This October, the Committee on Engaged Learning awarded $86,497.64 in Odyssey
grants to 31 projects, bringing the total awarded since the Odyssey Program’s inception
in 2005 to $2,845,509.98.
From seeing Tolkien in new ways to learning about honeybees in Europe, Hendrix
students and faculty will explore the world around them. They will serve others,
conduct research, and share their artistic talents.
Ariel Alexander and Charli Davis
Cinematic, Thematic, Fantastic: Discerning the Relevance of the Lord of the
Rings in Contemporary Society
Category: SP
Sponsor: Jay McDaniel
Ariel Alexander and Charli Davis will explore the relevance of environmental
and cultural themes within The Lord of the Rings, study the effect of music
upon those themes and then see those themes come to life. Part of their project
will be attending a symposium on the films in New York City, where a 250-piece orchestra
will accompany the films live at the Lincoln Center. “If there was ever an opportunity
to hear the music as it was intended to be heard, to feel the emotions, and to understand
the themes, this is it,” Alexander and Davis said.
Kelsey Atwood, Hannah Hill, Carson Hunter, and Shereen Moufarrej
Exploring Ethical Travel in the Peruvian Andes
Category: GA
Sponsor: Claudia Courtway
The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu in Peru are culturally relevant sites that attract
scores of international visitors annually—and raise issues of ethical tourism that
Kelsey Atwood, Hannah Hill, Carson Hunter, and Shereen Moufarrej will explore this
spring. Observation of aspects of tourism industry employee social welfare, health
of the local population, ecological preservation, and industrial commercialization
will be central to the project. “We will gather data by observation and conversations
with our travel companions as we hike, eat and live together,” they said.
Grace Bronson
Deeper than Ink, Louder than a Bomb: Exploring youth spoken word in England
Category: AC
Sponsor: Jay McDaniel
Programs in England are promoting literacy through writing and artistic expression,
particularly through spoken word poetry. “The programs have created spaces in socially
and economically disadvantaged areas where youth can engage with a project in a
positive way and avoid situational disadvantages of violence, poverty, discrimination,
and inequality,” said Grace Bronson. She will be observing the spoken word culture
by going to public art events in different cities in England to understand the impact
of these programs on the participants and their artistic expressions. In addition,
she will write her own poetry inspired by the experience.
Abigail Condit and Kenda Ide
To Bee or Not to Bee: Understanding Beekeeping in the Midst of Colony Collapse
Disorder
Category: SP
Sponsor: Chris Campolo
Experienced beekeepers Abigail Condit and Kenda Ide are concerned about Colony
Collapse Disorder, a recent phenomenon in which bees abruptly vanish from their
hives. They will learn more about sustainable beekeeping, culture and environment
as they travel through Europe and discuss the issue with beekeepers in England,
France, Luxembourg, Germany and Poland. “Bees are a key component of biodiversity,
as they ensure a crucial service to our ecosystem: pollination,” they said. Their
interactions with beekeepers in Europe may give them new insights into how others
are dealing with Colony Collapse Disorder.
Charlie Garcia
Haiti: An Exposure to a Different World by Helping to Treat its People
Category: SW
Sponsor: Wayne Clark
Charlie Garcia and other members of the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas will
volunteer this January at a medical clinic in Fort Liberte, Haiti, run by the Eben-Ezer
Baptist Church. The group will see as many as 200 villagers a day during their trip.
“For most residents of Fort Liberte, these seven days provide the only opportunity
all year they will be able to see a doctor or receive any kind of medical care and
medication,” Garcia said. His group will also bring to Haiti the medical necessities
and personal hygiene items donated to the church.
Jacob Garrigus
Exploring French Gallic History: Augustus and the Romanization of Gaul
Category: UR
Sponsor: Stan Rauh
History major Jacob Garrigus will explore where history was made in the ancient
Roman province known as Gaul. He will research Gaul’s position in Roman history
and its place as the foundation of modern France by visiting Lyon, Vienne, and Orange.
