Hendrix
Odyssey Program
Project
Funding
October 2013
Allowing requests for the winter break along with the
spring semester, the Committee on Engaged Learning (CEL) awarded $67,738.25 in Odyssey grants to 21 projects proposed by
faculty and students in the October 2013 cycle. The grand total for funding
since the Odyssey Program’s inception in 2005 is $2,485,032.03.
From salamanders to soccer and medicine to masks, Hendrix
students and faculty will travel the world serving others, conducting research,
and learning more about themselves and their interests.
The grant recipients include:
CeCe
Collins and Lucas Tenbrook
Promoting Food
Sovereignty Through Sustainable Farming
Category: GA
Sponsor: Dr.
Jose Vilahomat
CeCe
Collins and Lucas Tenbrook will travel to Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua, to work
with Project Bona Fide. The organization promotes organic farming,
reforestation and fair trade markets and other projects to provide a
sustainable lifestyle. “Many communities in Nicaragua have the land and labor
available to provide cheaper, fresher and more nutritious food locally, but
they lack the knowledge, education, and support about why this would actually
be a better option for them,” they said. An added bonus is experiencing the
sustainability movement of another culture and comparing it with the United
States.
Robert
Durante and Scarlet Smith
True Face:
Exploring the Mask
Category: AC
Sponsor: Prof.
Matthew Lopas
“During the
Italian Renaissance, masks were an integral element of the theatrical style
known as Commedia Dell’ Arte,” said Robert Durante and Scarlet Smith. For their
project, they will each make three masks. After researching historical styles
and techniques, they will make a leather mask in the original theatrical way.
Next they will fashion masks based on an exploration of their own personal
styles and abilities. Last, they will create abstract thematic masks,
realizations from their own imaginations. They will offer a brief performance
on campus to bring their masks to life.
Laura
Gressler
Healthcare in
Zimbabwe
Category: SP
Sponsor: Dr.
Jane Harris
Laura
Gressler would like to work with Doctors without Borders after she graduates
from medical school. The organization provides medical aid to regions of the
world where people do not have access to treatment. To understand how medicine
differs in other countries, she will volunteer at Mpilo Hospital in Zimbabwe. She
will work with Dr. Alexander von Paleske, a German oncologist. “I will explore
what it is like to work in a hospital in a location that faces many different
challenges and does not have access to as many resources as American
hospitals,” Gressler said.
Eva
Harpst, Saranya Prathibha and Neelam Vyas
Embracing Amma: A
Journey of Self-Discovery through Spiritual, Vocational and Academic Growth
Category: SP
Sponsor: Dr.
Bill Gorvine
This winter Eva Harpst, Saranya Prathibha and Neelam Vyas will travel to
the ashram established by Amma, a spritual leader and guru, in Amritapuri,
India. “In the ashram community, members share a wealth of intellectual and
spiritual lessons that we would attend and contribute to on a daily basis,”
they said. Living in the ashram and interacting with Amma will be conducive to
their spritiual, academic and vocational growth as they learn more about
philosophy, religion, culture, health, service, meditation and gender roles.
Kacey
Hight
Serving through
Soccer: Volunteering and Leadership in Escuintla, Guatemala
Category: SP
Sponsor: Coach
Jim Evans
Coach Jim
Evans and Hendrix soccer players Kacey Hight, Emma Paul, Laurie Waters, Gregory
Gandy, Alex Cummings, Eric Bracy and Nicole Rodriguez will travel to the rural
town of La Democracia in Escuintla, Guatemala, during spring break. They will
paint and repair Las Flores Elementary School, and each day they will host a
soccer camp for local children. Each child will receive a nutritious food care
package to take home daily. The team members will use their expertise in soccer
as they interact with the local youth, learn the significance of service to the
world, and broaden their cultural awareness.
Kris
Nickel
What is Art?
Category: SP
Sponsor: Dr.
Rod Miller
Kris Nickel
will explore the concept of art in London, particularly whether graffiti in a
public space is considered a form of art. An important aspect of her project is
researching the contemporary culture in England before she travels. “To develop
my understanding of the culture more, I will be collecting information the
entire time while in London, which will include graffiti specific research
conducted through a tour and study of graffiti areas,” Nickel said.
Kristen
O'Connell
Effects of prenatal
steroids on the fatigue properties of breathing muscles
Category: UR
Sponsor: Dr.
Jenn Dearolf
Kristen
O’Connell will travel to the 2014 Society for Integrative and Comparative
Biology conference in Austin, Texas, to present biochemical research. “This
experience is invaluable to me because it will improve my public speaking
skills as well as my ability to present scientific research in a logical,
concise manner that others can easily understand,” O’Connell said.
Leala
Rosen and Rachel Head
Food Aid in Nicaragua
Category: SP
Sponsor: Dr.
Anne Goldberg
Leala Rosen
and Rachel Head will volunteer with the Council of Protestant Churches of
Nicaragua (CEPAD), a non-profit that focuses on food security. “Through CEPAD,
we would work directly with small farmers in Nicaragua, learning about the ways
they handle food insecurity through sustainable agricultural techniques and
crop diversity,” they said. By living with a host family, they will also see
the impact of food insecurity’s effect in the community.
Tyler
Webb
Intersections: A
Look at Science and Its Relation to Ethics
Category: SP
Sponsor: Dr.
James Dow
Tyler
Webb’s project has the goal of getting science students to discuss ethics and
how ethical codes relate to science. “I feel that being a good scientist
necessitates understanding why we do what we do and how our actions affect the
scientific community and world at large,” Webb said. He will focus on students
in physics, biology, chemistry, computer science and psychology. In their
discussion series, participants will read texts, case studies and articles from
both ethics and science.
