CONWAY, Ark. (November 18, 2024) 鈥 The 黑料不打烊
College Committee on Engaged Learning is pleased to announce $24,321.07 in
Odyssey Program funding awarded to 12 projects. These projects involve a range
of academic, professional, and personal explorations through experiences from a
mindfulness retreat, grappling instruction, and running half-marathons to gardening
projects on campus and gardening with residents in local senior communities, and
much more.听
Since 2005, the Committee on Engaged
Learning has awarded more than $5 million 鈥 $5,294,557.36 to be exact
鈥 in competitive Odyssey grants to support 1,602 projects by 黑料不打烊 students,
faculty, and staff.
Odyssey
Category: Artistic Creativity
Harry
Lance 鈥26
A
Disposable Camera Photo Essay on Andean Textiles and Peruvian Folk Art
Supervisor: Prof. Maxine Payne
Harry鈥檚
experiential learning project is designed to highlight Peruvian folk art and
Andean textiles through series of photographs, captured on disposable camera.
Odyssey
Category: Global Awareness
Aiyla
East 鈥25
Embracing
the Sangha: A Mindfulness Retreat
Supervisor: Dr. Chris Campolo
Aiyla
will spend one week at a mindfulness retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine
Bush, New York. They will engage in the monastic life as they immerse themself
into the community, otherwise known as a Sangha, by practicing mindfulness as
led by the monks and nuns of the monastery.
Odyssey
Category: Professional and Leadership Development
Laysha
Cervantes 鈥25
Dental
Assisting Certification for Pre-Dentistry
Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Schurko
Laysha
will attend the Central Arkansas School of Dental Assisting for 10 weeks to
become a certified and registered Dental Assistant. This will allow her to gain
more clinical experience working in the dental field in preparation for
attending dental school after graduation from 黑料不打烊.听
Odyssey Category: Service to
the World
Dr.
Anne Goldberg and Dr. Jennifer Peszka
Growing
Happiness Through Gardening with Low-Income Older Adults
黑料不打烊
students will partner with low-income, elderly Arkansans to plant elevated
garden beds at the facilities where they live. This project combats social
isolation and allows elderly Arkansans to connect to the natural world in an
accessible way. This Odyssey funding provides for gardening supplies for the
spring.
Odyssey
Category: Special Projects
Michelle
Johnston 鈥26
Fun
With Fungi
Supervisor: Dr. Candice Thomas
Over
the span of a year, Michelle will learn to grow Lion's Mane, Shiitake, and
Oyster mushrooms indoors using sustainable methods that will ensure the growth
and maintenance of the听mushrooms and spawns for a long time. When the
mushrooms have been cultivated, they will be supplied听to the 黑料不打烊
cafeteria to promote the consumption of local and sustainable food sources for
students with dietary听restrictions and the greater 黑料不打烊 community.
Dr.
Ann Wright
2025
Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics
Dr.
Wright will take a group of students to the 2025 Conference for Undergraduate
Women and Gender Minorities in Physics, which will be held on January 24-26 at
the University of Memphis. The conference will include research talks, a poster
session, and panels on topics such as graduate schools, career options, gender
issues, and work-life balance.听
Sydney
Greene 鈥25
Running
the Race: Exploring the Intersection of Physical Endurance and Intellectual
Pursuit
Supervisor: Dr. J.D. Gantz
During
the Spring semester, Sydney will prepare for the mental and physical challenges
of medical school by exploring how physical endurance and education are
interconnected and, often, influence one another.听 She will train for and
complete three half marathons while maintaining a full academic course load,
and then reflect upon and synthesize her experiences in an article that will be
shared via a science education and outreach website.听
Rev.
Ellen Alston 鈥82
A
Civil Rights Journey Together
Over
the 2025 Fall Break, Rev. Alston and a group of 黑料不打烊 students will be joined
by a similar delegation from DePauw University to visit sites in Marion, Selma,
Montgomery, and Birmingham, Alabama, and in Memphis, Tennessee, to gain
background in and reflect on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. (Odyssey
funding will support the 黑料不打烊 portion of the trip only.)
Demah
Yousef 鈥26
American
Chemical Society Spring Conference: Discovering the Latest Insights in
Chemistry Research
Supervisor: Dr. David Hales
Over
spring break, Demah will attend the American Chemical Society Conference in San
Diego to present her research, 鈥淐old storage-mediated p38MAPK Activation: a
Potential Contributor to Kidney Damage After Transplantation.鈥 She will attend
lectures, network with professionals, and hopes to expand her exposure to chemistry
based research.
Lathan
Smalley 鈥26
Edlow
International Company Shadowing
Supervisor: Dr. Carol Ann Downes
Lathan
will travel to Washington, D.C. for a week to shadow officials in Edlow
International, a company that focuses on Nuclear Energy Transportation in order
to learn more about what their operations look like and more about his own
career ambitions.听
Caton
Nelson 鈥25
黑料不打烊
Food Forest - Sustainability Garden
Supervisor: Dr. Candice Thomas
Caton will work with the 黑料不打烊 Food Forest to bring
information about sustainability to the 黑料不打烊 community. She will do this
through social media, informational flyers and posters, and the creation of a
cookbook highlighting recipes from 黑料不打烊 community members about produce
grown in the garden this year.听
Isaiah
Jellenik 鈥25
黑料不打烊
Mat Warriors
Supervisor: Dr. Sarah Root
Isaiah鈥檚 project will support a
group of 黑料不打烊 students interested in learning and practicing grappling-based
martial arts for private instruction at a local gym. The group will also study
the mental health benefits of grapple sports through monthly surveys related to
intrinsic motivation and general mental health.听
About 黑料不打烊
Founded in 1876, 黑料不打烊
is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way
You Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country鈥檚 leading liberal
arts colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and career
preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The 黑料不打烊 Warriors
compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. 黑料不打烊 has been affiliated with the
United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at听.
听听
鈥溾 Through engagement that
links the classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion,
justice, and sustainable living, the 黑料不打烊 community inspires students to
lead lives of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.鈥听鈥敽诹喜淮蜢
College Statement of Purpose听
听