College of Nursing and Health Professions Announces Top Graduates of 2020-21
JONESBORO – The College of Nursing and Health Professions at Arkansas State University announced its most outstanding graduating students of 2020-21 during Convocation of Scholars, according to Dr. Susan Hanrahan, dean of the college.
Kristen Anderson, a nursing major, is the 2021 Chancellor’s Scholar for having the highest GPA (4.0) in the college.
Anderson and 11 additional students received the 4.0 Award for having a perfect GPA. The others are Cassie Clement, Calista Farinelli, Courtney Hardin, Kimberly Hardin, Alexis May, Morgan McAlexander, Shanna Porterfield, Mallory Tarbutton, Emalee Towell, Kayla Turner, and Sydney Wakefield. The Chancellor's Scholar is the student with the most credit hours.
Outstanding students were selected by faculty in the individual degree programs to receive the awards for achievement, leadership and service to their respective departments, both in the classroom and in the clinical experience. In addition to those listed here, numerous others were recognized for scholarly achievement in their respective academic programs.
Among those recognized and their degree programs are (grouped by academic department):
School of Nursing
Award winners in the School of Nursing are: M. Christye Gilliland, Carmen Smith and Sheila McCarley, program scholars, Doctor of Nursing Practice; Sarah Highfill, program scholar, and Callie Feather, outstanding clinical student, MSN, family nurse practitioner; Ashlea Jones and Josh Miller, outstanding clinical students, MSN, nurse anesthesia.
Kristen Anderson (traditional) and Angela Preston (accelerated), clinical scholars, Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
Devanee Ray (Beebe) and Emily Reese (Mountain Home), program scholars, AAS in nursing; Brandy Butler, LPN to RN, and Savanna Magallanes, LPN to RN (online cohort), outstanding clinical students, Jonesboro; Melissa Hensley, LPN to RN, and Daniel Maser, traditional, outstanding clinical students, Beebe; Angela Uchtman, traditional, outstanding clinical student, Mountain Home; Sharon Tucker, LPN to RN, and Marveshia Ruffin, traditional, outstanding clinical students, West Memphis.
Dept. of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
Award winners in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences bachelor's degree program are Shayla Scott, clinical student of the year, and Baylee Phillips, program scholar. In the AAS program, Chandra Camp is outstanding clinical student, and Evelyn Perez is program scholar.
Dept. of Communication Disorders
In the Department of Communication Disorders, the top students and their respective degree programs are Addison Emberson, master's degree, and Abby Antici, bachelor's degree.
Dept. of Disaster Preparedness
In the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management program, award recipients included Lisa Fanning, Patrice Forsen, Erica Kisner, Ryan Lemke, Matthew Luebbert, David Middleton, Jenny Rolph and Marlon Lewis, master's degree, program scholars; Brandon Johnson, bachelor's degree, program scholar.
Dept. of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences
The students recognized in the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences included Natalie Harrison, outstanding student, diagnostic medical sonography; Michael Hall and Sharisa Herekamp, outstanding students, radiation therapy; Sara Wells, outstanding student, and Kyndal Smith, clinical student, cardiovascular intervention; Benny Zheng, outstanding student, medical imaging informatics; Elizabeth Ingram, outstanding student, and Haylee Dragon, clinical student, magnetic resonance imaging; Holly Freeman and Alicia Vernor, outstanding students, mammography; and Natalie Harrison and Sharisa Herekamp, outstanding students, and Lindsey Brent, clinical student, radiography.
Dept. of Occupational Therapy
The Department of Occupational Therapy recognized Ashley Stroud, occupational therapy doctorate (OTD), as outstanding student; Jaqulyn Clover and Sara Methany, OTD, program scholars; Hannah Johnston, OTA, occupational therapy assistant, outstanding student, and Jamie Holley, program scholar.
Dept. of Physical Therapy
The Department of Physical Therapy recognized David Flores, outstanding student, and Ernest Babon, Brandon Baioni, Madison Hutchinson, Chloe Pigott and Lauren Yount, program scholars, Doctor of Physical Therapy; Garrett Miller, outstanding student, and Emily Tennyson and Rachel March, program scholars, physical therapist assistant program (Jonesboro), and Maria Jestice, outstanding student, and Ethan Erwin and Tony Bruzzichesi, program scholars (Mountain Home).
Dept. of Social Work
The top awards in the Department of Social Work went to Haley Black, outstanding field student, and Brenton Ezell, program scholar, master's degree; Lauren Poe, outstanding field student, and Courtney Hardin and Kimberly Hardin, program scholars, bachelor's degree.
Athletic Training Program
Lorenzo Soto is outstanding clinical student, while Megan Etter and Josh Lammers were program scholars.
Health Studies Program
William Counts is the program scholar in the BS in health studies program.
Dietetics Program
Julia Smith is the outstanding practicum student, and Shanna Porterfield is the program scholar.
