Ghaida Fadah, a junior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been chosen to serve on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Student Advisory Council.

The Gilder Lehrman Student Advisory Council is a diverse group of middle and high school students who provide valuable feedback on the institute’s programs and materials while also giving opportunities to do research projects and introduce new projects. Students are recommended to the council by a teacher based on their academic achievements and interest in American history.

Fadah of White Hall was nominated for the council by Dr. Neil Oatsvall, the chair of ASMSA’s Humanities Department and a history instructor. Oatsvall was recently named the institute’s History Teacher of the Year for Arkansas.

Fadah said the current council has around 50 students. The council traditionally has been comprised of students from New York City, where the organization is headquartered, she said. But because of in-person meeting restrictions because of COVID-19, the organization opened the council membership to students around the country. Meetings are conducted virtually, allowing a more regionally diverse group of students to participate, she said.

“They offer so many courses and programs to help teach history,” Fadah said of the institute. “The feedback given by the council helps determine what is used and how effective it is. I wanted to be able to give feedback and make sure we are represented.”

Oatsvall said Fadah stood out to ASMSA’s admissions team as someone with a strong interest in history. She had taken some advanced history courses— such as African American History and AP World History — at Watson Chapel High School, her sending school. Oatsvall serves as Fadah’s capstone project advisor, giving him a personal perspective on her academic interests.

“My impressions of Ghaida so far as her advisor have been very positive,” he said. “She’s bright and hardworking, but more importantly, she’s inquisitive and asks great questions. If she wants to be one, she’ll make a great historian.”

Five Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were named National Merit Semifinalists for the 2020-21 academic year by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. announced the names of the Semifinalists for the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program on Wednesday. The students who are all members of the Class of 2021 will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth about $31 million that will be offered next spring.

The ASMSA seniors named Semifinalists are:

• Max Green of North Little Rock,
• Alex Guo of Jonesboro,
• Jacob Holmes of Rector,
• David Huang of Little Rock, and
• Catherine Kwon of Little Rock.

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“We congratulate these students for their exceptional accomplishment, and we wish them the very best as they work through the National Merit Scholarship Program's rigorous process,” said Stuart Flynn, dean of academic affairs at ASMSA. “This achievement offers them a learning opportunity that can become a springboard to an extraordinary senior year and the many possibilities beyond.”

To be considered for the National Merit Scholarship Program, students take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as a junior. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of anticipated graduating seniors.

Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist standing, including a detailed scholarship application that includes information about a Semifinalists academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Scholarships are underwritten by the corporation with its own funds and by approximately 400 business organizations and higher education institutions.

Alec Gatewood, a senior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been selected to study Mandarin Chinese in the Virtual NSLI-Y program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affair’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth. 

Virtual NSLI-Y is a 10-week, beginner-level foreign language and culture experience, in line with the ACTFL World Readiness Standards, that will also introduce participants to the people and culture of places where the target language is spoken. It is the second year of the virtual program. NSLI-Y is part of a U.S. government initiative that prepares American citizens to be leaders in a global world by developing necessary linguistic skills and cultural knowledge.  

Gatewood, a senior from Smackover, said he became interested in learning to speak Chinese while working on an Advanced Research in Entrepreneurship project during his junior year. His team developed a business plan for the Arkansas Governor’s Cup competition to create long-term-use face masks with replaceable filters. Owners would also be provided templates to allow them to personalize their masks. Their goal was to supply the masks to Asian countries, including China. 

The team conducted thorough research on the economies and markets of various Asian countries to develop their business plan. It was during that stage of the project that Gatewood decided he wanted to study Mandarin Chinese. 

“After performing hours of research, I realized that China is a culturally vibrant, economically advanced and rapidly growing nation,” Gatewood said. “My interest in learning Mandarin Chinese was grown immensely!” 

Gatewood said that Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, is one of his “dream” institutions to attend. The university is located in Beijing. To attend, students must have an HSK Level Four language proficiency. HSK levels are determined by an exam. It assesses non-native Chinese speakers’ abilities in using the Chinese language in their daily, academic and professional lives. 

