Ouachita hosts annual Scholars Day April 27
May 03, 2011 - Whitney Crews
Ouachita Baptist University held its annual Scholars Day on Wednesday, April 27. The
event, an undergraduate research symposium sponsored by the Carl Goodson Honors Program,
featured 52 poster presentations from the natural and social sciences fields, 11 voice
and instrumental recitals, a juried art exhibit featuring the works of six students,
a theatrical performance, 11 honors student theses presentations and 21 student research
presentations.
Activities began with inductions for Alpha Chi at 1 p.m. in Grant Plaza. Thirty-three
students were inducted into the national academic honor society from multiple disciplines.
Scholars Day presentations officially began at 1:25 p.m. in honor of Ouachita’s 125th anniversary.
Poster presentation topics were broad, ranging from the study of DNA interactions
to “religiosity and personality.” Senior thesis presenters also covered a wide range
of topics, with one student presenting part of a young adult novel she recently authored,
Mooncakes and Marshmallows, and many others offering their thoughts on specific topics from their fields of
study.
“The Honors Program gave me a chance to research a topic I was interested in with
faculty help and encouragement,” said Ananda Boardman, a political science and Spanish
major from Geronimo, Texas, who presented her senior thesis, “Body of Lies.” “It also
allowed me to make friends with students who were devoted to going the extra mile
while at Ouachita. … It's a great personal goal achieved to complete the Honors Program.
It shows that I was able to push myself to the limits and do so with a great group
of like-minded individuals who offered encouragement along the way.”
In Verser Theatre Gallery, awards were given in the Juried Art Show including Best
of Show to senior art and secondary education major Ashley Turner from White Hall,
Ark.; Best of Graphic Design to senior graphic design major Anthony Ridgway from Arkadelphia,
Ark.; Best of Photography to senior mass communications and speech communication major
Meg Gosser from Coppell, Texas; Best of Studio Art to junior graphic design major
John Oakley from DeKalb, Texas; Going the Distance award to freshman art and education
major Katie Hopmann from Cypress, Texas; and honorable mentions to Hopmann and Sam
Chidister, a sophomore art and education major from DeValls Bluff, Ark.
Kathryn Kellogg, a junior musical theatre and mass communications major from Sherwood,
Ark., and Katie Willhite, a senior theatre arts and Biblical studies major from Rowlett,
Texas, performed scenes from their Irene Ryan Theatrical Competition-nominated performances
of “Proof” and “Betty’s Summer Vacation” in McBeth Recital Hall.
“Katie and I made it to the semi-finals of the Irene Ryans, which is a really great
honor,” Kellogg said. “We both worked very hard on our scenes, but no one from Ouachita
had the chance to see them. We both wanted to showcase them and get the opportunity
to film them for our digital portfolio. We really enjoyed the scenes we selected and
wanted a chance for Ouachita to enjoy them with us.”
Festivities concluded at 4:30 p.m. with dinner on the grounds provided by Sodexo catering.
“I enjoyed seeing students appreciate the work of majors in other fields of study:
artists looking at the science posters and English majors hearing a business presentation,”
said Honors Program director and Associate Professor of Christian Missions Barbara
Pemberton. “I really enjoyed every element. This was the first time I was able to
see the poster sessions, and I was amazed at the quality.
“I also loved the entire music recital – the Saxophone Quartet was great,” Pemberton
added. “Of course I also loved hearing the Honors Program senior thesis presentations.
I was so happy for them to have the opportunity to shine – to display the culmination
of their Honors work.”
For more information, contact Barbara Pemberton at [email protected] or (870) 245-5541.
By Whitney Crews
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