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

Triple graduate on road to fulfill dream of becoming a doctor

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 14 May 2019 14:52:42 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock senior who graduated with three bachelor’s degrees has been accepted to medical school and is on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor. Erica Olson, of Gassville, Arkansas, graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock on May 11 with bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, and Spanish. The budding doctor, who received a $7,500 Class of 1954 Scholarship from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, will begin taking classes at ��Vlog��ýMS in the fall with plans to become a family physician. “It has been my dream for almost a decade that I would like to become a family physician,” Olson said. “Everyone is excited about specializing in surgical processes, but for me, I like the appeal of growing with the patients. I like the consistency of establishing bonds and being able to work with people throughout their life and their children’s lives. I’m open to looking at other specialties in medical school, but I think that is where my heart lies.” After graduating high school with just 40 people in her senior class, Olson was excited to see what the world had to offer. “I was naturally excited to get out of the rural area and explore what else the world had to offer,” she said. “I knew ��Vlog��ý Little Rock had a lot of scholarships available, and I remembered visiting this campus during seventh grade, walking down the brick pathways, and finding it beautiful. After I was accepted into the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps, I was very glad I decided to attend ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. My mom is a single mom who works as a waitress, and she did a great job of providing for me. We’ve experienced financial hardships, and getting to graduate debt free is a privilege.” While at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Olson joined the University Science Scholars Program, Biology Club, American Chemical Society, Wesley Foundation, Wind Ensemble, and became a student ambassador for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences. She worked as a resident assistant for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, a research assistant for the ��Vlog��ýMS Emergency Department, and volunteered in the Intensive Care Unit at ��Vlog��ýMS. Olson is also dedicated to helping other students get a head start in their careers. In 2017, she founded the university’s Pre-Health Club for students planning to work in the health industry as doctors, nurses, dentists, physical therapists, pharmacists, and physician’s assistants. During summer 2017, Olson had an experience that altered her plans. She studied abroad in Spain, taking a one-week trip to Madrid with Dr. Edna Delgado, professor of Spanish, followed by a month living with a host family while taking classes at the University of Granada. Originally set to graduate in 2018 with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology, Olson delayed graduation for a year so she could spend the fall 2018 studying in Spain. It also gave Olson the time to earn a third bachelor’s degree in Spanish. “At first, I just wanted to learn Spanish to have a baseline because it’s the second most spoken language in the U.S.,” she said. “As a future physician, I want to be able to communicate with my Spanish-speaking patients. If you don’t speak the language, you feel isolated and alone. I knew this is what my patients who couldn’t speak English would feel. I planned to apply to medical school a year ago, but I didn’t want to go with any regrets.” Olson owes much of her success to the biology and chemistry faculty members at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, especially those who helped her prepare for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). “I adore both the chemistry and biology department faculty. I’ve had incredible experiences with the faculty,” she said. “They challenge you, and that in turn makes you a better student. With regards to chemistry, to me that was the most challenging discipline I chose. While I did not make an A in every single chemistry course, it helped me to succeed in the real world because I scored in the 92 percentile on my MCAT. Both departments really care about your success.”

Donaghey Scholar readies for next step in her future

Fri, 10 May 2019 14:07:08 +0000

When Julie O’Hara graduates on May 11, she will leave behind a legacy of success at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With an acceptance to the University of Pittsburgh in hand, her energy is focused on a future in international politics. O’Hara, a political science major from Little Rock, has been involved in local politics since she was a teenager. “I actually started volunteering with the Democratic Party or Arkansas when I was 14,” O’Hara said. “I worked with various campaigns. Through those interactions, I realized how much I enjoyed getting to talk to the community.” As a high schooler, O’Hara decided to attend ��Vlog��ý Little Rock after hearing about her older sister’s experience as a Donaghey Scholar. “My oldest sister went through the Donaghey program, so I had a really good idea about what I would get out of it,” O’Hara said. “One of my favorite things about it was the Socratic-style classes that let you actually discuss the material rather than have it lectured to you.” O’Hara has had the opportunity to present her research at multiple national conferences. “I attended the Southern Political Science Association’s conference twice, once to present research that I worked on in a methods course and again to present my final project for the Donaghey Scholars Program,” O’Hara said.

Julia O’Hara, who is graduating from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in political science, stands outside the Senate chambers in the Arkansas State Capitol building. Photo by Ben Krain.

