Our INTERN OF THE YEAR award recognizes students who have gone above and beyond what is expected of them throughout their internships.
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!
Interns of the Year
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.
2022
Daisy Martinez Carranza
Marketing and Studio Art
Daisy is a May 2022 senior and has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her four years at UCA and serves on many UCA student organizations. In Summer 2021, Daisy completed an internship at Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield where she was charged with the task of creating and executing a marketing plan for a national health program with low enrollment in Arkansas. Daisy’s “Healthy Blue Summer” campaign was a huge success, resulting in over 3,600 registrations (an 8.85% increase in program participation). As a result of her hard work and collaboration on this project, Daisy was also awarded the 2021 Arkansas Blue Cross Academic Scholarship. Daisy plans to pursue a master’s degree in Data Analytics in the near future. Daisy has also been selected as the honorable mention for the National Intern of the Year distinction. She will receive a certificate and formal recognition on the CEIA website and in the program at the CEIA national conference in April 2022.
| Year | UCA Intern of the Year | Major |
| 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 |
| * denotes National Intern of the Year distinction | ||