With a father as a doctor and an older sister in medical school, being a doctor would seem the obvious choice for Arooba Ilyas, a recent graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor's degree in biology. "Ever since I was little, just seeing how happy my dad, a pediatric nephrologist (kidney doctor for kids), is and how many people he gets to help is inspiring," she said. "Ever since I was little, I thought I would be a doctor. When I get into high school, something about marine biology piqued my interest."

UA Little Rock's College of Social Sciences and Communication honored its students at its annual awards ceremony. More than 230 guests attended the May 7 event at the Governor's Mansion that celebrated the many achievements of CSSC's students, faculty, and staff.

In 2016, Kaiden O'Suilleabhain's life was on track. He had just graduated from the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College and was about to start school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as an engineering major. His life soon took an unexpected turn he wasn't sure he would ever overcome. "I had sudden cardiac arrest and suffered a brain injury. I was actually in a coma the first day that classes started," O'Suilleabhain said. The year and a half that followed his injury would prove to be an intense journey through an extended hospitalization, rehabilitation, recovery, and setbacks, but O'Suilleabhain fought hard to get his life back and started at UA Little Rock in fall 2017. All his hard work paid off, and he recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in professional and technical writing at the Jack Stephens Center

At age 15, Vickie Austin left high school in Wynne, Arkansas, after becoming pregnant with her first child, though she always intended to finish her education. Fast forward 41 years, and Austin, 61, recently graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a minor in psychology and a strong desire to help others. In the fall, she will begin a master's degree program in rehabilitation counseling at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, but Austin doesn't intend to wait until she finishes her master's degree to start helping others.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate got the surprise of a lifetime when her family from California flew all night to surprise her on graduation day. Vivian Littrell's May 11 graduation from UA Little Rock with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice was already a special event, since the 71-year-old grandmother of four and mother of two from Little Rock was finishing her lifelong goal of earning a college degree. "I decided that I wanted to complete my bachelor's degree before my youngest grandchildren were out of high school," she said. "I've been out of college since 1984, when I last attended Philander Smith College. I wanted to major in adult education with a minor in psychology. That was my objective back then, but now many years later, I have a different agenda."

Helgestad graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on May 11 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and is well on her way to becoming a dentist. She already works as a registered dental assistant with Dr. Kathleen Good Ederle in Little Rock and is applying to dental schools this month. "I like dentistry because I enjoy doing art and being creative, but I also enjoy business. Combining these areas together is what general dentistry is like," she said. "Working as a dental assistant, I see how happy people get even with just a little cosmetic work to their teeth."

Julie Evans Sanders has always known that she wanted to run her family's 66-year-old construction company one day. Earning a Master of Science in construction management at UA Little Rock has helped her develop the skills she will need to do just that. Sanders has been working at H.W. Tucker Company Inc. for years, learning all aspects of the company's work - from project management to preparing bids to handling billing and accounts payable.

A group of chemistry students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock found out that book smarts alone were not enough to overcome an escape room final project. Inspired to build teamwork amongst his students and to make class more exciting, Dr. Anindya Ghosh devised a unique escape room group project to challenge the students in his Intro to Inorganic Chemistry class.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock senior who graduated with three bachelor's degrees has been accepted to medical school and is on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor. Erica Olson, of Gassville, Arkansas, graduated from UA Little Rock on May 11 with bachelor's degrees in biology, chemistry, and Spanish. The budding doctor, who received a $7,500 Class of 1954 Scholarship from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, will begin taking classes at UAMS in the fall with plans to become a family physician. "It has been my dream for almost a decade that I would like to become a family physician," Olson said. "Everyone is excited about specializing in surgical processes, but for me, I like the appeal of growing with the patients. I like the consistency of establishing bonds and being able to work with people throughout their life and their children's lives. I'm open to looking at other specialties in medical school, but I think that is where my heart lies."

Rajat Emanuel Singh, a doctoral systems engineering student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, earned a scholarship to present his research on muscle synergy adaptation at the IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference. Singh traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 17-19, to present his paper, "Muscle Synergy Adaptation During A Complex Postural Stabilization Task." Rajat was one of a select group of students internationally who won a $750 competitive scholarship from the conference organizers to present his research.

A group of student from Edma Delgado-Solozano's Spanish Introduction to Literature and Cultural Studies Class gave a presentation describing their development of materials for an open educational resource textbook, the Antologia abierta de literatura hispana. Students who participated in this project include Heather Rodriguez, Daisy Vasquez, Nallely Lopez, and Bryana Herrara.

Phi Kappa Phi members nationwide have been selected to serve as officers for their local chapters.

A team of systems engineering students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has gone where no UA Little Rock students have gone before by participating in the Human Powered Vehicle Challenge. For their senior design and capstone project, Team Captain Hugh Benfer, Nathanael Menhinick, Cameron Palmer, Jason Reed, and Shelby Wingate designed and built the university's first human powered vehicle. Dr. Jin Lee, professor of systems engineering, and Dr. Samer Yahya, visiting scholar of systems engineering, served as the team's faculty advisors.

Six students at the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law are among the 41 new students entering the Master of Public Service degree program this fall at the Clinton School of Public Service.

Cheryl Humphrey, a graduate student studying music education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, won $10,000 on the fourth season premiere of the ABC game show "Match Game."

UA Little Rock students Elizabeth Haralson, a graduate student studying environmental geology from Wynne, and Callie Pace, a senior geology major from Mountain Home, led a Geology Camp for nine Arkansas students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Student researchers from the Emerging Analytics Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock helped create a virtual reality experience made in honor of Martyl Langsdorf, the Chicago artist who designed the Doomsday Clock, that is on display at the Weinberg/Newton Gallery in Chicago May 11-19.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announces its research and creative works showcase participants.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Applied Communication honored its top students during the department's annual awards ceremony on April 19.

Staff members of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's newspaper The Forum took home nine awards from the Arkansas College Media Association's annual conference April 6 at Henderson State University.

Nora Bouzihay, a doctoral student of education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, was the first female in her family to graduate from high school, attend college, obtain a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and pursue a doctorate degree.

Three University of Arkansas at Little Rock students presented research at the 28th annual Arkansas College Art History Symposium March 8-9 at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law recently hosted the inaugural Bowen Awards, honoring students who were awarded a Dean's Certificate of Public Service or achieved Top Papers in their classes for the Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters of 2017.

Three University of Arkansas at Little Rock students attended the Clinton Global Initiative University Oct. 13-15 at Northeastern University in Boston to discuss their design of a water pump to provide clean drinking water to a rural village in Haiti.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has presented his research on how social cyber forensics can be used to track how online deviant groups use social media to spread propaganda and misinformation at several major international conferences this summer.

Twelve students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering faced a unique problem for their senior design project: to design a tornado shelter that could protect up to 900 people on campus against wind speeds of up to 250 miles per hour.

Phi Kappa Phi members nationwide have been selected to serve as officers for their local chapters.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has been named the 2017 undergraduate student of the year by the Arkansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has been named the 2017 graduate student of the year by the Arkansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announces its December 2015 graduates