The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Science Olympiad team placed second in the Northeast Regional Tournament held at Arkansas State University at Newport on March 15.

The team’s finish secured a berth into the state competition that will be held on April 12 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Science Olympiad is a nationwide organization dedicated to promoting science education through conducting competitive science tournaments.

Dr. Burt Hollandsworth, a chemistry Instructor of Distinction who serves as the team’s adviser, credited two students — Michelle Li of Sherwood and Aarush Goyal of Little Rock — for forming the team after previously competing on teams at their sending schools. The two are co-presidents of the team with Li also serving as a coach.

Several students earned individual recognition during the competition, including:
• the team of Kemdi Ekeanyanwu of Little Rock and Collisa Bucknor of Little Rock, second place, Anatomy and Physiology;
• the team of Aarush Goyal and Kaiyan Yu of Benton, first place, Chemistry; and
• the team of Donovan Hurarte of Little Rock and Winston Wang of Hope, second place, Ecology.

Other team members are Anna Le of Fort Smith, Aum Patel of Bryant and Tatum Polzin of Little Rock.

The Community Gardens at the City of Hope Outreach in Conway serve multiple purposes. They are a source of nutritious fruits and vegetables for the organization’s nutrition program, including its Small Market that provides food and other supplies for food-insecure, homeless and low-income individuals and families.

It is a classroom gardening experience for students who participate in CoHO Academy, the organization’s after-school program. Participants help grow food in the gardens from seed to harvest to table as part of the academy’s STEM, nutrition and personal development curriculum.

The gardens are home to various wildlife, including birds, bees, butterflies, frogs and toads. Students in the program crafted toad houses to encourage the amphibians to settle in the gardens to help control pests.

In July 2024, the National Wildlife Federation announced that it had designated the gardens as a Certified Wildlife Habitat through its Garden for Wildlife movement.

The designation was thanks in part to the work of Lana Thurman, who graduated from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts in 2017. Thurman joined CoHO as nutrition director in February 2023. In August 2023, she became an academy instructor, teaching STEM concepts through gardening and nutrition to kindergarten through eighth-graders in the academy.

Thurman is no longer with CoHO and is now in her second semester of law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. But her previous work with the garden program continued a passion for organic gardening she developed as a student in the Schedler Honors College at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. She helped maintain the Dee Brown Memorial Garden and donated produce to UCA’s food pantry. Thurman also grew fresh produce at the Faulkner County Library while attending UCA.

“My friends and I used these to bake fortified bread and make soups, and then we distributed it by car to the unhoused during harsh winters,” said Thurman, who graduated magna cum laude from UCA with a double major in history and anthropology. “During my senior year, I wanted to have a lasting impact, so as vice president of the Anthropology Club, I designated a plot at the library that continues to produce food for donation to the UCA food pantry.”

She said her background is “rooted in a long family tradition of farming in Blevins, Arkansas. This way of life, which emphasizes sustainability and environmental stewardship, has been in my family for generations.”

In January 2023, she visited the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. A quote from Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated at the hotel on April 4, 1968, that is featured on a plaque at the museum moved Thurman. In the quote, King said that he hoped to be remembered for his actions to “love and serve humanity” rather than any honors he may have received.

“This moment of realization solidified my commitment to serving others. I realized that the true meaning of life was to love and serve humanity,” Thurman said.

That same day, a friend who had helped her on the car runs delivering food in the past told her about the nutrition director opening at CoHO and thought Thurman would be perfect for the job.

“The opportunity to manage my own garden and help those most in need felt like a calling. I knew this was a way to use my skills and passions to serve the community effectively, and so I eagerly applied,” Thurman said.

While serving as an academy instructor in addition to serving as nutrition director, Thurman actively engaged students in garden activities such as an “Adopt a Tree” lesson and a “Planting a Spring Garden” session, helping them learn about the ecosystem and its importance. Students planted trees as well as built birdhouses and squirrel feeders. They kept field journals, documenting plant growth while fostering observations skills and connecting with nature.

