/news-archive/tag/vess-johnson/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Tue, 10 Dec 2019 14:53:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2019/12/10/graduate-student-spotlight-malik-williams/ Tue, 10 Dec 2019 14:53:41 +0000 /news/?p=75867 ... Graduate Student Spotlight on Malik Williams]]> Meet Malik Williams, a native of Waldo, Arkansas (pop. 1,283), who will graduate this December with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business information systems. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will celebrate the graduation of Williams along with hundreds of other students during a commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Jack Stephens Center.聽 Tell us about a little bit about yourself. I鈥檓 an only child who is still a little country. I love hanging out with close family and friends, learning new things, and traveling to different places. I work part-time at the Genius Bar at the Apple store in Little Rock while going to school full-time. My mom taught me how to cook, clean, do laundry, and mind my Ps and Qs. My dad taught me the importance of hard work and said that I could do anything I set my mind to. Why did you choose 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock? When I was in 10th grade, the TRIO Talent Search college prep program helped me learn about colleges and universities in the state. My career coach helped me fill out college and scholarship applications. It was a choice between Southern Arkansas University and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. I chose 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock because it is in the capital city and had the top business school in Arkansas. My mom wanted me to stay at home, but I felt like I needed a challenge and wanted to get out of my comfort zone. TRIO and all of the wonderful mentors helped me do just that. I can definitely say that I would not have been so exposed to so many opportunities if I had stayed in my hometown. Another thing that helped my decision was the Dr. Charles W. Donaldson Summer Bridge Academy (SBA) for high school students. I came up here for three weeks before the beginning of my freshman year to attend this program. This program pairs students with mentors that help them with their weaknesses in different areas to get them ahead of the curve in the first year of college. Why did you major in business information systems? During my freshman year, I was undecided, but I knew I wanted to do something in the business field that would help me make a good living. I chose business information systems because it is a versatile degree that contains all aspects of business mixed with information technology. I’ve always been interested in technology. (I’m the IT person in our family.) What kind of careers can you do with a business information systems major? There are so many choices such as marketing, management, project management, database administration, business analysis, coding, and software development and others. What companies are you interested in? Apple, Blue Cross Blue Shield or Southwest Power Pool would be great companies to work for. I鈥檇 like to stay in Little Rock to build a foundation, but would consider relocating. How would your professors describe you? I think they would say I am laid back and easygoing. I鈥檓 versatile and soak in new information like a sponge. My job at Apple has helped me develop people skills. Who were your mentors? My mom and dad are my life coaches. My cousin Montrell Turner is a business information systems graduate from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and has always had good advice for me. My hometown friend Corrigan Revels helped me early in my college career. The Summer Bridge Academy program helped me stay on track and connected me to the right people. What was your biggest challenge in college? Procrastination, and the balance of social life, school, and family. You have to figure out what is important. Learning about “delayed gratification” helped me put things into perspective. I listen to podcasts that motivate me and help me self-reflect. What was the toughest decision you had to make? Working part-time while going to school full-time. My parents wanted me to focus solely on school. What advice would you give to incoming students? Stay focused and keep a good balance. Don鈥檛 overwhelm yourself, because stress is real. Take care of everything on the front end and network. You can鈥檛 get by without help. Most of all, never lose sight of the goal and reason why you made the decision to come to college. This story was compiled by Toni Boyer-Stewart.]]> /news-archive/2019/11/01/ua-little-rock-downtown-announces-fall-lecture-series/ Fri, 01 Nov 2019 13:28:09 +0000 /news/?p=75559 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Downtown announces fall lecture series]]> Faculty members at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will present their research on a variety of topics this November at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Downtown. The weekly lecture series will feature presentations about Tableau, blockchain basics, the benefits of mindful self-compassion, the effects of screen time on children, and the use of microcomputers in wildlife and water quality research. The schedule includes: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 6-7 p.m., 鈥淚ntroduction to Tableau鈥� with Dr. Vess Johnson, assistant professor of business information systems Tableau is one of the most widely used platforms