“I hope the 10-week fall virtual NSLI-Y program gives me the ability to get a boost on my current level of Mandarin Chinese so that I will have the option to study at Tsinghua,” he said. 

Gatewood will attend virtual sessions twice a week for 10 weeks. In addition to learning the language, the program will also provide cultural lessons. NSLI-Y also traditionally conducts a summer immersion program, in which participants often live with a host family and attend daily classes over a two-month period. He is hopeful that he will qualify for that program as well should it be re-established. The global study program was not held this past summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For more information on the NSLI-Y Virtual program, visit https://www.nsliforyouth.org/languages-and-program-experience/virtual. 

When a student applies to attend the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, much of the early discussion centers on whether a student will be able to adjust to the rigorous curriculum offered by the school. 

Just as important, though, is how a student will adapt to living in a residential setting away from their families. Will they flourish and make new friends? Will they want to stay in their room, hidden from their classmates? How will they handle the natural stress associated with leaving home while growing to be more independent? 

ASMSA has in recent years expanded programs and services that address these questions. One action the school took was to add a licensed counselor to its staff to ensure students had a professional to reach out to for help or social-emotional guidance as needed. The counselor leads groups that provide students an opportunity to share their feelings and concerns in a constructive setting in addition to individual meetings as necessary. 

An assistant dean of residence life who lives on campus was added to the residential staff last year, providing a full-time position who serves as an experienced administrative presence during the evening hours when students are out of class and to help lead the residential staff, including Residential Mentors (RM). RMs live on the floors with students and lead various educational sessions, conduct room checks and serve as first contact for students. 

This fall completes a three-year process of investment in an updated staffing model and additional personnel that underscores the importance the Residential Life staff play in student support and success. This year, the staff was reorganized to add Residential Experience Coordinators. RECs are live-in staff who have shown a passion for the field of Student Affairs through their degree-program choices or their transferrable experiences, said Dr. Rheo Morris, dean of students at ASMSA. Each of the RECs have master’s degrees. 

“Prior to this position, the RM roles were often viewed as transitional roles held by a person who stayed one or two years,” she said. “It served as a waiting period as some examined what they wanted to do with their careers or a launching pad for them to pursue a career in Student Affairs.” 

The new REC roles demonstrate ASMSA’s commitment to the staff’s professionalism, Morris said.  

“Live-in staff have come a long way from being ‘dorm moms’ and ‘dorm dads’ and now serve in the capacity as paraprofessional counselors, advisers, programmers, and persons who understand the theory behind certain behaviors,” Morris said. 

Liz Carrel, one of the new RECs, has degrees in social work — a bachelor’s from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a master’s from Barry University in Miami, Fla. She is excited about the opportunity to serve as a mentor to ASMSA students, following the example of her previous mentors, including Dr. Sara Brown, the school’s director of institutional advancement. Brown once served as Carrel’s mentor and counselor when Carrel was a student at National Park College in Hot Springs. 

“I want to mentor and make a difference in our students’ lives just like Dr. Brown made a difference in my life,” Carrel said. “It’s about building community and rapport within our residential life. It’s about supporting the students through the school year and giving them the tools they will need to succeed in the real world.” 

How students gain those tools are vital as well. 

“It’s important that students are participants more than spectators because these skill-building activities will assist them in how to work in groups, lead a team and much more,” Carrel said. 

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Salary increases allowed ASMSA to be more competitive in recruiting talented professionals for the roles. The position and salary are equivalent to a residence hall director on a college campus, but RECs work with a much smaller group of students. 

The changes include a more enriching model for a growing Student Development Program that focuses on Social Emotional Learning. The first three weeks focus on topics such as self-management and hygiene, relationship and communication skills, conflict resolution and self-awareness, Morris said. It is the school's goal to bridge the gaps toward them becoming engaged citizens, she added. 

ASMSA has seven RECs on staff, including four who previously served as ASMSA Residential Mentors, three of whom earned an advanced degree during their tenure at ASMSA. The original plan was to have six, equivalent to the six wings in the Student Center. A seventh REC was added to ensure this year’s cohort of online students have full access to a shared community and set of programmatic experiences.  

