Tangents Summer 2015

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS SCHOOL FOR MATHEMATICS, SCIENCES AND THE ARTS

SUMMER 2015

STEMINISTS

ASMSA’s female researchers shine on path to ISEF

Director Corey Alderdice Dean of Academic Affairs Bob Gregory Dean of Students William Currier

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to join leaders from more than 100 of the nation’s selective admissions public high schools at a summit focusing on the disparity in academic performance between lower-income and higherincome students at advanced levels.

“Closing the Excellence Gap: Advocating for High-Achieving, Low-Income Students” was a two-day symposium hosted by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in Washington, D.C. The Cooke Foundation is a nonprofit organization that offers the largest scholarships in the country to high-performing students who have financial need.

ASMSA has always maintained a commitment to ensuring the school is a place where both talented and motivated young people can make tremendous progress in their learning regardless of their family’s financial situation. Among students enrolled at ASMSA last year, one in three qualified for federal free and reduced lunch programs. ASMSA enrolls more low-income students than any of the other residential STEM schools and more than doubles the national average of our peer institutions.

In May, ASMSA made its first appearance on The Washington Post’s list of “Public Elite” high schools. The list, curated by columnist Jay Mathews, recognizes schools for their exceptional quality and remarkably talented students. They appear separate from the standard rankings because their admission rules and standardized test scores indicate they have few or no average students.

It’s true that one would be hard-pressed to consider any of our students “average.” Making the extraordinary decision to leave home and take on a set of academic and emotional challenges alone before even considering ACT scores is enough to classify these students as beyond the norm.

Joining the 26 schools on the list meant ASMSA’s average ACT for graduating seniors was above a threshold of 29.3. What stands out to me is that ASMSA has seen continued growth and success while serving a population of students with a large percentage of rural, low-income, first-generation college and other diverse learners.

While the name “Public Elites” can at times suggest exclusivity, it’s important to note that ASMSA is an elite opportunity available to students from across Arkansas.

For many of our graduates, ASMSA is a transformational opportunity that places them on a different path. Alumni have shared countless stories of how this experience has opened doors of possibility that would not have otherwise been available. Arkansas is fortunate to have ASMSA to demonstrate what is possible when we invest in young talent, cultivate it in a community of peers and train students to become life-long learners.

Corey Alderdice

Director

Director of Finance JaNan Abernathy Director of Admissions Valerie Carpenter Director of Institutional Advancement Vicki Hinz Board of Visitors Hayward Battle Donna Casparian Steve Faris Donna Hutchison Cynthia A. Miller, Ph.D. Will Watson (‘05) Ann Xu (‘10) Ex-Officio Representatives Arkansas Science & Technology Authority Marta Gwyn Collier Arkansas Department of Higher Education Brett Powell, Ed.D. Arkansas Department of Education Johnny Key Department of Heritage Joy Pennington ASMSA Parents Association Amanda Hogue-Nall, President ASMSA Student Government Rex Hearn (’16), President Tangents is published by the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, a campus of the University of Arkansas System.

For more information about ASMSA, visit our website at www.asmsa.org or call 1-800-345-2767.

Writer and Graphic Design Donnie Sewell Photography Donnie Sewell Mike Kemp

inthisissue SUMMER 2015

Zhang shines at Intel ISEF Page 11

ASMSA is #codingARfuture Page 2

features

#ASMSA

5 ‘Where We Belonged’

18 Language of the Land

13 In Honor Of ...

22 Exchange of Ideas

15 Adventures Abroad

25 Going Global

The Class of 2015 graduates as Charter Three students take on the challenge of living in a foreign country.

Class celebrates its 20-year reunion.

A memorial fund is established in memory of instructor Cliff Happy.

ASMSA invests in international experiences via new program.

Sister City Program provides ASMSA several unique opportunities.

Three alumni are finding ways to make our world a bit smaller.

On the Cover: Four of ASMSA’s top seniors tackle diverse research interests and compete at the international science fair. Story on Page 9

The #ASMSA Cyborg Dolphin visited Community Developer Margaret Humphrey at an Alternative Spring Break fundraiser. #dolphinpride

/ARMathSciArts 1

Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks about the importance of computer science education for students throughout the state during ASMSA’s 2015 Community of Learning Luncheon in May. The Arkansas General Assembly passed a measure earlier this year requiring every public and charter high school in the state to offer a computer science course beginning this fall.

ASMSA ready to lead statewide computer science initiative The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will serve as a leading provider of computer science education and educator training in the state through its Coding Arkansas’ Future initiative.

Coding Arkansas’ Future will provide expanded computer science education courses for schools across Arkansas through ASMSA’s digital learning program. ASMSA will also provide training, support and mentoring to teachers across the state in computer science. Bob Gregory, ASMSA’s dean of academic affairs, announced the new program during the school’s annual Community of Learning Luncheon, which featured Gov. Asa Hutchinson as the guest speaker at the Ar2

lington Hotel on May 1.

“Similar to the ASMSA ethos of investing centrally in resources to benefit students from across the state, we believe a focused investment in course development and teacher training will produce greater results for districts across Arkansas who are eager to lead the way but may lack the adequate expertise and resources to meet their students’ needs. That’s why I’m excited that this program will be offered at no cost to partner schools,” Gregory said.

The overarching goal of Coding Arkansas’ Future is to guide districts through the first cycle of teaching the state’s new Essentials of Computer Programming course while preparing them to move ahead independently in

subsequent years, Gregory said. A new cohort of teachers will begin the process the following year. Fifteen districts have already signed up for the first cohort. A total of 19 districts will have students in an ASMSA coding course. In total, nearly 300 students will benefit from the program in the first year.

To put that figure into context, fewer than 500 high school students took a class in coding in 2014. Of that number, 25 percent of the state’s computer science students were enrolled in ASMSA’s residential program.

There are about two dozen districts in Arkansas currently offering computer science classes.

While some teachers have said they will grow the opportunities at their schools, other districts that

lack the technical and human re- Coding Arkansas’ Future, Daniel ommend strategies to meet the sources have chosen to use Virtu- Moix (’98), a state and nationally anticipated computer science and al Arkansas as a turnkey solution. recognized innovator in the field technology workforce needs of “We quickly realized that the of computer science education, the state. state needed an option some- will lead the program. Moix’s priCarl Frank, an ASMSA computwhere in between these two ends mary responsibility will be course er science instructor and president of the spectrum,” Gregory said. development and teacher support of the state’s Computer Science “For ASMSA, supporting teach- for the Essentials of Computer Teachers Association, is serving ers who want nothing less than Programming class for 2015-16 as a member of that task force. to engage, challenge and inspire and beyond. Moix most recently Hutchinson praised the work students is the heart of everything served as a faculty member at ASMSA has done in providing we do. Why limit that to just our Bryant High School. computer science education to campus?

“We are impressed with his lev- its students. He said the school is “Students will be the beneficia- el of coding knowledge, profes- serving as a leader in innovation ries of Coding Arkansas’ Future, sional experience and comfort in and developing entrepreneurs. but we believe the real difference mentoring as well as leading pro“We are expanding what you is providing support to the teach- fessional development. … We look started. It’s inspirational; continue ers who are the risk-takers, in- forward to him being one of the to lead us,” Hutchinson said. novators and intellectual entre- state’s most vocal cheerleaders Hutchinson said he would like preneurs who will help Governor for increasing access to coding,” to increase the number of students Hutchinson achieve this vision.”

Gregory said of Moix. who have computer programming Faculty in the program will In February, Gov. Hutchinson skills to 20 percent of graduates. have monthly planning, strategy signed Act 187 into law that re- That would produce about 6,000 and reflecgraduates a tion sessions ‘Let me just ask you that whenever you finish your education year who are using digital and you start that entrepreneurial spirit, come back to ready for tech conferencing jobs in the tools. ASMSA Arkansas. We want those jobs, and we want that next Silicon state. offered a Valley right here.’

“Can you one-week, imagine what Gov. Asa Hutchinson, encouraging the ASMSA students in residential kind of impact attendance at the 2015 Community of Learning Luncheon to professional would return to Arkansas to create new jobs for the state that development have on our program in economy?” he late July for faculty from schools quires all public and charter high said. participating in the program. schools in Arkansas to offer comASMSA Director Corey AlderdThrough collaboration with puter science education courses ice said this is an important time the Arkansas Computer Science beginning with the 2015-16 aca- in the state in regard to computer Teachers Association, the goal is demic year. The course may be science education. to build a professional develop- counted as a math credit for stu“The rest of the state is catchment network for these pioneer- dents’ graduation requirements. ing up to a fact we have known for ing teachers, Gregory said.

The law fulfilled a 2014 campaign over 20 years – engaging students In addition to the faculty devel- promise to increase computer as not only users but also creators opment program, school districts science education opportunities of technology is an essential commay also choose to participate within the state. ponent in developing a talented in ASMSA’s digital learning proand innovative workforce,” Aldergram, which will offer Essentials Task force created dice said. of Computer Programming coursASMSA is in a unique position es taught solely by ASMSA faculty Hutchinson also created a to engage students and educamembers. The course is included Computer Science Education tors across the state in computer in the STEM Pathways program, Task Force to research and rec- science. “Together, we will inspire which offers several STEM sci- ommend computer science and the next generation of innovaence and math courses at no cost technology standards; study the tors and makers,” Gregory said. to Arkansas school districts. computer science and technol- “By pairing the expertise and reTo facilitate the development of ogy needs of the state; and rec- sources available at ASMSA with 3

Canon Reeves (‘16), left, demonstrates how a robot built by ASMSA students for a BEST Robotics competition works for a family visiting the Arlington Hotel. Several displays featuring student work in computer science, including robotics, 3D printing and coding, were included as part of the Community of Learning Luncheon. Below, Will Watson (‘05) speaks about how ASMSA changed his life by offering opportunities he would not have had at his local high school.

the interest and enthusiasm from educators and districts throughout the state, we will work together to achieve the governor’s vision of coding Arkansas’ future.”

