Arkansas Achievers

■ Three students from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences won awards at the 21st Research Symposium of the Association of 1890 Research Directors, Inc. In the poster competition, Sujan Bhattari, graduate student of aquaculture and fisheries, was awarded first place in the animal health and production and animal products category for his project titled “Identification and Characterization of Vasa and Nanos-2 Genes in the Ovary of White Crappie and Black Crappie.” In the undergraduate competition for the same category, Jacqueline Twumaah, student of aquaculture and fisheries, was awarded first place for her paper “Peptidoglycan Hydrolases to Treat Streptococcus iniae Infections.” In the undergraduate oral presentation competition of the plant health and production of plant products category, Morgan White, undergraduate student of regulatory sciences, won the third place award.

■ Robin Hickerson, executive director of Institutional Advancement and Special Projects at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana, received the Leadership Texarkana Leader of the Year Award at the 15th Annual Lunch with Leaders. The Leader of the Year Award is the highest award given by Leadership Texarkana annually to honor outstanding alumni of the Leadership Texarkana program. Hickerson has spent more than three decades as a teacher, principal and assistant superintendent working in both the Texarkana (Arkansas) School District and the neighboring Texarkana (Texas) Independent School District.

■ Dylan Gray, a senior at Haas Hall Academy Fayetteville, is the winner of the 2024 Congressional Art Competition for the Third Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., has announced. Gray’s artwork, entitled “Jessica,” will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. The top five finalists, besides Gray, were: Hannah Evans, Arkansas Arts Academy, “Girl with Red Hair,” second place; Vivien Scholl, Haas Hall Academy Fayetteville, “Skyfall,” third place; Annika Timboe, Siloam Springs High School, “Annika Timboe,” fourth place; and Ayree Maner, Greenwood High School, “A Father’s Love,” fifth place.

■ The Patriot Award, which honors a piece of art that celebrates and artfully represents American ideals, has been awarded to Leah Drummonds, a junior at Rogers High School, for her “Long Blue Line” artwork, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., has announced. This year’s winner of the People’s Choice Award, which was decided by the public via online vote, went to Anna Hagan, a senior at Har-Ber High School, for “Solstice.”

■ Mehmet Ulupinar has been awarded the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for his service to residents of Little Rock through his work as president of the board for the Arkansas Culture and Dialog Center, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote the understanding of diverse cultures through services it offers to the community. Each year, one person or organization from each of the FBI’s 56 field offices is chosen to receive this award.

■ Kim Needy — dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville — was among seven alumni honored as part of the 2024 Class of Distinguished Alumni for the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. Needy was named dean of the UA College of Engineering in November 2020 and holds the Irma F. and Raymond F. Giffels Endowed Chair in Engineering.

■ Tristan Branstetter-Thomas was selected to participate in the Ms. J.D. Leadership Academy Intensive at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago last month. She is in her second year at the School of Law at the University of Arkansas. About 30 students across the country are chosen to participate each year. Participants are selected based on a demonstrated commitment to leadership at their respective law schools. The Ms. J.D. Leadership Academy Intensive is designed to provide law students with the opportunity to expand their networking with successful attorneys, leaders and professional development experts. Branstetter-Thomas received Bachelor of Arts degrees in criminal justice and in legal studies from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2019.

■ The Southern Arkansas University Hallman Scholarship has been awarded to two first-year students for 2024: Maggie McHenry of Magnolia and Emilee Lyons of Bradley. Funded by SAU Foundation’s Cinda Hallman Scholarship Endowment, the Hallman Scholarship provides scholarships for incoming freshman women in the College of Science and Engineering.

■ Chance Allen has been awarded the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana Chancellor’s Scholarship, which is an award of $3,400 per academic year. Allen is from Arkansas High School in Texarkana and plans to pursue a degree in general education.

■ Clayton Gorman of White Hall High School has been awarded the Honors Scholarship to attend the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. This award is for $2,400 per academic year. Gorman plans to pursue a degree in Funeral Services.

■ Torrie Herrington, a junior at the University of Central Arkansas, is the recipient of the Arkansas Press Women 2024 scholarship. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship and a membership to the 75-year-old statewide professional communication organization. She is from Cabot. Herrington is pursuing a double major in journalism and public relations and has a 4.0 GPA at UCA. The scholarship is awarded annually to an outstanding undergraduate college student in Arkansas who is planning a career in mass communication or journalism.

■ Keziah Stinyard, a senior at Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, has received the $2,000 2024-25 Vocal/ Choral Scholarship from the Arkansas Chamber Singers this year. The Vocal/Choral Music Scholarship began in 2011 and was established with a mission to encourage and promote the art of choral music with the expectation that students will master the skills and acquire the knowledge that will lead to the highest quality of choral music performance in the state of Arkansas.

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 and dshameer@adgnewsroom.com with the words “Arkansas Achievers” in the subject line.