Erica Arivette knew from a young age that she wanted to serve as a mentor and guide for others. Her personal experience with her own mentors is what influenced her.
“I had amazing mentors and guides helping me as I was progressing through my high school career and seeking higher education,” Arivette said. “I wanted to be able to do that for future generations to hopefully make a difference in their lives.”
For Maddisyn Karn, serving as a Residential Experience Coordinator at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts is an important opportunity to help students cope with the stress of school and their daily lives.
“Working with the students, you provide a lot of emotional support and help them through stress, anxiety, depression, conflict and so on,” Karn said. “You get to teach them skills on how to work through all of these things and grow.”
Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned scholarships in the recent Thea Foundation Visual Arts Competition.
Senior Catherine Kwon of Little Rock won first place and a $4,000 scholarship for her piece “Keeping Me, Influencing Me.” Senior Hadley Hooper of Marion won seventh place and a $2,000 scholarship for her piece “Passion, Hope, and Determination.” Senior Takoya Marks of Prescott won 10th place and a $2,000 scholarship for her piece “Shadows.”
S.J. Tucker was visiting an Arkansas-focused shop in downtown Hot Springs in 2017 when she picked up the book “Daughter of the White River” by local author Denise White Parkinson. The book tells the tragic story of Helen Spence, a young woman who avenged her father’s murder by shooting the alleged killer in a DeWitt, Ark., courtroom in 1931.
Tucker, a singer-songwriter who attended the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts in 1996 and 1997, picked up Parkinson’s book on a whim in the All Things Arkansas gift shop that was located on Central Avenue. Little did she know it would lead to an opportunity to record a soundtrack for a documentary telling Spence’s story years later.
“That night at home, I started reading it aloud to my husband as he cooked dinner, and we found we couldn’t stop until we’d read all the way to the end,” Tucker said. “Shortly after, I wrote my song ‘Girl from the River,” inspired by Denise’s work to preserve Helen Spence’s story.
“Cheekliy, I looked up Denise online, saw that we only live an hour and a half away from each other, and sent her the mp3 of that song with a respectful note. She kindly listened to it right away, and she and her husband both asserted that, should a movie ever come to be, my song ought to be a part of it.”
Parkinson said the unexpected arrival of Tucker’s song fit in perfectly with the pattern she has experienced with her book.
“As with the many serendipitous occurrences that have gone into the making of this book and film, S. J. brought magic and a sense of fate and destiny into the project,” Parkinson said. “She has been incredibly patient and generous throughout the process, and you can see her in the film’s closing scene with her baby, who was born two years ago. I give thanks for God sending us S.J.!”
Parkinson published her book in 2013. She documents the story of Spence, who gained national notoriety when she shot and killed a man named Jack Worls, the man who was accused of killing her father, Cicero Spence, during a fishing trip. The family lived on a houseboat on the White River.
She was convicted of manslaughter for Worls’ death, but she was later paroled. She was sent back to prison after being convicted of the murder of another man. That led to a prison term and a series of escapes. She was eventually killed after escaping from the Arkansas State Hospital.
Tucker grew up in Dumas in Desha County, about an hour from where Spence grew up and spent her life in the Arkansas River Delta. She was unfamiliar with Spence’s story until reading Parkinson’s book.
“I was shocked that this piece of Arkansas history had been unknown to me for my entire life,” Tucker said. “I know those rural highways like the back of my hand. Yet nobody ever taught me about her, and I could only find one living relative who’d even heard about her. It makes a person wonder what other stories are buried in the soil, kept silent for reason known only to the people who witnessed them.”
After she sent Parkinson her song, the two stayed in contact with each other through social media. Someone made a comment on a thread of one of Parkinson’s posts that she should record an audiobook version of the book. Tucker jumped on the idea immediately.
“I basically harrowed her until she agreed to let me meet with her to discuss the possibility of narrating and producing such an audiobook. That was in October 2017, and we released the audiobook through Audible’s ACX program last fall,” Tucker said.
Tucker later visited Parkinson at her Hot Springs home. During the visit, Parkinson had another guest — Dorothy Morris, a Hot Springs philanthropist, founder of the Morris Foundation and a longtime supporter of the fine arts. Parkinson said she and Morris were brainstorming the idea of a documentary about Spence based on the book. Morris had recently helped fund the digitation of Parkinson’s collection of 8 mm color home movies from her years of living in a houseboat.
Tucker played her songs for the duo, including “Girl from the River” that tells Spence’s story. Parkinson said she thought it would be the perfect way to begin the film version of “Daughter of the White River.” Tucker also provided both instrumental and lyric versions of two more songs — “Look to the Water” and “Moving Meditation” — that recur throughout the film, Parkinson said.
Being asked to record a soundtrack for a film was an unexpected opportunity, Tucker said.
“Film scores and soundtracks have always captivated me. I’m not expertly trained to do it, but this is the third film project I’ve had the good fortune to add music to. One of the three involved another ASMS(A) alum, interestingly enough, and it was that project which let me prove to myself that I could produce a film soundtrack, however scrappily and independently,” she said.