Hutchinson also had a request of the ASMSA students who were in the audience. He acknowledged that educational and job opportunities will entice them to leave the state. However once they are ready to begin entrepreneurial endeavors, he asked that they return to their home state.

“Some of you are going to be tempted by the world beyond Arkansas,” he said. “That’s OK. Let me just ask you that whenever you finish your education and you start that entrepreneurial spirit, come back to Arkansas. We want those jobs, and we want that next Silicon Valley right here.”

The program also featured state Rep. Laurie Rushing (R-26), who served as mistress of ceremonies and is the mother of a 2004 alumna of ASMSA. “This school is part of the entire state,” she said. “If all of the state representatives go back to their districts, they will find the heart of ASMSA in their area.”

Will Watson (’05), a member of the ASMSA Board of Visitors, spoke about his experience as a student at the school. His said ASMSA changed his life by offering opportunities he would not have if he didn’t attend the school, including discovering his love of languages and competing in the 2005 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

“Any successes I have enjoyed as a student and 4

professional are shared successes with the school at the end of Central Avenue right here in Hot Springs,” he said. “ASMSA inspired me to give back to my community, to appreciate education and to never take for granted the opportunities that we are blessed with and often have to work so hard to attain.”

Watson encouraged those in attendance to make an investment in the students of Arkansas by making a gift to ASMSA. He said it wasn’t just an investment in ASMSA, but “in our own futures, and I believe that is one of the most important investments any of us can make.”

20/15

Pictured from the left: Dr. Crystal Morrison (‘95), Alex Harris (‘15), Dr. Kevin Moseby (‘95) and Bailey Bishop (‘15)

The graduating Class of 2015 shared the spotlight with the Charter Class of 1995 during its 20-year reunion in an event-filled Commencement and Alumni Weekend.

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‘This is where we belonged’ Graduates overcome challenges to reach potential The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts identifies students with potential, creates an opportunity to develop that potential and provides them the opportunity to celebrate success, said Eric Jackson, general manager of Oaklawn Park, said during the school’s commencement ceremony for the Class of 2015.

Jackson was the featured speaker for May 23’s ceremony that was held in Horner Hall at the Hot Springs Convention Center. He spoke about how horse racing can be broken down into finding horses with potential, development of that potential and celebration of success.

ASMSA operates much the same way, he said. The school seeks out students who have potential to succeed in its academic program from across Arkansas, including small 6

rural school districts, he said. It creates an “unbelievable learning environment where potential can be developed,” he said, leading students to successful educational careers.

Jackson continued with the parallels between horse racing and ASMSA. Every year about 30,000 horses are born, and each year about 30,000 students graduate from high school, he said. Of those racehorses, only about 100 eventually rise to the top. It is the same for high school seniors – only a few rise to the top. “And I also know 102 of them are sitting in this room right now,” he said.

Each year, there are about 40,000 races across the country.

The very best are awarded what’s called Grade I status. There are only a handful to earn that status, Jackson said, including the Arkansas Derby and the Kentucky Derby.

Similarly there are about 40,000 high schools in this country. The very best are awarded the equivalent of a Grade I status, he said, including ASMSA which was ranked No. 10 in the nation by The Daily Beast in 2014.

To succeed, however, the support team is critical. The horses have to have good people around it to develop its potential. By the time a horse gets to the races, 81 people, including trainers, jockeys, exercise riders, veterinarians and many others have had a hand in its development, Jackson said.

While he could not be sure of the number of people involved in each graduates’ success, he said he would not be surprised if that number was at least 81 when parents, teachers at all levels, counselors, neighbors, coaches, family members and many others are included.

And just as in horse racing, it state to develop its own potential is ment Association, spoke as did Nila helps to be in the right place, he said. if the best and brightest among us Ray of Pine Bluff, who was chosen Being able to say that you gradu- help lead us. And you are our best from among several graduates who ated from the Arkansas School for and brightest,” he said. submitted speeches to speak at the Mathematics, Sciences and the The Class of 2015 included 102 ceremony.

Arts is an important distinction graduates who were recognized Ly focused on how the students from other high schools, he said. during the may ceremony. As a had changed and grown through In the end, however, their shared experiences the students’ ultimate at ASMSA. She said they success is up to them, he changed as soon as they said. walked through the doors “If you really were of ASMSA wanting the racehorses, you’d be the challenge, the new exheavy favorites. So the periences “and the comquestion is not if you’ll be munity of fellow nerds. successful; the question And with that first step is when and where. And we took on campus, we that may come down to knew that this is where what is your personal we belonged.” definition of success,” he She said that a dear said. friend once told her that Jackson shared exa place is only as good as amples of several of his the people. “I guess that friends. One is a successmakes ASMSA a pretty ful CEO of a big business. great place,” she said.

Another is a physician Ray said that ASMSA students graduated as part who runs a free clinic in was her chance to finalof ASMSA’s 21st class. his spare time. Yet anothly reach her full potener used to have a profestial among other driven, was the average ACT composite sional career that he gave hard-working individuscore graduates earned. up to run a ministry in a als. From the first day of will be the first in their family low-income neighbortheir junior year, memto earn a college degree. hood. bers of the Class of 2015 “Whatever it is, you’ll began to reach their full of the graduates have declared have to define your own potential, she said. a major in a STEM subject. definition of success. I’m “Two years ago, I pretty sure if it involves would not have had the will continue their studies being challenged, being courage to stand beat an Arkansas university. fulfilled, being engaged fore you today. Before and being personally satASMSA, I was just a name in scholarship offers were isfied, you will have found with a face. I had no clue made to class members. million your success,” he said. what maturity, responHe said his personal sibility, leadership and To view photos from the commencement ceremony, hope was that they would individuality truly meant. visit http://asmsa.me/2015gradphotos. find their success in ArToday, I’m Nila Ray, who kansas. It is the people has much to tell you of Arkansas who made about her time here, who ASMSA and the students’ opportu- class, the students earned $14.6 has gone through struggles, who nity to attend such a school a pos- million in scholarship offers from has reached amazing accomplishsibility, he said, adding that if they colleges, universities and other ments, who has found the person find success in Arkansas, the in- sources. within herself. I think I can say on vestment in the school and them is The ceremony also featured two behalf of my peers and myself, rewarded. speakers from among the gradu- thank you ASMSA for giving us a “Because truth is, Arkansas ates. Senior Sophia Ly, who served chance we would not have had othneeds you. The best way for our as president of the Student Govern- erwise,” she said.

ASMSA Class of 2015

BY THE NUMBERS

102 29.8 32% 60% 74.5% $14.6

7

We asked members of the Charter Class to share some of their memories about the school as part of a celebration of their 20-year anniversary. These are a few of their answers.

‘These teachers taught me so much more than the book stuff. They gave me reality.

They showed me that you learn more as you make mistakes, as you struggle, as you examine things from a different angle.

They showed me it’s OK to not be perfect; in fact, it’s more than OK because none of us are perfect.’

Dr. Crystal Morrison, on the instructors for the Charter Class

‘Being an ASMSA student opened up the world to me. It is where I learned how to live with people seemingly different than me; it fueled my compassion for humankind just as much as it enabled me to critically question, think, write and read.’

Dr. Kevin Moseby, on the most important thing he learned at ASMSA that he still relates to today

‘Often the most important longterm gains of an activity — be it education or otherwise — are the people you meet, not the specifics of what you learned or what happened.’

Stephen McCaul, on the most important thing he learned as a member of the Charter Class

‘Matilda Buchanan. She is smart, tough and honest. I needed someone to tell me my weaknesses without sugar-coating, and she did without judgment. This helped me overcome them much faster than I would have otherwise.’

Dr. Natasha Lavelle-Mallette, on her favorite instructor

‘I would say the most important lesson ASMS(A) taught me was confidence in myself. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself; and like many who attended, one of the reasos for going to the school was to get away from persecution/isolation at my previous school due to being a nerd.’

Chris Hotz, on how ASMSA had an effect on his life, both professionally and personally

‘What I liked about it back then was that we weren’t all top-of-the-class, highest ACT/SAT, most well-rounded (students).

I feel like the ASMSA I went to gave a taste of an ‘other life’ that gave me the motivation to explore the world and develop myeslf to my full potential. ’ Elizabeth Young, J.D., on how ASMSA affected her personally and spurred her education and career path

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Jackie Mosely (‘15), clockwise from top left, Deisy Abarca (‘15), Nila Ray (‘15) and Ashley Barto (‘15) respresented ASMSA at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

Research Like a Girl Female quartet strong reps for ASMSA at ISEF

ASMSA’s contingent to this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair was the largest in recent years.

Five students qualified for the competition held in Pittsburgh, Pa., in May. What was special about the group was that four of the five students who had qualified for the international competition were female.

Deisy Abarca (’15), Ashley Barto (’15) and Nila Ray (’15) each qualified for the competition through ASMSA’s West Central Regional Science Fair, which was held in February. Abarca won first-place overall in the competition fol-

lowed by Barto and Ray. Jackie Mosely (’15) earned her spot by placing fifth in the overall competition at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair, held at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in April.

ASMSA won the state overall school competition for the second year in a row.

Abarca said getting to visit with Dr. Crystal Morrison (‘95) was her favorite part of her ISEF experience.

Morrison served as a judge at the 2015 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Morrison is a technology manager in

corporate and science technology for PPG Industries in Pittsburgh.

Unbeknownst to her before the competition, five ASMSA students were also in attendance at the science fair, representing the school in a competition of the globe’s top young researchers.

During a break from judging, she took the opportunity to connect with the ASMSA students.

She visited each of the students’ project booths to chat.

