care for her grandmother.

“My grandmother always told me to finish school,” Bouzihay said. “She wasn’t traditionally educated, but she was educated through life’s experiences. She never knew how to read and write, but she had wisdom.”

Bouzihay’s grandmother passed away last spring, and to honor her legacy, Bouzihay dedicated her master’s degree to her.

Can’t stop, won’t stop

Following her experience in Dubai, Bouzihay was sure of what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Rather than becoming a medical doctor/biomedical researcher as she’d once imagined, Bouzihay longed to work with women and children in the Middle East and North Africa to create a pathway for their future.

To turn this dream into a reality, Bouzihay started the trek to obtaining her doctoral degree. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Education at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, while serving as a graduate assistant for undergraduate academic advising and working with first-generation college students and minorities.

“It’s been a goal of mine to not stop until I get to the end,” Bouzihay said. “In the field that I want to work in, the more degrees, the more competitive you are. My parents sacrificed so much, so I can’t stop until I’m done.”

Nowara Co.

Although Bouzihay has a load of responsibilities on her shoulders, she’s made room for one more. She recently launched her own hijab/scarf company, Nowara Co.��Nowara, which means “flower,” was the nickname given to her by her grandmother. ��

“Nowara Co. was a continuation of my grandmother’s legacy to instill in and empower young girls and women to embrace their natural [beauty],” Bouzihay said.

For every three scarves Bouzihay’s company sells, one will go to a refugee in the Middle East. Although refugees receive, food, clothes, health supplies, and water, Bouzihay says they do not receive scarves.

Freedom in the hijab

About a year and half ago, Bouzihay committed to wearing the hijab daily. Although she was first uneasy of the looks and backlash she would receive from people outside of the Muslim faith, she felt fulfilled in making that decision and wanted other women to feel free and proud, just as she did, when wearing the scarf.

“I was terrified because the political era that we were in at that time was hard,” Bouzihay explained. “Everyday, it’s hard to walk outside wearing a hijab. As soon as someone sees you, they know you’re a Muslim so they already have that image of you. I knew that my life was going to change 180 degrees, and that’s very terrifying because you don’t know how it’s going to be. God blessed me with the respect from people of all corners of life. You get the people who say racial slurs every once in a while, but it all comes down to faith.” Bouzihay has been more than an inspiration to her friends and family. She’s established a legacy through education, diligence, dedication, and resilience. After graduating from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for a second time, this time with her Ph.D in 2022, she plans to take and pass her foreign service exam, head to the Middle East, and do the work that she loves.

Signature Experience Award takes student to the Bahamas

Jenny Lambert — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 13:00:53 +0000

Rebecca Bishop, a Donaghey Scholar whose research interests lie in the health of diseased coral reef, will use her Signature Experience Award funds this summer to travel to San Salvador, an island in the Bahamas, to collect and analyze coral reef samples at the Gerace Research Centre. Bishop, a sophomore environmental geology major, was among the first group of University of Arkansas at Little Rock students to receive Chancellor Andrew Rogerson’s newly instituted Signature Experience Award. During the fall 2017 semester, he awarded 79 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students $1,000 to assist in the purchase of materials for a one-semester project or experience in research or creative works. “I’ve always been interested in coral reefs because of how incredibly diverse and important they are as an ecosystem,” Bishop explained. “The more I learned about corals, however, the more I understood how much danger they were in.” Through her research, Bishop found that the frequency of increasingly warming temperatures and extreme weather events threatened the future of coral reefs. To gain a better understanding of how these conditions impacted the animals, Bishop decided to explore them in San Salvador, an island with very little literature about the ecological health of its reefs. “There is still a lot we don’t know about coral diseases and their causes, but when I learned that I could help contribute to the information surrounding coral and their health, I became eager to start my own research,” she said. Bishop has already dived into the discovery stage of her project, “Incidence of Coral Reef Disease on San Salvador Island.” From March 19-24 during spring break, she and her Geology and Ecology of the Bahamas class traveled to the Bahamas for field study. While there, Bishop began the preliminary work of her project, scoping out sample sites and inspecting coral diseases. Bishop’s overall research goal seeks to continue the monitoring of coral reefs, while using the findings to help establish a marine reserve with active management and a regulations enforcement plan for San Salvador’s reef system. Dr. René Shroat-Lewis, assistant professor of paleontology and geoscience in the Department of Earth Sciences, serves as her advisor. Bishop will complete her bachelor’s degree in geology in 2020, and afterward, plans to head to graduate school to study oceanography. Not only is Bishop thrilled to do the research she enjoys, she’s also grateful to have the university’s support, expressed through the Signature Experience Award, to back her in her endeavors. “The Signature Experience Award has been extremely important for me,” Bishop said. “Because my research focuses on an area outside of the United States, the costs associated with my project are a bit high. If it weren’t for the help and support I’ve received from the Signature Experience Award, I wouldn’t be able to conduct such exciting and unique research.”

