The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts held its annual Honors Convocation on May 2, recognizing students for their academic achievements during the 2017-18 academic year.
Each academic department recognized students for awards. They included:
Humanities Awards
Outstanding Graphic Arts — Austin Brigham of Huntington
Outstanding Visual Arts — Michael Engle of Hot Springs
Outstanding U.S. History — Jade Ma of Bryant
Outstanding World Studies — Dinah Everton of Hot Springs
Outstanding Social Science — Sara Davis of Fouke
Outstanding Humanities Senior — Abigail Vance of Gassville
Outstanding Humanities Junior — Ginny Halterman of Lincoln
Outstanding French 1— Jared Block of Judsonia
Outstanding Advanced French — Andrew Astre of Alma
Outstanding Intermediate Spanish — Danielle Kuntz of Hot Springs
Outstanding Advanced Spanish— Jack Selig of Benton
Outstanding Mandarin 1 — Mary Jia of Stuttgart
Outstanding Mandarin 2 — Stephanie Sung of Little Rock
Outstanding Japanese 1 — Megan Perreault of Fayetteville
Outstanding Japanese 2 — Autumn Bates of Star City
Daniel A Benton Award — Sabah Ismail of Fort Smith
Mathematics Awards
George Connor Award for Outstanding Male Math Senior — Kyle Sadler of Little Rock
Melanie Nichols Award for Outstanding Female Senior — Sabrina Jones of Russellville
Outstanding Mathematics Student Junior — Callen Gast of Cabot
Outstanding Computer Science Student Junior — William Shaver of North Little Rock
Outstanding Computer Science Student Senior — Ben Allen of Bella Vista
Science Awards
Outstanding Senior Biology Student — Clementine Payne-Weeks of Greenbrier
Outstanding Junior Biology Student — Saorise Disney-McKeethan of Fayetteville
Outstanding Senior Chemistry Student — Ethan Underhill of Marion
Outstanding Junior Chemistry Student — Noah Raby of Newport
Outstanding Senior Physics Student — Sabrina Jones of Russellville
Outstanding Junior Physics Student — Taylor Compton of Heber Springs
Outstanding Senior Engineering Student — Joseph Schuster of Clarksville
Outstanding Junior Engineering Student — Collin Wycoff of Dover
Outstanding Senior Earth and Space Science Student — Jack McWilliams of Benton
Outstanding Junior Earth and Space Science Student — Rachel Stall of Clarksville
Several special awards and honors also were announced during the event. They include:
National Merit Finalists — Ben Allen of Bella Vista, Justin Austin of Sherwood, Sabrina Jones of Russellville, Joanne Lee of Gosnell, Kyle Sadler of Little Rock and Devin Sha of Stuttgart.
QuestBridge Finalists — Tanner Adams of Arkadelphia, Joanne Lee of Gosnell, Te’ya Mitchell of Little Rock, Connor Osborn of El Dorado and Elizabeth Solleder of Hot Springs.
QuestBridge National College Match — Joanne Lee of Gosnell
QuestBridge College Prep Scholars — Olivia Bryan of Marion, Taylor Compton of Heber Springs, Saoirse Disney-McKeethan of Fayetteville, Damien Mazzola of Bismarck, Lauren McMillan of Hot Springs and Noah Raby of Newport
Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholars Finalist —Josiah Dalencourt-Richards of Barton
Arkansas Times Academic All-Star Award — Ben Allen of Bella Vista and Sabrina Jones of Russellville
U.S. Presidential Scholars Candidates — Justin Austin of Sherwood, Sabrina Jones of Russellville and Kyle Sadler of Little Rock
Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy Scholarship — Chris Jaeger of Leslie
Daughters of American Revolution Good Citizen Award — Lily Ann Easley of Garland City
Arkansas Boys and Girls State — Jordan Block of Judsonia, Jon Rowe of Hot Springs, Rachel Blocker of Vilonia, Olivia Bryan of Marion, Lauren McMillan of Hot Springs, Rachel Stall of Clarksville, Emma Hickok of Hot Springs Village and Kendele Kramer of Batesville
National Security Language Initiative for Youth, U.S. Department of State — Luke Nester of Hot Springs and Noah Raby of Newport
Youth For Understanding Okinawa Peace Scholarship Program — Chloe Cotabish of Conway
University of Rochester Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Award — Dinah Everton of Hot Springs
University of Rochester George Eastman Young Leaders Award — Gracie Gentzler of Haskell
University of Rochester Xerox Award — Toby Ebarb of Sherwood
University of Rochester Bausch and Lomb Award — Saoirse Disney-McKeethan of Fayetteville
Salem College Book Award — Lauren McMillan of Hot Springs
Randolph College Book Award — Dayja James of McGehee
Hendrix College Odyssey Book Award — Kendele Kramer of Batesville
Outstanding Senior Success Award — Akarsh Kumar of Fayetteville
Outstanding Junior Success Award — Sophia Ladd of Wynne
Computer Science Summer Research Fellowship — Toby Ebarb of Sherwood
Murphy USA Summer Research Fellowship —Mary Jia of Stuttgart and Rachel Stall of Clarksville
Trustees’ Service Fellowship — Camille Jones of Arkadelphia; honorable mention Jack Selig of Benton
Rotary Interact Scholarship — Riddhi Modi of Hot Springs and Jessica Nunn of Conway
The ceremony also featured a speech by Brock Rigsby of Crow, a member of the Class of 2018 who served as vice president of the Student Government Association. Rigsby encouraged his fellow students to find their “somewhere” as seniors prepare to graduate at the end of May.
While graduation will signal what many perceive as an end to an important period in their life, it is actually “time to take the next step towards careers in fields just as creative, innovative and unique as the students” who are set to graduate.
“The point is, there are no limits on what ASMSA students can accomplish if we set our minds to it. When we look at what we have already done, even if we don’t know exactly where we are heading, we know it’s ‘somewhere.’ I recently realized that what felt like the end was actually just the beginning. So guys, let’s go find our ‘somewhere,’” Rigsby said.
He said while each of the Class of 2018 started out in their own places they all landed in Hot Springs “in an environment uniquely able to educate people like us. We are all nerdy, whether we choose to admit it or not. I’ve often commented that my favorite thing about ASMSA is that everyone finds their ‘place’ by creating their own. Everyone fits in by accepting the fact that they never will,” Rigsby said.