Morrison served as an example of what they could accomplish in their lives and careers after graduating from ASMSA. “She was part of the Charter 9

Class, so it was fun to hear her reflect back on her years here,” said Abarca, whose project focused on a new method of delivering cancer-fighting drugs. “It was also super cool to learn about her life after ASMSA. She has a great job in Pittsburgh, and she continues to pursue several of the goals and ideas that were ignited during her time at ASMSA.” ISEF brings more than 1,700 high school students from more than 70 countries, regions and territories to showcase their independent research and compete for more than $5 million in prizes, the competition’s website said.

The diversity of competitors wasn’t lost on the ASMSA students. Several of them mentioned that such a diversity of students helped make the competition even more special.

“ISEF was life-changing,” said Barto, whose project examined the shape of reproduction plantlets of the Kalanchoe daigremontiana plant. “While there, I met students from all over the world: Germany, South Africa, Japan and Ireland to name a few.

“I met a boy from Colombia who did not speak great English, and we conversed mostly in Spanish, which allowed me to gain practice. I also met a student from Slovakia who was in the United States for the first time; I was able to help him with his English as well. Through our conversations, I realized these students share the same passions I have.”

Mosely said the diversity of the competitors was her favorite part of ISEF. She met people from Turkey, Ireland and Canada among others.

“It was beyond amazing to see all these different cultures combined into one,” she said.

Mosely also said she enjoyed the judging aspect of ISEF. Mosely’s project focused on the plausibility of two classroom-teaching 10

FIRM grasp of top honors ASMSA Documentary Filmmaking students interviewed the top-four overall finishers in the 2015 West Central Regional Science Fair about their Fundamentals in Research Methods projects, preparing for the science fair and what it was like to hear their names called as winners.

Visit the link below each photo to watch each individual’s video.

Deisy Abarca (’15), 1st place

Ashley Barto (’15), 2nd place

Abarca discusses her research into an easier way of providing a cancerfighting drug at http://asmsa.me/ deisyabarcafirm.

Barto talks about her research of reproduction plantlets of the Kalanchoe daigremontiana plant at http://asmsa. me/ashleybartofirm.

Nila Ray (’15), 3rd place

Taryn Imamura (’16), 4th place

Ray speaks about her project, which focused on growing plants for biodiesel, at https://vimeo.com/ armathsciarts/nilarayfirm.

Imamura describes how she used rice byproducts to create a surfactant for industrial use at http://asmsa.me/ tarynimamurafirm.

models called Mutual Engagement and Classroom Inversion.

During the judging at the regional and state science fairs, she didn’t visit with more than three judges at each competition. AT ISEF, she had a total of 16 judges visit her booth.

“I was nervous to talk to the first few, but after four or five, it was breeze,” she said.

The regional and state competitions helped prepare her for the ISEF interviews, she said. The ISEF interviews had another effect as well — they gave her confidence.

“I may not have placed in (ISEF), but I did win the ability to believe in myself and what I can do intellectually. ISEF changed

my outlook on life,” she said.

Ray, whose project focused on developing a photovoltaic drip irrigation system for biodiesel crop growth, used the ASMSA and state science fairs to figure out how to speak about her project in a cohesive manner.

“It’s difficult to explain to people why I have a project that is half engineering and half chemistry, but I learned how to do so through those two events. The judges at both events gave me helpful, constructive feedback that allowed me to change a few parts to clarify everything,” she said.

Ray said the ISEF judges asked very detailed questions about See ISEF, Page 12

Zhang learns value of substance over style at international science fair It’s not about the flashiness of a project but about substance — that’s a important lesson Joseph Zhang (’15) learned this summer at the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Zhang earned a spot at this year’s international contest in May in Pittsburgh, Pa., by placing first in the Overall Awards category at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair in April.

When he set his project up at the international fair, he was next to a team from Vietnam in his category. They made a glove that uses ultrasonic sensors to help blind people sense objects more easily. The sensors give the person information such as locations of objects in front of them.

“They got interviewed by media and by Intel. It was just incredible. They got swarmed again by middle school groups (who visited the fair),” he said.

At the awards ceremony, however, all of that attention didn’t pay off. The team didn’t win an award.

Zhang was the one who had his named called, however, taking home a Third Award in the Engineering Mechanics category. The award included a $1,000 prize. The ASMSA senior was very surprised, he said.

Zhang’s project focused on making curved surfaces possible in 3D printing. Extrusion-based 3D printing can’t make a smooth, curved surface as it prints each layer flat on top of he previous layer.

Zhang’s computer program attempts to alleviate that problem by analyzing digital files differently.

He worked with Nick Seward, one of ASMSA’s computer science instructors and a 3D printing enthusiast, to develop the program. “He was the best adviser I could have had. Because he is so experienced in 3D printing, he’s able to point out some stuff that only people experienced with 3D printing could point out, like little gimmicks and such,” he said.

He began working on his project in summer 2014, researching how 3D printers take instructions. It started out as a school project, but once he saw his first print, he became more excited, he said.

“It was a process of trial and error. You make some observations of the print. You see some weird bumps over here. Wonder what made that happen? You make some changes and reprint,” he said.

Zhang considers his project a success. He was able to print a rectangular bar with a curved surface, similar to a soap bar. The top was as smooth at the printer could print, he said. Comparing it to another bar printed using a different commercial printing program, he said you could definitely see and feel

Joseph Zhang (‘15) won a Third Award in the Engineering Mechanics category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in Pittsburgh, Pa., in May.

the difference. His program performed better.

Zhang initially wrote his program for his Fundamentals in Research Methods project, which every student is required to complete in their senior year.

His presentation at ASMSA focused more on the inner workings of his program. He won first place in the computer science category, making him eligible to compete at the state competition, but he did not finish in the top four overall.

Between the two competitions, he switched the focus of his presentation more to 3D printing and its applications and flaws instead of solely focusing on his program. The change worked well as he won first place in his category at state. The judges at ISEF also seemed to like his project’s focus, based on the questions he was asked, he said.

Zhang said he plans to major in computer science at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, which has a 3D printing lab.

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Reddy an Arkansas Fellow One of the hardest things for many new college graduates to do is find that first job after graduation. Their youthfulness and perceived lack of experience can be deal breakers for many employers when applying for a job. If the graduate even receives an interview, often the jobs are not necessarily well-paying or as challenging as the graduate may want.

That’s why the opportunity Sreesh Reddy (’10) received last year is so important. Reddy was selected as a member of the first class of Arkansas Fellows.

The Arkansas Fellowship program offers two-year fellowships to a Reddy select group of college seniors, connecting accomplished and highly motivated undergraduates seeking worldclass entrepreneurial experiences with Arkansas companies.

The fellows spend two years after graduation working for the company in a paid fellowship. The company provides an executivelevel mentor, allowing the fellows to develop a network of business leaders, co-workers and peers.

The fellows also have monthly meetings where they can meet other entrepreneurs and business leaders, hear guest speakers and share their experiences with other fellows. They also visit the other fellows at their jobs.

At the end of the day of interviews, the companies ranked their top five in order of who they wanted to hire, and the students ranked their top five companies in order of for whom they wished to work. The first class included 10 fellows.

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To learn more about the Arkansas Fellowship program, visit arkansasfellowship.org.

Reddy’s first interview of the day was with Perks, a business that manages employee incentive programs for companies across the United States as well as Latin America and Europe. The Little Rock office has only about 30 employees.

The company’s representatives seemed like great people and it was a smaller company, which he liked, Reddy said.

“I wanted to be in a situation where I would be given a lot of responsibility initially and forced to learn on the fly,” Reddy said.

Reddy was preparing to graduate from Hendrix College in Conway with a degree in biochemistry as he went through the interview process. One of his strongest suits was being able to think about data and analyze it in a critical way.

Reddy was part of an entrepreneurial team to start Acorn Hours, a Little Rock-based startup that developed a program that helped students streamline information about community service requirements for college and job applications.

None of the others accepted into the Arkansas Fellowship program had a startup background, he said. That startup experience was important, he said.

Reddy began his fellowship with Perks in June 2014.

“My biggest reason for doing this was just to gain as much experience working in the business world with as much responsibility as possible. I’ve learned it’s so important to be around positive people.

“Being a part of an engaged workforce is so rewarding. Everyone is invested in working here.

You need to empower the people around you,” he said.

ISEF

Continued from Page 10

projects to determine the practical application of the research.

Many of the questions were simple but tricky, testing the presenters on basic terms to evaluate their knowledge of their findings, she said.

Barto said one advantage at ISEF was that all of the judges for her project were plant biologists rather than a mix of disciplines.

The specialization in the field was beneficial.

Barto said she also had two professors who gave her their contact information, telling her to contact them upon undergraduate graduation if she was still doing plant science.

“When the professor gave me her card, I was ecstatic,” Barto said.

Ray said she loved participating in each stage of the science fair competition. Students develop their science fair projects to meet their Fundamentals in Research Methods requirement.

“It’s one of my favorite aspects of ASMSA,” Ray said. “I think if I had to choose, my favorite part would be being able to share my work and my ideas with others — just seeing it all come together in one presentation and seeing others get just as excited about my project as I am!”

Abarca said FIRM was a unique opportunity to explore a disease that had intrigued her for a long time. It also afforded her the opportunity to do research in a realworld lab at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Center for Nanotechnology Sciences.

“The opportunity to—at 17 years old—conduct research at such an intricate level was priceless.

ASMSA’s FIRM program exposed me to an intriguing field with lots of potential,” Abarca said.

Memorial endowment honors Happy A memorial endowment has been established in honor of an Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts instructor who died during the fall semester.

The Clifford O. Happy Memorial Endowment honors Cliff Happy, a humanities instructor who joined the ASMSA faculty in August 2006. Happy died unexpectedly in September 2014.

