Record Number of Honors College Seniors to be Recognized

JONESBORO – The Honors College at Arkansas State University will host the ninth annual Honors Recognition Ceremony and Reception on Friday, May 11, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Cooper Alumni Center, 2600 Alumni Blvd.

The 4 p.m. ceremony is for graduates from Agriculture, Engineering, & Technology, Liberal Arts & Communication, and Nursing & Health Professions.  The 6 p.m. ceremony is for graduates from the Neil Griffin College of Business, Education & Behavioral Science, Sciences & Mathematics, and Undergraduate Studies.

A record 185 graduating honors students will be recognized in the company of their parents, families, guests, and university dignitaries.  Graduation distinctions for each student are noted below along with their hometowns.

Graduating seniors Elishiba Maina of Searcy and Robert Morris of Jacksonville will make remarks on behalf of their Honors peers at the 4 p.m. ceremony, along with Richard Crawford of Melbourne and Rachel Treece of Beebe at the 6 p.m. ceremony.

In addition, the Honors Professor of the Year 2018 will be announced.  Honors students nominate professors and vote to select the recipient.

Students achieve one of three distinctions through the Honors College: Graduating in University Honors, Graduating in Honors, and earning the Honors Certificate.

Graduating in University Honors

Those designated ‘Graduating in University Honors’ have successfully defended an Honors senior thesis, completed a minimum of 24 credit hours in Honors coursework, and are graduating with a 3.50 or higher cumulative grade point average.  This distinction is recognized on their diplomas and their formal academic transcripts.  These students are also presented with a gold Honors medallion and a certificate in recognition of their accomplishment.

Those graduating in University Honors are:

Katlyn Allred of Paragould, Samantha Black of Fort Smith, Anna Bland of Walnut Ridge, Cecily Brock of Beebe, Patricia Burleigh of Yellville, Benjamin Bush of Bee Branch, Erin Carson of Jonesboro, Caroline Chalupka of Little Rock, Tyler Cornwell of Lake City, Tucker Crain of Jonesboro, Marissa Crawford of Violet Hill, Richard Crawford of Melbourne, Kelli Elkin of Hot Springs, Ricky Gable of Gosnell, Casey Gilbert of Niceville, Fla., Lauren Gotte of Cherokee Village, Anna Grayson of Jonesboro, Ryan Drew Hancock of Jonesboro, Samantha Holt of Jonesboro, Crystal Kachevas of Paragould, Audrey Kirk of Beebe, Kristen Lilly of Jonesboro, and Tara Loperano of Jonesboro.

Others are Samantha McKnight of Berryville, Carmen Miller of Jonesboro, Kirsten Millsap of Jonesboro, Makayla Moody of Jonesboro, Emily Moran of Sherwood, Robert Morris of Jacksonville, Lakyn Oliver of Sheridan, Tabitha O’Neal of Wynne, Ashton Owen of Jonesboro, Miranda Perry of Cabot, Seth Price of Leachville, Shelby Rhodes (posthumously awarded) of Sheridan, Bo Ritter of Hot Springs, Taylor Russell of Rison, Spenser Sullivan of Paragould, Lindsey Trussell of Maumelle, Caitlin VanGinhoven of Mammoth Springs, Collin Wilkerson of Hermitage, Angela Willbanks of Harrisburg, Reagan Williams of Jonesboro, and Matthew Yaksic of Hampton.

Graduating in Honors

Students ‘Graduating in Honors’ have completed a minimum of 18 credit hours in Honors coursework and are graduating with a 3.50 or higher cumulative grade point average.  This distinction is recognized on their diplomas and their formal academic transcripts. These students are also presented with a silver Honors medallion and a certificate in recognition of their accomplishment.

Those graduating in Honors are:

Abbey Allgood of Cabot, Jonathan Nate Arrington of Springdale, Westley Brooke Beaver of Cabot, Lauren Bennett of Caraway, Preston Bennett of Heber Springs, Hayley Bigger of Marion, Avery Bise of Weiner, Stewart Bridger of Jonesboro, Brianne Brown of Conway, Alyssa Burleson of North Little Rock, Delaney Chapple of Marion, John Charles of Hot Springs, Paige Cleveland of Lonoke, Jamie Cope of White Hall, Lana Crosskno of Blytheville, Caitlyn Crowder of Heber Springs, Hannah Cummins of Batesville, Sonali Das of Jonesboro, Evan Davis of Benton, Amy DeMent of Rector, Madison Dulin of Jonesboro, Katlynne Dunn of McGehee, Sarah Eberwein of Jonesboro, Cullen Bryant Estes of Jonesboro, Bayley Ferren of Searcy, Morgan Ferren of Searcy, Britney Fuller of Tillar, Bretton Hale of Doniphan, Mo., Monica Hazlewood of Walnut Ridge.

