October 2023
funding cycle distributes more than $58K across 10 projects
CONWAY,
Arkansas (November 13, 2023) — The Committee on Engaged Learning is pleased to
announce $58,659.43 in Odyssey funding to 10 projects. These projects range
from artistic explorations in weaving, murals, museums and galleries, poetry,
music, fashion, and public art installation to exploring the connections
between environmental and human wellness and more. Since 2005, the Committee on
Engaged Learning has awarded more than $5 million – $ 5,087,907.51 to be exact
– in competitive Odyssey grants to support 1,547 projects by Hendrix students
and faculty.
Artistic
Creativity
Alyssa
Chaffin ’25 and Savannah Loving ’26
A
Change of Scenery: A Mural Project
Supervisor:
Matthew Lopas
During
Winter Break, Alyssa and Savannah will draw, digitally design, and paint a
mural in the Art Department’s painting studio, under the direction of Professor
Lopas; an unveiling will take place when campus re-opens for the spring
semester.
Global
Awareness
Faustine
Neema ’26 and Jaden Wilber ’25
An
Expression through Artistry (with an emphasis on Poetry, Fashion, and Music)
Supervisor:
Karisa McAlister
Neema
and Jaden will explore how artists in Kigali, Rwanda, express themselves
through spoken word poetry, streetwear fashion, and popular music,
investigating how the three areas are interconnected.
Jennifer
Penner
Returning
to Nature: Nature, Identity, and Human & Environment Well-Being in Costa
Rica
In
May 2024, Dr. Jennifer Penner and a group of students from various disciplines
will spend nearly two weeks exploring the intersection of nature, identity,
conservation, and human well-being in the Bellbird Biological Corridor of Costa
Rica.
Service
to the World
Gaelle
Agahozo ’24, Ketsia Dusenge ’25, Jean Claude Ntambara ’24
Career
Development Boot Camp
Supervisor:
Anne Goldberg
Over
Winter Break, Gaelle, Ketsia, and Jean Claude will work with the Born2Serve
nonprofit organization to support a four-week professional readiness and
mentorship program for secondary students in Rwanda.
Special
Projects
Isabel
Bieligk ’24
Carceral
State: Cops and Lawyers
Supervisor:
Delphia Shanks
Isabel
will further explore her interest in police reform through select readings and
meetings with staff from the American Civil Liberties Union and police
departments in Little Rock, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C.
Avery
Cagle ’26, James McQuiston ’26, Lathan Smalley ’26
Joint
Mathematics Meeting
Supervisor:
Lars Seme
In
early January, Mathematics majors Avery, James, and Lathan will explore how
math research is done at the professional level by attending presentations at
the Joint Mathematics Meeting, one of the two major national mathematics
conferences.
Melissa
Gill
ARTS
497 Practicum: Studio NYC Research Trip
In
February, Professor Gill and two senior Art majors, Nic Curtis and Kobi Greer,
will visit galleries and museums in New York City to gain a contextual
understanding of contemporary and historical artworks which will contribute to
the students’ research capstone projects and senior art exhibition on campus.
Melissa
Gill
Big
Paste Prints Public Art Installation
In
the spring semester, Professor Gill and her Intermediate Printmaking students
will participate in a national print exchange program culminating in the
installation of a public exhibition in downtown Conway.
Chaney
Goggans ’25
Weaving
New Threads of Understanding
Supervisor:
Andy Huss
Using
a loom recently gifted to the College, Chaney will explore the craft of weaving
and the life of a professional artist under the mentorship of a renowned
Arkansas weaver, work to catalog loom dressing information and prepare samples
that will be useful to future Hendrix weaving students, and create four,
gallery ready, woven sculptures.
Undergraduate
Research
Jonathan
Hancock
Digital
Arkansas History: Mapping Civil War Violence and Locating Slavery’s Legacies
Dr.
Hancock and three students will engage in substantive historical research and
technical training to contribute to two major digital history projects.
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