7 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students receive research fellowships

Janea Snyder — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 20:40:11 +0000

Seven ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students have received��a prestigious Student Undergraduate Research Fellowships from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to conduct research. The Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program provides up to $2,750 to undergraduate students and their mentors to conduct in-depth research projects in their specific fields of study with the assistance of faculty mentors. To be eligible, all fellowship recipients have a minimum grade-point average of 3.25, at least 30 hours of credit toward a degree, and support of a faculty mentor. Funds also are provided for students to travel to conferences to present their accomplishments. Students from all academic disciplines were encouraged to apply. “Research is the foundation of every great discovery, and the only way to prepare students for advanced research at the graduate level is to prepare them as undergraduates,” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said. “It’s so important for our students to learn best practices under the guidance of faculty mentors so they are prepared for more rigorous research as graduate students and as professionals.” The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock fellows include the following:

Saiyeeda F. Hossain of Pine Bluff, a double major in sociology and psychology, received ��$2,750 to research “Personality and Depressive Disorder of College Students: A Focus on Undergraduate Students at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.” Saiyeeda’s faculty mentor is Dr. Neveen Shafeek Amin in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Dylan Wright of Little Rock, a Spanish and political science double major, received $2,000 to study LGBTQ rights and research “Critical Film Perspectives in the Argentine Queer Community.” His faculty sponsor is Dr. Erin Finzer in the Department of World Languages.
Jesse Horton of Marshall, a criminal justice major, received $2,125 to research the “Impact of County-level Economic Disadvantage on Juvenile Case Dispositions in Arkansas.” His faculty sponsor is Dr. Molly Smith in Criminal Justice.
Nicole Ursin of Batesville, a Donaghey Scholar who is majoring in history and anthropology, received $2,125 for her research project, “Understanding Museum Demographics: Historic Arkansas Museum.” Her sponsor is Dr. Juliana Flinn in the Anthropology Department.
Trye Price of Benton, a criminal justice major, received $2,125 to research “Influence of Location and Client Characteristics on Perceived Violence Among Victims of Human Trafficking.” His faculty sponsor is Dr. Molly Smith in Criminal Justice.
Olivia Pate of Jonesboro, a geology and math major, received $2,750 to research her project “Refining the Sol-Gel Synthesis of Intermediate Composition, Nano-Scale Olivine.” Her faculty sponsor is Dr. Michael T. DeAngelis in the Department of Earth Sciences.
Patrick Elliott of Little Rock, an electrical and systems engineering major, received $2,750 to research “Effective Real-Time Energy Management in a Southern US Power Grid.” His faculty sponsor is ��Dr. Kamran Iqbal in the Department of Systems Engineering.

The students will complete their research in the spring 2018 semester, and six of the students who also received Signature Experience Awards will exhibit their work at the Student Research and Creative Works Showcase on April 12 in the Jack Stephens Center.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

To the Rescue: ����Vlog��ý Little Rock student finds passion working for animal rescue organization