The Little Rock native, who plans to graduate in May 2026, completed a competitive internship with , where she worked as an administrative cost and budget intern.

Dorsey鈥檚 role included creating rules and hierarchies within Oracle Enterprise Profitability and Cost Management software to automate key financial reports, including statutory financial reports, Sherlock reports, and customized executive reports. She also analyzed accounts and gained insight into how the company allocates costs.

鈥淭his internship has taught me how to work with a team and communicate with leaders in other departments,鈥� Dorsey said. 鈥淚t also gave me a real-world understanding of the insurance industry and how to succeed in a corporate environment, things you just can鈥檛 fully learn in a classroom.鈥�

In addition to technical skills, the internship gave Dorsey the chance to strengthen her professional communication abilities. She was required to present her internship project to company leaders. This experience built up her confidence in public speaking.

鈥淢y favorite part of the internship was participating in luncheons with top executives, team-building exercises with other interns, and collaborating with my team,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing able to present to leaders at Blue Cross pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow.鈥�

After graduation, Dorsey plans to sit for the CPA exam and pursue a career as a staff accountant in public, corporate, or governmental accounting. She credits both her coursework and her internship experiences for preparing her for the next step in her future career.

鈥淭he excellent education I have received from the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock accounting program and School of Business was great preparation for my internship,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would recommend the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock accounting program to any students considering an accounting career.鈥�

Dorsey has also taken advantage of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 location in the political and business center of Arkansas, completing several internships during her time as a student.

Outside the classroom, Dorsey is active in Beta Alpha Psi, the national honor society for accounting students. As an officer, she has attended national and regional meetings, where she connected with accounting professionals, faculty, and students from across the country.

鈥淢y involvement in Beta Alpha Psi has given me leadership opportunities and expanded my professional network,鈥� she said.

For Dorsey, the internship at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield was more than just a summer job. It was a chance to put her classroom knowledge into practice, develop professional skills, and prepare for life after graduation.

鈥溙切腣log传媒 Little Rock has given me the chance to apply what I鈥檝e learned in real-world situations,鈥� Dorsey said. 鈥淭his internship not only prepared me for my future career but also gave me the confidence to step into the accounting field ready to contribute.鈥�

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The weeklong event in June brought together high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to form interdisciplinary teams focused on real-world challenges such as social anxiety, attention deficits, emotional communication, and access to mental health services. Participants used modern AI tools to create rapid prototypes of digital products, with support from mental health professionals, academic mentors, and industry leaders.

鈥淭his hackathon was a great opportunity to improve my AI skills, meet new people, and collaborate across education levels,鈥� said recent computer science graduate Rana Olwan.

Her team created Story Buddy, a tool to help elementary-aged students express their emotions through AI-generated stories and imagery.

鈥淚t gives kids a way to talk about how they feel, especially boys, who often don鈥檛 speak up,鈥� Olwan added.

Hackathon organizer Marla Johnson, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 tech-entrepreneur-in-residence, said she considered the event a success for its impact on both learning and collaboration.

鈥淓veryone learned a lot about mental health, about AI, and about practically working to bring those two together to create something impactful in a team environment,鈥� she said. 鈥淪eeing the participants present their solutions was my favorite moment. I knew how much effort went into each of those presentations.鈥�

Participants attended morning training sessions covering topics such as AI tools for rapid prototyping, prompt engineering, and regulatory and ethical considerations. Many also earned NVIDIA AI certifications, including coursework on retrieval-augmented generation and agentic AI.

Teams presented their projects to a panel of judges from Arkansas Children鈥檚 Hospital, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Systems, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The winning team, Focus Coach, developed a web-based assistant to help users combat distraction and boost productivity through real-time monitoring and mindfulness techniques.

鈥淭he idea behind Focus Coach is to help users recognize when they鈥檙e getting off task and nudge them back into focus using summarization, timers, and wellness breaks,鈥� said James Dempsey, a senior computer science major at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淓veryone struggles with focus. This is a universal problem.鈥�

Johnson said the Focus Coach team stood out for addressing a widely shared issue.

鈥淭here is a big need for the tools they built into their solution,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen Dani DeVito of NVIDIA met with the Focus Coach team, she said she would use it and especially liked that she could nudge and be nudged by her friends.鈥�

The hackathon emphasized student wellbeing alongside innovation. Participants enjoyed daily mental health breaks, including art therapy and a drumming circle. Dempsey said the mindfulness drumming session offered as a break during the week stood out as a surprise highlight.

鈥淚 had so much fun,鈥� Dempsey. 鈥淚t puts me in a flow state. I could have done it for hours.鈥�

Ph.D. student Praveshika Bhandari, whose team created Hapy Capy, a Duolingo-style tool to help teens with social anxiety prepare for conversations and job interviews, said the experience broadened her perspective.

鈥淚鈥檝e learned how to use new AI tools quickly and work with students at different stages of life,鈥� Bhandari said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a real learning experience.鈥�

Anay Pandit, a rising 10th grader at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, said the hackathon fueled his interest in technology and engineering.