“Seeing the students grow their own food from seed to harvest and planting their own trees” was wonderful, Thurman said. The students’ reaction to the gardening experience was the most rewarding part of her CoHO experience. She said the students showed “enthusiasm and curiosity, eagerly engaging in hands-on activities and expressing pride in their contributions to the garden.”

While projects such as the toad houses and tree plantings helped instill a sense of environmental stewardship in the students, they also helped Thurman earn the Certified Wildlife Habitat designation for CoHO’s garden. To earn the certification, a garden should provide natural sources of food, water, cover and places to raise young wildlife and is maintained in a sustainable way that incorporates native plants, conserves water and doesn’t rely on pesticides. The National Wildlife Federation is a conservation organization established in 1936. The Garden for Wildlife program began in 1973.

“CoHO’s Nutrition Program previously focused solely on providing food for people through our free Small Market, but it now also nourishes wildlife as a vibrant Certified Wildlife Habitat, thriving with native plants and diverse species,” Thurman said in a release from the National Wildlife Federation. “This transformation has not only created a haven for wildlife but also fostered a sense of community and environmental stewardship.”

Thurman sees law school as a continuation of her service to humanity. Her goal is to focus on civil rights law.

“My goal is to advocate for marginalized communities and work towards ensuring equal rights and justice for all individuals, particularly those who have faced discrimination and injustice,” she said.

 

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts choir ensembles have earned eligibility to compete at the Arkansas Choral Directors Association Class 3A State Festival.

The ensembles competed at the Region 3 Choral Performance Assessment held at Hot Springs Lakeside on March 7. Sonar Sounds, ASMSA’s tenor/bass ensemble, earned Division I Superior scores for both its stage and sight reading performances. Echo Sounds, the mixed chorus, earned a Division 2R Excellent grade for its stage performance and Division 1 Superior for sight reading. Aqua Harmonia, the soprano/alto treble ensemble, earned a Division 2R Superior rating for its stage performance and a Division 2 Excellent score for sight reading.

All groups who score a 2R or Superior rating for their stage performance are eligible for State Festival, where they will compete for the Class 3A “Best in Class” title. Aqua Harmonia will be defending its 2024 state title as “Best in Class Small Treble Chorus 3A” and “Overall Best in Class 3A Chorus” title.

The Class 3A state competition will be held on Monday, April 7, at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

Twenty-three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students have been selected as Arts Across Arkansas 2025 finalists, including one student who qualified in three separate categories.

Arts Across Arkansas is a program that aims to encourage, enhance and expand students’ original thoughts, processes, personal experiences and artistic abilities, according to the program’s website. It is sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Division of Arkansas Heritage.

The competition features competition in six categories: Visual Arts, Dance Choreography, Film, Music Composition, Literary Arts and Photography. ASMSA students were selected as finalists in the Visual Arts, Film, Music Composition, Literary Arts and Photography. Senior Jaime Hernandez is a finalist in the Visual Arts, Film and Literary Arts categories.

Visual Arts

• KC Cavin, a junior from Mount Vernon, “Acceptance”;
• Hannah Dalencourt-King, a senior from Poplar Grove, “Transformation of Passion”
• Jaime Hernandez, a senior from Decatur, “Swarm”
• Sephora Faiq, a junior from Arkadelphia, “Mother’s Garment”
• Olivia Busby, a senior from Heber Springs, “Fluidity”
• Coley Rogers, a junior from Cherokee Village, “Self Portrait”

Film

• Jamie Hernandez, a senior from Decatur, “Spring”
• AB Maness, a senior from Benton, “Olivia?”
• Makenna Kutzschebauch, a junior from Benton, “Dead Women Walking”
• Priya James, a junior from Decatur, “Blue Light”

Music Composition

• Mackenzie Curl, a junior from Crossett, “Forgive and Forget”
• Faith Wesley, a junior from Hot Springs, “Paraclete”
• Bryce Jackson, a junior from Salem, “Paris 1944”
• Matthew Carter, a junior from Hot Springs, “Goku”