Savannah Ramion is one of the former RMs who has become an REC. After earning her master’s degree in College Student Personnel Services from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, moving to the REC position seemed like a natural step in her career progression as a student affairs professional, Ramion said.  While the two positions are similar, serving as the professionals in the Social Emotional Learning program is the focus for an REC.  

“The SEL programming is going to have a positive impact on student development while at ASMSA, and I am eager to see how staff will be creative in implementing it,” Ramion said. “A residential experience is something that not many high school students can participate in, and we want to give our students a great time here. I love seeing how much the students grow while at ASMSA, both in academics and a residential setting. 

“Sometimes you can see their personal growth over the course of a month or so, but looking back at a student’s first day at ASMSA up to their last day, there is always a big change in them. Whether those changes are through their maturation or watching them use the tools that we’ve taught them for time management, healthy eating and mental health is satisfying.” 

Adrian Tharpe joined the ASMSA staff this year as an REC after serving in student life positions at Murray State University in Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication from Murray State University and an Educational Specialist degree in Administration and Education from Middle Tennessee State. He is excited about the opportunity to work with ASMSA’s students and to be available as a listener as much as a teacher. 

“I enjoy their ambition. They are so motivated about their education and their gifts. I love hearing about their day, about class, their friends and family. I love that they feel comfortable coming to me about stuff,” he said. 

“Most times anyone that you care for needs to be heard and they need to know that you will be there from the smallest question to the largest issue.” 

Maddisyn Karn is another previous RM who has advanced to become an REC. She was chosen to work with the remote-learning students. While they may not currently be on campus, it’s vital that they recognize they are and remain full members of ASMSA’s community of learning. 

Karn said the Social Emotional Learning aspect of the position aligns with the values she was taught were earning her social work degrees — a bachelor’s from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and a master’s from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She still conducts “floor meetings” with the students and contacts them each individually every week for check-ins, she said.  

“The biggest adjustment is finding ways to build rapport with the new students who are remote. The hybrid part of the position has also allowed me to use my degree more as I am helping [Staci Stich, the school’s licensed professional counselor] with mental health as well as planning SEL programs.” 

Karn said the REC position takes a more hands-on approach with the students. “It allows for more quality and thoughtful interaction with the students. I’m going to approach the job with optimism, an open mind and organization,” she said.  

There are also three Residential Mentors on staff who will continue to work within Residence Life. 

“Residential Mentors are still highly involved in the day-to-day running of the Student Center,” Morris said. “They create and implement programs, serve as mentors and teachers for students, and support the Social Emotional Learning program. They will communicate with parents more regularly to ensure we are all working in the best interest of the student.” 

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts and the Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce the 2020 Arkansas Fall Golf Classic will be held on Friday, October 2, 2020 at the Hot Springs Country Club.

We will be providing a first-class experience with social distancing guidelines in place and a maximum of 24 foursome teams. Scheduled tee times begin at 10 a.m. Boxed lunches will be provided.

Proceeds from the Arkansas Fall Golf Classic support the ASMSA Foundation and its efforts to provide expanded opportunities for ASMSA students and programs. To read more about the ASMSA Foundation, please visit our website at www.asmsa.org/giving.

Registration is $500 per foursome. Additional sponsorship opportunities are also available. To register for the tournament, visit https://asmsa.salsalabs.org/golf.

For more information you may contact:

• Sara Brown, Ph.D., ASMSA Director of Institutional Advancement, at 501.622.5474 or by email at brownsa@asmsa.org.
• Betsy Atkins, Hot Springs Chamber Vice President, at 501.321.1700 or by email at betsy.atkins@growinghotsprings.com.

Offline registration is available by contacting Brown at the above contact information.

Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak, a life science specialist at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, was recognized for her contribution to the Arkansas Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium earlier this year.

Krakowiak received a Teacher Award for her efforts to encourage the study of science, technology, mathematics and engineering from the regional organization. She was notified by Christine Addo, the project coordinator for the national Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in an email. Krakowiak was nominated for the award by Dr. Jessica Young, an associate professor of physics at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville who serves as director for the Arkansas Regional Symposium. She received a $500 prize for the recognition.