for data visualization and visual analytics. Dr. Johnson will provide a brief introduction to Tableau and a hands-on demonstration of how it can be used in a corporate environment to create dashboards and perform analytics. Those who have access to Tableau (a free trial is available online) will be able to follow along. Wednesday, Nov. 13, 6-7 p.m., 鈥淗ow Much is Too Much? Evidence-Based Screen Time Guidelines for Children鈥� with Dr. Chris Lloyd, associate professor in the School of Social Work Thursday, Nov. 14, 5:30-7 p.m., 鈥淏lockchain Basics鈥� with Dr. Kyleen Prewett, associate professor of accounting Blockchain鈥檚 digital ledger technology is poised to transform the way businesses record, store, and transmit information and digital assets. According to PwC鈥檚 2018 Global Blockchain Survey, 84 percent of companies are at least dabbling in blockchain. This seminar presents the basics of how blockchain works and explores how companies like Walmart, IBM, American Express, Amazon, and FedEx are using blockchain today. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 6-7 p.m., 鈥淭he Island Project: Using the Raspberry Pi for the Internet of Things鈥� with Dr. Phil William, bioinformatics technology director in the Department of Information Science Two solar/battery-powered Raspberry Pis, microcomputers running Linux OS, will be onsite at the Island next to the Clinton Presidential Library. One will operate as a wildlife camera, while the other will be used for water quality testing in the Arkansas River. The two units will communicate through a local stand-alone WiFi network. All lectures are free and open to the public; however, individuals are encouraged to RSVP by emailing downtown@ualr.edu. For more information, contact Ross Owyoung, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Downtown director, at 870-501-2700 or rlowyoung@ualr.edu. More information is available online.]]> /news-archive/2018/04/06/real-world-classroom-asbtdc/ Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:31:38 +0000 /news/?p=69969 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students create new inventory management system for Maumelle business through Real World Classroom Program]]> For small business owner Jeannie Belew, manually managing the inventory of her Maumelle-based competitive swim store,, can be a hassle for herself, family members, and employees.聽 鈥淲e do everything by hand,鈥� Belew said. 鈥淲e write out a sales receipt, and we don鈥檛 have a scanner to scan UPC codes. We have several different areas where we sell: online, Amazon, in the store, and swim meets. In order to keep track, it would be great to scan the codes and have our inventory automatically updated.鈥� When the offered Belew an opportunity for students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to assist her, she jumped at it. Both Belew and her daughter, Chelsea Churchill Murphy, graduated from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and competed on the swimming and diving team. Belew is also a long-time client of the center, part of the university鈥檚 College of Business. A team of students from Dr. Vess Johnson鈥檚 Information Systems Development Project course developed a customized inventory management system for Splashwear Aquatics during the fall 2017 term. The course is the capstone for business information systems majors. Led by Salem Jamell, who graduated in December, the team included Casey Foster, Subhana Kamran, and Jonathon Turchi. 鈥淭he system really gives Splashwear control over their inventory,鈥� Jamell said. 鈥淭hey can see what items sell faster, what items are going out of stock, what is not selling. It鈥檚 really about saving money. If they don鈥檛 know what they have in stock, they are making reorders based only on what they see, not on data.鈥� The project was a part of ASBTDC鈥檚 Real World Classroom program, which utilizes local businesses as learning labs where students gain real-world experience. The center recruits local businesses to participate. With support from their instructors and ASBTDC, students team up with business owners to tackle a specific business question or need. At the conclusion of each project, the businesses get concrete ideas and innovative insights they can apply to their operations. Johnson, assistant professor of business information systems, said that he runs his class as if he were the CEO of a company and his students are the employees. They hand in weekly reports and manage all communication with the client through the length of the project. 鈥�The objective of the course is to give the student an opportunity to work on a 鈥榬eal-world鈥� project with an external client. We ultimately want the students to have an experience that will closely mimic what they will do in their post-graduation job,鈥� Johnson said. Jamell鈥檚 experience as class leader has taught him valuable programming skills as well as skills that will help him in his professional career. 鈥淒oing this project gave me the confidence in my ability to create a product from an idea and a need from a client. That is something I have wanted to do for a very long time,鈥� Jamell said. 鈥淚 did not go into the project thinking I would be the team leader, but I learned a lot about time management, making sure every team member had a proper role, and getting everybody to communicate. I learned a lot about being a team player and a leader.鈥� For more information about the high-impact learning experiences ASBTDC provides through Real World Classroom, contact Martial Trigeaud at mxtrigeaud@ualr.edu.]]>