Literary Arts

• Preston Lowe, a senior from Mayflower, “Woven Into An Hour Bittersweet”
• Saylor Ross, a senior from Crossett, “Homecoming Queen”
• Kaiyan Yu, a junior from Benton, “Nasa”
• Halie Cook, a junior from Pine Bluff, “Dollar Store Collar”
• Cora Breshears, a senior from Bonnerdale, “The Last Night of Childhood”
• Grace Conn, a junior from Van Buren, “Agri-Culture”
• Eva Cummings, a senior from Fayetteville, “Axolotl Ownership”
• Jamie Hernandez, a senior from Decatur, “Funeral Flowers and the Snakes Shedding Skin in Between”
• Stevie Watkins, a senior from Perryville, “What a Tasty Meal”
• Claira Hartig, a junior from Greenbrier, “The Envelope Was Empty”

The finals for the third annual event will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, at Westwood School for Performing Arts in North Little Rock. The event will include exhibitions and performances by the more than 40 students selected as finalists. The event is free and open to the public.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Quiz Bowl team took first place in the Arkansas Governor’s Quiz Bowl Association Class 7A West Regional Tournament.

The team went undefeated in the regional tournament, which was held March 15 on the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith campus. ASMSA qualified for the Class 7A State Tournament, which will be held April 12.

Junior Jacob Lewis of Clinton was the second-highest scorer in the regional tournament followed by junior Ridgely Bond of Marion who was third. Both qualified for the State All-Star Tournament that will be held in April.

For more information about the tournaments, visit the association’s website at https://arquizbowl.org/.

Several Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students earned recognition at the 2025 Arkansas High School Model Arab League Conference.

Model Arab League is the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ flagship youth leadership development program. It is similar to the Model United Nations program. This year’s Arkansas high school conference was held March 7-8 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Twenty-nine ASMSA students participated in the conference. Five students earned recognition for their participation, including:

• Tristan Henson, a junior from Maumelle, Outstanding Delegation Award, representing Libya on the Special Council on Technology and Development;
  • Nathan Harbut, a junior from Hot Springs, Distinguished Delegation Award, representing Libya on the Economic Affairs Council;
  • Maddox Jessup, a senior from Stuttgart, Distinguished Delegation Award, for representing Syria on the Special Council on Technology and Development;
  • Lycci Pan, a senior from Jonesboro, Distinguished Delegation Award, for representing Syria on the Political Affairs Council; and
  • Nakoa Beattie, a junior from Eureka Springs, Honorable Mention Award, for representing Libya on the Political Affairs Council.

Twenty-four Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned recognition at the 2025 District IV Spring Conference competition, and a record number of 36 students will be eligible to compete at the state competition.

The District IV conference was held Feb. 5 at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope/Texarkana in Hope. The students participated in competitive events that were either an objective subject test, performance or presentation, or a combination of an objective test and a performance component.

Students who placed in the top six in objective test competitions or top five in a performance or presentation event at the district qualified to compete in the state competition, which will be held April 7-8 in Little Rock. In addition to the 24 students who qualified at the district competition, 12 students also are set to compete in the state competition in categories that are only held at the state conference.

Students who earned recognition at the District IV competition and are eligible to compete at the state competition include:

