The Hendrix College
Committee on Engaged Learning is pleased to announce $78,275.72 in Odyssey
Program funding awarded to 23 projects.
These projects involve a
range of academic, professional, and personal explorations through experiences
from research projects on vaccine hesitancy to artistic endeavors in Cherokee
pottery to internships in a variety of fields, and much more.
Since 2005, the Committee
on Engaged Learning has awarded more than $5 million – $5,412,011.80 to be
exact – in competitive Odyssey grants to support 1,637 projects by Hendrix
students, faculty, and staff.
Odyssey
Category: Artistic Creativity
August
McQuiston ’26
Plants
of the Equator: A Photographic Catalogue of Amazonian Plants
Supervisor:
Matthew Reid
As part of a separate
research project, August will spend June in Ecuador. He will practice basic
photography skills while working with local experts to document local Amazonian
plant species. After returning to the U.S., he will have the film developed for
public exhibition.
Madison
Roberts ’27
Understanding
Cherokee Culture Through Traditional Pottery Techniques
Supervisor:
Andy Huss
Madison will study
traditional Cherokee pottery methods under Cherokee National Treasure Lisa
Rutherford. Her work will culminate in a showcase at the end of the fall
semester at the Windgate Museum of Art on the Hendrix campus.
Colin
Wade ’26
Film
Production Learning at Prague Film School in the Czech Republic
Supervisor:
Alex Vernon
Colin will travel to the
Czech Republic for a four-week long summer filmmaking workshop at the Prague
Film School. He will learn hands-on with professionals about production and
will produce and create his own short film.
Odyssey
Category: Professional and Leadership Development
Presley
Cole ’26
Pilot
License
Supervisor:
Hillary Looney
Presley will spend eight
weeks at the Air Venture Flight Center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, in flight
lessons to obtain his private pilot’s license. This license will be the
catalyst for a career as a Fed Ex pilot after training in the National Guard.
Carter
Crane ’26
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at Pulaski County Public Defender’s Office
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Over the summer, Carter
will intern at the Pulaski County Public Defenders' Office in Little Rock. She
will attend and observe court and assist in case preparation, exploring the
ways in which public defense attorneys work to serve Arkansans.
Perri
Evans ’26
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at MyARInternship
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Perri will intern for the
Department of Finance and Administration in Little Rock and will assist in
financial and budgeting tasks as well as administrative support and reviewing
policies and procedures.
Alex
Flores ’27
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at Conway Human Development Center
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Alex will work as a CNA at
the CHDC to provide care to people who have mental and physical difficulties
and disabilities. He will also use the time to learn more about their
psychological struggles and apply that in the pursuit of his major in psychology.
Bella
Galdamez ’27
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at Pediatrics Plus
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Bella will spend nine weeks
at Pediatrics Plus, a specialized pediatric healthcare facility that offers
therapies such as physical, occupational, speech, and ABA. She will observe and
learn the different aspects of pediatric therapy
and gain experience in a professional pediatric clinic.
Olivia
Jackson ’26
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Olivia will spend 13 weeks
in Eureka Springs at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. She will learn to work
at an accredited sanctuary while handling the daily care of exotic cats, bears,
and other exotic animals. The refuge is working to rescue and rehabilitate
animals from private owners, roadside zoos, and situations of abuse and
neglect.
Deanna
Kamanga ’26
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at Conway Regional Physical Therapy Department
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Deanna will intern at
Conway Regional Outpatient Therapy Clinic to learn more about the process of
decision-making in the medical field and to gain experience in her future
profession.
Ryan
Lang ’27
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit - Large and Small Animal Veterinary
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Ryan will explore how to properly diagnose and help a variety of animal species
get better through orthopedics, radiation, and equine medicine and learn how to
properly run multiple veterinary practices scientifically and financially.
Annalee
Wesson ’26
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at Little Rock Family Practice
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Annalee will assist with patient interactions, such as taking
medical histories and other scribe-work and help with other aspects of running
a family health clinic, such as paperwork, to get an idea of how a family
practice works.
