School news

JBU

Theater students at John Brown University in Siloam Springs were invited to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 6 in February. The festival in Abilene, Texas, offered workshops, lectures and a chance to review productions from other colleges.

“We had a few select students who received some massive awards, rivaling large schools like Texas Tech and A&M,” says JBU theater spokeswoman Mary Patterson.

Natasha Sakulyanonvitaya was named the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Regional Alternate. This award came with a $500 scholarship that she will use to pay for her spring break mission trip.

Tanner Zank won Outstanding Direction of a Ten-Minute Play Reading.

Ella Fletcher was a finalist for Costume Design for her work on “The Play That Goes Wrong.”

SNHU

Southern New Hampshire University congratulates the following students on being named to the fall 2023 Dean’s List. The fall terms run from September to December.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 to 3.699 for the reporting term are named to the Dean’s List. Included were:

Anthony Scotti of Harrison; Benjamin Schmidt of Fayetteville; Michael Wilson of Fayetteville; Aaron Doss of Fayetteville; Melany Cousins of Bentonville; Kimberly Anthony of Bentonville; Travis Koenig of Bentonville; Christin Swalve of Bella Vista; Julia Minnich of Centerton; Keith Dachauer of Farmington; Bradley McDonald of Gentry; Jimmy Lopez of Lowell; Bryan Smyth of Rogers; Antoinette Bohanon of Fort Smith; Quatasha Medlock of Fort Smith; Tyler McDonald of Charleston.

Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution with a 91-year history of educating traditional-aged students and working adults. Now serving more than 225,000 learners worldwide, SNHU offers approximately 200 accredited undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, available online and on its 300-acre campus in Manchester, N.H.

CSA

The Community School of the Arts in Fort Smith was proud to send several students to the Arkansas State Thespian Festival.

The event offered more than 100 workshops with several guest artists from around the country. Workshops included acting, dancing, stage combat, puppetry, set design, and directing. Several theater professionals from around the country offered workshops on auditioning and getting into the theater and film business.

CSA Director of Theatre Cody Walls was awarded the Gail Burns Theatre Educator of the Year Award for the 2024 Festival. He was nominated by the students and chosen for this honor by a panel of judges.

One of the main events at Arkansas Thespian Festival is the Thespy competition. Thespy Awards, named after Broadway’s Tony Awards, gives students the opportunity to compete in a variety of singing, acting, and technical events. Aiden Hammonds, Psalm Yandell, Elizabeth Marine, Mylea Holmes, and Brooke Frost all received a superior rating for their performance in the Solo Musical Category. Drake Norris received a superior rating for his performance in the Solo Acting Category. Hannah Minor received an excellent rating for her performance in the Solo Musical Category. Emmy Justice and Ellie Grinnell each received an excellent rating for their performance in the Solo Acting Category. Maylie Martin received an excellent rating for her performance in the Solo Musical Theatre Dance Category. Sarah Goodman received an excellent rating in the Short Film Category.

In addition, CSA Students were awarded more than $57,000 to various universities around the country.

Students attending the festival were:

Fort Smith: Emmy Justice, Betsy Barr, Elizabeth Marine, Ellie Grinnell, Sarah Goodman, Maddy Cole, Mylea Holmes, Maylie Martin; Alma: Drake Norris; Greenwood: Aiden Hammonds, Hannah Minor, Jaycee McBride;

Muldrow, Okla.: Brooke Frost; and

Poteau, Okla.: Psalm Yandell.

MSU

LOGOS: A Journal of Undergraduate Research published its 16th volume in December 2023. A number of Missouri State University students from various degree programs are published in this professional journal that is accessible internationally.

Molly Del Rossi of Bella Vista served as the journal’s managing editor.

Located in Springfield, Missouri State University is a public, comprehensive university system with a mission in public affairs.

IOWA

More than 7,900 undergraduate students at the University of Iowa were named to the Dean’s List for the 2023 fall semester.

Among them were Melissa Alvarez of Lowell and

Camryn Hanson of Bentonville.

Located in Iowa City, the University of Iowa offers more 200 areas of study to choose from.

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