Throughout her time as a student, O’Hara has continued to be active in state politics, thanks to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s location in Arkansas’s capital city. “Having grown up in Little Rock, I knew the opportunities for studying politics that I would get here,” O’Hara said. “I had built up connections through volunteering and internships.” When reflecting on her time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, O’Hara points to her interactions with its non-traditional student body as one of the university’s biggest strengths. “We have such a nontraditional student body,” she said. “At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, you get diversity in ideas and experiences.” After finishing her Ph.D. in political science, O’Hara plans to continue her research in international politics at a professional level.

Great-grandmother earns bachelor’s degree after leaving high school at 15

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 10 May 2019 12:41:07 +0000

At age 15, Vickie Austin left high school in Wynne, Arkansas, after becoming pregnant with her first child, though she always intended to finish her education. Fast forward 41 years, and Austin, 61, will graduate May 11 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a minor in psychology and a strong desire to help others. In the fall, she will begin a master’s degree program in rehabilitation counseling at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, but Austin doesn’t intend to wait until she finishes her master’s degree to start helping others. “As I work on my master’s degree, I want to do some things with my bachelor’s degree,” Austin said. “I really want to focus on volunteering. My concern is with children and older citizens, but my passion is helping the entire family.” The mother of four, grandmother of 10, and great-grandmother of one developed a deep desire to help troubled families. She will also do some volunteering with people living in nursing homes after her younger sister spent three years living in a nursing home while she fought breast cancer. “I talked to a lot of the other nursing home residents. One man told me that my sister was lucky to have siblings who visited her so often. He had brothers and sisters who lived within 35 miles, and they never visited him,” she said. “I’m concerned about helping people. I may not be the person who can make decisions for the people living in nursing homes, but I can still be there to listen.” After raising her children on her own and babysitting many grandchildren, Austin’s return to education started in 2008. At age 50, she left the only town she ever lived in to move to Little Rock to enroll in the Little Rock School District’s Adult Education program, a move that served as a large inspiration to her family. “Our mother decided it was time to put herself first and set out to accomplish everything that others told her she wouldn’t be able to because of being a teen mother, high school dropout, and being legally blind,” said La’Tasha Ursery, Austin’s daughter. “It wasn’t easy for her in the beginning. Once she got the swing of being in school, she got access to larger print items and anything that could help with her eyesight. She began to soar in the program and overcome barriers she had been denied.” Once her oldest grandchild entered high school, Austin decided she wanted to finish her long-term goal of earning her GED certificate before her grandchild graduated. “Everyone in my family had a high school diploma, even my mom. It was a struggle, but I did everything I could to make sure my kids got a high school diploma,” she said. “I had a grandson in high school, and I told him I was going to finish high school before him. I got my GED in 2010, and he graduated high school in 2011.” Although she originally intended to just get her GED, Austin saw the value in pursuing higher education. She received her associate degree from University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in 2014 before enrolling at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, where three of her four children went to college. “A high school diploma was all I was looking for, and, Lord, look at me now,” Austin said. “There are a lot of people my age who think they are too old to go back and get a GED, and I had friends who told me I was too old to get my GED, but I made it.” While at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Austin said she was particularly inspired by Dr. David Briscoe, a professor of sociology who encouraged her to major in sociology. “He inspired me to go into sociology,” she said. “I’m concerned about family matters, people who have been abused, and people affected by crime. Dr. Briscoe is the one who told me that if you look at everyone as a person who has feelings and needs, you learn how to communicate better.”

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.

From mowing grass to NASA: Siratt finds success at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 06 May 2019 12:59:29 +0000

Five years ago, John Siratt, of Malvern, began classes at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as a non-traditional transfer student with no “master plan,” but a desire to see how much he could achieve. Now, Siratt will graduate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on May 11 with a Master of Science in mathematical sciences as well as two prestigious graduate fellowships to earn his Ph.D. in mathematics at one of the best universities in the country. In 2014, he struggled to support himself through college while working full-time as a groundskeeper at the College of the Ouachitas. It wasn’t his first attempt at college, having attended the University of Arkansas right after high school and later Henderson State University, but Siratt was determined to make this time a success. “I originally decided to come back to school because we lost my little brother in 2010, and it made me reassess my life priorities,” Siratt said. “It made me see what a loss it was, considering how much good he could have done in the world. After a year and a half, I took that job at a community college mowing grass just so I could go back to school.” After graduating from the College of the Ouachitas in 2014, Siratt began his studies as a part-time student at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. He became a full-time student after Dr. Allen Thomas, a former ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, hired Siratt to work as a research assistant in 2015. “I call myself a second-chance student. I wasn’t successful in college when I was younger because I didn’t have clear goals,” he said. “Growing up, most people around me didn’t understand the concept of going to school for math if you weren’t going to become a school teacher.” At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Siratt has found great success in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He completed two internships with the Formal Methods Research Program at the in Norfolk, Virginia, in summer 2017 and 2018. Siratt has been recognized by the department with the Outstanding Achievement by an Undergraduate and Outstanding Senior awards. Last year, Siratt received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The fellowship provides three years of financial support through a $34,000 annual stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to the student’s graduate institution.