He notes that the country has some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world.
“By looking at what remains of France’s Roman past, I will see not only how Gaul
and Rome interacted but also the perceptions of this within modern French society,”
Garrigus said.
Vvdaul Holloway and Brittany Hearn
Cross-Cultural Connections: Hip Hop from the United States to Germany
Category: SP
Sponsor: Kesha Baoua
Vvdaul Holloway and Brittany Hearn are fans of rap music, which has become an
international artistic medium to tackle the issues of politics, economics, social
injustice and civil rights. The city of Berlin in Germany is known as a rap epicenter
in Europe, building on political and civil unrest during the rise of the genre in
the late 1980s. Holloway and Hearn will travel to Berlin to learn more about rap
culture overseas. “We want to observe the cultural aspect of minority representation
on a global scale, something that was uniquely ‘black’ by American standards now
being translated to individuals all over the world,” they said.
Megan Hull
Who Do I Think I Am?
Category: SP
Sponsor: Charnley Conway
Megan Hull will immerse herself in her own family history by researching four
of her own ancestors in their hometowns in Germany and Ireland. She will start with
Ancestry.com, a DNA testing kit and family documentation. “This project will teach
me about my heritage; it will also teach me about the world as I learn about Germany,
Ireland, and America from the point-of-view of someone who grew up in the mid-1800s,
while comparing and contrasting that image to the modern-day as I walk around the
same streets my ancestors did,” Hull said.
Gina Kelling, Reed Brewer, Tina Morales, Hannah Popkin and Hayley Thomson
Hendrix College Girls Filmmaker Camp
Category: SP
Sponsor: Jay McDaniel
In February, Gina Kelling, Reed Brewer, Tina Morales, Hannah Popkin and Hayley
Thomson will host a Hendrix College Girls Filmmaker Camp for 20 high school students.
“The goal of the camps will be not only to allow for the understanding of the vital
nature of female voices in cinema, but also to introduce young girls to the method
of expressing those voices,” they said. The participants will be divided into teams
to write, direct, edit, and star in the short films they make during the weekend.
Noah Lashly
Mind Over Platter
Category: SP
Sponsor: Sheila Rupert
After years of struggling with weight issues, Noah Lashly will apply psychology
and data collection to his own caloric intake and exercise routines. “I will show
how my journey to health and wellness attributes to the way I perceive myself and
the way I interact with others and in my environment,” Lashly said. Instead of a
simple before and after, he will discuss what it is actually like to lose weight
as the process is occurring through a blog.
Hannah McCarthy
Stabilizing the Hendrix
Cat Colony
Category: SW
Sponsor: George Harper
Hendrix College is known for its squirrel population, but it also has a colony
of approximately 19 feral cats. Hannah McCarthy plans to capture the cats three
at a time to take them for spaying or neutering before they are returned to the
campus. “This prevents the population from growing and in doing so, effectively
stabilizes the colony while allowing the cats to live healthier, better lives,”
McCarthy said. She also hopes to establish a club that will continue to feed and
monitor the health of the cat community.
Anna McConaghie
Learning to Teach English as a Foreign Language
Category: PL
Sponsor: Anne Goldberg
Anna McConaghie will participate in a certification training for teaching English
as a foreign language. She will participate in many hours of theoretical as well
as practical training through the International TEFL Academy. “This certification
class would give me the skills to teach English as a foreign language, a field that
would combine my passions of languages, helping others, and traveling,” she said.
This project was underwritten by the Hendrix-Murphy Programs in Literature and Language.
Lindsay Mindlin
Professional Field Experience at the Faulkner County Library
Category: PL
Sponsor: Leigh Lassiter-Counts
With plans to obtain a master’s degree in Library Science, Lindsay Mindlin will
get to experience her chosen career while working at the Faulkner County Library.