The endowment will allow ASMSA to offer confidential financial assistance to needy students throughout the school year. It honors Happy’s efforts to help at least one student a year. Happy worked with ASMSA’s dean of students to identify a needy student annually in order to confidentially provide that student with spending money each month.

Happy’s family wanted to continue helping ASMSA students in his honor. Georgia Happy approached The ASMSA Foundation about establishing a fund that would continue her husband’s legacy of aiding students. The family made a gift of $20,000 to establish the fund, ensuring that the endowment will be able to aid students in perpetuity.

Georgia Happy said the family felt it was important for Happy’s legacy of giving to continue at the school that he loved. She said Happy would tell her about the various needs of his students and how he wanted to help take care of them.

“ASMSA was the favorite part of his life,” she said.

“Having known him since he was 22 years old, teaching at ASMSA was the most joy he had. … I know that was his heart to help the kids who were financially strapped.”

The endowment will provide $50 gift certificates to a minimum of 15 low-income ASMSA students each year. As the endowment matures and additional gifts are contributed to the program, funding may be used for additional support throughout the year at the discretion of the Happy family.

The Happy family also gave ASMSA $750 in December to provide the first round of gift cards to 15 students before the endowment was officially established.

Georgia Happy said the outpouring of love and stories the family has received from alumni, students and their parents since Happy’s death has been tremendous. She was surprised at the number of handwritten letters the family has received.

“In this age of Facebook and emails, it’s amazing how many handwritten letters we received from students and parents sharing stories I didn’t know about — stories about how Cliff had helped them. It has been such an outpouring. He would be so sur-

Cliff Happy was a humanities instructor at ASMSA until his unexpected death last year. Students honored Happy this spring unveiling a small monument and tree planted in his honor next to the Student Center.

prised. I don’t think anyone could know how humble he was,” she said.

One student’s father shared in a letter how Happy helped his daughter with an emotional struggle through which she was going. Happy served 22 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring as a First Sergeant in 2003 and becoming an educator.

From his military experience, he recognized that the student was suffering from symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder after an undisclosed incident.

“He was the only person who broached the subject with her and her family and got her help,” Georgia Happy said.

Vicki Hinz, director of institutional advancement, said she has heard similar sentiments about Happy’s impact at ASMSA. “Students and alumni have shared with me the impact that Cliff Happy had on their lives,” she said.

“He left his mark on ASMSA and the students he so deeply cared and provided for each year. This year’s senior class is planning to plant a tree in honor of their teacher and mentor. Whether a tree or the Clifford O. Happy Memorial Endowment, Cliff’s lifetime of giving will be remembered at ASMSA.” To make a gift to the Clifford O. Happy Memorial Endowment, visit http://asmsa.me/ happyendowment.

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ASMSA Takes on the World Students, teachers, administrators and alumni are taking advantage of many opportunities across the globe. Over the next few pages, discover where they are or have been and why their trips and work are a growing part of what makes ASMSA special.

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From the left: Laura Beth Durham (‘15), Kali Fleming (‘15), Le’Aysha Pearson (‘15) and Taryn Imamura (‘16) pose for a photo in front of Buckingham Palace during a Global Learning Program trip to United Kingdom during Spring Break in March. Besides the United Kingdom, students also have traveled to Greece, Spain, Italy, Costa Rica and China in the past two years.

Eye-opening experiences

Global Learning Program turns students into ‘critical thinkers’ ASMSA students have had multiple opportunities to travel abroad over the course of the school’s history, taking educational trips to other countries. While the trips were led by a member of the faculty and meant to be educational, they were never a formal part of ASMSA’s curriculum.

In 2014, that changed with the launch of the ASMSA Global Learning Program, which provided several opportunities for more students to study abroad with some financial assistance from the school. In the two years since

the program started, students have visited China, Greece, Italy, England, Ireland, Wales, Spain and Costa Rica. Next year, trips to Italy, Spain and Quebec, Canada are planned. The Spain and Quebec trips are specifically designed to immerse students in Spanish and French language and culture.

The program has three goals: • Enhance student understanding of different countries and cultures; • Foster global awareness and critical thinking skills through experiential learning; and

• Teach students how to travel abroad in a safe and efficient manner.

More than 30 students each year have been able to take advantage of the learning opportunities the trips have offered. Each student received a $750 grant toward the initial cost of the trips.

Students also filled out a financial aid application that provided several partial- and full-cost scholarships for students who may not otherwise be able to afford the trips. This ensured that approximately ten low-income students 15

A group of ASMSA students pose for a photo during a Global Learning Program trip to Italy in 2014. Nicole Brooks (‘15), second from left, said the trip provided the students great opportunities to learn about Italian culture as well as how to speak some Italian in addition to visiting historical sites.

also were able to take part in the experience each year.

Humanities instructor Ron Luckow serves as the coordinator for the program. He said the trips allow students to compare their own culture and customs to those who live in the countries they visit.

Many of the students return with an interest in learning a second language — if they were not already taking a second language, — and to learn more about other cultures and countries, he said. They also begin to compare their home country to the one they visited.

“They start to look at their country in a different perspective,” he said. “People have different ways of doing things. They start making comparisons; they start to see the differences between their culture and other cultures. They learn the value of learning a second language.

“They’ll start doing things differently. When they start doing that, they’re critical thinkers. If you live your whole life in one region, you’ll be a very one-dimen16

sional thinker in how you perceive things. But if you travel to other places and are exposed to different ways of doing things, you become aware in ways you just wouldn’t reading books.”

Dan McElderry, a Spanish instructor, agreed with Luckow about the value of the trips.

McElderry has led many student trips to Spain and Costa Rica before the Global Learning Program was initiated. The trips often lasted at least four weeks during which students lived with native speakers. He would also take them on the streets to visit markets and other attractions where they would have to use Spanish.

“It opens their eyes,” McEldeery said. “That’s what the whole trip does. It opens their eyes to a world other than their community. They’re learning street smarts — how to get around, how to shop and do what you need to do. I’m teaching them how to be a citizen of the world.

With this experience, they can go most anywhere and have a basic understanding of what it takes.”

Learning how to travel is one of the focuses of the program. Prior to the trips, students take part in sessions that help them prepare for their trips. On the list of lessons is how to pack. Often the trips are going to be busy, requiring students to pack lightly as the tours go from town to town. They are limited on how much luggage they can bring and must learn to include all of their essentials, from enough clothing to toiletries to room for keepsakes from the trip.

“It’s an important concept. A lot of them want to bring two or three suitcases. You have to pack lightly as you’re going form site to site and city to city. One of the big things is learning to travel light to get on and off flights and buses as necessary without having to worry about losing a bag or holding the group up,” Luckow said.

The first year of the program all of the trips were held during the summer after the school year ended. In 2015, all of the trips were moved to Spring Break with the thought that more emphasis

could be placed on the educational aspects of the trip while aligning some of the experiences with ASMSA courses.

Students were required to complete projects leading up to the trip, such as doing a report on a site they would visit on the trip.

They also each presented reports on the trip as part of a class project after returning from the trip.

“This is, foremost, an educational trip,” Luckow said. “We stressed that over and over. They’re learning a lot of things on the tours.

Mostly they’re learning culture and history but also how to travel.”

overflowed my expectations,” she said.

She said being given the trust and responsibility to walk and shop in the cities on their own was nice. Some of the group visited a café where they were able to get gelato and espresso. During the school year, the students who went on the trip would sometimes just visit about the trip or a piece of artwork they never thought they’d get to see.

It was the first time Reckling had traveled outside of the United States. It was also special because her father has an Italian heritage.

“It meant a lot for him for me to be able to go,” she said.

For Mara Campbell (’15), her trip to China was an opportunity to put the Mandarin Chinese she

different than a picture in a book.

They get to walk around and see it and touch it. It’s a whole different experience.”

The trips also benefit students in their regular classrooms.

McElderry said he had two students in a fall Spanish class who had been on the 2014 Costa Rica trip. Those students spoke openly without fear or nervousness in the class. They weren’t afraid to make a mistake.

“Even though they have so much to learn, they have the self confidence that ‘I can carry on a conversation even if I don’t know everything.’ They learn how to More than sight-seeing communicate,” he said.

While the trips are mainly foThat doesn’t mean the students cused on providing students an were only going to be taking staid opportunity to travel and learn, tours of popuit’s benefilar sites. Ni- ‘It opens their eyes to a world other than their community. cial for the cole Brooks instructors (’15) said she They’re learning street smarts — how to get around, how to who serve as was hesitant shop and do what you need to do. I’m teaching them to be a chaperones at first about citizen of the world. With this experience, they can go most on the trip as taking the well. trip to Italy anywhere and have a basic understanding of what it takes.’

“It’s not a Dan McElderry, Spanish instructor, speaking about how the vacation for in 2014. She was expecteither,” trips are providing opportunities to grow as global citizens us ing the trip to Luckow said. be heavy on “The benefit tours of sites, she said. Instead she learned at her home school and we get from it is that we get to see found she was able to learn many ASMSA to the test. students experience another culdifferent thing about the culture “It was a chance to speak it ture and think critically about the and how to speak some Italian. and hear how people actually say world. That in itself is a rewarding “I didn’t realize how much ag- it, not just how it is in the book,” experience.” riculture was part of their culture. Campbell said. “I practiced evMcElderry said trips such as There were huge fields and there ery question I knew in Mandarin his month-long Costa Rica exwere many fruit trees in the mid- (before the trip). A lot of people in perience or his upcoming 10-day dle of the streets. Ten days sounds China want to practice their Eng- immersion experience in Spain like a lot, but it was a whirlwind. lish. I’d try to speak Mandarin and revitalizes him.

There was so much information. I they’d try to speak English.”

“It helps me to keep my own wish we had more time,” she said.