Others are Abigail Hickam of Jacksonville, Adam Hicks of Cabot, Kalista Holloway of Jonesboro, Savannah Holman of Lonoke, Jessica Holsted of Harrison, Jedidja Hoppe of Highland, Sarah Jackson of Hensley, Tanner Jarrett of Cherry Valley, Holly Johnson of Maumelle, Nathan Johnson of Jonesboro, Mary Kathryn Jones of Monticello, Shady Jordan of Brighton, Tenn., Jordan Kasza of O’Fallon, Ill., Katelin Kelley of Yellville, Allen Kirk of Beebe, Kaori Kitamura of Otsu, Japan, Nicholas Kitchens of Bryant, Brooke Knight of Russellville, Matthew Lercher of Beebe, Emily Lindley of Jonesboro, Elishiba Maina of Searcy, Hannah Massey of Walnut Ridge, Taylor Matthews of Bryant, Kyla McCain of Farmington, Jessica McDonough of Austin, MaKala McIver of Poplar Bluff, Mo.

In addition, Breanna McLaren of Alexander, Jake McMasters of Jonesboro, Nicole Mikaelian of Macomb, Mich., Jacey Mize of Crawfordsville, Sydnie Mohr of Wynne, Tassie Murphree of Jonesboro, Alexander Myers of Little Rock, Ryan Nix of Jonesboro, Erin Nunan of Falls Church, Va., Tristan Payne of Jonesboro, Kristin Price of Jonesboro, Austin Reed of Carlisle, Braden Reed of Carlisle, Arielle Reid of Jonesboro, Dustin Rhoads of Trumann, Claire Rowland of Paragould, Kailee Rowland of Paragould, Jacob Sanders of Leachville, Chloe Sellers of Ash Flat, William Slisher of Batesville, Jenna Smith of Paragould.

The list graduating in Honors also included Courtney Spillman of Beech Grove, Jennifer Steele of Batesville, Hannah Stewart of Batesville, Sarah Stone of Sheridan, Haley Stotts of Little Rock, Clinton Summers of Berryville, Cebrina Swanson of Jonesboro, Nikki Leigh Tagupa of Jonesboro, Morgan Todd of Paragould, Rachel Treece of Beebe, Tyler Upchurch of Lafe, Kristen Vaughn of Searcy, Chloe Vaught of Morrilton, Levi Warmath of Paragould, Destiny Watkins of Paragould, Collin Weatherly of Conway, Hannah Webb of Paragould, Kaylianne Weber of Jacksonville, Brandyn Wilcox of Benton, Sarah Wilcox of Jonesboro, and Mariana Zermeno of Lonoke.

Students earning the Honors Certificate

Those earning an Honors Certificate have completed a minimum of 18 credit hours in Honors coursework and are graduating with a 3.00 or higher cumulative grade point average. These students are presented with a certificate in recognition of their accomplishment.

Those earning the Honors Certificate are:

Lydia Askeland of Jonesboro, Hannah Bauer of England, Nickolas Boysaw of Jonesboro, Jaqulyn Brantley of Jonesboro, Ashauna Brown of Jonesboro, Robert Callahan of Rosie, Makenly Coles of Strawberry, Caleb Conaway of North Little Rock, Tyler Courson of Star City, Devlin Deveney of Jonesboro, Austin Dewitt of Little Rock, Kandria Driskill of Sheridan, Jonathan Foels of Doniphan, Mo., Kyle Fouts of Beebe, Sophie Hedge of Jonesboro, Kierria Hull of Jonesboro, Emily Johns of Salem, Drew Jones of Fort Smith, Lauren Jones of Cabot, Caroline Kelley of Walnut Ridge, Miranda Keys of Mountain Pine, and Cassandra Koekemoer of Jonesboro.

Others are Katelyn Long of Jonesboro, Katie McCoy of Jonesboro, Jacob Mitchell of Paragould, Samantha Nelson of Lincoln, Neb., Brianna Orr of Jonesboro, Kiera Payne of Doniphan, Mo., Spencer Qualls of Bryant, Tyler Rasmussen of Paragould, Drew Rea of Cabot, Maya Reed of North Little Rock, Zachary Reinhart of Manila, Lisa Rogers of Arkadelphia, Anthony Smith of De Queen, Grant Stevens of Mountain View, Matthew Strack of Maumelle, Tristan Sweatt of Floral, Paul Turner of Jonesboro, Aylin Villalpa-Arroyo of Forrest City, Lesley Webb of Jonesboro, Ivory Wells of Ravenden, and Hayden Zirbel of Jonesboro.

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