Bumpers College Honors Outstanding Students

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Amanda Nicole Simpson of Cave Springs received the John W. White Outstanding Student Award and the Spitze Public Policy Legislative Internship Award at the Bumpers College Honors and Awards Banquet.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences presented student awards for academic achievement at its Honors and Awards Banquet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in the Arkansas Union's Alltel Ballroom.

Interim Dean Lalit Verma said, “On behalf of the faculty of Bumpers College, I am delighted to recognize the achievements of these outstanding students. They have worked hard in their programs of study and have taken advantage of opportunities to enhance their education through a variety of extracurricular activities.”

The John W. White Outstanding Student Award and the Spitze Public Policy Legislative Internship Award was presented to Amanda Nicole Simpson, the daughter of James and Linda Simpson of Cave Springs. She is a senior agricultural business major with a concentration in agricultural management and marketing and a minor in global agricultural, food and life sciences. She served as president of Collegiate Farm Bureau, as a Bumpers College Ambassador, on the Dean’s Student Advisory Board and as a student athlete tutor for department classes. She was the 2008 Arkansas 4-H Governor’s Award winner. She participated in a summer service program in Belize and was an Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service intern in Tulsa County in the summer of 2009.

The Greg Weidemann DBCAFLS Alumni Society Scholarship recipient is Samantha Elizabeth Jones, the daughter of Doug and Ruth Jones of Fayetteville. She is a junior environmental, soil, and water science major with minors in German and global agricultural, food and life sciences. Jones is currently studying Sustainable Environmental Management at the Scottish Agricultural College in Edinburgh. She has been an active member of the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science undergraduate club and the GROGreen Club, in addition to the Green Feed Environmental Society in Edinburgh. She plans to work on a farm in Germany through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms organization in the summer of 2010.

The DBCAFLS Alumni Society sponsors two Ring Scholar awards. The 2010 recipients, who each receive a class ring when they graduate, are juniors Kaitlin Michelle Mitchell and John Shelby Gragg.

• Kaitlin Michelle Mitchell, the daughter of John and Sharon Mitchell of Sheridan, is majoring in poultry science with minors in animal science and agricultural business. She is a Bumpers College Ambassador and will serve as the Senior Ambassador her senior year. She is a member of Sigma Alpha agricultural sorority, Alpha Zeta and the Poultry Science Club. Her career goal is to be a veterinarian for large and small animals.
• John Shelby Gragg, the son of John and Stephanie Gragg of Prairie Grove, is an agricultural business major. He is president of the University of Arkansas College Republicans and operations director of the Arkansas Federation of College Republicans. He was president of Students for McCain/Palin 2008 and is a member of the Washington County Republican Committee for the Third District. He was co-organizer of Trek for Trig, which was a Down Syndrome fundraiser. He plans to attend graduate school after graduation.

The Dale Bumpers Distinguished Scholar Award was presented to outstanding master’s and doctoral degree students and an outstanding undergraduate transfer student.

• The Distinguished Scholar Award for a doctoral student went to Sanjeev Kumar Bangarwa, the son of Ram Kumar and Darshana Devi of Hisar, Haryana, India. His doctoral research, with major professor Jason Norsworthy, department of crop, soil, and environmental sciences, is on weed management in tomatoes and bell peppers using allelopathic cover crops and synthetic isothiocyanates. The goal is to find an alternative to the fumigant methyl bromide. He had the highest individual score at the 2009 Southern Weed Contest, has won several awards for paper and poster presentations and has held leadership positions on the Southern Weed Contest Committee, Southern Weed Science Graduate Student Organization and CSES Graduate Student Association.
• The recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award for a master’s degree student is Ronald Jacob Koch, the son of Ronnie and Joyce Koch of Paris. His thesis research in the department of agricultural and extension education is on technology-enhanced instruction in agricultural science and technology courses at the secondary level. Koch has been a co-teacher for an AEED course and assisted in additional classes. As AEED graduate recruitment assistant, he helped develop and maintain a recruitment database. He plans to pursue a career as an agricultural science and technology teacher at the secondary school level.
• Matthew Ralph Eddings is the recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award for an undergraduate transfer student. He is the son of Reggie and Brenda Eddings of St. Joe. Eddings is majoring in agricultural education, communication and technology. He has maintained a 3.93 grade point average and is active in Collegiate 4H/FFA and the Agricultural Mechanics Club tractor restoration project. Eddings is on schedule to graduate in May 2011 and plans to pursue a career in teaching agricultural science and technology in a rural school district in North Central Arkansas.

