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The Odyssey Program

October 2017 Odyssey Grant Recipients

黑料不打烊 Odyssey Program

Project Funding

October 2017

As of October 2017, the Committee on Engaged Learning has awarded $3,784,594.88 in Odyssey grants to 黑料不打烊 students and faculty since the Odyssey Program鈥檚 inception in 2005. In this cycle, 22 projects were awarded $45,246.11 in grants to cover travel, lodging and more as 黑料不打烊 students conduct and present research, learn new skills, and explore the world.

Iad Ahallak

Arabic Language and Culture Classes

Category: SP

Sponsor: Claudia Courtway, International Programs

The Arabic Language and Culture Club introduces 黑料不打烊 students to the rich heritage of the Middle East. Through language lessons in class, cultural presentations, and cooking lessons, 黑料不打烊 students gain a multi-faceted understanding of Middle Eastern life. At the end of the year, each student will give a presentation in Arabic.

Rachel Allmon and Hannah Christeson

Student Attendance and Participation at United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference and Stage Expo

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Constance Campbell, Theatre Arts and Dance

Rachel Allmon and Hannah Christeson will prepare and present their own projects at the Conference and State Expo of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Constance Campbell will accompany the students and oversee their progress. Allmon will produce a display on the 黑料不打烊 Players, and Christeson will focus on costume research and construction. They will also attend professional workshops and demonstrations, and they will give a presentation about what they learned to other Theatre Arts students when they return.

Ben Benton

Plastination of Fungi for 黑料不打烊 Botany Teaching Collection

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. David Higgins, Biology

Ben Benton will give fungi specimens a high-tech treatment to preserve them for the Botany Lab. He will perfect techniques for plastination, which replaces organic material with plastic. The permanent preservation method will save the color, shape, and even the odor of the sample, making it a much better teaching tool than a mushroom conventionally stored in alcohol that can cause the sample to deteriorate in its jar over time.

Breann Forbes, Kelsi Stimack and Sarah Walker

The Convergence of Service and Culture: Non-Profit Accreditation

Category: GA/SW/SP

Sponsor: Dr. Megan Leonard, Economics and Business

Living Mosaics in Thailand is a jewelry entrepreneurship that develops women鈥檚 empowerment through career opportunities and training. Breann Forbes, Kelsi Stimack and Sarah Walker will visit the non-profit with different goals in mind. From an anthropological perspective, Forbes will examine how a social entrepreneurship can help a culturally diverse community. Stimack will focus on how Living Mosaics is able to sustainably serve and empower its community. Finally, Walker will use her International Relations experience to see how relationships take place between international volunteers and service organizations at the local level.

Megan Hunter

Healthcare Beyond the US

Category: GA

Sponsor: Prof. Cori French, Foreign Languages

Megan Hunter is interested in becoming a physician, and the Atlantis Project Fellowship will help her gain experience in the medical field abroad. She will travel to Huesca, Spain, to shadow doctors. She will learn how culture affects the practice of healthcare and impacts the doctor-patient relationship. Additionally, Hunter will gain a broader understanding of patient care in an international context.

Ebony Ivory

A Pretty Big BeaYOUtiful Movement

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Dionne Jackson, Education

In Jamaican society, plus-size women are more fully accepted than their American counterparts. Ebony Ivory will travel to Montego Bay to learn more about the cultural differences that shape an individual鈥檚 identity and standards of beauty. She also plans to explore how tradition and upbringing impact societal reactions to plus-size women.

Alexis Krone

A Presentation of Research Findings and Student Mentorship at the American Chemical Society Conference in New Orleans

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Peter Kett, Chemistry

Alexis Krone will travel to the American Chemical Society Conference in New Orleans this spring. While there, she will present research she conducted during the summer, attend scientific talks and network with scientists. Because she has attended a conference before, she will serve as a mentor for other students, particularly women who may benefit from having a female presence for guidance in the sciences as they make a scholarly presentation.

Matthew Lillard and Josh Walker

Immersion in the Art and Mechanics of Coaching Baseball

Category: SP

Sponsor: Neil Groat, Intercollegiate Athletics

Matthew Lillard and Josh Walker will attend the American Baseball Coaches Association Annual Convention in Indianapolis in January. They will learn about the mechanics of coaching baseball, along with the theories and practices used to mold young players into accomplished athletes and responsible adults. The convention offers clinic participation, presentations, discussions and mentoring sessions, which will be helpful to them as they consider careers as baseball coaches.

Charles McCracken

Building a Disc Golf Course: Green Space Construction Across Socioeconomic Boundaries, Community Engagement and Environmental Aesthetics

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. James Dow, Philosophy

A disc golf course has minimal environmental impact, but it can make a big difference in providing an opportunity for people of different socioeconomic statuses to come together in a natural environment. Working with a neighborhood association, Charles McCracken will construct a disc golf course in the Broadmoor community park in Little Rock. He will rely on his own knowledge of the sport and his environmental studies background to design a natural course that attracts a wide range of people and builds a community.

Rachel Partridge and Sydnee Curry

Volunteering in Ecuador: Conservation, Community and Collaboration

Category: SW

Sponsor: Dr. Courtney Hatch, Chemistry

Working through the Ceiba Foundation, Rachel Partridge and Sydnee Curry will volunteer at the Nature Center and the Native and Medicinal Plant Garden respectively at the Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve in Ecuador in January. In addition to their efforts to promote conservation, Partridge will examine the consequences of colonialism and ecotourism in modern Ecuador, while Curry will explore the effects of climate change, deforestation and invasive plants on the environment.