• Accounting: Jena Brown of Hope, second place;
  • Advertising: Katherine Sedgwick of Arkadelphia, first place;
  • Cyber Security: April Adams of Clinton, first place;
  • Economics: Carlie Smith of Hot Springs Village, first place;
  • Future Business Leader: Tristan Henson of Maumelle, first place;
  • Graphic Design: team of Bailey Bray of Greenbrier and Dahlia Cortez-Woodard of Plainview, fourth place;
  • Hospitality and Event Management: team of Aarush Goyal of Little Rock, Kaitleen Toh of White Hall and Luis Vidal of Fort Smith, second place;
  • Introduction to Public Speaking: Alexa Louden of Camden, fifth place;
  • Personal Finance: Lilly Gray of Rison, third place;
  • Public Policy and Advocacy: Katherine Quintanilla of Nashville, first place;
  • Public Speaking: Sephorah Faiq of Arkadelphia, first place;
  • Sales Presentation: Miranda Lee of Conway, first place;
  • Securities and Investment: Emma Sedgwick of Arkadelphia, third place;
  • Social Media Strategies: Jordan Gauldin of Foreman, second place;
  • Sports and Entertainment Management: team of Cassie Davis of Marion and Lakaylah Hall of Little Rock;
  • Visual Design: Katelynn Cavin of Mount Vernon, fifth place; and
  • Website Design: team of Hailey Judkins of Benton and Sophie Milton of Jonesboro.

Students who are eligible to compete at the state competition in state-only events are Winston Wang of Hope, Madeline Lee of Maumelle, Mackenzie Curl of Crossett, Jun Park of Maumelle, Michelle Li of Sherwood, Jeremiah Chen of North Little Rock, Nathan Grady of Blytheville, Kaiyan Yu of Benton, Justin Nicholson of Pine Bluff, Norberto Garcia of Nashville, Isabella Dunkley of Little Rock and Benjamin Dong of Arkadelphia.

At the state competition, students will have the opportunity to qualify to compete at FBLA Nationals, which will be held Anaheim, Calif, on June 29-July 2.

Twenty-two Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students earned recognition in the 2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regional competitions.

Micaela Collver, Priya James, Lola Tate, Andy Kneebone and Preston Lowe each earned Gold Keys and advanced to the national competition for their writing and art awards. National key winners will be announced in March. Four students earned Silver Keys for their submissions.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. It is among the nation’s most prestigious program for creative teens. Previous award-winners during the competition’s history include Andy Warhol, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Tschabalala Self and others.

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All students who earned recognition include:

Southern Region Writing Awards

• April Adams, a junior from Clinton — Silver Key, Poetry and an Honorable Mention, Poetry
• Micaela Collver, a junior from Greenbrier — Gold Key, Short Story
• Halie Cook, a junior from Pine Bluff — Honorable Mention, Poetry
• Phoenix Dunkley, a junior from Little Rock — Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir
• Priya James, a junior from Decatur — Gold Key, Personal Essay & Memoir
• Preston Lowe, a senior from Mayflower — Silver Key, Personal Essay & Memoir
• Robert Mohr, a junior from Judsonia — Honorable Mention, Personal Essay & Memoir
• Lola Tate, a senior from Benton — Gold Key, Short Story
• Malee Vang, a junior from Lincoln — Honorable Mention, Poetry

Heartland Region Art Awards

• Andy Kneebone, a sophomore from Arkadelphia, — Gold Key, Digital Art
• Preston Lowe, a senior from Mayflower — Gold Key, Portfolio Category (Art)
• Olivia Busby, a senior from Heber Springs — Honorable Mention, Portfolio Category (Art
• Coley Rogers, a junior from Cherokee Village — Honorable Mention, Drawing & Illustration
• Jaime Hernandez, a senior from Decatur — Silver Key, Portfolio Category (Art)
• Leah Fouste, a senior from Eureka Springs — Honorable Mention, Portfolio Category (Art)
• Laney Caldwell, a senior from Cabot — Silver Key, Portfolio Category (Art)
• Hannah Dalencourt-King, a senior from Poplar Grove — Honorable Mention, Portfolio Category (Art)
• AB Maness, a senior from Benton — Honorable Mention, Portfolio Category (Art)
• Sephorah Faiq, a junior from Arkadelphia — Honorable Mention, Drawing & Illustration
• Cotton Foyt, a sophomore from Blytheville — Honorable Mention, Drawing & Illustration
• Kendyl Gorman, a senior from Little Rock — Honorable Mention, Portfolio (Art)
• Priya James, a junior from Decatur — Honorable Mention, Film & Animation
• Kira Marshall, a junior from Benton — Honorable Mention, Photography
• Divi O’Dell, a sophomore from Cabot — Honorable Mention, Drawing & Illustration
• Malee Vang, a junior from Lincoln — Honorable Mention, Digital Art

To learn more about the competition, visit www.artandwriting.org.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts recognized winners of the 2025 West Central Regional Science Fair during an awards ceremony on Feb. 28.

