Author: Donnie Sewell

Two Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were recognized as national finalists in the American Chemistry Society U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad, and Dr. Burt Hollandsworth was honored as the Central Arkansas ACS Chemistry Teacher of the Year.

Senior Christian Lu of Jonesboro and sophomore Kalyn You of Everton were recognized as national finalists in the competition at the Central Arkansas ACS awards banquet held on April 18 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The students participated in the national exam earlier that day at UALR. The national examination takes more than five hours with two written examinations and a lab practical exam.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts held its 30^th annual Commencement celebrating the graduation of the Class of 2024 at the Oaklawn Event Center on Saturday, May 18.

The ceremony honored 111 graduates from 33 counties. The graduates earned $24.5 million in scholarship offers, pushing the overall total to more than $328.5 million over the school’s 30-year history. The event also included a special recognition of the school’s 3,000^th graduate — Tim Palmer of Mena.

Matt Bell — who is co-founder, president and chief executive officer for Origami Sake in Hot Springs —  served as Commencement speaker. Daniel Nkunga of Sherwood, Kaira Harper of Jonesboro and Gwen Oliver, formerly of Jonesboro — all members of the Class of 2024 — were student speakers.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were awarded The Gates Scholarship for the Spring 2024 cycle.

Yared Belete of Marion, Ivy Hong of North Little Rock and Bryce Snider of Hoxie, all members of the Class of 2024, were awarded the scholarship, which is sponsored by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Scholarship is a highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding minority high school seniors from low-income households.

Scholars will receive funding for the full cost of attendance — including tuition, fees, room, board, books and transportation — that is not already covered by other financial aid and the expected family contribution as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the methodology used by the scholar’s college or university.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts held its 2024 Honors Convocation on Monday, May 13. The annual Honors Convocation is an opportunity to recognize the students’ academic achievements for the school year as well as special awards and fellowships.

Ciara Stephens will have the honor of kicking off the Hot Springs International Women’s Film Festival this Friday.

“Stages,” a short documentary by Stephens, will open the three-day festival that runs May 10-12 at the Malco Theater in Hot Springs. The film by the senior from Cherry Valley will show at 6 p.m. Friday.

The film is a companion piece to a visual arts piece Stephens created. She described it as “a deeply personal film that I made that tells the story of all the highs and lows that created the person I am today; it discusses the fears I had to overcome, my victories and the people around me who believed in me and gave me the confidence to grow.”

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will hold its 30^th Commencement Ceremony, which will honor the Class of 2024, at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Oaklawn Event Center.

Matt Bell, president of Origami Sake which is based in Hot Springs, will serve as the main commencement speaker. He is an Arkansas native and successful business entrepreneur.  Prior to starting Origami Sake, Matt was a founding partner of Bell-Corley Construction, a commercial general contracting company; Viridian, a green building and energy efficiency consulting company; and Entegrity, a commercial solar development and energy efficiency contractor.

Seniors Kaira Harper and Gwen Oliver will serve as student commencement speakers. The school will also recognize its 3,000^th graduate during the ceremony.

The event is not open to the public. A ticket is required for admission to the ceremony. Tickets were only available to students and their family members.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts recognized students for their achievements in the 2024 Arts and Humanities Research Capstone Symposium during an awards ceremony on May 3.

The symposium is an opportunity for ASMSA students to showcase their talents within the arts and humanities. The event features lectures and performances by students in the fields of arts and literature, creative writing, fine arts, history and music. The lectures and performances are the result of capstone research projects conducted by the students as a required part of ASMSA’s academic program.

Students competed in either Arts, History, and Literature or the Visual and Performing Arts categories. Individual category awards as well as overall winners for each major category were announced during the ceremony.

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts music ensembles earned state recognition recently — including two of them taking top honors at their respective state competitions.

ASMSA’s Wind Ensemble placed first by earning straight Superiors/First Division ratings in the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association Class 3A Statewide Concert Assessment on April 16 at Bryant High School. Their performance netted the ensemble the honor to serve as the featured Honor Band at the 2025 ASBOA statewide concert contest. It was only the second time that ASMSA has participated in a statewide contest.

The school’s SSA/Treble Choir traveled to Conway on April 15 and earned a Superior overall rating and was named Best in Classification for Class 3A at the Arkansas Choral Directors Association State Festival that was held at the University of Central Arkansas. The choir is directed by adjunct instructor Jordan Murdock.

ASMSA’s String Ensemble placed 14^th overall, earning straight Excellents/Second Division ratings at the ASBOA Class 3A Statewide Concert Assessments on April 16 at Bryant. It was the first time that the String Ensemble has competed in a statewide or regional contest.

For the first time in school history, three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts music ensembles qualified to participate in state assessments on Monday, April 15, and Tuesday, April 16.