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

Navy Veteran Plans to Give Back to Fellow Veterans Through Career in Social Work

John Hill — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 13:50:45 +0000

A ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student and U.S. Navy veteran is planning to help fellow veterans through a career in social work after Arkansas social workers helped her through one of the darkest times in her life. “I’m just grateful for a new start,” said Jameice Flowers, a senior social work major from McGehee, Arkansas. “The transition to civilian life was hard for me and in a way I’m still transitioning. I don’t know where I would have been without the help of social workers and without the Military Student Success Center and other people who have guided me along the way. They’ve added so much to my life.” Flowers decided to join the Navy after a recruiter visited McGehee High School when she was in 11th grade. She served from 2008-2013 as a hospital corpsman, essentially the equivalent of an Army medic. “I was able to do jobs that most nurses do today,” Flowers said. “I assisted in the emergency room, labor and delivery, and ICU.” Flowers worked at a naval hospital in Guam and a Navy medical center in Portsmouth, Virginia. She even spent about six months on a humanitarian mission aboard the U.S.N.S. Comfort to provide medical care in nine countries from Jamaica to Haiti. “It’s pretty much like a joint effort between different countries, military branches, and different medical organizations like Operation Smile,” Flowers said. “They go out and assist third world countries that need medical assistance for their people. We do a lot of surgeries. It was definitely a nice experience to have.” After Flowers medically retired from the Navy, she attended school in Virginia with plans to become an ophthalmic medical technician. When the university she was applying to lost their program coordinator and temporarily stopped accepting new students, she moved back to her home state of Arkansas in 2015 with the hopes of attending the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “I was accepted there and ended up getting triggered during my studies,” she said. “I focused on my mental health for two years and decided not to go back to what I was doing previously. I decided to go into social work instead.” Flowers referred to her recovery from PTSD as a dark time in her life but said she’s grateful to the dedicated social workers who helped her. “I chose social work because when I had pretty much hit rock bottom, it was social workers that helped me through it,” Flowers said. “For me, it’s more paying it forward. That is why I want to work with the veteran population. I was able to get out of a bad space that I was in through the help of social workers.” Flowers will graduate from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in social work and a minor in gerontology next year. Afterwards, she plans to get a master’s degree in social work and work at a VA center. She has already worked at multiple VA centers in Virginia and Arkansas and said she enjoys working with fellow veterans. Flowers continued working with veterans last year at the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Military Student Success Center, where she would help military students and their family members apply for educational benefits and help them transition to college life. She is now a social work intern at Chicot Elementary. “My time as a student has been pretty great, and the social work department is great,” she said. “I love all my professors. I especially enjoy Professor Kelly Moore, who has been with us through the very beginning. Having the Military Student Success Center has been helpful in guiding me and motivating me to stay. I’m a great student, and I make great grades. It’s good to have the center there and have other people like myself to talk to. Travis Weigel has been great throughout my entire time here. He’s helped me in so many different ways and taught me to be more independent and reliant on myself. I know I have that department to talk to someone who can understand where I am coming from.”

First-Generation Student and Navy Veteran Finds Success at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