Before her trip, Campbell did abilities fresh and alive. It makes Anna Reckling (’15), who also a presentation on Shanghai for me desire to be a better teacher. went on the Italy trip, said the stu- the group. It ended up being her It makes me proud I helped these dents had some time to explore favorite part of the trip because students achieve something in life on their own, providing them the it felt familiar because of her re- that many of them never would opportunity to discover and learn search. have. Because I was willing to do about the culture of Italy just by “They get to see things they’ve this, I gave them an opportunity walking somewhere. only read about and studied in the that is once in a lifetime. Because “That was powerful in itself. classroom,” Luckow said. “They of it, they will go on to do other Once I got there, it fulfilled and get to see it first hand, and it’s a lot things,” he said.

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From the front: Kali Fleming (‘15), Sophia Ly (‘15) and Tyler Kee (‘15) were all chosen to participate in the National Security Language Inititative for Youth (NSLI-Y). The program provides students the opportunity to spend six weeks in another country learning its language and culture.

O

ne of the best ways to learn a new language is through immersion — living in a country with native speakers of the language.

You don’t speak the native language fluently. Few people in the country you are visiting speak your native language, and the people who do are rarely fluent in it.

But there’s something about living within a community — learning the traditions, habits and everyday routines of those who do live there — that can make learning the language easier. It allows those involved on both sides of the language barrier to become more connected in a way that helps them to overcome the obstacles associated with learning a language in a classroom. It also assists them in developing friendships that can help promote a better global understanding between nations.

That’s the goal of the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. High school students and recent high school graduates may earn 18

merit-based scholarships that provide them the opportunity to spend a summer or an academic year in an overseas immersion program. The program focuses on less commonly taught languages, preparing American citizens to be leaders in a global world by helping them develop necessary linguistic skills and cultural knowledge.

In 2014, two ASMSA students spent the summer learning Chinese in different parts of China. This summer, another student will spend the summer learning Arabic in Morocco. It is the third year in a row an ASMSA student has received a NSLI-Y scholarship.

For Kali Fleming (’15) and Sophia Ly (’15), their summers in China were an opportunity to begin and expand their knowledge of Mandarin Chinese respectively. For Tyler Kee (’15), the trip this summer to Morocco will allow him to continue his study of

Arabic he began while participating in the Yale Young Global Scholars program in 2014.

For each participant, the opportunity is about more than learning a language. It’s about the other experiences they had or will have that only living in the culture for an extended period of time can provide.

She chose traditional Chinese landscaping, another subject her roommate’s father was interested in, which led to the family taking her on trips to several gardens during the weekends.

Throughout her time at the family’s home, she built friendships in addition to her language skills, she said.

“My host family was really welcoming and friendly and happy to have me there. Even though there was a barrier with the language at first, they found other ways to make me feel welcome. My host sister was also pretty good at English and helped translate,” Fleming said.

Around the third week, she could understand more of what her host family was saying. During one of the trips in the car,

be able to make your basic needs known, figure out how to live daily life. Whenever you’re in a classroom, you learn more grammar.

From what I learned in China, even if you say something incorrectly, they understand. You may use the wrong order in a sentence, but they will correct you. You learn how to say it just by messing up,” she said.

Kali Fleming This was the first time she had been out of the United States on Fleming said her experiher own. Fleming said the week ence began similar to her time before she was set to leave she at ASMSA. She would spend the was scared since she had not week in a dorm at a school, gobeen overseas before, especialing to class in the morning on ly by herself, but on the flight to weekdays at Xiuzhou Modern Shanghai, several students who Experimental School in Jiaxing. had several years of Chinese exHer roommate in the dorm was a perience taught the beginners member of her host family. some simple phrases and words.

Each morning was filled with Once she met her host family, classes where the nerves disapFleming would ‘I think immersion is much better because you are peared, she said. have to converse forced out of your comfort zone and learn (the The relationin Chinese with ships she forged the native speak- language) because you have to be able to make during her time your basic needs known, figure out how to live daily ers. The afterwere special, noons were usu- life. ... You learn how to say it just by messing up.’

Fleming said. ally filled with a The night before Kali Fleming (‘15), on living in China for six weeks she was set to cultural experience, such as a return home, she calligraphy class, painting or a her host mother said something received an email from her host trip to Shanghai. to her host father. Fleming knew father who told her they were so She had no Chinese language what the host mother said. happy the family had the opporexperience before the trip, so that “I was like ‘I understood that!’ tunity to meet her. It had providmade the first few days a bit wor- She was basically asking where ed them the opportunity to learn risome, Fleming said. were we going to eat for lunch. So more about the U.S. and its cul“At first all I really knew how it was amazing to see how much ture. He said their meeting helped to say was hello and could I go to progress you can make when improve the relationship between sleep,” she said. you’re completely immersed,” she the U.S. and China in a small way, Fortunately her host family was said. even if it was just between the very helpful, she said. Her roomAt ASMSA and her home family and Fleming. mate’s father would pick them up school, Fleming focused on learnFleming said the trip broadon Friday afternoon to spend the ing Spanish, but it was mostly ened her worldview, allowing her weekend at the family’s home. within the confines of a class- to see that many of the things she She quickly built a friendship room. Her trip to China was a true did at home they also did in China. with her roommate’s father, who immersion experience — one that “It makes you ask different quesis a lawyer. Fleming said she is she says may have been more ed- tions and see the world in a differconsidering law school. She also ucational in a sense. ent light,” she said. had to pick a subject for a culmi“I think immersion is much betShe did take Mandarin I upon nating project similar to ASMSA’s ter because you are forced out of returning to ASMSA in the fall, in Fundamentals in Research Meth- your comfort zone and learn (the which she began learning to write ods project at the Chinese school. language) because you have to Chinese characters. She hopes 19

to have the chance to do another study abroad in college but for Spanish — spending a semester abroad in Spain or Argentina.

Sophia Ly Ly had — in her words — very minor prior experience with Chinese. She said her mom tried to get her to learn Mandarin, but she never took it seriously. Some members of her family are Chinese, but they speak Cantonese.

So her experience in Zhuhai, which is near the Southern coast of China across a bay from Hong Kong, was a special experience.

Zhuhai is a large city of a few million people, she said, and was very modernized. Zhuhai sits in a special economic zone so it has lots of businesses and industries.

Ly lived with her host family.

One of her first challenges was to be able to make it to classes. She would wake up about 6:30 each morning in order to make it on time using a public transportation bus.

“I was on this bus with a bunch of people I didn’t understand. It was so packed,” she said.

The mornings would be spent in a language class. Each day, students would be given a two-hour lunch. Each person was assigned a language partner from the school who would guide them around the campus during the lunch break, answering questions and allowing some one-on-one time to learn the language, she said. After lunch, students would return to the classroom for a cultural activity, such as tai chi or playing the Chinese zither.

Before her group left the U.S. for China, students went through an orientation where they were told they likely would experience a culture shock at some point during their six-week stay. They would need to be ready to face new challenges.

20 20

Sophia Ly (‘15), left, said one of the most important lessons she learned from her trip to China was to not look at culture shock in a negative sense. Experiencing culture shock means you are learning something new and you should take advantage of the opportunity, she said.

“They taught us that we don’t have to look at culture shock so negatively because if you do get hit by culture shock you’re learning something new. You’re experiencing a whole new side of the world, and you have to take advantage of that,” she said.

Ly lived in an apartment with her host family, comprised of a married couple with their 7-yearold son and one grandparent. Her host father was an English teacher, so it was easy speaking English to him. If she couldn’t figure out how to tell them something in Chinese, she was able to tell him in English and he would understand.

She said living with the family each day was very beneficial to learn what daily life was like in China. The family took her with them on trips into the city, including the grocery store.

“Walmart in China is super different. You can buy live seafood in Walmart in China. Living in a Chinese home is a little different, too, ranging from laundry to dinner. It was nice because you got to

depend on the family and feel safe around them because they take you in under their wing,” she said.

What was most surprising, however, was how similar life in China was to the U.S., she said. For example, everything she brought with her as a gift for her host family could be found there in China.

“I guess people forget China is just as modernized, if not more modernized, than the U.S. China is a bit more diverse, though, because it has that traditional Chinese atmosphere,” she said.

On weekends, she would take trips with either her host family or other students from the school.

One weekend trip with the school, the students visited a smaller village outside of the city. One of her fellow students had blue eyes, and people in the village were fascinated. They had never met anyone with blue eyes.

“They were so eager to learn English and about American culture,” she said.

Ly did have to learn how to adjust to one big change — the

lack of social media and texting. Tyler Kee be spending five hours a day in a Facebook, Twitter and Google are school setting learning Arabic. He blocked in China. That also meant Growing up in a Jewish house- will live with a host family, but he no Gmail or YouTube. hold, learning Hebrew was an in- wasn’t sure how much English the “I started out saying ‘I don’t terest for Kee so that he could read family would speak. Regardless of need Facebook or Twitter. I’ll be religious texts. Once he was able how much English they can speak, fine.’ But after a while I was kind of to begin reading religious texts in Kee was excited about the opporbummed,” she said. She began us- Hebrew script three or four years tunity to live with them. ing the Chinese version of Face- ago, he also became interested in “I think, in the long run, it will book as well as other versions of reading the corresponding Islam- really enhance the experience and popular apps. ic texts. help solidify the information I’m “At first I missed having FaceWhile Hebrew and Arabic have learning in classes. That’s what it’s book and all the social media and some similarities among its words supposed to do. You’re supposed texting, but after a while I just in- and alphabet, the differences were to use what you’ve learned in class dulged myself with all that was too great. He thought if he knew and form coherent thoughts and happening around me. I stopped one of the languages, why not the communicate with them. It will be thinking about it. It was nice hav- other? Learning both could be a continual test of that ability,” he ing a break from social media. I just beneficial to a future career as an said. kinda left it and explored China.” intermediary or translator as well.

