University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announced the winners of the 2021 Annual Student Competitive Friday, April 9. This year's competition featured 41 works of art by UA Little Rock students involving drawing, paintings, prints, graphic design, photography, illustrations, textiles, metals, sculptures, ceramics, and furniture. Melissa Wilkinson, associate professor of art and painting at Arkansas State University, served as the juror/curator for the 2021 Student Competitive exhibition.

UA Little Rock's chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) won first place in the BAP Southwest Regional Best Practices competition and will present at BAP's annual meeting for a chance to receive an additional monetary reward. Aleigha Smith, the president of the chapter, and Stephen Malec, vice president, represented the chapter by creating and submitting the winning presentation.

When Morgan Smocovich arrived at UA Little Rock in 2017, she was an active student who liked to volunteer through the Chancellor's Leadership Corps and as a successful member of the soccer team, but she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life. "I really enjoy helping people, and I'm a very much a people person," she said. "It all goes together. Honestly, I remember one day sitting in my English class talking with my friends and deciding that I wanted to be a nurse." Smocovich, a senior nursing major from Frisco, Texas, is graduating this month with a bachelor's degree in nursing and a minor in business administration. She will be moving to Mississippi to work in a medical surgical unit at a hospital.

Caleb LeFevre, a junior studio art major from Little Rock, has been awarded the first scholarship from the Linda Blaine Flake Endowed Art Scholarship.

Heather Reed, director of student retention initiatives at UA Little Rock, is one of four Phi Kappa Phi volunteers across the nation who was highlighted in celebration of National Volunteer Week.

UA Little Rock students Phillip Anderson, Ricardo Banks, Colby Swecker and Jalen Black all received Third Team All-Sun Belt honors as the league announced its postseason awards Feb. 26. This accolade followed their performance as a 4x400m relay squad that won them a bronze metal.

UA Little Rock redshirt freshman Jonathan Jones received Second Team All-Sun Belt honors as the league announced its postseason awards Feb. 26.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Staff Senate has recognized two staff members who are pursuing degrees while working full-time at UA Little Rock by presenting them with the Jerry Crittenden Employee Book Scholarship. The winners include Constance Williams, positive parenting program practitioner at MidSouth, and Alyssa Hall, an admissions specialist in the Office of Admissions.

UA Little Rock senior pitcher Hayden Arnold has been named the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week, announced April 21 by the league office. It is the first weekly honor of Arnold's Trojan career.

Krista Hinton, a UA Little Rock graduate student in gifted, creative, and talented education, has achieved her lifelong dream of becoming an author with the recent publication of a children's book inspired by her grandfather.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Staff Senate recognized two staff members who are pursuing degrees while working full-time at UA Little Rock by presenting them with $250 Staff Senate Scholarships. The winners include Claire Mitchell, an alumni affairs specialist in the Office of Alumni and Development, and Thomas Redd, IT systems administrator at the William H. Bowen School of Law.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student, Kate Richars, wrote a successful $3,000 grant for her mother's school district in Illinois that will help raise mental health awareness for the community.

Three graduate students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have been recognized for their excellence in gifted and talented education in Arkansas with scholarships from Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE). "One of my favorite aspects about AGATE is the organization's ability to give back to the students and teachers in the form of awards and scholarships each year," said Dustin Seaton, president of AGATE. "I am a recipient of the AGATE scholarship previously, and it helped my family tremendously in paying for my G/T certification and endorsement." Countess Cyrus, a kindergarten teacher with Little Rock School District, Krista Hinton, K-12 gifted and talented coordinator for Lavaca School District, and Sarah Willis, gifted and talented K-4 facilitator at Lakeside School District in Hot Springs, received $1,000 scholarships from AGATE.

Annya Grom has earned Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Week honors for the second time this season, announced by the conference office March 31. The sophomore shattered two more records, upping her total to four this season. All four new records were set within three weeks.

Emma Chambers, a junior Bachelor of Fine Arts major with a concentration in painting, has won the first student mural competition at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

UA Little Rock freshman Spencer Cardinal, from The Woodlands, Texas, has been named the Sun Belt's Men's Track Athlete of the Week, announced March 25.

UA Little Rock junior Ka'Neisha Jackson, from Elk City, Oklahoma, has been named the Sun Belt's Women's Track Athlete of the Week, announced March 25.

The Top Paper award recognizes the highest class grade for the semester at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law.

The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law has announced its editorial board for the 2021-22 UA Little Rock Law Review.

UA Little Rock sprinter Cameron Jackson, from Kilgore, Texas, made history Feb. 26. He was named the Sun Belt Conference's Freshman of the Year for the 2021 indoor season as the league announced its postseason awards. This marks the first time a Little Rock athlete has ever claimed the Sun Belt's Freshman of the Year honor.

The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law has announced the members of the 2021-22 Arkansas Journal of Social Change and Public Service.

UA Little Rock senior Teal Battle, from Millington, Tennessee, received all-conference honors for the second consecutive season, announced March 11, as she was named to the All-Sun Belt second team.

UA Little Rock junior point guard Mayra Caicedo, from Buga, Colombia, received all-conference honors March 11, being named to the All-Sun Belt third team after her first year in the league.

Rebekah White, a Ph.D. student in applied biosciences at UA Little Rock, has been awarded a $1,500 Graduate Research Grant from Phi Kappa Phi for her biology research. She will use funds from the award to support biological research into the photosynthetic mechanism and stress responses of cyanobacteria.

UA Little Rock senior forward Ruot Monyyong, from Nashville, Tennessee, has added another accolade to his impressive resume, being named a first team All-District 23 selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). This marks Monyyong's second time as a first team All-District honoree. He was also named a first team selection in 2019-20 after guiding the Trojans to the regular season league title. He is now the first player in program history to earn back-to-back first team All-District honors, upping the program's honors to 22 among 20 different Trojans.

UA Little Rock junior Anton Albers, a native of Buchholz, Germany, won the 2021 Individual Spring Kickoff in the one-day golf tournament at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas, on Feb. 8.

For the second time in as many tournaments, UA Little Rock junior Anton Albers of Buchholz, Germany has emerged as the individual champion after the 2021 Trinity Forest Invitational March 7-9. Albers shot a 7-under 64 over the final round, including a 25-foot putt on 18 to win the tournament, posting a 7-under 206 to earn medalist honors.

UA Little Rock senior wrestler Paul Bianchi, from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, has been named one of the six remaining 133-pound wrestlers to punch their ticket to the 2021 Championships. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee announced Bianchi as a qualifier March 9 for the Division I Wrestling Championships, making him the first in Trojan program history.

UA Little Rock senior forward Ruot Monyyong from Nashville, Tennessee has been named a third team All-Sun Belt Conference selection for the 2020-21 season, announced March 11.

UA Little Rock senior pitcher Aaron Funk has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, voted on by the league's head coaches. He was also named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team, coming off a strong shortened 2020 season.