She will find out about the everyday functions and aspects of library work, and
she will help with community programming. “This experience will give me an in-depth
look at how a library is structured and at what is required to keep it serving the
needs of the community,” Mindlin said.
Hope Montgomery and Grant Zurcher
Free Little Library: Community Stories and New Urbanism
Category: SP
Sponsor: Giffen Maupin
The Little Free Library offers free book exchange in a community. Using a mailbox-like
outdoor structure, people are encouraged to take and leave books for others. Hope
Montgomery and Grant Zurcher will create, build, install, and register a Little
Free Library for the Hendrix campus and Conway community. “Not only will the library
allow books to be shared, but optional comment cards for each book will let members
of the community be in dialogue with each other about the ideas in the books they
choose to share,” they said.
Caroline Nester
Externship in Clinical Neuropsychology
Category: PL
Sponsor: Leslie Templeton
Caroline Nester is working at the Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI) at the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock under the direction of
two Clinical Neuropsychologists. Building on her interest in neuroscience and clinical
work, she will shadow physicians, learn about administering tests, compile research,
and receive training in neurological disease and brain injuries. “As a student of
psychology, this is the most defining opportunity of my academic career to date
and my professional career to come. I know that this experience will change the
way I view psychology, my studies, and my future as an aspiring psychologist,” Nester
said.
Daniel Noble
Presence on Petit Jean: A Study of Southwestern Animals and their Habitat
Use
Category: UR
Sponsor: Matt Moran
Daniel Noble will survey Petit Jean State Park for the presence of three southwesterly
ranged species: the greater roadrunner, the western diamondback rattlesnake and
the collared lizard. He will record their locations on the mountain as well as their
habitats. “It is vital to have an accurate representation of where venomous snakes
are found within a highly trafficked area such as a state park, so interactions
between humans and the animal are kept to a minimum,” Noble said.
Kristen O'Connell
Fatigue properties of the neonatal guinea pig diaphragm
Category: UR
Sponsor: Jennifer Dearolf
Kristen O’Connell will attend the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, in January. She will give her first oral
presentation as the culmination of almost four years of undergraduate research in
the biology department. “Giving a talk will make me better able to answer questions
about my research during medical school interviews,” O’Connell said.
Johnny Ring and Mark Woodard
Reimaging Spatial Design: A Digital Representation of Landscape Architectual
Design in Madrid and Barcelona
Category: SP
Sponsor: Erik Maakestad
Art students Johnny Ring and Mark Woodard will travel to Madrid and Barcelona
to examine the landscape architectures in that country. “Spain offers a unique and
ideal location for this study because it offers a complex and compelling variety
of contrasting styles, from classical to contemporary, all of which continue to
influence surface designs today,” they said. They will explore public spaces that
range from sixteenth century gardens to modern parks.
Natalie Skinner
An Unconventional Art: Exploring the Practice and Ethics of Taxidermy in London
Category: SP
Sponsor: Maureen McClung
Ethical taxidermists use animals that experienced natural or unavoidable deaths.
Natalie Skinner will travel to London, England, to work with two professional taxidermists
who are in the center of the ethical taxidermy movement. “Modern taxidermy techniques
were first developed in London, so the art is further evolved in Europe than in
other parts of the world,” Skinner said.
Krys Stetler
Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Build, 2015
Category: SW
Sponsor: Allison Shutt
“There are around 400,000 residents that are currently living in substandard
housing in the Texas Bay area,” said Krys Stetler. She is the spring break coordinator
for the Hendrix chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and she will take a group of 20
students to Houston to help improve the living conditions of local residents.
Anne Vogt and Carrie Yang
Chinese and Jewish Cultural Immersion on the Lower East Side
Category: SP
Sponsor: Mark Sutherland
Anne Vogt and Carrie Yang will explore the Lower East Side of Manhattan, an area
that is traditionally Jewish with overlapping borders with Chinatown. Their goal
is to observe the multicultural cohabitation of this region in New York City. “It
is a look at both the rich history of this neighborhood and the current coexistence
of cultures; we wish to learn the region’s past and view it through that lens,”
they said.