Receiving the award was a surprise, Krakowiak said. She was unaware she was being considered for the award before receiving Addo’s email. She was one of 47 regional winners in the nation, she said.

“I didn’t quite believe it. I didn’t even apply for it, but I was nominated by the regional director,” Kraowiak said.

She said ASMSA had about a dozen students who registered to participate in this year’s regional symposium, which was forced to move to a virtual competition in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That was a few more students than who normally participate in the regional competition, but she made the effort to push her students to participate in the symposium this year because of the number of outstanding projects.

The recognition also was a little more special. She would normally split the number of students with projects with Dr. Whitney Holden, who is also a life science specialist at ASMSA, but Holden was off campus for maternity leave in the spring. That meant Krakowiak covered for both.

“Instead of five students for science fair, I had 22 this year. I couldn’t put the personal touches on everything as I normally do. We usually print science fair boards in February, but we moved it up to January this year. I was able to spread the students out,” she said.

Those same projects were used by the students for the regional symposium. Krakowiak said she sees part of her teaching duties as encouraging students to work toward achieving higher goals than they may have reached for before.

“Every student and every project is precious and priceless, but they have to be at the highest level of inquiry. You push those students to reach for the highest level possible for them,” she said.

Krawkoiak said receiving the regional recognition was an encouragement for her to continue striving in and outside of the classroom.

“It’s important because sometimes I wonder did I do enough this year. Did I do enough to promote student learning? This is sort of saying you did. It’s confirmation that I’m doing in students’ lives is important and relevant. It’s affirmation that hard work makes a difference and that other people outside of our institution, students and community are recognizing it,” she said.

By Amy Widner
UAMS Communications Specialist

It doesn’t take long for many young girls to be exposed to messages about what girls “can” and “cannot” do.

Thankfully, Heather Pinckard-Dover never got the memo. She is the first female neurosurgeon to complete a residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas’ only academic health sciences center.

“From the time I was little, my parents were always telling me, ‘You know, a girl can do anything a boy can do,’ so I never really paid attention to gender roles or saw being a woman as a limit to anything I ever wanted to do,” Pinckard-Dover said. “I’ve always just gone through life with that message at heart. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized not every girl gets that talk.”

Pinckard-Dover decided to become a doctor at age 5. She spent most of her childhood in Pine Bluff, where school started to feel easy and she wanted more of a challenge. She applied for the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts (ASMSA) in Hot Springs and attended for her junior and senior year, graduating in 2004. It was at ASMSA, which offers accelerated courses for gifted students in a residential high school setting, that the lightbulb truly went off about what she might want to do with her life.

“I was a senior taking biomedical physics, and we were learning about electricity. My teacher pulled up a video of a man who had gotten a deep brain stimulator for Parkinson’s disease, and I just sat there and literally watched his tremors go away,” Pinckard-Dover said. “He switched on his device and was suddenly able to drink from a cup and hold a pen and write.

“I’d never seen anything in medicine make such a dramatic difference in someone’s life. I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”

She went to college at Baylor University in Texas, majored in neuroscience and found a local cardiologist who agreed to mentor her. When it was time to apply for medical school at UAMS, she got in. Not long afterward, Erika Petersen, M.D., started working in the Department of Neurosurgery. An expert in procedures like deep brain stimulation and a female neurosurgeon in a still male-dominated field, Petersen was happy to help.

Heather Pinckard-Dover, M.D., completed her residency in neurosurgery at UAMS in summer 2020, making her the first female to do so in the university’s history

Heather Pinckard-Dover, M.D., and UAMS Neurosurgery Professor Erika Petersen, M.D., prepare for a surgery together.

“During my second year of medical school, she really took me under her wing and showed me what functional neurosurgery was all about,” Pinckard-Dover said. “She showed me the ropes, both in terms of surgery and guiding me around some of the obstacles you can run into as a woman in neurosurgery.”

When it was time to apply for residency, Pinckard-Dover chose neurosurgery at UAMS. She got to work side-by-side with Petersen, who is now the first female neurosurgeon in Arkansas with the rank of professor, and other members of the neurosurgery team.

