Achievements

UCA Nursing Students Received VALOR Program Positions

UCA Department of Nursing junior level students received 5 of 8 competitive positions for the Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System, Veterans Affairs Learning Opportunities Residency (VALOR).

The UCA 2015 VALOR recipients are: Kristen Lacy, Ashleigh Mann, Kayla Mazzanti, Corbin Noll, and Nicole Reynolds

The VALOR program is a funded residency program that provides opportunities for outstanding BSN students to develop competencies in clinical nursing at an approved VA health care facility. Opportunities for learning include didactic experiences, competency-based clinical practice with a qualified RN preceptor, and participation in nursing-focused clinical conferences as well as other interprofessional opportunities. VALOR residents will begin the program this summer and may continue during their senior academic year on a part-time basis. The aggregate hours that a student may be funded while in the program is up to 800 hours.

Dr. Susan Gatto facilitates the students’ application for this program and their preparation for the required interviews. UCA has consistently received a high portion of the positions in the VALOR program due to faculty preparation of the students and the quality of our students. The VALOR program provides exceptional leadership and clinical experience for our students.

Student Life Office Worker Selected For John Hopkins Internship

The Student Life office has a student worker, John Patterson, who has been selected for a 10 week undergrad internship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD this summer.

Over 600 students applied to the SURE program and only 10 were selected. John will be working with Dr. Hiroshi Miyamoto studying “androgen modulated responses to standard treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and BCG therapy.”

It is an honor to have a UCA student accepted into this program. The Student Life office congratulates John and wishes him success as he pursues his field of medicine.

Forensics Team Completed Successful Semester

The University of Central Arkansas’s forensics team recently completed a successful semester of International Public Debate Association competition.

The team, coached by Anthony McMullen, had high finishes in several events in the 2014-15 IPDA season in the IPDA National Championship Tournament in Boise, Idaho.

The UCA team earned 2nd Place in the Scholastic Cup, which covers points accumulated in the novice, varsity and team divisions of IPDA, and 3rd Place Overall, which covers all divisions of IPDA at the National Championship, including the team championship hosted by UCA two weeks ago. This is out of thirty-two teams from colleges and universities across the country.

For the season, in addition to the team division awards from two weeks ago, UCA’s novice division was ranked fifth in the nation for the season out of 91 teams, and freshman Leia Smith from Cabot, Arkansas was recognized as the top novice speaker for the entire season.

Other awards include:

Stephanie Gray (Professional Division), 7th Speaker at National Tournament, 5th Speaker for the Season

Rickie Mangrum (Professional Division), 10th Place Season Sweepstakes

Brad Allgood (Varsity Division), Triple Octafinalist

Danielle Casey (Varsity Division), Double Octafinalist

Braxton Johnson (Varsity Division), Triple Octafinalist

Mark Matlock (Novice Division), Octafinalist

Brady Shiers (Novice Division), Double Octafinalist, 4th Place Season Sweepstakes

Leia Smith (Novice Division), Double Octafinalist, 7th Speaker at National Tournament, Top Speaker for the Season

UCA Students Awarded Research Grants

Two undergraduates were awarded Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grants.

Ivana Ilic, sponsored by Dr. Ken Sobel was awarded a grant for $1,500 for her topic, “Does Color Influence the Appearance of Visually Ambiguous Motion?” and Zachery Stillman, sponsored by Dr. Shawn R. Charlton was awarded $1,500 for his topic, “Brain Drain: The Effects of Ego Depletion on Temporal Discounting”.

These grants are highly competitive and it says a lot about the caliber of UCA’s undergraduate students that two were awarded in the same round of reviews.

UCA Psych Intern Recognized For Work In Ebola Crisis

Keyoor Joshi, a UCA School Psychology Doctoral Intern a the Dallas Independent School District, was recently honored for his outstanding performance during the Ebola crisis in the Dallas ISD.

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Achievements