Arkansas achievers

■ J.P. Gairhan, a 2019 honors graduate from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville’s Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected as a Schwarzman Finalist. The award provides a year of graduate study at Tsinghua University in Beijing. If selected, Gairhan will pursue a master’s degree in Global Affairs, focused on three main areas: China, global affairs, and leadership. Gairhan is from Cabot. The Schwarzman program was founded by Blackstone chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman. The Schwarzman Scholarship, modeled on the Rhodes Scholarship, is intended to recognize academic and service accomplishments, as well as educate and prepare exceptional future leaders to confront the difficult challenges that the global community will face, and at the same time develop an understanding of China. As a student at the U of A, Gairhan was the president of the Associated Student Government, the chairman of the Distinguished Lecture Committee and director of campus safety. He received several awards, including the University of Arkansas Henry Woods Student Leadership Award and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences Margaret Kirby Hantz Service Award.

■ Surabhi Wason, a doctoral student at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has been selected by the Food Marketing Institute Foundation to receive a $3,000 scholarship. She is from New Delhi, India. Wason is working on a Ph.D. in food science. Her research is part of a three-year U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded project aimed at enhancing the microbial safety of low moisture using novel thermal (radiofrequency) and non-thermal (antimicrobial gaseous technologies). The goal is to provide solutions for improving food safety without compromising the nutritional and sensorial qualities of food. Wason plans to pursue industry-based projects and focus on the comprehensive inclusion of food safety and quality elements in production as well as quality assurance operations through implementation of international standards of food safety management systems in food industries.

■ Tia Duvall, a first-generation college student who is a senior in the College of Education and Behavioral Science at Arkansas State University, has been named the first recipient of the Maurice La‘Blance Mahon Steward Elementary Education Scholarship. Duvall, a Little Rock native who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., NAACP, and Pretty Proverbs, is an elementary education major whose career goal is inspiring young students. The Maurice La‘Blance Mahon Steward Elementary Education Scholarship was established in 2020 with an endowment gift by Robbia and Shelvy Keglar of Indianapolis. The couple was among the inaugural group of longtime university donors who were inducted into the university’s Legacy Society in 1999. The scholarship, inspired by Robbia Keglar’s mother and her family’s tradition in education, benefits minority students at ASU. Preference is given to graduates of Forrest City High School, with top students from other areas also considered. Steward taught in the Forrest City School District for 40 years.

■ Two incoming students from Arkansas have been named recipients of the Presidential Scholarship, the highest and most competitive scholarship given by John Brown University, which is based in Siloam Springs. They are Daniel Barajas from Rogers Heritage High School and Melody Mathis from Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville. The $116,000 scholarship, awarded over four years, is reserved for incoming students who demonstrate great academic, social and spiritual enthusiasm. Barajas, who is from Rogers, plans to study psychology. Mathis, of Fayetteville, plans to study Management.

■ The Little Rock Port Authority Board of Directors elected Bobby Brown as chairman of the Board of Directors. His term will run from July 2022 through June 2023. Brown, first appointed to the Little Rock Port Authority in 2016, has served as treasurer and vice chairman during his service on the board. He is a Little Rock native and works as president and chief executive officer of Interstate Sign-Ways, which engineers and fabricates highway signage used in 40 states. The Little Rock Port Authority Board of Directors elected Clay McGeorge as vice chairman and Stan Hastings as treasurer.

Arkansas Achievers is an opportunity to give recognition to Arkansans for their achievements. Civilian and military achievements are accepted.

Please follow these guidelines:

1) Must be an Arkansan or have graduated from a school in Arkansas.

2) Received an award, scholarship, medal or promotion. Pageants, deans’ lists, graduations or military enlistments are not accepted.

No photographs please.

To submit an Achiever, email us at news@arkansasonline.com with the words “Arkansas Achievers” in the subject line.