Tucker has been writing her own music since she was 14 in 1994. She is an independent recording artist, “which means I can write and record whatever I like without having to answer to a record label.” Her songs are inspired by folklore, book characters, literature and fairy tales, and the natural world, she said.
She said most of her songs could be described as an acoustic sound, but she also lets jazz and blues influences creep in. Sometimes she will write something that sounds closer to “goth-industrial electronic music together, and you can really tell how much of that genre of music I’ve listened to in my life,” she said.
Her first concerts as a songwriter were at the former Poet’s Loft in Hot Springs in 1997 and 1998. After graduating from Lyon College in Batesville, she moved to Memphis with the intent of learning what it would take to start a music career. She worked other jobs while she traveled to nearby states for concerts in 2001-2004. She recorded her first album, “Haphazard,” in 2004. The recording deal allowed her to eventually pay back the costs of the recording and record production. She held her first CD release party on March 27, 2004 — her mother’s birthday.
“Thank goodness the CD release party which I’d booked and paid for all on my own was well attended because that gave me the confidence to start looking for bookings further afield. I reasoned that I might as well be working for myself and be happy, even if I ended up broke, rather than working for someone else and staying miserable. So, it was at that point that I quit the job I didn’t love to throw myself 100 percent into the career I wanted to build,” she said.
She has used that model to build a successful career and staying afloat to a truly loyal fanbase, “and knowing that, if I had ever needed to come home and start over, my mother in Dumas would have taken me in without a word,” she said.
Tucker attended ASMSA, then known as the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences (ASMS), for only her junior year in 1996-1997. She left early to attend college at Lyon, not attending her senior year at ASMSA. The one year, however, helped prepare her later, she said.
“Some things about ASMS were desperately intense and difficult for me, but that year made me very tough,” she said. “College was a breeze after ASMS, which I suppose was partly the point. So, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“I am certain that learning time management there has helped me build my business as a performing songwriter, since I have chosen to be the one wearing all the hats: creative output, promotion, social media management, finances, everything.”
Parkinson hopes to have a final edit of the documentary completed soon. The COVID-19 pandemic restricted some shooting and editing schedules. “The editing process has been 90 percent conducted on my porch, outdoors, in order to stay COVID safe,” Parkinson said. A rough cut was shown at the recent Arts & the Park via the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance website in honor of induction of Morris, who serves as an executive producer on the film, into the 2020 Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame.
Regarding Tucker, Parkinson is excited she is receiving some local notice for her artistry.
“I am so happy for S. J. to get recognition in her home state as she is known nationally and internationally as a star,” Parkinson said. She said she also has plans for Tucker to narrate the audiobook on her second book, “The River Sisters.”
To hear songs from the soundtrack, visit riversisters.bandcamp.com/releases. To learn more about Tucker’s music and to hear songs from the film, visit music.sjtucker.com. To read more about Parkinson’s “Daughter of the White River,” visit dwparkinson.com.
Since its creation in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank marks the ultimate accomplishment in the Boy Scouts of America. It was first awarded in 1912 and has represented the top achievers in Scouting since then.
It requires a Scout to serve as a leader within their troop and in their community, including completing a community service project. They must earn a number of merit badges and successfully complete a board of review to earn the rank. It can be an intense period for anyone seeking the rank.
Five current Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students have achieved their Eagle Scout — four of them in 2020 while facing the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic as well. They include:
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Their projects covered a wide range of interests. Neilson built a raised bed garden at the Jessieville Boys and Girls Club and developed a program teaching club members how to plant and grow vegetable as well as how to care for a garden.
Green’s project involved leading a group of Scouts and other interested people in developing a curriculum to teach experimental design to 8-year-olds through a program at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock. He was inspired to do the project after serving as a summer camp counselor at the museum.
Green based his project on the popular Pinewood Derby race cars that Scouts race each year. After years of trying to build the fastest car but never winning a single heat, he and his father soon began focusing on design. He noticed younger Scouts often would pick the best looking cars as their favorites to win the derby, even if in the end they weren’t the fastest.
He took this experienced bias and turned it into a method of teaching younger children about how to form and test a hypothesis. Once they gathered data on that hypothesis, they were encouraged to develop another hypothesis and test it again.
“The lesson is that it is important to do the science and not just judge on appearances,” Green said. He said that lesson carried over into his science fair project he is working on with a team of fellow ASMSA students. Their original hypothesis about their experiment didn’t work as they thought it would, so they had to rethink their data and realized it was revealing an effect they didn’t expect.
Chrisman’s project benefited the Marion Animal Shelter. From July to October 2017, he led a donation drive for supplies for the animal shelter. He and other volunteers held drives at two grocery stores and another retail store. Some adult volunteers took donation boxes to their workplace. Boxes were also placed in other businesses.
The supply drive was Chrisman’s second project proposal. His first included finding volunteers to help clean the shelter and to play with the animals so they would be more socialized for adoption. It did not receive approval, but he and other volunteers from his troop still helped clean the shelter and socialize with the animals, he said.