Brittany Webb and John McAvey
Hendrix College Mock Trial Team
Category: SP
Sponsor: Mary Richardson
The Hendrix Mock Trial Association provides students with an inside view of the
legal system through practice and trial. “The American Mock Trial Association provides
the students with case law, rules of evidence, and a case and tasks the students
to develop case theory, direct and cross examinations, witness lineups, opening
statements, closing arguments and objections,” say team executives Brittany Webb
and John McAvey. This year the association is sponsoring two competition teams due
to increased interest.
Peter Wood
Sole Searching: Shoemaking at Flying Possum and Beyond
Category: SP
Sponsor: Lindsay Kennedy
At the end of his Odyssey project, Peter Wood will have a pair of shoes that
are truly one-of-a-kind, designed and handmade on his own. To learn the required
skills for shoemaking, he will shadow skilled craftsmen at Flying Possum Leather
in Fayetteville, AR. He will learn basic leatherwork and school construction skills.
“Using the skills I learned at Flying Possum, I will design and create an original
pair of shoes in an autonomous enterprise completed at home,” Wood said.
Prof. Rynnett Clark
Fuel Supplement for Student Teachers
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 the mileage expenses for student teachers
this spring.
Dr. David Hales
Faculty and student travel and presentations at American Chemical Society
Spring National Meeting in Denver, CO
Category: UR
Dagen Hughes, Rebecca Meredith, Humna Meer, Robert Nshimiyimana, and Aline Umuhire-Juru
will present their recent research as posters at the Spring National Meeting of
the American Chemical Society in Denver, Colo., in March.
Dr. George Harper
Hendrix Science Communication Initiative
Category: SP
The Hendrix Science Communication Initiative will bring together teams of students
to increase science literacy in the community. This could be done through traditional
written media or creative pieces like artwork, short plays or songs that bring exciting
and sometimes complex scientific work to the public in an easy to understand and
accurate format.
Dr. Rod Miller
Paris Art and Culture
Category: UR
A group of select students will travel to Paris to explore the city’s artwork
and expand research papers on their chosen topics for an art history course taught
by Dr. Rod Miller. The papers will be read aloud at an academic conference.
Prof. Maxine Payne
Society for Photographic Education, 52nd Annual Cofference Attendance, New
Orleans, LA
Category: SP
Prof. Maxine Payne will take 11 photography students to the 52nd annual
Society for Photographic Education Conference. The theme this year is “Atmospheres:
Climate, Equity and Community in Photography.” The students will attend panel discussions,
keynote addresses and technical demonstrations in addition to preparing a 15–print
portfolio to share with their peers. The students will serve as volunteers at the
conference and show their work when they return.
Prof. Brigitte Rogers
American College Dance Association: Gateway to Dance in the New South
Category: SP
The Odyssey Program and the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will team up
to send members of the Hendrix Dance Ensemble to this year’s American College Dance
Association conference. Held at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn.,
the event emphasizes the importance of dance in higher education and provides a
wide assortment of classes, lectures and performances by leading experts. The festival
offers an intensive study of dance movement and theory, along with class instruction
and performance feedback from renowned dance professionals. The 13 student participants
will work in leadership positions as choreographers, as well as in artistic positions
as performers for two dance pieces that will be adjudicated at the festival.
Dr. Ann Wright
2015 Women in Physics Conference Travel
Category: SP
Dr. Ann Wright will take a group of nine female students to the Undergraduate
Women in Physics Conference at the University of Mississippi in January. They will
explore career opportunities for physicists, tour research labs, attend research
presentations and discussion panels and network with others in the field.
Dr. Ann Wright
2015 American Physical Society Conference Travel
Category: UR
Dr. Todd Tinsley will accompany five physics students to the American Physical
Society conference in Baltimore, Md. He will serve as a mentor for the student participants
as they present their undergraduate research.