John Hill — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 14:30:51 +0000

After spending six years in the U.S. Navy, Bryan Hernandez, a first-generation college student from Clinton, Arkansas, has found success as a marketing major and storyteller at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, a skill he hopes to use after graduation to highlight the Latinx culture. Hernandez joined the Navy a year after graduating from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts in Hot Springs. “It was definitely something I considered since I was a kid, but it became more realistic my senior year of high school,” Hernandez said. “I am the first in the family to join the military. It was a very new experience for myself and my family. It definitely helped my parents not having to pay for college. It has its challenges, but it definitely provided some stability and security that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.” Hernandez served as a SONAR technician. He analyzed real-time data to search for, track, and engage submarines. Since no one serving on a naval vessel has just one job, as Hernandez pointed out, he also assisted the public affairs director with photographing events and managing social media accounts. Hernandez confirmed that he sated his appetite for travel during his time in the Navy. He traveled to places like Barbados, Norway, Scotland, Portugal, Spain, Nova Scotia, Guantanamo Bay, and Panama. “I think the most beautiful place was the Norwegian Sea,” he said. “It was crazy to look out in the distance and see snow-capped mountains. This is what made me want to join. I thought it was pretty cool to go to sea and see different ports.” In 2021, Hernandez left the Navy ready to earn his college degree. The pandemic played a factor, making Hernandez realize that he was ready to transition out of the military and spend more time with his family. Having already completed many college credits through concurrent enrollment classes in high school, Hernandez resumed his college career at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with high hopes for the future. “Coming here and realizing there are so many other nontraditional students and veterans made it feel like the right choice,” Hernandez said. “The fact that it’s a Yellow Ribbon School means I know my education will be completely covered here. The familiarity with Arkansas and being close to Little Rock and my family, I couldn’t beat it. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock feels like home. They have a commitment to first-generation students and veterans. That is more aligned with what I believe in. If that’s not what higher education is about, then what is it about?” Since joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock last year, Hernandez has kept busy as a student ambassador with the School of Business, assistant editor of The Forum student newspaper, and the social media coordinator for the Military Student Success Center. “I am so grateful to have a center like this on campus. I think that has been the most impactful program in terms of my transition from the military to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” Hernandez said. “Being around other students who are going through the same thing is a huge support system that I was not counting on. A lot of the concerns I had; I realized a lot of the other veterans had too. Working through those fears with other veterans on campus is pretty big.” Hernandez will graduate from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock during the spring 2024 semester with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing degree. His goal is to promote storytelling for the Latinx community. “Ultimately, I’d like to contribute to storytelling for Latinx people who aren’t represented as much,” he said. “I find there are a lot of stories that are being missed out on. There are some misconceptions about what it means to be Latinx that could be corrected. There’s a lot of good stories about who we are.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host March 11 Conversation with Authors David Montague, Paige Bowers

John Hill — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 22:26:52 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a with authors David Montague and Paige Bowers to discuss their new book on the life and legacy of the U.S. Navy’s ‘Hidden Figure’ Raye Montague. The event, “Overnight Code: A Conversation with Paige Bowers and David Montague,” will take place from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11. , the award-winning anchor of FOX16 News since 2004, will moderate the conversation.�� “It is a privilege for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown Center and the Center for Arkansas History and Culture to work with David Montague and Paige Bowers to bring the extraordinary life of Raye Montague to our community through their discussion and the rich assortment of archival material that her family so kindly gifted to the university,” said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, associate provost of collections and archives at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Raye Montague’s story is an inspiration to all of us and a legacy to�� be protected.” Montague, executive director of online learning and faculty mentoring at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, and Bowers, a nationally published news and features writer, released “,” in January.

“Overnight Code” by David Montague and Paige Bowers

The book tells the story of Montague’s mother, Dr. Raye Montague, an internationally registered professional engineer with the U.S. Navy who is credited with creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown and the Center for Arkansas History and Culture are co-hosting the event in celebration of Women’s History Month and Diversity Month. In addition to the virtual conversation, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown is hosting an exhibit of materials on display from the center’s Raye Montague Collection as well as some items donated from David Montague. The collection can be seen at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown from March 11-31.�� “We are grateful to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for hosting us in what promises to be a very special book talk,” David Montague and Paige Bowers said. “Not only will we be able to discuss the narrative arc of Raye Montague’s remarkable life, but we will be able to further illuminate it with her personal artifacts that are being lovingly preserved at the Center for Arkansas History and Culture. Archives like these are vitally important to the community at large, giving us tangible reminders of who we are and what we can become. Raye’s collection there is perfect proof of that.” The collection includes Montague’s awards from the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame,�� the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Academy of Computing, and the National Computer Graphics Association. They also include a scrapbook and sweatshirt from Montague’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and a framed photograph of a battleship that Montague designed digitally. The event is free and open to the public and can be

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Montague co-authors book on mother, Navy Hidden Figure Raye Montague

John Hill — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 19:18:40 +0000

For years, people would tell the U.S. Navy’s Hidden Figure Dr. Raye Montague that she should write a book about her incredible life.�� The late Dr. Montague, an internationally registered professional engineer with the U.S. Navy, is credited with creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship. Montague was recognized as the U.S. Navy’s real-life “Hidden Figure” during naval events in Washington, D.C. and Virginia and on the Feb. 20, 2017, live episode of “Good Morning America.” In the last years of her life, Raye Montague decided to write the long-awaited book with her son, Dr. David Montague, executive director of online learning and faculty mentoring as well as a professor of criminal justice at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and co-author, Paige Bowers.�� Bowers brought to the table the experience of a published author. She wrote “The General’s Niece: The Little-Known de Gaulle Who Fought to Free Occupied France” and is a nationally published news and features writer. Just as the trio had finished a book proposal and was about to secure a publisher, Raye Montague passed away in October 2018 at the age of 83. One of the last promises David Montague made his mother was to finish her book. That book, “,” will be published Jan. 12, 2021, by Chicago Review Press Inc.

