Students attending the Western Arkansas Technical Center at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith have been recognized for superior achievement in a special awards ceremony which included the announcement of Outstanding WATC Students.

 

The Outstanding WATC Students included students attending classes on the UAFS campus as well as students from the programs offered by WATC in a satellite center in Waldron, Ark.

 

The Outstanding WATC Students are:

 

  • Zackary McClain of Van Buren, Van Buren High School, Automotive Technology

 

  • Travis Norris of Booneville, Booneville High School, Computer-Aided Drafting and Design

 

  • Kelsea Caldwell of Mountainburg, Alma High School, Criminal Justice

 

  • Khanhny Patoumma of Fort Smith, Southside High School, Early Childhood Education

 

  • Jesse Dyer of Booneville, Booneville High School, Electronics Technology

 

  • Talia Blanton of Bonanza, Hackett High School, Graphic Design

 

  • Perla Rodriguez of Fort Smith, Northside High School, General Health

 

  • Benjamin Truong, Advanced Health

 

  • Stephen King of Van Buren, Van Buren High School, Information Technology

 

  • William “Trey” Cooksey of Fort Smith, Southside High School, Pre-engineering

 

  • Dillon Dugan of Hackett, Hackett High School, Welding

 

  • Guadalupe Palasios, Waldron High School, Waldron Health Science

 

To be nominated for the awards, students must have a minimum of 3.00 cumulative grade point average at UAFS, have completed a minimum of one semester in the program for which the award is given, be eligible to walk in their high school graduation for the current year, be currently enrolled in the program for which the award is given, be in good standing with the WATC program and have demonstrated honesty, integrity and a strong work ethic.

 

Along with a plaque, outstanding WATC students received a $500 book scholarship to continue their education at UA Fort Smith.

 

In addition to the Outstanding Student Awards, WATC also awarded Director's Honor Roll Awards to students who have had outstanding academic achievement while attending WATC classes.

 

Students receiving the Director's Award were:

 

Alma: Tiffany Butler, Erica Cline, Matthew Musquiz and Zachery Teague, all from Alma High School.

 

Altus: Bradley Smith, Ozark High School.

 

Barling: Tiffany Bardin and Emily Langham, both from Southside High School.

 

Bonanza: Talia Blanton, Samantha Tristan and Veronica Tristan, all from Hackett High School.

 

Booneville: Travis Norris, Booneville High School; Kensey Kennedy, Charleston High School; and Luke Haller, JD Leftwich High School.

 

Chester: Samantha Fuerst and Shelby Fuerst, both from Mountainburg High School.

 

Fort Smith: Shannon McAllister, Meshia Morris, Destini Randolph, Perla Rodriguez, Robert Tran and Phansa Vongvone, all from Northside High School; and Sandy Atkins, Elizabath Bailey, Joseph Cervantes, William Cooksey, Jason Dennis, Kaley Etzkorn, Britany Forbis, Ashlynne Hixon, William Jennings, Tristan Jewell, Dillon King, Breanna Morton, Elleena Nanthavong, Haley Nelson, Khanhny Patoumma amd Forrest Teeter, all of Southside High School.

 

Greenwood: Heather Daigle, Gavin Dundee, Grayson Goodwin, Victoria Muncrief, Mattie Nelson, Caitlin Williams, Ashley Woodey and Inoli Wright, all from Greenwood High School.

 

Hackett: Bethanny Barkley, Jordan Christensen and Brenna McCartney, all from Hackett High School; and Ariel Wheeler, Greenwood High School.

 

Hartford: Krista Smith, Hartford High School.

 

Lavaca: Benjamin Scott, Megan Holloway and Codi Willhite, all from Lavaca High School.

 

Mulberry: Sydney Bruce, Mulberry High School.

 

New Blaine: Nalee Vang, Paris High School.

 

Ozark: Bhavin Patel, Ozark High School; and Allyson Flaherty, Johnson County Westside High School.

 

Van Buren: James Battiest, Christine Hester and Zackary McClain, all from Van Buren High School; and Nicole Puckett from Cedarville High School.

 

Waldron: Madison Aynes, Emily Black, Megan Bottoms, Sara Byford, Lizeth Falcon, Amber Green, Dylan Henderson, Ashley Maxell and Vanessa Ozuna, all from Waldron High School.

 

In addition, scholarships were awarded to WATC students who placed first, second or third in the recently completed State SkillsUSA championships. Book scholarships were awarded to those who actively participated in SkillsUSA, and “Early Step” scholarships were given to selected high school juniors, allowing them to enroll in Freshman English during the summer semester.

 

The Western Arkansas Technical Center at UAFS is an area secondary center serving a five-county area. WATC provides area high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to earn college credits in automotive technology, computer-aided drafting and design, criminal justice, early childhood education, electronics technology, engineering, graphic design, health sciences, information technology and welding technology.

 

Story ID: 
3674
Date Posted: 
Friday, May 3, 2013
News Teaser: 
Students attending the Western Arkansas Technical Center at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith have been recognized for superior achievement in a special awards ceremony which included the announcement of Outstanding WATC Students.