The team of senior Kolten Shook of North Little Rock and Lukas Bowler of Hot Springs won first place overall for their project in the Animal Science category. Senior Carmella Lewis of Alma won second place for her Cellular and Molecular Biology project. Senior Avagail Christine Dunning of Clarksville won third for her project in the Microbiology category.

The three overall winners were awarded a trip to participate in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held May 10-16 in Columbus, Ohio. The event is the world’s largest pre-college STEM competition. Students from around the world are expected to compete for awards, prizes and scholarships.

Individual awards were also announced in various categories. The top three projects and some high-placing honorable mentions in each category earned entry into the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair that will be held at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway on April 4-5.

Individual category winners included:

Animal Science: 1. Team of Kolten Shook of North Little Rock and Lukas Bowler of Hot Springs 2. Team of Plinio Tola of Little Rock and Mason Meenen of Gravette 3. Reagan Smith of Marion Honorable Mention: Team of Evan Fowlkes of Mountain View and Kendra Grant of Bismarck

Behavioral and Social Science: 1. Sindia Michael of Jonesboro 2. Alice Dong of Arkadelphia 3. Team of Lydia Robertson of Pea Ridge and Claira Hartig of Greenbrier

Cellular and Molecular Biology: 1. Carmella Lewis of Alma 2. Team of Graydon Anderson of Little Rock and Syed Imam of Little Rock 3. Kayleigh Murphy of Alexander

Chemistry: 1. Shelby Norris of Alma 2. Kalyn You of Everton 3. Lycci Pan of Jonesboro Honorable Mentions: Lane de Foor of Hot Springs, Morgan Broadway of Mabelvale

Computer Science: 1. Team of Kelvin Orduna of Huntsville, Cody Schulist of Russell and Evan Quirk of West Fork 2. Team of Paul Murphy of Conway, Kavan Patel of Sherwood and Titus Reynolds of Camden 3. Team of Berto Garcia of Nashville, Jack Russenberger of Bigelow and Riley Raymick of Sheridan Honorable Mentions: Zaelyn Horton of Little Rock, the team of Therese Ella Ambos of Greenbrier, Madeline Liachenko of Benton and Sarah Pham of Hot Springs

Earth Science: 1. Team of Riley Richardson of Belleville and Drayton Makepeace of Hagarville

Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical: 1. Karilynn Arellano of Mineral Springs 2. Damian Biggs of Washington County 3. Jonathan Matul of Decatur

Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering: 1. Miranda Lee of Conway 2. Team of Alan Ye of Conway and Justin Nicholson of Pine Bluff 3. Riley Hart of Mountain View Honorable Mention: Ava Beck of Hot Springs

Environmental Management: 1. Kaiyan Yu of Benton 2. Team of Finneas Salazar of Searcy and Ezekiel Summers of Paragould 3. Team of Daymond Franklin of Lexa and Haven Herring of Benton

Environmental Science: 1. Kira Burnett of Farmington 2. Aarush Goyal of Little Rock 3. Team of Addison Nance of Delight, Jade Espinoza of Corning and Maxine Uriarte of Sparkman Honorable Mention: Edame Egar of Helena

Mathematics: 1. Jackson Whittaker of Benton 2. Anna Le of Fort Smith Honorable Mention Hiro Linker of Little Rock

Medicine and Health Sciences: 1. Meera Patel of Hot Springs 2. Team of Emily Lin of Little Rock, Kaitleen Toh of White Hall and Nathan Grady of Blytheville 3. Charlotte Young of Paragould