Paige Bowers, author of “The General’s Niece: The Little-Known de Gaulle Who Fought to Free Occupied France,” co-wrote “Overnight Code” with David Montague.

“Even though my mother couldn’t stay for the whole process, she was able to contribute a lot to the book,” Montague said. “When she was in hospice, I promised her that I would finish the book. I’m really excited about it. It gives us a chance to give her story, which is much broader than her amazing career. It also talks about encouragement for so many types of people and overcoming obstacles against impossible odds.” ��“Overnight Code” is equal parts coming-of-age tale, civil rights history, and reflection on the power of education. The 240-page book is described as a tale about persistence and perseverance when the odds against you seem insurmountable. “We believe there is so much in this book for so many people,” Bowers said. “Yes, it is a story about a woman with a formidable life who became a very gifted engineer just through her sheer determination and through often teaching herself computer science and coding when they were still in infancy. But there is also a huge takeaway about resilience, about not giving up if you have a setback or if something is blocking your way to success.” Raye Montague earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at a time when the engineering school at the University of Arkansas did not accept minorities. She began her career with the U.S. Navy in 1956. She held a civilian equivalent rank of captain and was the Navy’s first female program manager of ships. Among many other honors, she was awarded the U.S. Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1972, the Navy’s third-highest honorary award. She was also nominated for the Federal Woman of the Year Award the same year. After her 33-year naval career, Raye Montague retired in 1990 and was presented with a flag that had flown over the nation’s capital in her honor. She was passionate about highlighting the value of education and encouraging girls to get involved in STEM education, receiving many awards and commendations over the years for volunteering with youth. After returning to Arkansas in 2006, she spent many years as a mentor, volunteer, motivational speaker, and dedicated mother and grandmother in Little Rock. Montague mentored prison inmates through ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s community re-entry program and was honored with the 10th Annual Fribourgh Award in 2019. Beyond all of Raye Montague’s admirable achievements, Bowers described the book as a story about the power of a mother’s love across generations.��

“Overnight Code” will be released Jan. 12.

“Raye’s mother was the foundation that helped her become the woman she was meant to be, and Raye’s love for David helped him become the Dr. Montague that we know,” Bowers said. “David has taken the baton from his mother. He continues to encourage people to stay in school. He is doing her proud by continuing this outreach. That is a testament to her and a testament to him.” During the process of researching, conducting interviews, and writing the book, David Montague discovered hidden depths about his mother. “I learned my mom was more of a firecracker than I ever thought her to be. People came at her from every direction, but she didn’t let that stop her,” David Montague said. “After she passed, there were people who talked about how much she had done to open doors for them. Until recently, they had no clue that she had done all these things in the Navy. That is something I have tried to do as a faculty member and administrator and that is something that I learned from her. Even when she was struggling in hospice, she was trying to encourage people in those facilities to go to school and so many people have come to school at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and beyond because of her.” “Overnight Code” is widely available for pre-order online, at your , or via the publisher’s website at .

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to honor ‘Hidden Figure’ Raye Montague with 10th annual Fribourgh Award