The First Ranked Senior Scholar award was presented to Kayla Dawn Shrum, the daughter of Tom and Dawn Shrum of Conway. This award signifies that she has maintained a 4.0 grade point average during four years as a Bumpers College student. She is an animal science major with a minor in equine science and is a member of the Bumpers College Honors Program. Shrum has been accepted by schools of veterinary medicine at the University of Missouri, Oklahoma State University and Louisiana State University.

Four students in the class of 2010 received the Senior Scholar award, which signifies a 4.0 grade point average with some credit hours from other colleges.

• Senior Scholar Elizabeth Barnard, the daughter of Charlie and Laura Barnard of Wichita Falls, Texas, is majoring in human development, family sciences and rural sociology with a concentration in child development. Barnard is a Lifestyles Program mentor and a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, the R.E.A.L. Razorbacks, Hot Pink Ribbon service organization and Golden Key Honor Society. She plans to pursue a career in pediatric occupational therapy.
• Senior Scholar Emily Dawn Middleton, the daughter of Hazel Middleton of Texarkana, Texas, and Dr. Don Middleton of Holly Lake Ranch, Texas, is majoring in food, human nutrition and hospitality with a concentration in dietetics. She has served as an executive officer for Delta Delta Delta sorority, Hot Pink Ribbon service organization and Alpha Epsilon Delta pre-medical honor society. She will begin medical school this fall at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
• Senior Scholar Amy Breedlove Davis, the daughter of James and Sarah Breedlove of Harrison, is majoring in human development, family sciences and rural sociology with a concentration in child development. She is a member of the Friends of the Infant Development Center and has worked in children’s summer programs such as Adventure Club and Mother’s Day Out and as a Vacation Bible School teacher. She plans to pursue a career as a preschool teacher and lead parent education classes at her church.
• Senior Scholar Pamela Brooke Jackson, the daughter of Nick and Kellie Jackson of Newport, is majoring in agricultural business with a pre-law concentration and a minor in global agricultural, food and life sciences. She studied abroad in Belize and Australia and was the outstanding senior in Agribusiness for 2008-09. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Gamma Sigma Delta, National Scholars Honor Society, Golden Key and Chi Omega. She will begin her studies at the UA Law School in August with a focus on agricultural law.

The Presidential Scholar award was presented to Joseph Charles O’Neill, the son of Patricia Kirkwood of Fayetteville and Charles O’Neill of Rome, N.Y. This award is for the student with the highest grade point average after having earned at least 45 credit hours. He is a junior majoring in horticulture, land­scape and turf sciences. O’Neill is president of the Horticulture Club and a member of the Dean’s Stu­dent Advisory Board. He was on the first-place Fruit and Nut Judging Team at the Southern Region Amer­ican Society for Horticultural Science in 2009 and is an ASHS professional member. He was a summer intern at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs and is a landscaper with a local firm. His career goal is to operate a landscaping business after serving in the Peace Corps.

Outstanding students selected by the faculty in each academic department and the School of Human Environmental Sciences were also recognized.

• Agricultural economics and agribusiness: Amanda Nicole Simpson, Senior; Sandra Popova, M.S.
• Agricultural and extension education: Kristin Hopper Pennington, Senior; Ronald Jacob Koch, M.S.
• Animal science: Sarah Kathryn Finn, Senior; Amber Rayfield Starnes, M.S.; James Dale Caldwell, Ph.D.
• Biological and agricultural engineering: Angele Djioleu, Senior; Jeong-Hwan Kim, Ph.D.
• Crop, soil, and environmental sciences: Shuichi Kuroishi, Senior; Christopher Wade Rogers, M.S.; Sanjeev Kumar Bangarwa, Ph.D.
• Entomology: Kelly Ann Carruthers, M.S.; Laurel Jean Haavik, Ph.D.
• Food science: Kaylee Vivian Daugherty, Senior; William Clayton Gilbert, M.S.; Kenneth Franklin Over, Ph.D.
• Horticulture: Scott Andrew Wasser, Senior; Celina Gomez Vargas, M.S.
• Plant pathology: Jonathon E. Smith, M.S.; Maria Valeria Avanzato, Ph.D.
• Poultry science: Christopher Scott Scarborough, Senior; Valerie Belle Brewer, M.S.; Ixchel Reyes-Herrera, Ph.D.
• School of Human Environmental Sciences: Sally Kathryn Richmond, Senior; Grace Nicole Kueser, Senior.