Even with great mentorship, the seven-year journey through a neurosurgery residency is no walk in the park. Pinckard-Dover still remembers the first few nerve-wracking weeks and months of being on her own to figure things out for the first time. She remembers the occasional patient or attending physician who didn’t realize she was the neurosurgeon or doubted her abilities. This was especially true in spine surgery, where there were long-standing beliefs that women weren’t strong enough to perform some of the procedures. Power tools leveled the playing field, and Pinckard-Dover has built up her strength to the point where she no longer needs them anyway. She also remembers sometimes being treated like she was being bossy or pushy and wondering if she really did anything differently that her male peers.

It has been a long road, but for the last two years she has been co-chief resident with Jerry Walters, M.D. Both finished their residencies in July. Pinckard-Dover said it definitely helped with her journey that the UAMS Department of Neurosurgery under Chair J.D. Day is more diverse than most in the specialty.

Pinckard-Dover said Day sets the right tone for the whole department.

“I don’t see applicants as men/women or by their race – none of that matters as long as the person is dedicated, passionate about neurosurgery and is willing to fight for their patients and their career goals,” Day said. “Heather, Jerry and some of our other residents didn’t always have the support they needed or the examples to look to along their paths to becoming neurosurgeons, but they did it anyway. I like having people on my team with that kind of grit. It tells me they have what it takes to get through residency and be a neurosurgeon.”

Pinckard-Dover is moving on next for a functional neurosurgery fellowship to study deep brain stimulation at the University of Florida, Gainesville, under Kelly Foote, M.D. She will study its use for psychiatric disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Tourette’s syndrome and is hoping to complete research on its use for obesity. She hopes to return to Arkansas.

Even though Pinckard-Dover is proud of her accomplishments, the mantle of “first female neurosurgery resident” from UAMS doesn’t always feel quite right. Robin Lynn Mitchell was killed in 2004 before she could finish her neurosurgery residency at UAMS.

“She was truly the first female to navigate the system, to tear down some of those walls,” Pinckard-Dover said. “I always want to give her true credit as the first, because her contributions to UAMS have not been forgotten.”

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts’ 2025 Strategic Plan affirms the school’s core mission and will serve as a guiding document as the institution prepares to enter its fourth decade of excellence.

The institution updated is mission as part of the strategic planning process. The mission now states that ASMSA is a public residential high school serving academically and artistically motivated students of all backgrounds from throughout the state. Its community of learning will be a statewide center of academic equity and opportunity that ignites the full potential of Arkansas’ students and educators.

Titled “Sparking Innovation, Igniting Growth,” the strategic plan will guide ASMSA as it creates greater educational access, promotes statewide equity and expands academic vigor that benefits all Arkansans through its residential, out-of-school enrichment, digital learning and educator development programs.

“As ASMSA enters its fourth decade of educational excellence, we are excited to renew our commitment to achieving fully the vision for the school, first set in the early 1990s and refined further at the outset of the new century as it became a campus of the University of Arkansas System,” said ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice. “We will continue our commitment to addressing local needs, maintaining national prominence and aspiring to a global vision for what education can be.

“At the core of ASMSA’s 2025 Strategic Plan is the belief that both our academic and residential experiences will continue to evolve, innovate and flourish under the care of our faculty, staff and students.”

ASMSA aims to expand both its statewide reach and enrollment to ensure that any student who would benefit from the school’s dynamic opportunities will have access to its world-class programs. Achieving that growth can only be accomplished through expanded partnerships, vocal advocates and committed stakeholders who continue to ensure the institution’s funding and facilities are equal in measure to its aspirations, Alderdice said.

The institution will further affirm its state and national leadership in science, mathematics, arts, humanities and entrepreneurship education using novel curricula, meaningful student development experiences, expanded partnership networks and stronger relationships with its most dedicated advocates.

