Donna Casparian of Hot Springs is the newest member of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Board of Visitors.
Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Casparian to the board in December. Casparian is a longtime resident of Hot Springs. She has served as a volunteer in several organizations in Hot Springs and Garland County. She is a board member of the Hot Springs Music Festival and is a former member of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival board and the Garland County Library Board of Trustees. She has also volunteered with the Garland County Medical Alliance Advisory Board and the Garland County Health Unit.
She also has served as a state judge for Destination ImagiNation, an educational activity in which students work in teams to solve mind-bending challenges, and Odyssey of the Mind, and international education program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.
Casparian serves as a nurse in the medical office of her husband, Dr. Ross Bandy. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Indian Asian Studies from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.
Casparian said she has had a long-standing interest in education. With her background in health services, she said she is interested in improving student health services and promoting healthy lifestyles as a member of the Board of Visitors. She is also interested in expanding ASMSA’s humanities program.
“I’m pretty interested in the arts,” Casparian said. “I’m interested in looking at the direction in humanities. … I want to allow the kids to understand that they can explore a lot of areas and it can be beneficial for them. I think it is really important to explore and for the students to be able to express themselves.”
Casparian is also involved with Hot Springs’ Sister City Program with Hanamaki, Japan. She said through the program that she has seen the importance of building and maintaining international relationships. She said it is important for students to have the opportunity to build those kinds of international relationships.
“They need to get out of Arkansas and learn,” she said. “… I’m probably the person who says go get lost in Europe.”
She said her involvement in helping run a campaign to raise tax funds for a new Garland County Library as well as her involvement in the film festival and other arts organizations can be beneficial for ASMSA.
“I learned how to run a tax campaign and how to build a library,” she said. “I know the structure of how campaigns are run. Working with the film festival and arts organizations, I have learned where does the money comes from, how [fundraising works] and the expectations of locals versus state deal.”
Casparian’s term on the Board of Visitors will expire Jan. 14, 2016.