- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/fall-commencement-2019/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Fri, 13 Dec 2019 16:50:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock grad Tichina Taylor overcomes stroke to earn college degree /news-archive/2019/12/13/tichina-taylor-graduation/ Fri, 13 Dec 2019 16:50:54 +0000 /news/?p=75908 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock grad Tichina Taylor overcomes stroke to earn college degree]]> After her freshman year of college at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Tichina Taylor experienced a debilitating stroke. Thanks to her strong will to continue pursuing her degree, with lots of support from the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Disability Resource Center and Student Support Services, Taylor will graduate Dec. 14 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in sociology and a certificate in nonprofit management.听 How were you able to overcome the effects of having a stroke and complete your college degree? I was 19 years old when I experienced the stroke. It happened during the summer break after my freshman year at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. My family and I were shocked because we had assumed that only elderly people have strokes.听 A stroke is so frustrating. I was partially paralyzed and suffered memory loss. I couldn鈥檛 get my thoughts out, and when I did speak, I sounded like a preschool child. The stroke forced me to learn everything all over again. My memory couldn鈥檛 grasp any information given to me.听 I survived, though, and was determined to finish my education. So, I went to the Disability Resource Center at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and spoke to the director, Reed Claiborne, and he helped me. I was not going to give up on a college degree, and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was committed to supporting my goal.听 The Disability Resource Center would ensure I had access to alternative formats of my textbooks and most other course materials that I could listen to for each of my classes. They notified my instructors of the appropriate accommodations for each of my courses. The Disability Resource Center focuses on making the learning experience accessible. The DRC helped me meet my needs as a stroke survivor. Student Support Services played a big role in my success, too. If I could not understand what I was reading or a concept from class, it used to make me so frustrated I would cry and not know what to do. Once I started working with tutors, I knew that I could highlight a passage of text or bring notes from class and talk with them about it. They helped me understand what I was reading and the concepts explained in class. It made all the difference in my ability to complete assignments. I discipline myself to always keep a smile on my face and never let myself give up. I also give praise to God. He helps me. God brought wonderful people into my life to support me, and opened my mind so that I can learn. I am so thankful for my professors鈥 support, the Mathematics Lab, Student Support Services, and the Disability Resource Center. I could not have completed my degree without each of them. Everyone who serves as a tutor on this campus personally benefits the lives of the people they coach, probably more than the tutors even realize. What are your goals and why did you choose to study sociology and nonprofit management? I鈥檝e been interested in the study of social problems since high school. My youth experience in the Boys & Girls Club鈥檚 Go Girls program shaped my thinking a lot in terms of what it means to live a healthy life with a positive mindset. My life goal is to open a nonprofit center to support verbally and physically abused women. I want to help other women learn to live a happy life, free from abuse. I鈥檇 also like to work in real estate. What does having a college education mean to you? 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has made a significant difference in my family鈥檚 life. My sister and I are first-generation college students, and our degrees are empowering us to contribute good things in the world at a higher level than if we hadn鈥檛 been exposed to higher education.听 My sister, , earned two degrees at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, all while raising young children. Her influence and support in my life has been amazing. We wrote a book together about my stroke and recovery. It鈥檚 called, 鈥,鈥 and was published under her own business label, de. I am so proud of her. I want to encourage students who may be dealing with life struggles. Don鈥檛 give up! Life is going to hit you with many obstacles, but strive to achieve your goals and stay positive. You can and you will succeed. I made it.]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock grad explores use of blockchain for state鈥檚 agricultural operations /news-archive/2019/12/13/karen-watts-dicicco-graduation/ Fri, 13 Dec 2019 15:05:25 +0000 /news/?p=75899 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock grad explores use of blockchain for state鈥檚 agricultural operations]]> Picking out the best fresh produce can be a difficult task for many shoppers looking for the best food for their families, but a University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate student is researching ways to make the process much easier for shoppers and local food producers.听 Karen Watts DiCicco of Bryant will graduate Saturday, Dec. 14, with a master鈥檚 degree in information science. As part of her graduate work, she鈥檚 studying how local food producers can use blockchain technology to safely and securely store and share their data. 鈥淚magine going to the store or the farmers market and looking at two apples,鈥 Watts DiCicco said. 鈥淥ne apple has a QR code you can scan with your smartphone to learn when it was picked, if it鈥檚 organic, if any pesticides were used, etc. Will you go with the apple that you can scan and know the origin of the produce or the apple that you know nothing about? Shoppers, especially those who shop local, want to know where their food comes from.鈥 For her master鈥檚 thesis, Watts DiCicco investigated how blockchain applications are used in agriculture. Originally developed for bitcoin, a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography. Blockchains are resistant to modification and are becoming an increasingly popular way to store, share, and protect data. In the spring, Watts DiCicco will continue her education and research as a doctoral student in computer and information science at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. In addition to agricultural research, she鈥檒l research strategies to fight disinformation campaigns online using blockchain technology with the Collaboratorium of Social Media and Online Behavioral Studies (COSMOS), where she works as a graduate assistant. The research group is led by Dr. Nitin Agarwal, Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair and distinguished professor in the Department of Information Science. The two will publish a book chapter in 2020 entitled, “Blockchain Technology-based Solutions to fight Misinformation: A Survey.” Armed with the knowledge of what works and doesn鈥檛 work regarding agricultural-related blockchain programs, Watts DiCicco鈥檚 next step is to create a survey for consumers, farmers, restaurant owners, and farmers markets in the Little Rock area through her work at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. This will help her determine what information customers want to see when shopping for food and what information local food producers want to track. The project is being created with financial support from Gov. Asa Hutchinson鈥檚 office. 鈥淢y goal is to create a pilot program using blockchain technology with 6 to 10 local food producers,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey will enter their agricultural information on a blockchain application that I create. Consumers will be able to know where their food comes from, and producers will receive data analytics from their data.鈥 Following her pilot study, Watts DiCicco will do a follow-up survey to see how her app can be improved and how it can be used by other agricultural vendors in the area. She also plans to conduct workshops and webinars that will educate the public on the benefits of using blockchain. 鈥淎 lot of people still think blockchain is only for bitcoin,鈥 she said. 鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 realize that Walmart and other large corporations already use blockchain. Using blockchain is about trust and authenticity. Blockchain will be a value for them.鈥 Watts DiCicco first joined 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 2009 as a freshman majoring in information science. As the mother of two sons with special needs, she found it difficult to go to school full time, work, and raise her sons. She left school in 2010, got her cosmetology license, and opened Artistik Salon, which catered to children and adults with special needs.
Karen Watts (left) and Michael DiCicco (right)

Karen Watts DiCicco(left) and Michael DiCicco (right)

鈥淚 had people travel from all over the state because they couldn鈥檛 go anywhere else to have their children鈥檚 haircut,鈥 Watts said. 鈥淎 lot of the children have sensory issues, so it could easily be too loud or crowded, so I catered to each child that came in. It was really hard to close in 2017, but I really wanted to finish my degree. It was a really hard decision since I helped a lot of kids.鈥听 After returning to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 2016, Watts DiCicco graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in information science and a graduate certificate in data science in 2018. In January, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture hired her as the division鈥檚 first digital and IT innovation manager. She explores new and emerging technologies and how they can be implemented with Division of Agriculture applications. While an undergraduate at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Watts traveled the country competing in hackathons 鈥 events in which coders compete or collaborate to create usable software within a limited time. In August, she married her 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock hackathon partner, Michael DiCicco. The family lives in Bryant. ]]>