鈥淏eing part of a team that included Ph.D. students and recent grads was amazing,鈥� Pandit said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all learning from each other.鈥�

Hackathon challenges were based on real mental health needs identified by local organizations. Teen2Teen Connect, for example, was developed in partnership with the Arkansas Crisis Center to create a safe way for teens to offer support to other teens long before they are in crisis mode. The system was developed using AI prompts to include a way for teens to re-route calls to professional counselors if they feel the caller is in a crisis state.  

Additionally, Rapid Route, a scheduling and triage solution championed by the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, was aimed at getting patients matched with care faster based on urgency.

In total, students learned to apply AI ethics, prompt engineering, and software prototyping in service of community health.

Arkansas Children鈥檚 Hospital President and CEO Marcy Doderer said the students鈥� work aligned with growing concerns among healthcare providers.

鈥淲e see kids coming in for physical health issues, but underneath, so many are struggling with emotional or behavioral concerns,鈥� she said. 鈥淭raditional health systems don鈥檛 always have elegant solutions, but students like these give me hope.鈥�

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Vice Provost for Research Brian Berry, who served as one of the judges, praised the students鈥� innovation, noting that final team scores were separated by less than two percentage points.

鈥淭hese projects blew us away,鈥� Berry said. 鈥淲hat you all produced in just a few days was phenomenal.鈥�

Johnson said the university is exploring ways to support continued development of the projects and plans are already underway for next year鈥檚 event, potentially with new themes and industry partners.

鈥淲e have business leaders hoping we will do an AI and entrepreneurship hackathon in their fields, or we may have challenges from five different sectors,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淓ven if every team is not focused on mental health next year, we鈥檒l continue to focus on participant wellbeing. Having real world problems made a world of difference. These time-compressed competitions open the door to exciting possibilities.鈥�

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The exciting pitch competition will serve as the culminating event of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 first-ever AI & Mental Health Hackathon, a weeklong hands-on summer program where high school students and college students have collaborated to design AI-powered solutions for mental health challenges created by local companies and educators.聽

The program is sponsored by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Arkansas Children鈥檚 Hospital and showcases how technology and compassion can come together to support mental wellness in our communities. Many educators and industry experts are also volunteering during the summer program to serve as pitch judges and support the students through fun wellness activities. 

鈥淭his event is more than just a competition. It鈥檚 a window into what鈥檚 possible when young people are empowered with the tools to make real change,鈥� said Marla Johnson, tech-entrepreneur-in-residence at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淭hese students will spend the week learning about mental health issues and the power of AI from educators and industry experts, and now they鈥檒l get to present innovative solutions that could one day make a real impact. We鈥檙e inviting the public to come see just how inspiring the next generation of problem solvers can be.鈥�

Attendees will watch interdisciplinary student teams pitch their final projects to a panel of judges for a chance to win a cash prize. Each participant in the program will also receive an AI certification from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and NVIDIA, marking their completion of the immersive experience.

The public is encouraged to come support these students and learn more about the intersection of artificial intelligence and mental health care.Reserve by signing up for the AI Hackathon Pitch Event on June 13!

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鈥檚 donation builds on the company鈥檚 rich history of investing in the university鈥檚 growth and community engagement initiatives. In recognition of the gift, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock will name the campus garden the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Garden.

鈥淎rkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield is proud to sponsor organizations that strive to improve the health and lives of Arkansans,鈥� said Rebecca Pittillo, president of the Blue & You Foundation. 鈥淐ommunity plays a crucial role in shaping our health by providing a sense of belonging. We want to encourage pursuing higher education in our state by supporting 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock’s living and learning environment. Investing in our universities is investing in our state.鈥�

The Trojan Way Project includes a series of campus improvement and renovation projects, funded by a grant from the Donaghey Foundation, that have significantly transformed the face of the university. Trojan Way features a new north-south promenade, complete with improved walkways, seating areas, and vibrant meeting spaces.

鈥淥ur hope is that the Trojan Way Garden will be a place where students can come together to study, eat, enjoy nature, and talk to one another,鈥� Pittillo said. 鈥淭hese walkways, seating areas, and gathering spaces provide an opportunity for an inclusive and supportive community at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.鈥�

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield has a longstanding tradition of supporting 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, with the company set to fund technology upgrades in a computer science classroom later this year. The partnership between the two institutions is deeply rooted, as over 350 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumni are employed at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and more than 1,150 of its employees have attended classes at the university.

Several Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield executives continue to strengthen this relationship by serving on 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock boards. Grady McCorkle, director of strategic workforce planning and people analytics, and Alfreda Summons, data analyst lead, serve on the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Alumni Board of Directors. Alicia Berkemeyer, executive vice president and chief health management officer, has previously served on the School of Business Advisory Board, while George Burks, vice president of group markets, has served on the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Foundation Fund Board.

“We are incredibly grateful to Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield for their generous support in helping bring the campus garden on Trojan Way to life,鈥� said Kristi Smith, associate vice chancellor for alumni and development at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淭his donation not only enhances the beauty of our campus but also provides a unique space that will benefit our students and the entire community for years to come. Their continued commitment to our university is truly inspiring.”

This gift is a part of the Centennial Campaign, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 capital campaign to raise $250,000 million in time for the university鈥檚 100-year anniversary in 2027. The campaign pillars include scholarships, student support, program excellence, and the living and learning environment. Find out more about the Centennial Campaign by visiting

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