He said having the opportunity Ly took three years of Spanish So when he had the opportunity to travel internationally to learn prior to her China trip, but she said to apply for the NSIL-Y program, the language is what he was most living for those six excited about. No weeks in China ‘I think, in the long run, it will really enhance the one in his family she now feels like has traveled interexperience and help solidify the information I’m she knows more nationally, he said.

Chinese than she learning in classes. ... You’re supposed to use what “Getting to go to does Spanish. you’ve learned in class and form coherent thoughts Morocco and AfThat’s in great part rica was such an and communicate them.

It will be a continual test of because she lived abstract idea. It that ability.’ there, she said. will be life chang“I feel like if you ing,” he said.

Tyler Kee (‘15), speaking about what he expects living live somewhere Some people in Morocco this summer as part of the NSLI-Y program too long you formay question get about what whether it is wise else is out there. I for an American think the best way to learn about he chose Morocco, an Arabic- Jew to go by himself to a country a place — you can always read in speaking nation on the north- that is 97 percent Muslim, considtextbooks or see articles online — western coast of Africa. That’s the ering the state of world conflict at but you never really get to know a home nation of one of the counsel- this time. place until you visit there and see ors he had at the Yale Young Global He said those concerns did it for yourself and live and breathe Scholars program last summer. arise, both personally and with in that new place,” she said.

She served as the motivation to his parents. Kee said, at first, he Ly said every time she said choose Morocco specifically. thought he didn’t think he would something in Chinese correctly or While at the Yale program, he be accepted into the program beunderstood her teachers or family, also made friends with several cause of his heritage. she would feel a burst of excite- Arabic-speaking people from PalHe said after her initial excitement. estine, Pakistan and Iran. He kept ment settled, his mother had some After her return, she decided to in touch with his friends via Skype, of the same concerns as well. He switch her language focus to Chi- taking the opportunity to use those assured her of all the safety prenese. She was receiving private visits to practice his Arabic. Those cautions and the policies put in tutoring with one of ASMSA’s Chi- visits also have allowed him to get place to ensure the safety of pronese instructors. a feeling for their values and what gram participants.

“I just wanted to maintain all the they consider most important.

“Now I think it’s just the natural knowledge I had gained. If I didn’t Kee left for Rabat, Morocco mother being protective nerves,” use it, I would lose it,” she said. toward the end of June. He will he said.

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Darbe Powell (‘15) visited Japan as a member of a delegation of students participating in the Hot Springs Sister City student exchange program during the summer of 2014. ASMSA also had participants in the Sister City’s teacher exchange and business and community leader visits in 2014.

Exchange of ideas ASMSA participates in Sister City programs

One of the advantages to ASMSA calling Hot Springs home is the city’s participation in the Sister Cities International Program. Hot Springs and Hanamaki, Japan, formed a Sister City bond in January 1993, the same year that the first group of students arrived at ASMSA. Each year, delegations from Hanamaki and Hot Springs visit their respective Sister City to make new friends, share their culture and explore additional ways for the communities to partner for artistic, professional and economic development. Three separate groups make a trip from Hot Springs to Hanamaki each year. One is a group of students, another a group of educators and the third a group of business and community leaders.

During 2014, ASMSA had the privilege to send one person on each of the trips. Darbe Powell (’15) went on the student trip. Dr. Lindsey Waddell, a chemistry and geology instructor, participated in the teacher exchange while Director Corey Alderdice traveled to Hanamaki as part of the business and community 22

group.

Powell was in middle school when one of the Japanese delegations of students visited her school in Hot Springs. She knew then she wanted to go to Japan as part of a delegation someday.

The student delegation spent more than five months preparing for the trip, Powell said. Each month, the students learned how to prepare for the trip, what to expect from their host families, what to expect at the schools they’d visit, what kind of gifts to bring and how to introduce themselves in Japanese.

The only Japanese Powell knew was how to introduce herself. Her host family didn’t know any English.

They found a way to communicate, however, enough so that she could understand the stories the grandfather of the host family told about working on a farm.

“There were about 30 kinds of grapes they grew in their backyard (which was several acres large). It was really interesting,” she said.

She did get to interact with one person who spoke

English fairly well — a friend of one of her host sisters. The family held a barbecue. Powell’s host sister invited a couple of friends to the barbecue. One of the friends was the top student in their English class.

“She was asking me all these questions in English. She was doing quite well. Sometimes I’d answer with vocabulary they didn’t know,” she said.

The best part of the trip for Powell was making friends in the delegation and with people she met in Japan. She has kept in touch with the older host sister using a texting application that translates for them, she said.

Mary Neilson, Hot Springs’ Sister City Program Coordinator, said

that developing such relationships is one of the goals of the program.

“In spite of our obvious differences — in languages, culture, religion, we find the commonalities.

That’s what all global learning has to offer. It opens doors to other opportunities. The world is not a big scary place, but a big friendly place,” Neilson said.

Waddell said one of the goals of the teacher trip is to find a way to connect students from both cities, to find common interests in education. Waddell said the teacher delegation toured many schools on their trip. Included in her delegation were two Hot Springs School District teachers and an assistant superintendent from the Lakeside School District.

She said the level of interactive learning in the Japanese classrooms surprised the delegation members. There was a lot of group work and interaction between the students themselves as well as with the instructors. Teachers moved from classroom to classroom rather than the students swapping classrooms, she said.

In the upper grades, very specialized classes were offered.

Some were very strict college prep classes while others focused on student athletes. There were also environmental tracts and agricultural tracts students could take that prepared them careers.

Waddell’s experience on the trip led a different approach in preparing for the annual visits to ASMSA

ASMSA instructor Dr. Lindsey Waddell, center, eats lunch with students at a junior high school in Japan during her trip to the country with a delegation of Hot Springs educators. The trip was part of the Hot Springs Sister City exchange program with Hanamaki, Japan.

23

by a group from Tennoji High School in Osaka, Japan. In the past, the visiting Japanese students spent most of their time with ASMSA students during class and on tours of the school. This year, the students arrived on a weekend and spent time doing research, sampling and testing water from different points in Hot Springs National Park.

They also participated in a fishing tournament arranged through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission as well as their annual visit to a crystal mine.

When the business and community leader delegation arrived in September, it was festival season in Hanamaki. Alderdice said it was very similar to a state fair atmosphere with games, food, parades and other celebrations. The delegation was invited to walk in a parade with a group of Hanamaki city leaders.

“Southerners pride themselves on their acumen for hospitality, but I was not prepared for the genuine kindness and inclusivity afforded the group by our friends in Hanamaki,” Alderdice said.

The business and community leader delegation also visited several schools. Alderdice said one of the schools was Hanamaki Kita High School, one of the top academic schools in the area. The visit provided an opportunity to begin building a relationship with the school.

Alderdice said it is his hope that ASMSA may send a delegation of students and teachers to Japan as part of the school’s Global Learning Program. He cited the success of the Tennoji High School visits as well as the longstanding rela-

ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice, right, presents an artist’s rendering of the Student Center to Shin Arihara, principal of Hanamaki Kita High School. Alderdice traveled to Hanamaki as part of a business and community delegation representing the Hot Springs Sister City Program. He said the hope is for ASMSA to develop a student exchange program with the school in the near future.

tionship between Hanamaki and Hot Springs as the basis for that hope. Having the opportunity for ASMSA students, faculty and staff participate in the Sister Cities program an important component of the school’s growing Global Learning Program, he said.

“While ASMSA is a program that benefits all of Arkansas, it's incredibly important that we are constantly reminded that Hot Springs fought hard to earn the right to be the host city for the school and that this community

offers a wealth of experiences, programs and opportunities that distinguish it from other communities in the state,” Alderdice said.

“The Hot Springs-Hanamaki Sister City Program is as old as ASMSA and is very much a part of the cultural and educational fabric of the community. Lending our enthusiasm and support to the program not only helps us achieve our goals of study abroad and global learning for students and staff but also helps brings the world to ASMSA.”

‘In spite of our obvious differences — in languages, culture, religion, we find the commonalities. That’s what all global learning has to offer. It opens doors to other opportunities.’

Mary Neilson, Hot Springs’ Sister City Program Coordinator, on why such programs are important 24

Going Global Three alumni are finding ways to make our world a bit smaller. One works for the Department of State focusing on Arabic issues. Another built a school in Uganda. A third is learning how to bring a Japanese industry to Hot Springs. Each has found their niche in the world.

hannah draper (‘03), middle, escorts U.S. Sen. John McCain during elections in Libya in 2012. draper was serving as a foreign service officer in the U.S. Embassy in Libya at the time.

Middle East issues focus of alumna’s State Dept. job

h

annah draper (’03) readily describes herself as “a little bit of a contrarian.”

That could be as regards to her choice to legally change her name to all lower caps after a principal at her junior high school in West Memphis told her she couldn’t list it that way in the yearbook.

It’s also one of the reasons why she decided she wanted to learn Arabic. She initially attended Washington University in St. Louis with intentions of majoring in economics as well as learning Arabic. She enjoyed the Arabic classes so much that she swapped her major to Islamic history, earn-

ing both her bachelor’s and master’s degree in the topic.

“I wanted to do something that literally no one back home would know anything about,” draper said.

And while she had wanted to learn Arabic before, watching the events of Sept. 11, 2001, unfold while sitting in the cafeteria at ASMSA reinforced her desire to learn the language and perform government service.

“There’s a whole generation of people who learned Arabic after 9/11 with the goal of going into government service in some variety or another. I’m part of that generation,” she said.

draper knew she wanted to use her education to perform government service but wasn’t sure in what area. Dr. Don Baker, a former humanities instructor at ASMSA, had become a foreign service officer the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service. He encouraged her to apply to become a foreign service officer as well.

After graduating from Washington in 2007, she applied for several federal government jobs, including the Foreign Service.