Karman helped reorganize a local community annual workday. He said the community workday normally featured a few people doing a few hours of yard work. He recruited more than 30 people to complete around 130 man hours of work that included staining playground equipment and a bridge across a creek as well as repainting a fence around the pool at a community park.
Shah built a concrete paved patio with metal benches for his local library. He said many people come to the library every day and his project provided them a place to sit outside. The library also holds several community events a year, and the patio provided a place to host outdoor events.
Completing the requirements to achieve Eagle rank is time consuming and involve a large time commitment, not only for the community projects but also earning merit badges and time dedicated serving in a troop leadership position.
So it’s not surprising that almost each of them used one word to describe how it felt to complete the process — “relieved.” Whether it was dealing with the struggles of COVID-19 in addition to the regular stress of the process or just finding the time to finish the requirements in the short time provided, all said they were appreciative of the support they received from volunteers and their families.
Karman was afforded an opportunity most Eagle Scouts don’t get. The Scouts must include letters of recommendation to the Board of Review. Usually those letters are destroyed after the review with the Scouts never able to see what the letters said.
Karman’s Board of Review mad an exception for him. One of his letters of recommendation was from Dr. Jon Ruehle, a biology instructor at ASMSA who died on Oct. 17. The Scout executive allowed Karman to read Ruehle’s letter because of his passing.
“I got to read the letter after the board which was rather emotional for me because I was exceptionally close to him,” Karman said.
Scouting has been a part of each of their lives for a number of years. Green started in Cub Scouts in first grade and has remained a Scout every year since then. Others started in third, fifth or sixth grade.
Each said they will likely try to stay involved with Scouting as adult leaders or community projects. Chrisman participates in the Order of the Arrow, an organization that focuses on community service and allows him to “learn the final lesson of Scouting — giving back to the community.”
Several Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students received recognition at the 56th Arkansas Model United Nations Conference that was held Nov. 19-20 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
Representing the nation of Zimbabwe, ASMSA earned recognition for Best Position Papers and runner-up for Outstanding Delegation. Senior Alec Gatewood of Smackover, a member of the Zimbabwe delegation, received honorable mention for Outstanding Delegate on the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security). Junior Claire Green of North Little Rock, who also served as a member of the Zimbabwe delegation, received honorable mention for Outstanding Delegate for the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee).
Other ASMSA students who earned recognition included:
The Arkansas Model UN is an experiential learning activity with the primary goal of providing high school students with a unique opportunity to enhance their communication skills, improve their critical thinking skills and increase their understanding of diplomacy and international politics
Kenneth Ventress, a senior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been selected as a QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship recipient.
The QuestBridge National College Match program connects high-achieving high school seniors with low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships to the nation’s top colleges and universities. This year, 1,464 students nationwide were selected from more than 18,500 applicants to receive a Match Scholarship.
Thirteen Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy by demonstrating proficiency in English and at least one other language before graduating high school.
The Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is awarded each spring and fall to students in ninth through 12th grades and is sponsored by the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association and the Arkansas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. The Arkansas Department of Education officially endorsed the seal in June 2018.
There were 250 high school students from 16 Arkansas school districts and charter, private or virtual schools and home schoolers who earned the recognition in the fall.
ASMSA students who earned recognition this fall include:
Students who apply for the Seal of Biliteracy must complete an application in which they submit evidence of their proficiency in both languages. Students can use their seal of recognition on college and job applications to show future employers and admissions offices that they are proficient in two or more languages. The seal is notional recognized. As of 2019, 35 states have an official Seal of Biliteracy and 12 more were on their way to having their own seal, according to information from the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy Committee.
ASMSA’s efforts to help the students earn their seal were led by French instructor Bryan Adams. He said the recognition shows the dedication and hard work the students placed in the process.
“As an educational tool, it gives students even more of an incentive for not just getting their feet we in a language by encouraging them to dig deep into levels of proficiency,” he said. “Attaining it is clear evidence that the individual is able to navigate capably in both English and the other tested language.
“It would generally be agreed that it would take about four years of classroom study before a student might even consider testing for the biliteracy exam. For French here at ASMSA, we have had students do it in only one year of study. That credit does not go to me, though! The student I have in mid put in a great deal of work.”
For more information on the program, visit arbiliteracy.org.
Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students as well as a faculty and residential life staff member have been chosen to participate in the Clinton Presidential Center Student Presidential Leaders Series.
ASMSA students Joshua Stallings, Blake Smith and Danielle Luyet were chosen to participate in the program. They were joined by entrepreneurship instructor Steve Rice and residential experience coordinator Liz Carrel. Fifteen participants each statewide were chosen for the student and educator cohorts.
Five new endowments that will recognize outstanding seniors from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts were approved by the University of Arkansas Foundation, Inc., Board of Directors at its regular meeting on Dec. 9.
The endowments will provide an opportunity to recognize rising seniors and graduating students with a financial award. The awards will be announced each spring beginning in May 2021, said Dr. Sara Brown, director of institutional advancement and the ASMSA Foundation Fund.