Physics/Astronomy: 1. Team of Titan Dinwiddie of Sherwood, Levi Fason of Conway and Ty Carmichael of Hot Springs Village Honorable Mention: Cassie Davis of Marion

Plant Science: 1. Team of Nora Medlock of Dyer and Bianca Navarro of Hot Springs 2. Jeremiah Chen of North Little Rock 3. Nathan Alam of White Hall

Several special awards and recognition were also announced during the awards ceremony. They include:

Regeneron Science Talent Search Entrants Recognition: Olivia Judkins of Benton, Kira Burnett of Farmington, Meera Patell of Hot Springs and Kalyn You of Everton

Soybean Science Challenge award that recognizes a student for their project as well as their project adviser for an outstanding project in soybean science or agriculture: Team of Nora Medlock of Dyer and Bianca Navarro of Hot Springs, advised by Dr. Lindsey Waddell

Missouri University of Science and Technology Kummer Center for STEM Education for outstanding junior research students: Miranda Lee of Conway, the team of Graydon Anderson of Little Rock and Syed Imam of Little Rock, Anna Le of Fort Smith and the team of Emily Lin of Little Rock, Kaitleen Toh of White Hall and Nathan Grady of Blytheville

Trinity Environmental Consultants award recognizes a project that best develops a solution for an environmental problem with preference given to an outstanding junior: Kaiyan Yu of Benton

Association of Women Geoscientists for outstanding geoscience project by female or non-binary student(s): Riley Richardson of Belleville

NASA Earth Systems Award for outstanding earth science project: Team of Addison Nance of Delight, Jade Espinoza of Corning and Maxine Uriarte of Sparkman

NOAA Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award for project that emphasizes science, service and stewardship in addressing issues related to climate, weather, oceans and coasts: Edame Egar of Helena

Ricoh USA, Inc. award: Team of Finneas Salazar of Searcy and Ezekiel Summers of Paragould

Society for In-vitro Biology award for outstanding 11^th-grad life science project: Team of Graydon Anderson of Little Rock and Syed Imam of Little Rock

Stockholm Junior Water Prize to the top project related to water quality and water resource management: Kira Burnett of Farmington

United States Air Force award: Cassie Davis of Marion, Karilynn Arellano of Mineral Springs, Lycci Pan of Jonesboro and Maya Allen of Harrison

U.S. Metric Association for the best use of International System of Units: Riley Hart of Mountain View

Yale Science and Engineering Association award for best 11^th-grade exhibit in computer science, physics, chemistry or engineering: Miranda Lee of Conway

Regeneron Biomedical Science Award for outstanding project in translational medical science, microbiology or medical science: Team of Emily Lin of Little Rock, Kaitleen Toh of White Hall and Nathan Grady of Blytheville

The 97th Academy Awards will have an ASMSA connection at this year’s ceremony. A film produced by Class of 2009 alumna Tara Sheffer is nominated for Best Live Action Short Film.

Sheffer is the producer of “A Lien,” a short film about a family that finds itself in a dire situation that develops when a couple along with their daughter arrives at a federal immigration office for an American woman’s husband to begin the interview process to obtain a green card. The film is directed by brothers Sam and David Cutler-Kreutz.

Sheffer has served as producer for 29 short films and written and directed four other films. Films she has been associated have been nominated for awards or selected to appear in the SXSW, Clermont Ferrand, New Orleans Film Festival, Rhode Island International Flickers Film Festival and NYU Tisch King festivals and competitions. Sheffer served as a line producer for the 2020 film “The Letter Room,” which was also nominated for an Academy Award.

She began seriously thinking about filmmaking in a documentary film class taught by James Katowich, a Humanities Instructor of Excellence at ASMSA. Her family was also in the filmmaking business. She later took classes at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., and then earned a master’s in fine arts from the New York University School of the Arts.

The Oscars will be shown live beginning at 6 p.m. Central time on Sunday, March 2, on ABC and streaming on Hulu.