John Siratt works on algebraic equations in his office at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Photo by Ben Krain.

Siratt also received the Richard and Peggy Notebaert Premier Fellowship from the University of Notre Dame, where he will pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics. Siratt was one of eight recipients selected from more than 5,000 applicants for the fellowship, Notre Dame’s most prestigious scholarship. The fellowship is a five-year renewable scholarship that covers full tuition at Notre Dame and includes a $40,000 yearly stipend. Looking back on his time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Siratt is thankful to his wife, Chassidy, who is studying drawing in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program, Dr. Lakeshia Jones, assistant professor of mathematics, and Dr. Steven Minsker, professor of computer science, for keeping him motivated and encouraging him to pursue new opportunities. “You have to look for other experiences, like mentors, internships, and research projects,” Siratt said. “These experiences help you grow into success. No one should expect to come out of their education as the same person as when they started because education has completely transformed myself and who I am. It helped me explore areas of myself and opportunities that would not have been available otherwise. I mean, how many guys on a lawnmower get to go to NASA? It’s been a really cool experience after all.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student researches how to improve lift capabilities, flight times in drones

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 16:22:37 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has been experimenting with drone design in hopes of making current drone technology more viable for commercial ventures. Andrew Cherry, who will graduate May 11 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical systems engineering, is researching how to improve the lift capability and takeoff of quadcopter drones via fluid mechanics. Drones that can take off using less force will use less battery life and be able to travel farther carrying greater loads, making them more viable for future ventures in delivery, transportation, and military operations. “Most drones can generate plenty of lift to get themselves moving and have a good range distance,” Cherry said. “If we can improve the amount of lift drones generate at a lower RPM (rotations per minute) of the motor, then the drone will use less battery life and be able to travel longer without having to charge the batteries so often. If we can improve the lift, a delivery drone, for example, could travel to more places and deliver more packages without having to stop and recharge as often.” Cherry first became interested in studying drone technology after taking a class with Dr. Jin Wook Lee, assistant professor of systems engineering, who serves as Cherry’s faculty mentor on the project. “Throughout my classes with Dr. Lee, I’ve become more interested in fluid mechanics,” Cherry said. “It’s something I wanted to jump on board and learn more about. Working with drones is such a growing field. I came to school to learn, so I am glad to work on things that few people have worked on before.” Cherry is one of more than 100 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students who received a $1,000 grant to conduct original research, creative works, and community service projects this semester as part of the university’s Signature Experience Award program. He presented his research at the Student Research and Creative Works Expo on April 18 in the Jack Stephens Center. The project is part of Lee’s ongoing research to create a novel thrust generator for drones. “A novel thrust generator I am designing for drones is expected to have significantly less aerodynamic losses and therefore, the overall propulsive efficiency and the flight duration will be greatly improved,” Lee said. “Our ultimate goal is to implement this device for various commercial applications such as drone delivery service, military unmanned aerial vehicles, and passenger transportation.” In Cherry’s research, he’s seeking to improve the lift and takeoff capabilities by employing a convex, dish-like surface structure known as a coanda surface underneath the drone’s propellers. “According to the coanda effect reported in 1938, the pressure right at the convex surface is lower than the ambient air and therefore negative values, if air flows strongly over the surface,” Cherry said. “This negative pressure will generate additional lift forces and therefore contribute to improve the lift capability of a drone without significantly complicating the overall structure.” Cherry was tasked with using ANSYS Fluent, an engineering simulation software, to create different designs of the coanda surface and running simulations with changing parameters to determine which design would generate the most lift force. “From this project, we will be able to predict an optimal design so that eventually a quadcopter will have an improved overall efficiency and therefore longer flight durations and lift capabilities,” Cherry said. “The results will serve as a seed for further developments and improvement in the drone technology.” In the upper right photo, Andrew Cherry researches how to improve the lift capability and takeoff of quadcopter drones for commercial use. Photo by Ben Krain.

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