六名优秀A-State学生荣获杰出服务奖
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| Brenna大炮 | 梅根船舷上缘 | 莎拉·霍尔 |
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| 拉施德Kirksey | 贝利McAlexander | Imani Udoumana |
琼斯博罗- 6名来自优德体育立大学的优秀学生被选为杰出服务奖（DSA）得主。其中一名学生将被选为该校2021年最高荣誉R.E.李·威尔逊奖的获得者。
由于他们的领导力，奖学金和公民身份，DSA获得者被公认为该机构最杰出的毕业生。威尔逊奖的获奖者将于4月29日（星期四）在库珀校友中心宴会厅为DSA获奖者举行的晚宴上宣布，同时对其他人进行直播。这六名学生是琼斯博罗的布伦娜·坎农；康威的梅根·甘奈尔斯；琼斯博罗的萨拉·霍尔；西赫勒拿的拉沙德·柯克西；琼斯博罗的贝利·麦克亚历山大；以及来自田纳西州纳什维尔的伊马尼·乌杜玛纳。教职员工和学生组织的顾问以及校园社区的其他成员为享有盛誉的奖项提交提名。所有被提名者都取得了优异的学习成绩，并为社区、同学、校园组织、部门和学院以及优德体育立大学提供了无数小时的服务。由学生、教职员工和前威尔逊奖获得者组成的委员会进行最终选择。布伦纳·坎农拥有植物和土壤科学以及农业综合企业的双学位，重点是农学。她将于5月毕业，获得理学学士学位，平均绩点为3.89。她获得了夏季的研究助理奖学金，并将进入俄克拉何马州立大学的研究生院，研究水的利用效率，以及在一个由扩展领导的研究项目中对棉花的植物种群和生长调节剂进行试验。在a州立大学期间，坎农出现在校长、荣誉主任和院长名单上。她参加了特殊问题课程，包括地理空间数据模型和土壤与作物生产。在美国全国未来农民协会（National Future Farmers of America，简称FFA）的赞助下，作为海外学习项目的一部分，她还在南非度过了一段时间。在那里，她和她的团队参观了当地的农场和工业，学会了接受这个国家人民和企业的文化差异。坎农在攻读学位期间获得了六份实习工作，包括在优德体育狩猎和鱼类委员会进行鹌鹑栖息地监测和种群迁移分析，从而获得了宝贵的知识。她还曾担任巴斯夫大豆育种实习生，协助完成大豆雄激素发生的研究，并与Farmers Edge Digital Agriculture合作。除了各种荣誉协会的会员，Cannon也是众多组织的会员，包括Agribusiness Club， Arkansas Women In Agriculture, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, Food Distribution Research Society, Plant and Soil Science Club, Phi Beta Lambda, Arkansas FFA Association（州副主席）和合唱表演。
坎农意识到校园里需要一个以农业为基础的姐妹会，以满足许多希望更多地参与a - 优德体育的女性的需求。她通过发起西格玛阿尔法农业姐妹会的Gamma Epsilon章节的Alpha班级申请并执行了特许过程。她让基金会和第一个执行团队一起学习如何有效地管理分会。坎农开始了社区外展活动，以了解如何满足城市的需求。
Megan Gunnels of Conway
Megan Gunnels will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and a 4.0 GPA. An Honors College student, she was a consistent member of the Honors Director’s List and student grievance committee and has done undergraduate research with Create@State presentations on “The Effects of Expert and Character Witness Testimony on Jury Verdicts in a Murder Trial” (2019) and “Schemas Related to Stalking and Cyberstalking Amongst College Students” (2019-20). She also worked on “The Impact of COVID-19 on College Students’ Coping Strategies” (2020-21) as an honors thesis project.
Gunnels is involved in numerous leadership activities, including serving as a Chancellor’s Ambassador, Volunteer A-State at the university’s food pantry, the St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn fundraiser, the Little Heroes Learning Academy, and Psi Chi psychology honor society.
She is the winner of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority exceptional leadership award in 2020, after winning the group’s scholarship award and the university’s leadership scholarship. She finished as first runner-up in the Miss ASU pageant and won Miss Congeniality in 2019. In the fall of 2020, Gunnels was selected as captain of the Red Wolves dance team.
Sarah Hall of Jonesboro
Sarah Hall, with a double major, graduated magna cum laude in honors with distinction and received her Bachelor of Science degrees in psychology and biological sciences in December 2020 with a grade point average of 3.841. This followed certification as a college reading and learning association (CRLA) as a certified tutor in August 2020.
