Environmental engineering professor to compete for Mrs. Arkansas America

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:49:26 +0000

An environmental engineering professor by day, Dr. Lashun Massey is about to take on a very different role as she competes against 17 other contestants for the title of Mrs. Arkansas America on Nov. 10.�� The represents the first time Massey, program coordinator of the Environmental Engineering program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has ever competed in a pageant, something that she admits is making her a tad nervous. “I’m an engineer, so this takes me out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I want to advocate that it is okay to be out of your comfort zone. If there is something you want to pursue in your life, you go forward and go after it. I want to be challenged to be a better person, and I want to reach other people and share how I was able to obtain some of the goals in my life.” Education has always been an important goal for Massey. Growing up in Phillips County near Elaine and Lambrook, Arkansas, Massey was always taught to value education. Her family understood the cost of hard work as she, her grandparents, her mother, her aunts, uncles, and cousins, who all lived under the same roof, assisted in the manual labor and upkeep of her grandfather’s farm. “I grew up here in the state of Arkansas with my grandparents on a farm,” Massey said. “There were a lot of economic obstacles that we ran into. There were limited resources that we had. I also had several health issues that I had to overcome. I was able to become healthy and lose almost 250 pounds. I was on the verge of having a lot of health issues because of my weight.” Learning how to have a healthy lifestyle and achieve a good work-life balance were difficult tasks for Massey, but it was important for her and her family, whose support has been instrumental in Massey’s journey. Massey and her husband Jeff were married on Valentine’s Day. The couple have two sons, R.J. and Raylan. “My family has been so supportive throughout this entire process and whole journey. That is one of the reasons why I have been able to continue this journey,” Massey said. “Initially, when I thought about running, I knew it would be a family decision. I talked with my family to make certain that they would be supportive and that if we had the opportunity to win the title of Mrs. Arkansas, we would serve as a role model for families out there. They have been very supportive in helping me do this.” The pageant will begin at 7 p.m. at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Tickets may be purchased from Massey in advance for $17.50 or at the door for $20. The competition will include an interview, on-stage question, and the traditional bathing suit and evening gown competitions. Mrs. Arkansas America will win a trip for a week to Las Vegas to represent the state of Arkansas in the Mrs. America Pageant. In addition to a prize package, Mrs. Arkansas America will take part in many television interviews and personal appearances allowing this year’s winner an opportunity to amplify her role as a married woman. If Massey wins the pageant, she looks forward to the opportunity to encourage more people to better themselves with education through her platform, “Empowering Through Education: The Power of Knowledge.” “If I have the opportunity to represent the state of Arkansas as Mrs. Arkansas America, this will give me the chance to reach a much larger audience. I will continue to spread my platform, to spread education, and to reach students and to let them know about the importance of pursuing education and the various STEM careers out there,” she said. “It will give me a chance to inspire hope, letting people know that you can always make a difference and change.” In her time as Mrs. Little Rock, Massey has visited with schools to share her story of how education has impacted her life and to encourage the students to pursue careers in STEM fields. “As Mrs. Little Rock, one of the goals that I have is to help inspire and motivate men and women across the state of Arkansas to pursue their dreams,” Massey said. “Through my platform, I have a chance to reach students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. I have this opportunity to go out and reach these students and help give them inspiration that they can pursue their dreams and go after some of these things they want to do in life. I’m hoping to excite our future leaders in Arkansas.” Photo of Lashun Massey by Jerry Davis.

Environmental engineering professor and program coordinator to compete in Mrs. Arkansas America pageant

Jenny Lambert — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 16:15:45 +0000

