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

Successful student entrepreneur to study global markets, economic development in Europe

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 09 May 2019 21:16:15 +0000

Four years ago, Abigail Resendiz was anxiously waiting for her best friend, Ingrid Helgestad, to return a phone call so she could share the good news she was struggling to keep secret. The then-Bryant High School seniors had both applied for the Donaghey Scholars program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Resendiz had just received word she had been accepted into the program. Noticing that Helgestad had missed a call from the same number, Resendiz was convinced Helgestad had been accepted as well. “I kept telling Ingrid to call the number back, but she kept saying she’d do it later,” Resendiz said. “I was going crazy because I couldn’t share the news until Ingrid found out too.” Getting accepted into the Donaghey Scholars program was the start of a four-year journey filled with exceptional opportunities and fond memories for Resendiz, who will graduate May 11 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in international business as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management. “I didn’t want to burden my parents with having to pay for my education,” she said. “Donaghey Scholars offered me a great opportunity with paying for my tuition, computer, living stipend, and a study abroad trip. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.” Resendiz’s parents, Paulino and Maria, are originally from Queretaro, Mexico, and moved to Arkansas in 1995. She’s always had the travel bug and was thrilled to study abroad three times while attending ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. She spent one semester studying business in Barcelona, Spain. Last summer, Resendiz traveled to Germany, France, and England to study the refugee crisis in Europe. Over one spring break, she traveled to Costa Rica to study business sustainability with local businesses. “These businesses were in the middle of nowhere, but they were thriving because of Amazon,” she said. “They were making organic soaps and shampoos in the back of their house, but they were utilizing e-commerce to export their goods to other countries.” Altogether, Resendiz has traveled to more than 20 countries on four continents. She and a friend, Ana Galfi, have a lifelong goal of visiting all seven continents and seeing as many countries as possible. Their most recent excursion was to visit Israel and Jordan in January. Much of Resendiz’s senior year has been devoted to Vascugenix, a medical startup company comprised of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student entrepreneurs who won $75,000 in prize money in recent months. Vascugenix won $30,000 at the Arkansas Governor’s Cup and $40,000 at e-Fest 2019. As chief marketing officer, Resendiz helped created a business plan and sales strategy to bring the Speed-Torque, a medical torque device used by surgeons in minimally invasive heart surgery created by cardiologist Dwight Chrisman of Baptist Health, to market. “Vascugenix dominated my life for nine months, but I’m really glad I did it,” she said. “The learning curve was so high at the beginning. I can say now that I have pitched in front of investors and venture capitalists. At first, we were just going to do the Governor’s Cup, but we kept getting into all these competitions. Last year, I never would have imagined that we would go so far.” Outside of traveling, Resendiz interns at the Arkansas District Export Council, a nonprofit organization working to increase economic development in Arkansas through increasing exports. This summer, Resendiz will intern with a Little Rock company that is partnering with Facebook. The internship is part of Career Connections, a new career development program for college students launched by Facebook. Over the past semester, Resendiz had received training in digital marketing, social media analytics, community management, and business tools. She will put those skills to use in an internship with one of 27 local businesses partnering with Facebook. Though she was considering several post-graduation options, the clear winner for Resendiz is a full scholarship from the Global Markets, Local Creatives program from the European Union, which will allow her to earn two master’s degrees while studying at three different universities in Europe. Resendiz was one of only 22 scholarship recipients from more than 975 applications. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, and healthcare and comes with a living and travel stipend. In the fall, Resendiz will move to Scotland to spend her first semester at the University of Glasgow. She will study at the University of Barcelona during the second semester and finish out her second year at the University of Göttingen in Germany. At the end of her program, Resendiz will have master’s degrees in global markets and economic development. “This was the most interesting way for me to do a master’s degree program and live abroad,” Resendiz said. “I want to live and work abroad for a few years before coming back to the U.S. Eventually, I want to work for the United Nations in economic development and international relations or an organization that has a social cause behind it like Winrock International or Heifer International.” In the upper right photo, Abigail Resendiz is surrounded by the flags of Scotland, Spain, and Germany, where she will pursue dual master’s degrees over the next two years. Photo by Ben Krain.