Hall, whose parents are both professors at A-State, appeared numerous times on the Chancellor’s and Deans Lists and holds membership in various honor societies, including Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. Additionally, she holds a board member position on the university’s student conduct board and oversees A-State’s new student emergency fund in the Student Philanthropy Council (SPC). She was selected as the president of SPC during her senior year.
Hall also served as a research assistant for Forensic and Applied Cognition in Society (FACS) focusing on forensic and social psychology and in the Arkansas Biosciences Institute to research the production and application of specific plant, poultry and fish proteins in biotechnology. She is a certified handler for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD). She and her dog Luna are both certified after participating in canine classes and undergoing specific therapy dog training to become a registered team. The pair provides pet therapy to relieve anxiety and stress to local hospitals, nursing homes, the Center for Good Grief, A-State campus daycare, and Honors Up All Night.
Rashad Kirksey of West Helena
Rashad Kirksey will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a 3.80 grade point average. He has a lengthy list of academic and scholastic achievements, including receiving the Debbye Turner, Arkansas Promise, and Arkansas Challenge scholarships. He also was awarded the Price and Sarah Gardner pre-law, Anderson Neal Jr. and Marietha Goodwin Neal, and the Linual Cameron scholarships.
He is a consistent member of the Chancellor’s and Deans Lists. During summer 2020, Kirksey served as a law fellow for the Public Policy and International Relations (PPIA) at the University of California-Berkeley, and during the 2019 fall semester, he drafted and defended a Supreme Court appellate brief in regard to the fourth amendment search and seizure provisions.
He is active in campus government and, after fulfilling service as a freshman and junior senator, he was elected to serve as president of the Student Government Association this academic year. He has worked on the Student Activities Board, the Student Philanthropy Council, the Pre-Law Club, and is an active participant in the Black Student Association, Brother2Brother, and NAACP community outreach whose top priority this year was voter registration. A member of the 2020-21 Homecoming Court, Kirksey is also the chapter president for Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at A-State.
Bailey McAlexander of Jonesboro
Bailey McAlexander will graduate in Honors this May with a degree in biological sciences pre-professional and a 4.0 grade point average. She plans to become a physician. She has a long list of academic achievements, including the Mary Beth Oliver Memorial Scholarship, the Arkansas Academic Challenge scholarship, an A-State Excellence scholarship, and the Dr. Willie Young Memorial Scholarship.
Academically, McAlexander is active in the National Society of Leadership and Success and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. With a minor and a strong interest in Spanish language and culture, she is a participant in Sigma Delta Pi, a National Collegiate Hispanic honor society, and spent a month in Costa Rica living with a host family and immersed herself in the language and culture. She has completed the medical college admission test (MCAP) with a score of 516, ranking in the 93rd percentile nationwide.
She is involved with various activities, both on-campus and extra-curricular. A member of the Honors College Association, she is an ambassador for that organization as well as working as a Chancellor’s ambassador. She is a participant with St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn fundraising group. A member of the Student Philanthropy Council and the Pre-Professional Club, McAlexander also has an interest in animals and was a volunteer for the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society. A founding member of the A-State chapter of Pre-Student Osteopathic Medicine Association (SOMA), she also worked as a lab intern for the Arkansas Biosciences Institute researching cellular mechanisms important to cancer metastasis.
Imani Udoumana of Nashville, Tenn.
Imani Udoumana will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in strategic communication. She owns a 3.97 grade point average and will pursue a Master of Science degree in the same field. She hopes to create a non-profit organization that helps communities through athletic programs for children.
Udoumana is a member of Arkansas State’s women’s track and field program who excels in hurdles and jumps as well as the multi-events. She was the triple jump champion at the 2019 Sun Belt Conference championship meet. Some of her awards include membership on the A-State Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll (fall 2017-spring 2021) and the Athletic Director’s Academic 4.0 Athletes (fall 2017-fall 2019). In the fall of 2019, she was named academic student-athlete of the month, the NCAA Division I all-academic women’s track and field team, and the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List (2017-2021). She was awarded the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Eta Upsilon chapter, outstanding and highest GPA in 2020.
She participated in several seminars to develop leadership and character skills as a representative with the National Honors Society and Leadership and Success for the last three years. As a student-athlete tutor, she worked with numerous student-athletes in all of A-State’s 16 intercollegiate sports in communication, English and general education courses. Udoumana worked as an A-State “ghost writer,” a volunteer opportunity to take notes for Arkansas State students with disabilities. She helped organize a high school visit day on the A-State campus to learn about different clubs and organizations Arkansas State has to offer as part of her participation in the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). She also helped and participated in the Unity March as a track and field representative in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) where student-athletes gathered and marched in support of those who have experienced racial injustices in America. She also worked with Vote!, a program that encouraged student-athletes to register to vote in the 2020 election.