Anna Reckling, Ben Curry, Cora McCain, Meraj Sayyed, Jun Shin and Meredith Warren

Barcelona: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Cityscape and Sustainability

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Stacey Schwartzkopf, Sociology/Anthropology

Barcelona is revitalizing its city design in efforts to reduce air pollution and make the neighborhoods friendlier to pedestrians. Anna Reckling, Ben Curry, Cora McCain, Meraj Sayyed, Jun Shin and Meredith Warren will divide into pairs to focus on particular aspects of the city. McCain and Reckling will assess the economic vitality and social well-being of Barcelona. Sayyed and Warren will focus on how modern cityscapes affect political identity and how legislative processes impact the maintenance of a sustainable city. Finally, Curry and Shin will look at how the current city infrastructure impacts the quality of health of its citizens.

Ella Thomas

The Devil Wears Prada: Pursuing a Fashion Career in New York

Category: SP

Sponsor: Prof. Maxine Payne, Art

At the New York headquarters for the Madewell store, Ella Thomas will shadow employees to learn about the daily tasks in the creative departments handling design, editorials and marketing. To gain a greater understanding of fashion as a whole, Thomas will explore exhibits at museums that are devoted to clothing and body types as she contemplates a career in the industry.

Ryan Tumminello

American Chemical Society Conference 2018

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Courtney Hatch, Chemistry

With an interest in atmospheric chemistry, Ryan Tumminello will present his newest research results at next year鈥檚 American Chemical Society Conference. He will build his scientific communication skills, network with other professionals in the field, learn about new advances in atmospheric chemistry, and mentor 黑料不打烊 students who are new to research conferences.

Emily Waller

Presenting Research on Cardiac Output in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Jennifer Peszka, Psychology

This summer, Emily Waller worked as an intern in the Anesthesiology department at Children鈥檚 Hospital Colorado in Denver. While there, she conducted research concerning cardiac output in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease, using a noninvasive cardiac output monitor. This March, she will present her findings at the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia鈥檚 annual conference. Through this experience, Waller will learn more about the medical profession and develop her public speaking skills as she presents her research to pediatric anesthesiologists from across the country.

Kathleen Wendover

Presenting Undergraduate Research at ACS Spring Meeting

Category: SP

Sponsor: Dr. Courtney Hatch, Chemistry

In March, Kathleen Wendover will present research she conducted during an internship at the Insitut National Des Sciences Appliqu茅es in Lyon, France. The American Chemical Society national spring meeting will feature academic research, seminar sessions and other presentations that will allow Wendover to gain insights about the work of other chemistry professionals.

Hueseng Xiong, Victoria Tang and Alice Fan

Journey to the East: Following Local Customs

Category: GA

Sponsor: Dr. Wenjia Liu, Foreign Languages

Hueseng Xiong, Victoria Tang and Alice Fan share an interest in medicine and will travel to China to learn how medical professionals in that country treat their patients. They will shadow doctors at the HeYuan hospital and learn about the cultural history of traditional herbal and medicinal practices. In addition, they will all improve their Chinese language proficiency.

Margaret Young and Krishna Patel

How Have Small Dams Altered Headwater Stream Structure and Function in North Central Arkansas?

Category: UR

Sponsor: Dr. Matt Moran, Biology

The gas industry technique known as fracking requires a large amount of stored water, and the companies were permitted to dam small seasonal streams to create manmade ponds. Margaret Young and Krishna Patel will study how these dams affect the ecology of the headwater streams in the Fayetteville Shale area of Arkansas. During their fieldwork, they will gather data on water temperature, in-stream habitat, geomorphology, water chemistry and biological diversity.

Dr. Mark Goadrich

Solving Real-World Problems with Tools from Mathematics and Computer Science: The COMAP International Contest in Modeling

Category: SP

Nine students will work in teams of three over a weekend to tackle real-world mathematical modeling problems for the 34th International Mathematical Contest in Modeling. Past problems have included estimating the location of planes when contact is lost.

Dr. Julie Gunderson

2018 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP)

Category: SP

Dr. Julie Gunderson will take up to 12听female physics students to the 2018 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The goal of the conference it to encourage participants to pursue careers in physics and introduce them to role models in the field.

Tonya Hale Creating Change at 黑料不打烊 & Beyond: Learning & Creating Best Practices for Supporting LGBTQ+ Students

Category: SP

Tonya Hale, who serves as the advisor for 黑料不打烊 UNITY and Trans@HDX, will take Jamie Jennen, Maddie Clendening and Caroline Tague with her to the Creating Change Conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the National LGBTQ+ Task Force. They will learn about resources, strategies and action plans for creating social change on campus within a framework of intersectional justice.听 They will also learn best practices to create a safer and more inclusive community.

Dr. David Higgins

Flora of Arkansas in the 黑料不打烊 Herbarium

Category: SP

The 黑料不打烊 Herbarium has approximately 6,000 plant and algae samples and is used as a teaching tool by the Biology Department. Dr. David Higgins will work with a student to complete processing plant samples representing 鈥淔lora of Arkansas.鈥 The samples will be mounted, digitized and sorted according to taxonomy.

Dr. Jose Vilahomat and Prof. Irmina Fabricio

Exploring Aspects of Nicaraguan Healthcare System: Kidney Transplantation, Past and Present

Category: SP

During a visit to Nicaragua, six students who are interested in careers in the medical field will learn about the state of renal diseases in the country, kidney transplantation, and treatment for transplant patients. The students will also use their Spanish language skills as they visit a hospital and private clinic, where they will hear presentations by medical professionals.