She received a spot at the State Department, and her first assignment was serving just over a year as a consular officer in the U.S. 25

Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Ara- having to go in. That loss of life is changing events of people in othbia. She followed that with a two- something we take very seriously,” er nations. year tour in the Consulate General she said.

While serving in Istanbul, she in Istanbul, Turkey, and a year in Despite the tragic event that focused on religious freedom. the embassy in Tripoli, Libya. She took place while she was assigned Turkey, an Islamic-dominant nanow serves as the Lebanon Desk to the Tripoli post, she said her tion, is the home of many small Officer at the State Department in time in Libya was “one of the most Christian communities and also Washington, D.C. rewarding jobs I’ve ever had.” She serves as the center of the Ordraper was a political officer in said working in a country that was thodox Christian community. She the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli in Sep- in need of assistance and curious was able to attend religious certember 2012 when U.S. Ambas- about representative democracy emonies at two historic, ruined sador J. Christopher Stevens and was exciting. sites, one 1,700 years old and anthree others were killed during an She shared a story about U.S. other 1,600 years old. It was the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post election night in 2012. Libya is first Christian worship services in Benghazi. seven hours ahead of the U.S. were held at the sites in almost a She was in Arkansas at the time East Coast. She was sitting with a century. Pilgrims from around the of the attack attending a friend’s group of about 15 Libyan college world attended the services. wedding. While she said the emo- students and young professionals, In June 2012, she witnessed the tions of the situation were still explaining how the Electoral Col- first elections held in Libya since too raw to discuss the attack and lege works. the 1950s. She witnessed the enthe loss of life of friends and col“They asked questions. How do tire country celebrate the elecleagues, she said her reaction at you determine this? How do you tions. draper traveled to polling that time was to sites with U.S. try to get back Sen. John Mc‘What I can say is that every single one of us at that into the country Cain, who came and to the em- embassy — we were all fighting tooth and nail to get to observe the bassy as soon as back in there. ... You feel a duty to go back and keep elections and repossible. ceived an enthuworking.’

“What I can siastic reception. hannah draper (‘03), on the reaction of American say is that every “Seeing little foreign service officers assisgned to Libyan embassy grannies single one of us who after the Benghazi attack in September 2012 couldn’t at that embassy walk, — we were all but she’d sit in a fighting tooth and nail to get back determine that? How do political chair and five dudes would carry in there. Because when something parties negotiate and determine her up to the polling station. This like that happens, what you want who is going to take over com- was the first time women had been to do is in this line of work — es- mittees in Congress? At the time, allowed to vote. It was the second pecially working in Libya with the Libya had no concept of that,” she election ever. Seeing that level of incredible team of people we had said. excitement, there’s nothing like it,” there — what you want to do is go “It was absolutely fascinat- she said. back in and keep the vision alive. ing to sit there and watch AmeriAnother good memory from You feel a duty to go back and can election results come in and her time is meeting her husband keep working,” she said. talk to people who had just gone in Istanbul. He had been living in draper said that foreign ser- through a very brutal and bloody Turkey about two years when she vice officers tend to want to go to revolution after 42 years of dicta- met him. They were married six places where they can make a dif- torship and sit there and discuss weeks before her tour in Istanbul ference. She said they were able to the very basic fundamentals of ended. make a difference in Libya, even our democracy. Despite every“That’s the running joke in the after Benghazi. thing that happened in Benghazi family that I had to go to all the “The goal is — the difference — I was there before and after — it way to Istanbul to meet a boy from between the military and diplo- was one of the most amazing ex- south Louisiana,” she said, laughmats — we’re supposed to go in so periences in my life.” ing. the military doesn’t have to go in.

Being a foreign service officer draper will continue working We’re supposed to be out on the has provided draper many unique and living in Washington when she front lines to prevent the military opportunities to experience lifeSee draper, Page 29

26

For goodness sake Brewing popular Japanese drink goal for Bell

B

en Bell (’02) has worked in the spirits business for more than a decade. He has two professional certifications in wine, one in spirits and one in beer. He used that knowledge to help educate customers at a wine and spirits store as well as a popular dining establishment in Little Rock.

One day a friend introduced him to the idea of home brewing sake — a drink made from rice that is brewed primarily in Japan. The friend asked Bell if he had any interest in brewing his own sake.

Bell said he thought it would be fun to try, especially since Arkansas is known for growing rice.

The batch wasn’t very good, he said, but Bell was hooked on the idea of learning the proper way to Bell brew sake.

Bell began attending sake events in New York, Chicago and other cities across the United States, learning as much as he could. About three years ago, he decided he wanted to learn how to make sake in Japan.

He contacted a master brewer about a job in a brewery. The brewer was interested, but asked for him to come for an interview. He flew to Japan, but within the first 10 minutes of entering the brewery, he was told he wouldn’t be allowed to work there because he did not speak Japanese.

Bell returned to the U.S., but he didn’t give up on his dream of brewing sake. He earned a professional certification in sake via a test by the Sake Education Council in New York. He began preparing for his second trip to Japan, where he would take the advanced sake professional test. The test features one week of prep and one week of testing. It is only offered once a year. He both completed and passed the test in Tokyo and then worked two weeks at the brewery he visited on his first trip.

But he wasn’t done. He still wanted to work full time in a brewery in Japan so he could learn the art of sake brewing and bring it back to Arkansas. It’s rare for foreigners to work at a Japanese sake brewery so getting his foot in the door was hard. A visit to an ASMSA alumni event in 2013 provided him a unique opportunity to make a connection with one of

Ben Bell (‘02) stirs a batch of rice with a kaibo at the Nanbu Bijin Brewery in Ninohe, Japan. Bell will soon begin his second brewing season at the brewery, where he is learning how to make sake. He hopes to open a sake brewery in Hot Springs after he gains more experience in Japan.

the most respected sake breweries in Japan.

At the alumni event, Bell learned about Hot Springs’ Sister City connection with Hanamaki, Japan. He later visited with Mary Neilson, Hot Springs’ 27

Sister City Program Coordinator.

He expressed interest in returning to Hot Springs to open a sake brewery after receiving training at a Japanese brewery.

One of the oldest and most respected breweries in Japan is located in the same prefecture as Hanamaki. Neilson reached out to a friend at the Hanamaki International Exchange Association to find a brewery that might be willing to allow Bell to work there.

Neilson’s efforts were successful, and Bell soon had a job at the Nanbu Bijin Brewery in Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture. The plan was for Bell to spend a year in Japan being introduced to the sake brewing process by working in the brewery.

Once Bell made it to Japan to work in the brewery, he was met with two major challenges — lack of language skills and the physicality of the job.

Bell had been studying Japanese on his own, but he quickly realized he didn’t know enough.

There were one or two other workers who could speak a little bit of English. Essentially, he was living and working in a place where he didn’t know the language.

“You kind of need a different level to be able to ask questions, such as why do we do things this way. At first I didn’t understand ‘Wait here,’ which drove people nuts,” he said.

The physical strength required in the job may surprise some as well. While the sake industry has become industrialized in some respect in a few breweries, the Nanbu Bijin Brewery still uses many of the traditional methods of brewing sake that includes workers mixing the rice with long sticks called kaibo or with their hands. During the two-week stint Bell did at the first brewery, he suffered a permanent injury to his back. That meant he had to learn a new way to do the heavy work in his new job.

28

Ben Bell (‘02), front row left, made a connection to the Nanbu Bijin Brewery through the Hot Springs Sister City Program. In the photo clockwise are Bell; Fumiaki Sasaki, president of the Hanamaki International Exchange Association; Mary Neilson, Hot Springs Sister City coordinator; Monte Everhart, owner of American Tire and Wheel in Hot Springs; and Kosuke Kuji, president of Nanbu Bijin Brewery.

The brewing season traditionally lasts several months during Japan’s winter. After his first full season in 2014, Bell said he has adjusted to both the physical and language demands of the brewery.

“I have learned a ton on the job at Nanbu Bijin, but I would say the biggest developments have been with my conditioning and language skills,” Bell said. “Making sake in Japan is a unique challenge of understanding the sakemaking process while also doing physically demanding work.

“And all the while, I am learning and receiving instructions in a difficult foreign language. That led to a fair amount of exhaustion and stress, but now I’m stronger and can speak and understand Japanese enough to relax a bit. That’s a nice feeling.”

Bell decided one season at the brewery was not enough. He asked if he could stay another season. He still attends meetings every morning at the brewery and

is working for a nearby farming co-op that produces the rice for the brewery. He has worked on each step of raising the rice, including the seed germination and the planting in the fields.

Working at the farm provides him the opportunity to learn more about growing the specific rice needed for Japanese sake, something he hopes to encourage Arkansas farmers to grow. Currently only one farmer specializes in growing the rice in the state.

He said he has also asked to be considered for a third year at the brewery. The additional years will provide him the opportunity to become fluent in the language, which he will need to stay in communication with Japanese brewers once he moves back to Arkansas, as well as better exploring the brewing process. The decision to delay returning home was tough, he said.

“Choosing to stay was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. Living away from home and doing

difficult work without fluency is very stressful. … Making sake and bringing this craft to Arkansas has been my dream for years. Even before that, I always wanted to work on something big and interesting and challenging. And now other people are counting on me as well.

So for me and for them, it’s my responsibility to see this through,” he said.

There’s been one unexpected development from Bell working at the brewery — he has become a media star of sorts. The rarity of an American working in a sake brewery made Bell a natural magnet for local media. He said he has done three interviews for Japan’s largest newspapers and about 10 television and radio interviews.

He is also heavily featured in a documentary about Nanbu Bijin.

“All of that has been it’s own unique challenge and learning experience to me. If you think learning new techniques under a renowned master brewer is hard, try it with two TV cameras pointed at your every move!” he said.