Tyler
Webb
Electromagnetic
Radiative Corrections on the Queak Experiment
Category: UR
Sponsor: Dr.
Damon Spayde
Tyler Webb
has been working with Dr. Damon Spayde on a research project that he will
present at the 2014 meeting of the American Physical Society in Savannah, Ga.
“My project is part of a multi-institutional collaboration; I can display that
Hendrix professors and students are taking part in large-scale, important
scientific endeavors,” Webb said.
Kaitlyn
Zamzow
Researching to
Determine if Salamanders Native to Arkansas have been Exposed to Chytrid Fungus
Category: UR
Sponsor: Dr.
George Harper
The Chytrid
fungus causes the skin of affected amphibians to thicken. “This is a major
concern because amphibians absorb many essential nutrients through their skin,”
said Kaitlyn Zamzow. Nutrient deficiencies can cause the death of the animal.
She will conduct research in the Ouachita Mountain region of Arkansas to see if
native salamander populations show signs of Chytrid fungus by collecting swab samples
and sending them off for diagnostic testing. She hopes that her results can
help prepare conservation efforts to protect salamanders from the effects of
the fungus.
Rachel
Zweig
Business Plan
Competition
Category: PL
Sponsor: Dr.
Ralph Scott
Students
who participate in business plan competitions learn what is required to launch
a knowledge-based, high-growth company and how to obtain funding for their
business. Rachel Zweig is interested in entrepreneurship along with science and
technology, and she is formulating a business combining these areas for
automated tissue sampling technology for pathology labs. “Writing the business
plan will require much group work, often in the context of quick deadlines and
stress, which will help me to learn how to work effectively and efficiently
with others,” she said.
Prof. Rynnett
Clark
Student Teaching
Fuel Supplement
Category: PL
Rising fuel
costs have placed a burden on student teachers who must commute for their
placements. Travel is often required both out of necessity and also in order
that our student teachers may experience different communities and school
situations. The Odyssey grant will help defray some of Kathryn Armstrong’s
mileage expenses.
Prof. Cheri
Prough DeVol and Dr. Connie Campbell
Student
Participation at the 2014 USITT (United States Institute for Theatre
Technology) Conference and Stage Expo
Category: SP
Prof. Cheri DeVol and Dr. Constance Campbell will take twelve
students to the United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference and
Stage Expo in March. They will attend seminars and presentations by innovators
in theatrical design and technology. The students will also have the
opportunity to submit costume, scenery, and lighting designs for adjudication.
Prof. Melissa
Gill
SGC International Conference
Category: SP
Prof.
Melissa Gill and six printmaking students will attend the Southern Graphics
Council (SGC) International Conference in San Francisco this March. They will
attend lectures, discussion panels, technical demonstrations, and exhibits. At
the SGC Student Open Portfolio session, they will present their creative work
to the public.
Dr. Liz
Gron
Chemistry
Department Student Travel to American Chemical Society Spring National Meeting
to Present Research
Category: UR
Michael
Tarne, Aline Umuhire-Juru, Robert Nshimiyimana, and Robert Rurangwa will
present the results of their research at the American Chemical Society National
Meeting in March. The students will see their results in context of the greater
society of chemical scholars, see cutting-edge chemical results presented, and
become better acquainted with the aspects of being a professional chemist.
Dr. Maureen
McClung and Dr. Matt Moran
Land Use Impact
From Gas Development in the Fayetteville Shale
Category: UR
Brandon Cox
and Rachel Wells will work with Dr. Maureen McClung and Dr. Matt Moran to
research land use changes from natural gas drilling. They will assess the
amount of land devoted to forest, pasture, buildings, and roads before
Fayetteville Shale activity began in the state with the present conditions now
that drilling has slowed.
Prof. Maxine
Payne
Society for
Photographic Education, 51st Annual Conference Attendance
Category: SP
Prof.
Maxine Payne will take eleven student members to the Society for Photographic Education
Conference. The theme this year is “Collaborative Exchanges: Photography in
Dialogue” to encourage forging relationships with other artists, writers, and
communities to create hybrid ideas. Each student will take a portfolio of at
least 15 prints to show at the conference and will serve as an official
volunteer.
Dr. Damon
Spayde
Travel to 2014
April Meeting of the American Physical Society
Category: UR
This grant
will allow Dr. Damon Spayde to accompany physics students to present research
at the American Physical Society meeting in Savannah, Ga., in April. He will
supervise, mentor and assist the students at the conference.
Dr. Jose
Vilahomat and Prof. Irmina Fabricio
Aspects of
Nicaraguan Health System: Kidney Transplantation, Past and Present
Category: SP
Sarah
Eddington, Zack Hausle, Youmna Moufarej, Victoria Resendez, Ples Spradley and
Anne Vogt will go on a six-day exploration of Nicaragua with Dr. Jose Vilahomat
and Prof. Irmina Fabricio. The students will immerse themselves in the
language, geography and culture of the country while interacting with skilled
medical professionals who will provide insight into Nicaragua’s healthcare
system, the history of kidney transplantation in the country.
Dr. Ann
Wright
Women in Physics
Conference
Category: SP
Dr. Ann
Wright and Dr. Amalia Anderson will take a group of female students to the
Undergraduate Women in Physics Conference at Louisiana State University in
January. They will explore career opportunities for physicists, tour national
labs, attend research presentations and discussion panels and network with
others in the field.