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:15:32 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will celebrate the life and achievements of the late Dr. Raye Jean Jordan Montague at the 10th annual Fribourgh Awards Reception Thursday, Oct. 10. The late Dr. Montague, an internationally registered professional engineer with the U.S. Navy, is credited with creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship. The Fribourgh Award honors individuals who have made considerable contributions to the state of Arkansas through mathematics and science. This year’s reception will be from 6-8 p.m. at Chenal Country Club, 10 Chenal Club Blvd., Little Rock. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at this website. Sen. Joyce Elliot will serve as the event’s emcee and give a memorial to the event’s presenting sponsor, the late Dr. Garry Glasco. Proceeds will be used to create the Raye Jean Jordan Montague Endowed Scholarship Fund that will help ��Vlog��ý Little Rock attract and retain high-achieving, full-time students majoring in math and science with preference given to minority women. This year’s award recipient has a special connection to the university. Montague’s son is Dr. David Montague, director of eLearning and professor of criminal justice at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, who will receive the award on his mother’s behalf. According to David Montague, his mother would have loved to receive this award because of her love of STEM subjects, especially math. “My mother loved math as a young student during the 1940s and 1950s, a time in which it was even more difficult for girls and women to be taken seriously in such academic areas,” he said. “She told me that at the same time that many of her colleagues sought to take home economics, she actively sought taking shop and as many math and science classes as she could.” The story of Raye Montague’s contributions in engineering, computer science, and the advancement of women in the sciences was brought to public attention in recent years after the 2017 release of the movie, which highlighted the story of African-American women who played a crucial role in helping NASA send astronaut John Glenn to orbit the Earth in 1962. Montague was recognized as the U.S. Navy’s real-life “hidden figure” during naval events in Washington, D.C. and Virginia and on the Feb. 20, 2017, live episode of “Good Morning America.” Montague earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff because the engineering school at the University of Arkansas did not accept minorities at the time. She began her career with the U.S. Navy in 1956. She was the first female professional engineer to receive the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Achievement Award, the National Computer Graphics Association Award for the Advancement of Computer Graphics, and the first female to serve on the board of directors for the Numerical Control Society. Montague held a civilian equivalent rank of captain and was the U.S. Navy’s first female program manager of ships. Credited with creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship, Montague completed the process in fewer than 19 hours, when the process had previously taken two years. Among many other honors, Montague was awarded the U.S. Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1972, the navy’s third-highest honorary award. She was also nominated for the Federal Woman of the Year Award the same year. After her 33-year naval career, Montague retired in 1990 and was presented with a flag that had flown over the nation’s capital in her honor. She was passionate about highlighting the value of education and encouraging girls to get involved in STEM education, receiving many awards and commendations over the years for volunteering with youth. “Both before and during her retirement, my mother actively spoke with students across the United States, especially in Arkansas, to assure them that as long as they have the drive to succeed and ability to grasp the concepts, there is a way to have a fulfilling career in STEM fields, no matter what you look like or where you are from,” David Montague said. After returning to Arkansas in 2006, she spent many years as a mentor, volunteer, motivational speaker, and dedicated mother and grandmother in Little Rock. Montague mentored prison inmates through ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s community re-entry program and students at the eStem Elementary Public Charter School in Little Rock. Additionally, she was an active volunteer with LifeQuest, The Links Inc., the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and the American Contract Bridge League. In recent years, Montague was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame, and the Arkansas Academy of Computing. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The Arkansas Science Olympiad named a new prize after Montague, which is awarded to the highest ranking majority female team, to encourage more women to participate in the sciences. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Fribourgh Awards, which began in 2010 to honor the late Dr. James H. Fribourgh, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professor emeritus, who served for more than 45 years as chair of Life Sciences, interim chancellor, vice chancellor for academic affairs, and distinguished professor of biology. “We appreciate the opportunity to recognize the late Dr. Raye Montague for her outstanding contributions and noteworthy work in the nation’s scientific and mathematical community,” said Christian O’Neal, vice chancellor for university advancement. “Her legacy of embracing education, breaking barriers, commitment to family, and service to her country will never be forgotten.” Past recipients include Jerry B. Adams, president and CEO of Arkansas Research Alliance; H. Watt Gregory III, partner at Kutak Rock LLP; Dr. Charles E. Hathaway, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock chancellor emeritus and Donaghey distinguished professor; Peter Banko, former president and CEO of St. Vincent Health System and now president and CEO at Central Health; Dr. James Hendren, former CEO and chairman of Arkansas Systems Inc.; Dr. Mary Good, founding dean of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock College of Engineering and Information Technology; Jerry Damerow, a retired Ernst and Young partner, and Sherri Damerow, a retired kindergarten teacher; and Cory Davis, partner and principal consultant at the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health. For more information, please contact Derek Boyce at dcboyce@ualr.edu or 501-683-7355. In the upper right photo, David Montague (left) is shown with his mother, Raye Jean Jordan Montague. Photo by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

