Our INTERN OF THE YEAR award recognizes students who have distinguished themselves through exemplary performance that surpassed standard internship expectations and gained meaningful experiences that enhanced both their academic journey and their career trajectory.

During the month of September, faculty and internships supervisors are asked to submit a nomination for a current UCA student who has excelled in or made a significant impact in work-integrated learning within the past year (Sep-Aug). Click here for more information on Intern of the Year!

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Interns of the Year

2026

Tymera Marsh
Marketing

Tymera is a senior majoring in Marketing with a minor in Computer Information Systems and was nominated by Dr. Tom Snyder for her outstanding work at Apptegy, a Little Rock-based SaaS company specializing in school-community communication.

As a Client Experience Intern, Marsh supported more than 2,000 shared client accounts through content migration, website improvements, and technical client guidance. Her standout achievement came when she independently identified a workflow gap and led a multi-phase redesign project — coordinating team meetings, creating instructional recordings, and strategically delegating tasks — that restored client trust and improved overall client sentiment.

Apptegy’s Vice President of Client Experience, Ashley Coleman, praised Marsh as a natural leader who exemplified initiative and originality. The company was so impressed that they offered her a full-time position upon graduation.

Marsh’s leadership and dedication are no surprise to those who know her. Throughout her four years at UCA, she has been actively involved in multiple student organizations and has consistently served as a mentor and campus leader.

2025

Arielis “Ariel” Rodriguez-Gutierrez
Chemistry

Ariel is a senior Chemistry major who interned at the University of California, Irvine during Summer 2024 as an undergraduate researcher at the Center for Closing the Carbon Cycle.  In this role, she made extraordinary contributions to environmental research. Through her research and testing, she developed a catalytic system to convert carbon dioxide into a valuable chemical feedstock, achieving a breakthrough that is being prepared for publication—an exceptional accomplishment for an undergraduate researcher. According to her site supervisor, Ariel’s work demonstrated remarkable scientific acumen, stating “It is a rare accomplishment for an undergraduate student to perform enough quality research to gain authorship on a peer-reviewed publication, let alone as a lead author!”  The internship proved to be a pivotal moment in Ariel’s academic journey as she discovered her passion for research and teaching, sparking her dream of becoming a university professor who can inspire and support students of color in STEM fields. Ariel is a recipient of the Arkansas Talented Optimistic Motivated (ATOM) Scholars program and an undergraduate research student at UCA. She has consistently demonstrated leadership and commitment to her discipline – presenting four research projects and applying to graduate school and the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. With her remarkable blend of scientific skill and visionary potential, Ariel is truly an outstanding emerging scientist and educator. Ariel is also the recipient of the 2025 National Internship Student Achievement Award presented by the Cooperative Education and Internship Association.

2024

Madison “Maddie” Porter
Writing, Rhetoric, and Information Design

Maddie is a senior Writing, Rhetoric, and Information Design (WRID) major who interned at Acoustic as a User Experience (UX) Writer.  In this role, she assisted the product development team with informational and engaging content such as error messages, help center text, and in-app tours. Her employer describes her as one with “a knack for simplifying complex ideas into user-friendly language”.  Maddie’s work contributions have made it into Acoustic’s product releases providing a direct value to the product development lifecycle. Maddie’s faculty nominator praises her work ethic, professionalism, and excitement to learn new skills. She was appointed to the Student Advisory Committee for two consecutive academic years and was the winner of the WRID Best Multimodal Project and WRID Best Scholarly Essay award in 2023. 

2023

Brian Cavin
Computer Science

Brian is a senior Computer Science major who interned at CG Infinity as a Developer Intern.  In this role, he assisted the development team with client consulting, problem analysis, and solution implementation and focused mainly on data warehousing, ETL, and integration. His employer describes him as “one of the most critical components to the CG Infinity Little Rock team’s success”.  Brian is a 2-time UCA President’s Scholar and has also been recognized on the President’s list and Dean’s list multiple times since 2021. After graduating in May, Brian plans to complete his M.S. in Computer Science and continue working at CG Infinity.  Serving five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Brian earned several notable awards and then spent nine years in the energy technology industry before starting his construction business and returning to college in 2020.  He is a natural leader and is especially proud of his wife and seven children. Brian is also the recipient of the 2023 National Internship Student Achievement Award presented by the Cooperative Education and Internship Association.

 

Year	UCA Intern of the Year	Major
2022	Daisy Martinez Carranza	Marketing & Studio Art
2021	Grace Zimmerman*	Mathematics & Music Performance
2020	Greta Hacker	Public Administration
2019	Hannah Standley	Writing
2018	Samantha LeMarr	Writing
2017	Eryka Williams*	Public Administration
2016	Lindsey Bray	Public Administration
2015	Margaret McNeary	English
2014	Benjamin Lykins	Geography
2013	Courtney Dunn	Biology
2012	Tisha Nooner	Sociology
2011	Brandon Mathis	Art
2010	Rachael Small	Musin
2009	Joseph Cazzell	Insurance & Risk Management
2008	Meaghan Dellar	Computer Science
2007	Bradley Klingsport*	Accounting