The strategic plan lays out five goals that will guide ASMSA’s actions over the next five years. They include:

• Teaching and Learning: Cultivate a culture of dynamic teaching and learning that empowers young people to identify their passions for research, inquiry, and creative expression, develop the self-discipline necessary for success as well as grow in their identity as emerging practitioners and professionals.
• Student Development: Maximize the full potential of the on-campus experience by affirming the centrality of residential life in creating a living-learning community that connects students beyond the classroom, assists in developing them as a whole person and prepares these future leaders for successful and fulfilling lives through building sustainable skills and mindsets.
• Enrollment Growth: Expand enrollment to serve more students statewide through targeted growth models that reflect our commitment to stewardship of the public investment in ASMSA.
• Partnerships and Advocacy: Strengthen internal and external partnerships with local, state and national stakeholders that create committed and vocal advocates for the essential leadership role that ASMSA plays within Arkansas education as well as economic and community development.
• Facilities Expansion: Grow facilities and implement long-range strategies to meet the needs of expanded enrollment, academic experiences, student life, recreation and community engagement.

The strategic plan lists several strategies for each goal the school will employ that will define ASMSA’s work over the next decade. The strategies include a broad range of cooperation among ASMSA’s administration, faculty, staff, alumni, friends of the school, state government, the local community and others to achieve the goals.

Discussions for the new strategic plan began in earnest early in the spring 2020 semester. Dr. Sara Brown, ASMSA’s director of institutional advancement, led the development effort. Surveys and focus group meetings of internal and external stakeholders provided guidance early in the development process. Meetings with the campus leadership team, the ASMSA Governing Council, ASMSA Board of Visitors, ASMSA Foundation Fund Board of Ambassadors, the Association for Alumni and Friends of ASMSA Steering Committee, parents, students and additional volunteers were crucial to the plan’s creation. Execution and oversight of the strategic plan will continue through the institution’s standing committees of the ASMSA Governing Council along with involvement from other groups.

“The members of ASMSA’s community of learning understand the special investment the people of Arkansas make in the state’s future by supporting and sustaining our school,” Alderdice said. “We take exceptional pride and care in our role as stewards of ASMSA’s past, present and future. Together we will ensure that ASMSA continues to lead the state and nation in what is possible when students and educators are provided the opportunity to imagine, experiment and learn to their fullest potential.”

The plan will be brought to the ASMSA General Assembly of faculty and staff for endorsement as well as to the Board of Visitors, ASMSA Foundation Fund Board of Ambassadors and the alumni association in the coming weeks. It will be presented for approval by the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees at its September meeting.

The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan may be viewed on ASMSA’s website at www.asmsa.org/strategicplan.

For five years, the Arkansas Summer Research Institute has provided undergraduate students from colleges and universities across Arkansas the opportunity to prepare to conduct advanced, independent research leading to advanced STEM degrees.

The goals for year six are the same, but are being met in a different fashion. During the previous five years, participants would attend in person at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts. One group would spend a week on campus with a different cohort coming in for the second week.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, holding face-to-face sessions on campus wasn’t feasible. For year six, the program switched to a two-week virtual learning experience that allowed participants to meet through Zoom sessions with the instructors and guest presenters.

Dr. Whitney Holden and Dr. Patrycja Krkowiak, both life sciences specialists at ASMSA, direct the progam. Holden said previous sessions were revamped to include highly interactive components such as Zoom breakout rooms and polls, PearDeck questions during slide presentations, Labster simulations, MCAT and GRE prep through Magoosh and more.

In addition to expanding the program to a full two weeks, moving the Institute to a virtual form allowed more students to participate in the Institute. Almost 70 students logged onto some portion of the program during the Institute’s first week with about 50 attending the majority of sessions, Holden said.

“This is our largest Institute ever in terms of number of students served and number of presenters and panelists involved in sessions across two weeks,” Holden said. “Holding the Institute remotely means that we have had to substitute Labster simulations for hands-on kills training, but the remote delivery has also allowed us to work with students who would not have been able to come to an in-person event because of work, summer classes and other commitments.”

Regardless of the method of instruction, the main purpose of the Institute is the same, Krakowiak said. The ultimate goal of the program is to enable students to join laboratories as undergraduates so that they can experience all of the benefits such access entails, she said.

Those benefits include a “greater chance of getting into postgraduate programs, more competitive jobs and the plethora of other characteristics that students are able to develop from improved confidence to better critical thinking skills and work ethic,” Krakowiak said.