One day after an hour of mixing 1,500 pounds of rice, he was greeted by a camera crew and a famous Japanese model/actress for an interview.

draper

A bottle of sake brewed by Ben Bell (‘02) at Nanbu Bijin Brewery was served during a recent Hanamaki Rotary Club meeting. The president of the brewery encouraged Bell to brew a test batch of sake as a learning experience.

“I was so exhausted and had to completely change gears into answering questions about my life in Japan from a famous person.

That was early on, and I remember thinking, ‘Is this my life now?’” he said.

Bell also has produced a batch of sake that has his name as the brewer. It was the idea of Koji Kusuke, president of the brewery.

Kusuke thought it would be a good

Continued from Page 26

moves to her new post this summer working on Iraqi refugee issues. Moving back to the U.S. after serving in several foreign posts took some adjustment. She said that everyone who serves in foreign service has a “culture shock” moment when they return.

“For me, it was standing in the cereal aisle and wondering why there were so many types of cereal. For a friend of mine, she was standing in front of canned tomatoes and wondering why there were so many different canned tomatoes. Why were there so many different varieties? Why couldn’t she just have one type?

But it goes both ways. Everyone who comes back goes to Target, Chipotle and Starbucks,” she said. draper’s foreign posts have helped her develop her world perspective. “My concept of distance has changed. Your concept of how big the world is really shrinks. It’s very nice how my world has shrunk. It’s

idea for Bell to produce the batch as part of the documentary. It will be sold in Japan this summer.

“It was also the absolute best way to understand the entire process from beginning to end. Many of the steps I did for that batch were new to me. And the final product turned out great, so it was a wonderful experience. And I’ll be doing it again next season,” he said.

gotten a lot bigger but it’s also a lot smaller conceptually, too,” she said.

While at ASMSA, draper took advantage of maxing out the number of humanities courses she could take. That worked well for her future, but she said for those who want to work in foreign or civil service, there are many opportunities to develop skills in all kinds of areas, including STEM, that the government can use.

Whether it’s doctors preparing for medical emergencies, lawyers working on policy or treaty issues or scientists doing work in chemistry or biology, there are foreign service opportunities, she said.

“Interestingly enough, we have an entire bureau where we have a bunch of Ph.Ds in physics and chemistry and they work on nonproliferation issues.

We have a whole bureau of rocket scientists essentially. You don’t normally think of people working in foreign affairs with that background,” she said.

29

Rebecca Sorensen (‘02), right, poses for a photo with some of the children who attend Royal Hope Academy, the school she helped create in 2009 in Busega, Uganda. The school started with 30 students and has grown to more than 400 students.

School combines alumna’s passions

W

hen Rebecca Sorensen (’02) decided to build a day school in the Busega neighborhood of Kampala, Uganda, she didn’t have many resources on which to rely.

She had $300 and a group of volunteers she had met during a previous mission trip ready to construct a five-classroom building that would serve as a place orphaned and abandoned children could receive an education. The building was made of timber and dirt floors and a roof from grass.

Looking at a photo of the original building featured on the Facebook page of My Father’s House Uganda, the ministry started by Sorensen that runs the school, it resembles a small stable rather than a classroom.

“It was built in an ‘African’ style,” Sorensen said. “It literally cost $300.”

But the cost of the school, called the Royal Hope Academy, didn’t matter to the children who decided to come to the classes.

30

On the first day of school, on Feb. 9, 2009, 30 children showed up.

Within three months, there were 150 children coming to the school.

By the end of the next year, there were 250 children attending the school. Not only were they taking classes, but the school also provided a lunch.

“It was expensive. Looking back at that time, I have no idea how we did that. People would give, but there was no consistent support.

It was just random,” she said.

She was 24 at the time. “So young and naïve,” she said. While it was a stressful time, Sorensen said it was also exciting. To see the school blossom in a community slum area where many of the children lived on the streets or the dumps or lived with a mother who was sick.

Sorensen was inspired to create the school after she witnessed a group of children in school uniforms who were happy and full of life walking down one side of a street in Busega. On the other side

of the street were children, some of them naked, in a garbage dump, picking through the trash searching for scraps of metal they could sell to get something to eat.

“They literally were just living their day-to-day life. Seeing that disparity, I thought something needs to change,” she said.

That led to her speaking to village leaders who agreed the school was a need. “School is really expensive there. We were offering free education. There’s a huge need for that,” she said.

By the end of 2010, the school expanded to 10 classrooms on a different piece of land. Today, the academy educates 400 students.

There is also a nursery and two homes in which some of the students live.

Besides mission work, Sorensen also has been interested in music.

After graduating from ASMSA, she attended Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., where she became involved in songwriting and music. Performing was something

she always enjoyed, including performing at ASMSA’s DolphinStock and Coffeehouse events as well as developing a fundraising concert in downtown Hot Springs her senior year.

Sorensen has used her love of music as an educational and mission tool at the Uganda school. In 2009, she created the Royal Hope Choir, comprised of students from the school. The choir recorded an album of African praise and worship.

“It’s wonderful when I get to do anything to combine mission work and music — both of my passions coming together,” she said.

Sorensen began her mission career in Uganda by accident.

She had been accepted for a missionary school in Mozambique in 2007, but she chose to go on a mission trip to Kenya that was sponsored by an ASMSA faculty member from that nation instead.

When that trip fell through, how-

ever, she was invited by a different group, including a couple from Hot Springs that she knew, to go on a trip to Uganda instead.

She was in northern Uganda for five weeks, visiting refugee camps and working at a resettlement project. She stayed in a ministry house in Busega, the same house in which she lived while starting Royal Hope Academy. She returned to Uganda the following Christmas with 20 suitcases of items for children that she collected in Nashville during a break between trips. She later attended the missionary school in Mozambique and did an outreach in Sierra Leone, but then went back to Uganada.

During her first trip, she was the only American working in the project she had joined. She quickly became immersed in the culture, beginning to learn the language.

That experience as well as the missionary school she attended

helped her realize that for her mission work to truly be successful that she would need to approach it with an attitude of acceptance.

“I had to learn that just because someone does something different does not mean it is wrong. You must learn why they do things the way they do,” she said.

Sorensen also expanded her mission work to include women in the community through Dignity Designs. Her ministry partners with widows and other women to make jewelry and bags made out of paper. The ministry buys the items from the women and resells them. The women are able to help support themselves, and profits from the ministry selling the items goes back to the school and homes for the children.

“These women have really become friends of mine. I encourage them, and they encourage me. I’ve seen lots of good progress in their lives,” she said.

Royal Hope Academy was created to provide children, many of whom lived on the streets or in the dump, the opportunity to have an education. Some of the children also live in group homes that are part of the academy.

31

End Note ‘So the question is not if you’ll be successful; the question is when and where.’

Eric Jackson, general manager of Oaklawn Park, speaking to the Class of 2015 during commencement

Editor’s note: Eric Jackson, general manager of Oaklawn Park, was the featured speaker at the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2015 on May 23. This is an excerpt from his speech. To view his full remarks, visit https://vimeo.com/ armathsciarts/ericjackson.

I realized that this school has a lot in common with what I do for a living — horse racing.

Now my guess is you have never been compared to a horse before, so let me explain.

When you strip everything else away from horse racing, horse racing is simply about three things: — Identifying potential; — Creating an environment where that potential can be developed; — And at some point — if everything comes together and you get a break or two — celebrating success.

It seems to me that’s what this school is about: — Identifying potential, whether it’s in Newport or Barton or anywhere else in Arkansas; — Creating an unbelievable learning environment where potential can be best developed; — And as has been the case with so many people who came out of the first 20 graduating classes — celebrating success.

There are more parallels.

32

About 30,000 racehorses are born every year in America. Every year in Arkansas about 30,000 students graduate from high school.

Out of those 30,000 racehorses, about 100 eventually rise to the top — becoming the best, the fastest, the most determined.

Out of those 30,000 high school seniors, a tiny number will also rise to the top. I don’t know exactly how many. I know there aren’t many. And I also know 102 of them are sitting in this room right now.

In racing, there are about 40,000 races each year around the country. The very top races are awarded what’s called a Grade I status. It’s only a handful. The Arkansas Derby is one.

The Kentucky Derby is another. There aren’t many.

Coincidentally, there are about 40,000 high schools in this country.

The very best are awarded the equivalent of Grade I status. There are only a few. No surprise, this math and science school is on the list. And by at least one measure — out of the thousands of high schools in the United States — this is in the top 10.

In horse racing, there isn’t any question — the only way you are among those top 100 horses is if you are fast. But it takes more than just being fast. You’ve got to have a good support team. You have to be in the right place at the right time. You need

some good things to go your way.

The support team is critical. The horse has to have good people around it to develop to its potential. It’s said that by the time a horse gets to the races, some 81 people have had a hand in its development. Trainers, jockey, exercise riders, farriers, veterinarians, massage therapists, acupuncturists, nutritionists — the list goes on.

I don’t know how many people had a hand in the 102 graduates here, but I would not be surprised if that number is at least 81. Parents, teachers on all levels, counselors, possibly coaches, ministers, neighbors, community role models, even other family members — the list goes on.

In horse racing, it also helps to be in the right place. You can be the fastest horse in the United States, but if you are on a farm in Montana, you won’t get near the recognition as if you were at a top training center in Kentucky.

Same here. This is not a disparaging statement. But no matter how smart you are, graduating from high school in Barton or Newport or Benton or Fordyce or Lonoke or anywhere else simply isn’t the same as graduating from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts. …

If you really were racehorses, you’d be the heavy favorites. So the question is not if you’ll be successful; the question is when and where.

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Final Frame

Alex Ladd (’16) enjoys a conversation with friends during a meal on the patio of the Student Center. While great discussions happen in classes across campus, some of the most meaningful conversations are had at meals, during students’ down time and throughout the residential experience.