Facebook launches campaign at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to promote computer science education in Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 15:02:52 +0000

Facebook has inspired the next generation of technology industry leaders in Arkansas with the launch of the “Tech Take Over” campaign at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Nearly 200 high school students from central Arkansas attended an exciting display of virtual reality technology from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock on Sept. 26. The high school students learned about opportunities in the computer science industry from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and tech industry leaders during the event at the George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology. “Tech Take Over” is part of the between Facebook and the state of Arkansas, which was announced earlier this year to generate student interest in computer science education and careers. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, , , the , and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock STEM Education Center partnered to bring a technology roadshow to five universities in the state, beginning with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Arkansas is a very forward-thinking state with all the governor is doing to push computer science education,” said Peipei Zhou, director of growth with Facebook’s TechStart program. “We want to help the state with its advancement of computer science, and we want to provide these students with a better future.” Over the next two weeks, Facebook and the Emerging Analytics Center team will bring the “Tech Take Over” event to universities in Jonesboro, Magnolia, Fayetteville, and Pine Bluff. More than 100 high schools from around the state are expected to participate in the events.

Arkansas high school students learn how to use virtual reality apps developed by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center during the Sept. 26 “Tech Take Over” event.

“One of the most exciting areas of computer science is virtual reality,” said Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, director of the Emerging Analytics Center, who delivered a speech on developing virtual reality applications during the event. “Everything the students are experiencing here will go on the road to locations all across the state. We will reach over 1,000 ninth-through-12th graders around the state to get them interested in virtual reality and computer science.” Facebook’s education initiative helps high school students explore computer science through modern technology. In spring 2017, Facebook donated 400 virtual reality classroom kits to 265 high schools in Arkansas. The kits included computers, cameras, and Oculus Rift equipment. In August, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that Facebook expanded the donation and will provide virtual reality kits to all of the more than 360 public high schools. Each school will receive an Oculus Rift touch controller and 30 virtual reality viewers. Expanding computer science education was a core campaign promise for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who believes producing a tech-savvy workforce will be a boon to the state’s economy and help secure future jobs in the technology industry. In 2015, Hutchinson requiring public high schools to offer classes in computer sciences. “This is part of Gov. Hutchinson’s campaign promise to bring computer science education to every student in Arkansas,” said Anthony Owen, director of computer science education with the Arkansas Department of Education. “This is also an aspect of his job creation promise and commitment to Arkansas. Computer science is one of the fastest growing industries. We’ve already been able to expand and attract computer and technology industry companies based on our expansion of K-16 computer science education in the state.”

��Vlog��ýLR business student team impresses at global competition

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 19:56:12 +0000

A student marketing team from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock was ranked as the top American university team in a global competition designed to counter digital recruitment by terrorist organizations. Led by marketing and advertising Professor Gary Geissler, the ��Vlog��ýLR team was made up of students Shannon Carroll, Quay Allen-Smith, Cathy Heathscott, Hillary Darby, and Glen Ritta. The team headed to Washington, D.C., Jan 30 to Feb. 3 to compete against other , a contest Facebook and U.S. Department of State officials created with EdVenture Partners. Keeping in mind the 7 billion people who live on the Earth’s seven continents, the ��Vlog��ýLR team named its campaign #7Strong. ��Vlog��ýLR students chose the focus of their social media campaign based partly on research that suggests collaboration and equality alarm violent extremists. “They fear that people will unite against them and cooperate and collaborate,” Geissler said. “The idea of #7Strong is that there’s strength in numbers.” A team from Finland ultimately won the competition, but the ��Vlog��ýLR squad was the highest ranked American entry in the contest. In addition to participating in the competition, the team presented its concepts to leaders at the FBI headquarters. “Our team made the most of a rare opportunity to visit top officials of the FBI ‘behind the glass’ on the seventh floor of their headquarters,” Geissler said. “We met with two executive assistant directors, showed our videos, and discussed our campaign. They absolutely loved our program. We were also taken on a wonderful tour of the FBI headquarters.” After visiting the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for a national security briefing, the team met President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. “After our meeting, we gathered on the stairs outside of the building for a group photo. At that moment, President Obama and Vice President Biden emerged from the West Wing and proceeded to climb the stairs past our students,” Geissler said. “They were very gracious in engaging the students with a brief conversation. Apparently, it is very rare to have them both together in the same place.” Upper right photo: President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden greet a University of Arkansas at Little Rock student team competing in the Facebook Global Digital Challenge in Washington, D.C. Photo by ��Vlog��ýLR student Cathy Heathscott.

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

Successful student entrepreneur to study global markets, economic development in Europe

Facebook launches campaign at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock to promote computer science education in Arkansas

����Vlog��ýLR business student team impresses at global competition

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

Facebook launches campaign at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to promote computer science education in Arkansas

��Vlog��ýLR business student team impresses at global competition