ASBTDC to host webcast to help innovative small businesses apply for U.S. Navy grants

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 14:34:22 +0000

The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, based at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will host a free webcast to help entrepreneurs learn about Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding available through the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense. The will be shown from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, in the Reynolds Business Center Room 251 on the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus. The webcast will review Navy Sea System Commands’ SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program topics, for which local science and technology-driven small businesses are invited to apply. In addition, participants can sign up to have a private meeting with a Navy representative in the afternoon. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and pre-registration is required. to register for the event. For more information, contact Shannon Roberts at 501-683-7700 or sxroberts@ualr.edu. The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with SBA through a partnership with the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock College of Business and other institutions of higher education. The center assists companies at every stage of business development and growth. To learn more, visit asbtdc.org. All programs are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities and individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact Pamela Reed at (501) 683-7700.

Cambodian American student is first in her family to earn college degree

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 23 May 2017 17:22:49 +0000

Melissa Sample is the first in her family to earn a college degree.�� Her mother’s family fled from Cambodia through landmine-infested land to Thailand, where they later immigrated to the United States. Growing up in San Jose, California, Sample and her mother and younger brother never owned a home. They rented rooms from other families until Sample was 12. Eventually, her grandmother bought a home that housed three generations, but Sample still shared a room with her mother and brother. Sample graduated May 13, earning an associate’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “I am excited to graduate,” she said. “I am doing this for my mom, to make a better life for her, and to show my son that there is no reason not to go to college.” Knowing that her family could not afford to pay for college, Sample joined the U.S. Navy at 18. She was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier. She worked as a damage controlman, similar to a firefighter. In 2010, she met her future husband, Aaron, who is also in the Navy. They started dating in January 2012, and their romance blossomed into marriage by October 2012. In 2014, Sample was honorably discharged from the Navy when she had her son, Maverick, who is now 3 years old. The couple decided to return to Aaron’s hometown of Benton, Arkansas. Living in Arkansas was quite an adjustment for Sample. The only people she knew in the state were her husband and his family. She started taking classes at the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Benton Center, where she also worked as a computer lab assistant. “The Benton campus is an exciting place to gain knowledge, and the professors are helpful as well as interesting,” Sample said. “I met a classmate on this campus for which we became great friends, and she is like the sister I never had. Graduating with an associate degree is a step closer to securing a home of my very own.” Earning an associate degree is only one step toward her education plan. In the fall, Sample will begin taking classes on ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s main campus, majoring in communication sciences and disorders. After earning a bachelor’s degree, she plans to complete a doctorate in audiology. She wants to work at a Veterans Affairs office, so she can help veterans who experienced hearing loss because of active duty. Sample hopes to one day earn enough money to buy her own house, one where her mother can live with her. She wants to provide for her mother as her mother provided for her through the tough times. �� “My mom is a very strong person,” Sample said. “She had to work to support my younger brother and I as a single parent. I wanted to get an education so I could get a house. We never had a house of our own to call home. I want my mom to live with me, so that I could be there for her as she was for me.” ��

Montague mother and son duo say education is the key to breaking barriers

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 18:30:30 +0000

David Montague, director of eLearning and professor of criminal justice at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, grew up believing in education.�� “My mom certainly made me believe I could do anything I wanted as long as I had the skill sets and the determination,” he said. “I saw her having to fight and fight, and I had to deal with a lot of that myself.” David’s mother, Raye Jean Jordan Montague, 82, of Little Rock, provided a great role model for her son. She is an internationally registered professional engineer with the U.S. Navy credited with creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship. The process had previously taken two years. She accomplished the task in fewer than 19 hours, when her department had been given one month to finish the job. Montague held a civilian equivalent rank of captain and was the U.S. Navy’s first female program manager of ships. Among many other honors, Montague was awarded the U.S. Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1972, the navy’s third-highest honorary award. “The secretary of the Navy nominated me to be the federal woman of the year, because he said I had revolutionized the design process for all naval ships and submarines,” she said. Raye Montague was recognized as a real-life “Hidden Figure” on the Feb. 20 live episode of Good Morning America, where she had a surprise visit from Janelle Monae, who portrayed Mary Jackson in the movie. Jackson played a crucial role in helping NASA send astronaut John Glenn to orbit the Earth in 1962. Since Raye Montague was unable to fly to the Good Morning America show, ABC sent a limo and two chauffeurs who drove Raye, David, and David’s 13-year-old daughter Riley to New York. “There were stacks of people just waiting to get into the studio,” Raye Montague said. “People kept wanting to take selfies with me.” For David Montague, having his daughter see her grandmother honored on live television reinforced the lessons he is teaching her about the value of education and hard work. “I have always raised her to know that she can do anything and be anything. Right now, she is talking about getting a Ph.D. and being a quantum chemist,” he said.