Dr. Lashun Thomas, program coordinator of the environmental engineering program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has switched out her engineering cap for a crown. Thomas was recently titled the 2019 Mrs. Little Rock, and will compete for the Mrs. Arkansas America title in November. “This is the first time that I’ve ever done anything like this,” Thomas said. “Although it takes me totally outside of the engineering world, it gives me an opportunity to raise awareness about engineering careers to a wider audience of students and women in Arkansas and around the world. It also gives me a chance to promote the importance of family and marriage.” While browsing online one evening, Thomas came across an advertisement for Mrs. Little Rock. Surprisingly, what caught her attention wasn’t the glitz and glamour of the competition, but the contestants’ platforms. A pageant platform is a cause that a contestant chooses to volunteer for by either bringing awareness to, raising money for, or implementing a program that addresses a specific issue. Thomas, who is a huge proponent of education, believed that stepping into the pageant world would provide her with an opportunity to inform a broader audience of students and women about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. She also saw it as a chance to motivate these groups and show them that they have the power to make anything possible. With nothing but success in mind, Thomas moved forward with completing the pageant application, which was followed by several conversations and an in-person meeting with the pageant director. After a much anticipated wait, she was titled the 2019 Mrs. Little Rock. On November 10, she will compete in the Mrs. Arkansas America pageant in Hot Springs, Arkansas, ripping the runway in the interview, swim, and evening wear categories and representing her platform, “Empowering through Education-The Power of Knowledge.” If Thomas wins, she will go on to represent Arkansas in the Mrs. America pageant. In addition to her traveling expenses being covered, she will enjoy television interviews and personal appearances that will help to amplify her role as a married woman. From the field to the classroom Growing up in Phillips County near Elaine, Arkansas, Thomas was always taught to value education. At a very young age, she witnessed the toll and strain of hard work on her entire family. Before she was old enough to attend grade school, Thomas spent time working on her grandfather’s farm alongside her grandparents, mother, aunts, uncles, and cousins, who all lived under the same roof, to assist in the up-keep of the land. “I would help with potatoes when it was time to dig them up,” Thomas recalled. “I also helped with chopping cotton. My grandfather didn’t grow cotton, but during the summers when we needed extra money, because we were very poor, my mom would get us all together, and she would haul cotton choppers.” Thomas spent her last summer on the farm when she was 10 years old. The following year, she was enrolled in pre-college and summer engagement programs at her school. Because she had experience with agriculture and mathematics from working on her grandfather’s farm, she naturally gravitated toward the math- and science-based programs. ‘I didn’t know that there was a world out there’ While attending the summer courses, Thomas received continuous support from her family. �� “That’s one of the reasons I was really motivated,” she said. “My grandparents and my mom told me, ‘I want you to be able to use your education. I want you to be able to use knowledge and make strides forward in life to leave some type of legacy or mark.’” Thomas also received a tremendous amount of support and encouragement from her instructors, but it was the Upward Bound program that opened the doors to new possibilities and gave her a new lease on life. “Upward Bound was instrumental to me because growing up in Elaine, I didn’t know,” she explained. “I didn’t know that there was a world out there, that you could go to college, and that there were different opportunities out there for you.” Once Thomas had been exposed to life beyond the farm, she was determined to reach those places in the new world, to experience the parts of life that had long been hidden from her. Thomas knew that she wanted to be an engineer, but she also knew that the only way to make it possible was through education. The year before she graduated from high school, Thomas had manila folders filled with applications, their statuses, and the scholarship applications she had submitted. Using this filing system, she compared colleges, selected her top choice, and began her journey through higher education. Life’s a marathon, not a sprint

Photo by BENJAMIN KRAIN –03/27/18–.Lashun Thomas, program coordinator for the Environmental Engineering (ENVE) program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (��Vlog��ý Little Rock)

Thomas was sold on attending Tennessee State University, one of the locations she visited while in Upward Bound. She graduated from the university with both her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master’s of Science in Engineering. Although she’d accomplished a huge feat, Thomas didn’t plan on stopping. After obtaining her second degree, Thomas packed up her clothes in huge garbage bags and made her way to Virginia. “I pulled up MapQuest, got in my car, and hoped for the best,” she said. Thomas was determined to build an inspiring legacy. She knew that she wanted to do research at Virginia Tech, so she created opportunities that led to her to the university and eventually obtained her doctoral degree in civil engineering from there. While completing her degree, she worked as a hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. After 11 years of higher education, Thomas accepted a position as an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Syracuse University. While there, Thomas was so focused on success and balancing her personal and career life, she neglected her health. Thomas had reached her largest weight at 385 pounds. “It was so difficult to move, to walk,” she recounted. “Daily activities, daily tasks that I had to do were very difficult because of the amount of weight I had. I was very unhappy.” Thomas knew that she was prone to heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes based on her family’s medical history. If she wanted to be an inspiration to others, she would have to start with being an inspiration to herself. “[Losing weight] is one of those processes where you ask yourself, ‘How do you even get there?’” she said. “Having this internal sense of ‘I can do it, I’m not going to quit,’ I looked at [the challenge] as a marathon instead of a sprint.” Through exercise and dieting, she lost 20 pounds, then 40, remaining consistent until she eventually lost more than 230 pounds. On to ‘Mrs. Arkansas America’ This moment in Thomas’ life showed her that she could do anything with the right mindset, and she wanted to share this experience with women and students from all walks of life, informing them of why investing in their education is so important. “Everything stems from knowledge,” Thomas said. “Knowledge teaches you about health, academics, and even things in your personal life.” Thomas is the only female program coordinator of an undergraduate environmental engineering program in the state of Arkansas, which is why she is so passionate about encouraging other women to take on roles in STEM. In preparation for Mrs. Arkansas America, Thomas is visiting schools and universities across the state to speak about her platform, “Empowering through Education-The Power of Knowledge,” share the role education played in determining her future, and voice the importance of family. �� “I’m very humbled and I’m grateful,” Thomas said. “It feels like a dream.” ��

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

Environmental engineering professor to compete for Mrs. Arkansas America

Environmental engineering professor and program coordinator to compete in Mrs. Arkansas America pageant

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