Morgan
White ’27
Internship:
Non-Academic Credit at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
Supervisor:
Tricia Burris
Morgan will intern with
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, an advocacy organization in
Little Rock that works on issues related to child welfare, economic security,
education, food security, and more. This will provide her with the opportunity
to develop the skills necessary to pursue a career in advocacy work.
Robert
Williamson
Interfaith
Leadership for Hendrix
Dr. Williamson and a team
of student leaders for Hendrix Interfaith will attend the Interfaith Leadership
Summit in Chicago, where they will earn certification in interfaith leadership
from Interfaith America. Following the summit, they will provide leadership for
interfaith events at Hendrix and the central Arkansas community throughout the
2025-26 academic year.
Odyssey
Category: Special Projects
Rod
Miller
Art
Major Senior Trip to NYC Galleries
Senior Art Majors will
travel to NYC for three nights and visit galleries and museums. The goal is to
grasp something of the contemporary art world and glean ideas from it for their
own art making. The products of this will find their way into the Senior Show the following April.
Odyssey
Category: Service to the World
Anna
Bailly, December ’25
Faulkner
County Court Watch
Supervisor:
Delphia Shanks
Anna will spend her summer
working with Dr. Shanks for Faulkner County Court Watch. She will do data
analysis and digital visualization to make information more accessible to the
public. The goal of this project is to bring transparency and accountability to
the Arkansas judicial system.
Ryan
Hydrick ’26
Educational
and Facilitative Service to State Legislators
Supervisor:
Dr. Kiril Kolev
Over the summer, Ryan will
work to educate state legislators and the general public on policy issues and
evaluate the influence of this work in fostering effective governance and
productive dialogue in state policy circles.
Odyssey
Category: Undergraduate Research
Paul
Beggs ’26
Computational
Modeling of Cognitive Functions Within Minecraft
Supervisor:
Gabe Ferrer
Paul will work with Dr.
Dennis Barbour (Biomedical Engineering) at Washington University in St. Louis
and Dr. Gabriel Ferrer (Hendrix College Computer Science/Study of the Mind) to
explore how machine learning and Minecraft can be used to assess cognitive
abilities in children with epilepsy. His project aims to support the
development of diagnostic tools for cognitive disorders using game-based tasks
and artificial intelligence.
Kanak
Joshi ’26
Do carbamate
pesticides increase seizure activity in a C. elegans model of epilepsy?
Supervisor:
Rick Murray
Some pesticides have been
shown to cause seizure-like behavior, whereas some have not been tested. Kanak
will work in Dr. Murray's lab over the summer to examine untested pesticides
for their ability to induce seizures in a C. elegans model.
Finley
Lawrence, December ’25
Gender
Identity Threat & Transphobia
Supervisor:
Delphia Shanks
Finley will investigate perceptions of transgender people, based on implicit
associations. This research will feed into their senior capstone paper and
presentation.
Britton
Sechrist ’27
Gender
Identity Development and the College Experience
Supervisor:
Erick Axxe
Britton will investigate
how the college experience impacts students' gender
identity formation and the expression and presentation of their identities.
They will do this through interviews and surveys designed to identify how students perceive their identities
changing and factors that could influence those changes.
Qudusiyyah
R. Smith-Gaffoor ’27
Vaccine
Hesitancy in Central Arkansas Hispanic Population- Qualitative Research
Supervisor:
Laura MacDonald
Qudusiyyah will gather
in-depth, non-numerical data about the Central Arkansas Hispanic community's
experiences, opinions, and perspectives towards vaccination in a series of
interviews in Spanish. This data will be analyzed to identify
trends and common themes that can be applied towards deconstructing barriers
creating vaccine hesitancy.
Elise
Yannayon ’28
Determining the Optimal Ratio of Worm
Castings to Potting Soil to Produce the Best Quality Plants
Supervisor:
Candice Thomas
Elise will research how
various ratios of worm castings to potting soil affect different
types of plants and their growth. She will then implement her findings in
the Hendrix campus garden to see if the beneficial results carry over.
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix
College is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country’s leading
liberal arts colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and
career preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The Hendrix College
Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has been affiliated
with the United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the
classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice,
and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives
of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.” –Hendrix
College Statement of Purpose