Forty-one University of Arkansas - Fort Smith students were the guests of Chancellor Paul B. Beran and First Lady Janice Beran at a dinner on April 23 as recipients of the university's Academic Excellence Awards which honor top students from throughout the UAFS campus.

 

Faculty in UAFS academic programs identified qualified students and submitted nominees' names for the awards, which are designed to recognize students who have exemplified outstanding academic achievement in their programs of study.

 

Recipients of this year's awards and the programs they represent are:

 

Alma: Tiffany Cox, Criminal Justice; Scott Walker, Workforce Leadership.

 

Bentonville: Earl Bakke III, Nursing.

 

Cedarville: Brooke Bates, Music Education (Vocal); Joel Cloud, Animation Technology.

 

Charleston: Kimberly Allen, English; Jennifer Verkamp, Spanish.

 

Farmington: Hannah Hayden, Dental Hygiene.

 

Fayetteville: Chris Arnold, Electrical Engineering.

 

Fort Smith: Zach Bettencourt, Music; Jeremy Branch, History with Social Studies Teacher Licensure; Letha Cummings, Organizational Leadership; Christina Freeman, Accounting; Stacy Hall, Surgical Technology; Carter Honea, Applied Science; Nick Huisman, Mechanical Engineering; Sarah Mann, Electronics Technology; Amanda Maxwell, Middle Childhood Education (Language Arts/Social Studies); Shael McDonald, Rhetoric and Writing; Courtney Moss, Media Communication; Trang Nguyen, Chemistry; Eiko Reilly, Administrative Professional and Office Technology; Kelsey Tincher, Psychology; Laura Wineland, Theatre.

 

Greenwood: Shayna Gatzke, Business Administration.

 

Hackett: Chase Collier, Studio Art.

 

Lavaca: Tracie Weaver, Biology with Life/Earth Science Teacher Licensure.

 

McGehee: Matt Myers, History.

 

Mena: D.J. Baker, Mathematics with Teacher Licensure.

 

Natural Dam: Michael Frazier, General Technology - Welding.

 

Ozark: Ashley Crockett, Imaging Sciences.

 

Springdale:  Jeremy Teff, Graphic Design.

 

Van Buren: Sebastian Bossarte, Computer and Information Sciences; Savannah Ridenour, Judith Anne Wrappe Art Award.

 

Fort Gibson, Okla: Jami Hendrix, English with Teacher Licensure.

 

Muldrow, Okla.: Breanna Deere, Early Childhood Education.

 

Roland, Okla.:  Cassandra Vanzandt, Music Education (Instrumental).

 

Vian, Okla.: Darin Choate, Middle Childhood Education (Math and Science).

 

Salt Lake City, Utah:  Michael Hamilton, Marketing.

 

Talinn, Estonia: Heidi Luks, Biology.

 

Lazarevac, Serbia: Djordje Stojanovic, Computer-Aided Drafting and Design.

 

A separate event, called the NUMAS, is held to recognize students who are involved in student organizations on the UAFS campus. Those awards will be announced at a later date.