LH alum awarded fellowship at UA
Emily Gentles will move in Friday at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville as one of 75 new students to receive a four- year, $ 70,000 Honors College Fellowship.
The fellowship provides $ 17,500 per year for tuition, books, registration and room and board. The award is meant to provide students with the opportunity to cultivate original research, study abroad and pursue other academic interests.
Gentles plans to major in Mathematics with an emphasis in Statistics. She had considered other schools like Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N. Y., and Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., before deciding to attend Arkansas. The scholarship was a major factor in her final decision.
“I had a fantastic statistics teacher, Mr. ( Brian) Leonard, at Lake Hamilton who actually just received a Presidential Award,” Gentles said. “He made me very excited about it, but it is very interesting to me to be able to turn events into data and to then analyze that data. It’s really exciting.”
The rigorous application process began last November. Students must score at least 32 on the ACT and have a 3.8 grade- point average to apply.
“Competition for the fellowships has grown every year,” said Noah Pittman, assistant dean of the Honors College. “We conducted more than 150 on- campus interviews this spring looking for students with leadership potential, intellectual curiosity and community involvement. We found that and more in this group of fellows.”
The Honors College Fellowships are made possible by a portion of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s $ 300 million gift to the university in 2002. They are intended to help keep Arkansas’ best young minds in- state. Almost a quarter of the 2015 class will be first- generation college students.
Gentles was valedictorian of the class of 2015 at Lake Hamilton High School with a 4.31 GPA. She is the daughter of David and Darlene Gentles.
“My parents have always pushed me to be my best and to always put all of my effort into what I want to go for,” Gentles said.
Gentles was named All- Region first band first chair for five years in a row as the top- ranked flute player in the region and earned All- State honors each of her last three years of school. She also took part in the Hot Springs Sister City Program, track, Optimist Club activities, math competitions, science competitions, Advanced Placement courses, Arkansas Girls State and represented Arkansas as one of two delegates from the state chosen for the 2015 National Youth Science Camp this summer.
Lauren Gentles, Emily’s older sister, graduated from Lake Hamilton in 2010 and earned a bachelor’s degree in Fayetteville. Emily Gentles said it allowed her to learn her way around the area. She said going to Arkansas will allow her to stay relatively close to home and know more of her fellow students.
Gentles had been awarded the Chancellor’s Scholarship for $ 8,000 per year before she learned of the fellowship. She has intended to pursue a career in a math field ever since she took pre- algebra in the seventh grade.
“I’m just excited to be able to work on my major and to take more of what I really want to take,” Gentles said.
Gentles will miss the close interaction and relationships she had with her teachers at Lake Hamilton.
“I think it is going to be a little bit harder at a big university to get to know my professors,” Gentles said. “I am going to miss being able to talk to them all of the time and have a close- knit community.”
Each state selects the two delegates for the National Youth Science Foundation’s summer camp. Gentles participated in science projects and outdoor activities at Camp Pocahontas in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia.
“We learned about everything from stem cell research and virtual reality,” Gentles said. “We also participated in a lot of out-of-camp experiences, not necessarily academically educational. We went on hikes, kayaking, rock climbing and caving.”
Gentles will move in Friday because she will be a member of the band. She will play the piccolo.