Raising him right

After separating from David’s father when her son was just 9 weeks old, Raye Montague was determined to encourage her son the same way her mother did for her. “My mother had told me I could do anything I wanted to do even though I had all these obstacles,” she said. “I was a woman and black and had a Southern-segregated school education, but I could do anything and be anything I wanted, provided I was educated.” The day David turned 3, Raye Montague enrolled him in a Montessori school, where he took French, geography, biology, and mathematics. When David graduated at 6, the budding academic thought he was headed to college instead of first grade, because his mother told him he was going to college when he graduated. “I forgot to tell him there were 12 more years,” she said with a laugh. Her son eventually attended the prestigious Morehouse College, even though the fact that he only applied to one college worried his mother to death. “I told David you can’t just apply to one school, and Morehouse was very difficult to get into,” she said. “That’s the school Martin Luther King Jr. attended. I was busy chasing around trying to find friends in other schools to see if I could get him in if he didn’t make it, but he got into Morehouse.” Raye Montague promised her son she would support his education as long as she never had to hire a lawyer to get him out of jail. After receiving a Master of Arts in Crime and Commerce at The George Washington University, David Montague eventually went into law enforcement. He completed federal investigations for 14 years in law enforcement and intelligence capacities working for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration as a federal drug diversion investigator and as a consultant on national security matters with U.S. Investigations Services, Inc. From 1995 to 1997, he served as the senior investigator on the United States JFK Assassination Records Review Board. As a professor at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, David Montague is active in the community, volunteering as a deputy sheriff in Arkansas, participating in a prison rehabilitation program, serving on several discipline-related boards, and a graduate of both the FBI Citizens’ Academy and the LeadAR Program. David Montague credits his spirit of giving back to his mother, who also volunteered with the mentorship program for inmates through ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s community re-entry program. “I feel it is important to give back and give people hope to get an education,” he said. “It made me want to volunteer to be a deputy sheriff in Pulaski County. I have been paid enough in the quality of life I have and the experiences that I have been exposed to. I learned a lot of that from my mom. She still reached out to help other people and saw the importance of helping other people.” Raye Montague eventually spent 33 years working for the Navy. When she retired in 1990, she was presented with a flag that had flown over the nation’s capitol in her honor. She was most grateful that her mother, who encouraged her to be all she could be, was in attendance. “Can you imagine a little girl from Little Rock receiving such an honor from a grateful nation? My mother, who was the wind beneath my wings, was there to see it.” Raye Montague also gave a presentation at the Little Rock FBI field office on Feb. 23. Members of the U.S. Navy will visit Little Rock next week to interview Raye, who will be featured in an upcoming edition of, the official magazine of the U.S. Navy. Raye Montague is an internationally recognized engineer in the U.S. and Canada, even though she does not hold an engineering degree. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal School, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, because the engineering school at the University of Arkansas did not accept minorities at the time. In the end, Raye Montague credits education with being the secret to her successful career. “You can do anything you want to do provided you are educated.,” she said. “You can be anything you want to be. There is no such thing as women’s work or men’s work. You might have to work harder. In my case, I had to run circles around people, but, eventually, I went from the bottom to the top, essentially, with the Navy.” Pictured in the upper right photo are David Montague (left) and his mother, Raye Montague (right), at her home in Little Rock. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

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

Navy Veteran Plans to Give Back to Fellow Veterans Through Career in Social Work

First-Generation Student and Navy Veteran Finds Success at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host March 11 Conversation with Authors David Montague, Paige Bowers

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Montague co-authors book on mother, Navy Hidden Figure Raye Montague

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to honor ‘Hidden Figure’ Raye Montague with 10th annual Fribourgh Award