The Institute also allows participants to build connections with each other and the professors and professionals involved in the program, Krakowiak said. That is an important aspect of the Institute, said Jennifer Fowler, who serves as director of education, outreach and diversity at the Arkansas National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR), which funds ASRI.

“One of the main goals of the ASRI from the NSF EPSCoR perspective is to create a peer network of STEM students across the state or region and provide the support the students need to complete their undergrad degrees and pursue graduate school,” Fowler said.

“Studies have shown that intensive summer informal learning and networking can increase retention in STEM and provide encouragement for students to seek advanced STEM degrees.”

One way the Institute works toward those goals is to focus on underrepresented students who often have had less preparation in this area, Krakowiak said. Holden said that while all Arkansas undergraduate students are welcome to attend the Institute that an extra effort is placed into recruiting students from underrepresented groups.

“We have a large number of students who are from underserved backgrounds and/or first generation college students,” Holden said. “A program like this helps them make connections, identify opportunities and—perhaps most importantly—build confidence. We already have examples from this cohort of students where individuals have received interviews to join labs, identified specific fellowships to apply for and learned skills that they admit previously intimidated them, like using R studio, designing objects for 3D printing with OnShape and more.”

Sadagicous Owens is a senior at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. This is the second time she has participated in the Institute. One of her personal goals for participating again was to overcome her fear of public speaking. While that may be accomplished in group discussions, each participant also gives a research presentation on a previous project on the final day. She also participated in hopes to be able to make a future decision about postgraduate work.

“I decided to participate in the ASRI because I was torn between medical school and graduate studies,” Owens said. “I knew that once I joined, by the time the program ended my heart would have led me to the directed career path I was set to have.”

The opportunity to participate in an extended program compared to her first time two years ago was also appealing, she said.

“I also wanted to get a broader experience of the program with more time to adapt to the useful information, resources, skills and techniques I need to apply to the real world for my future career. Last time I participated in the ASRI, it was in-person and only four intense days. This summer, the two-week experience is like an extension of the four days but more self-paced. To be honest, either setup is OK for me because the ASRI is still an intense challenge that keeps students on their ‘A-game,’” Owens said.

A standard feature of the ASRI, whether it be in-person or virtually, are panel discussions that include professionals and graduate students that offer participants insight to various aspects of postgraduate life. Those discussions have ranged from entrepreneurship in scientific research, gaining admittance into postgraduate programs, panel discussions with graduate and medical students, research reviews highlighting specific research by professors around the state and several other topics.

That is the one of the top reasons to participate in the Institute for Kevin Ramirez Chavez, a senior at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

“My favorite part of the ASRI was being able to discuss relevant topics with professionals,” he said. “Being able to interact with young people like me, providing different insight, participating actively in the presentations and contributing to each other’s learning experience was incredible. This was an inspirational experience that left me a sense of desire for more.”

Ramirez Chavez said the professionals and guest speakers were friendly. They provided their contact information and were enthusiastic to hear back from the participants, he said.

“I was surprised about this matter since I always thought that researchers were busy enough that they might not even respond, but this program has shown me otherwise. There are many people out there who are willing to help you to succeed,” he said.

Fowler of the Arkansas NSF EPSCoR praised the work that Holden and Krakowiak have performed in the program as well as the organization’s partnership with ASMSA.

“ASMSA has been a wonderful partner for the ASRI, and I don’t think we would be able to do the program with the same success at any other venue,” Fowler said. “As an ASMSA alumna, I am proud to show students from around the state what ASMSA can offer.

“Dr. Krakowiak and Dr. Holden have been incredible co-directors of the program and work tirelessly each year to make sure the students have the best possible experience.”

Fowler said the program recently was awarded funding for an additional five years.

Ramirez Chavez recommended the other undergraduates take advantage of the program in the future.

“For me it has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not always do you have the opportunity to interact with people as professionals like the people from this program. Observing how your other classmates get involved and approach the different activities was a fresh breath of air for me. I was impressed by the people that I met in this program, and my journey as a researcher has just begun,” he said.

Students interested in applying to next year’s Arkansas Summer Research Institute can contact Dr. Whitney Holden at holdenw@asmsa.org or Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak at krakowiakp@asmsa.org.