Tangents Summer 2019

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARKANSAS SCHOOL FOR MATHEMATICS, SCIENCES AND THE ARTS

SUMMER 2019

STRIKE UP THE BAND

ASMSA music program expands into new octaves

Director Corey Alderdice Dean of Academic Affairs Stuart Flynn, J.D. Dean of Students Rheo Morris, Ph.D. Director of Finance Ashley Smith Interim Director of Admissions Charlie Feick

The opening of the Creativity and Innovation Complex in January of this year marked the first new classroom building in ASMSA’s history. The facility includes spaces tailored to our student and faculty needs for computer science, robotics, digital arts, music, entrepreneurship, and other subjects. I’m incredibly grateful to our campus planning committee for their work in ensuring the CIC addressed as many needs across our curriculum as possible.

One of the earliest planning discussions focused on the lack of a campus space in which all members of our community of learning could gather together under one roof. First Presbyterian Church, which is across the street from the school, had always been a willing partner for assemblies and the like, but there were obvious limitations. The committee envisioned a space in the CIC that could address a variety of situations throughout the year, but the underlying principle was the question, “How can a space help to build community?”

We were honored that the Oaklawn Foundation understood how important that need was and committed $300,000 toward the project. The gift was not simply a matter of supporting construction of a room. It was an investment in shared experiences between those of us who are part of daily life and learning at ASMSA as well as both existing and potential friends and advocates throughout the region.

Over the last few months, ASMSA has been able to have band concerts, award ceremonies, science fair presentations, guest lectures, College Signing Day, the Silver Gala fundraiser, and prom in the Oaklawn Foundation Community Center. Beyond our own activities, the CIC has provided the chance for ASMSA to welcome new stakeholders onto campus for a variety of events, many of whom had not visited the institution since it was a hospital.

The best ideas don’t exist in a vacuum. They are put in an environment that nurtures growth. When we gather together to celebrate or inform, we create a space that allows the seeds of our ideas to blossom. This is the goal of our community of learning: to create a space that encourages and guides students’ academic and personal growth. The start of an academic year offers us the opportunity to gather anew.

Here’s to the next chapter in ASMSA’s story! Let us seize the opportunities to grow, to experiment, and to aspire to what is possible.

Corey Alderdice

Director

Board of Visitors Timothy Barnes, Chair Brian Reed, Secretary Fletcher T. West, Vice Chair Gary Dowdy Steve Faris Ann Xu (’10) Marlene Battle (‘97) Ex-Officio Representatives Arkansas Economic Development Commission Science and Technology Tom Chilton, Division Director Arkansas Department of Higher Education Maria Markham, Ph.D., Director Arkansas Department of Education Krystal Nail, Program Director, Office of Gifted and Talented and Advanced Placement Department of Arkansas Heritage Patrick Ralston, Executive Director of the Arkansas Arts Council ASMSA Student Government Hays Denney (‘20), President Tangents is published by the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, a campus of the University of Arkansas System.

For more information about ASMSA, visit our website at www.asmsa.org or call (501) 622-5100.

Writer and Graphic Design Donnie Sewell Photography Donnie Sewell Mike Kemp

inthisissue SUMMER 2019

Stich fills important support role

Page 12

Art instructor shapes model students Page 25

features

#ASMSA

2 Adios, Señor Mac

23 Night of Celebration

6 Joining the Ranks

30 A Capitol Achievement

14 Going for the Cup

32 Inaugural Symposium

Dan McElderry retires after 24 years of service to ASMSA. Inaugural esports season a success as team earns national tourney spot.

Team earns recognition in collegiate business plan competition.

A gift pledge from a former Hot Springs mayor is highlight of gala.

A student’s work of art earns place of honor in U.S. Capitol hallway.

The first Arts and Humanities Capstone Symposium is a success.

On the Cover: Dr. Thomas Dempster leads a small rehearsal with band students in the Morris Rehearsal Studio in the Creativity and Innovation Complex. Story on Page 16 asmsa.org

#ASMSA student Kasey Meyer (‘20) takes in the view from atop Machu Picchu. Meyer was on a Global Learning Program trip to Peru during Spring Break 2019. This was the first trip to the South American country for the program.

More than 400 students, faculty and staff have participated in study abroad trips.

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Dan McElderry, left, listens to Dr. Mary Leigh, a humanities instructor, read the Dr. Seuss book ‘You’re Only Old Once,’ which was filled with well-wishes by his colleagues.

Adios, Cuídate, Señor Mac McElderry retires after 24 years of service to ASMSA There is one thing Dan McElderry is extremely proud of about his 24 years of service as a Spanish and arts instructor at ASMSA — he never had to fail a student.

That’s not because he felt sorry for students who struggled or gave passing grades to keep his pass rate up. It’s because he never accepted mediocrity, said McElderry, possibly better known as Señor Mac by alumni, students and colleagues alike.

“I was a developing teacher before I got here,” said McElderry, who taught 14 years in junior high, high school and university programs before joining ASMSA’s faculty. “I was pretty accomplished but still growing. John Harrison, who was a teacher here, took me aside and said I was taking too much responsibility for students’ failure. He told me not only did I need to allow them to succeed but also allow them to fail. Give them the opportunity to fall on their face, but if they do fall on their face, be there ready to help them.

“Most of my students get A’s or B’s and I haven’t had to 2

fail a student. I don’t accept mediocrity. Where are you if you are mediocre?”

Many of his tests would be done orally, especially as students moved into more advanced courses. If within the first or second question he could tell a student had not prepared, he would send them out of the classroom with instructions to go study more and come back later.

“At times, you’d rather have a fabulous C student rather than a lazy A student. The C student will work his heart out for you. Some of those A students come from their homes thinking they are better than they are. The C students may be more friendly and have a sense of cooperative spirit and a nice semblance of doing homework.

Most of our students were dependable, cooperative and creative. That’s what I like,” he said.

His methods may have frustrated some students at times, he said. They would ask what he wanted specifically for certain assignments. Whether it was how many pages

were required or how many words to Mexico in the 1980s while he was France, Italy, Spain, England and Jaor something else, he would not give teaching at North Pulaski High School pan. His answer is always the same. specific numbers. He thought if he did, in Jacksonville. By the late 1990s, “I always say no. I’ve been to so students would work only to the re- he began taking students to Spain. many places. There are things you quired number and not push further.

Those included extended homestays need to learn in case you get in a bad “When you don’t set parameters, with families while they took classes situation, but you use your knowledge they go beyond them,” he said. “If I told at a local school or college for at least and most situations work themselves them ‘Here’s the fence, work up to it,’ a month. The last 10 years, he began out,” he said. they would work up to the fence and taking people to Costa Rica.

Those trips have also resulted in stop. But when I don’t put up a fence, The advantages of all of those trips many former students telling him we see how far they can go. And they were participants were involved with how they have gone on to do further go all across the field — over and over the native people as well as people study in Spanish in other countries or and over again.” their age. “When you meet people, the taken jobs in foreign countries.

The demand for advanced Span- trip comes to life,” he said. “You can “I get contacts all the time form ish courses continued to grow during stand at the Eiffel Tower all day, but students out in the world. I can’t tell McElderry’s tenure. In his final year, when you’re with a family, the trip re- you how many students have gone on he taught two sections of Spanish 4, in ally comes to life.” and done something with their Spanwhich students read literature in SpanThe trips also teach students to ish or another language. It just amazish and studied es me,” he said. other advanced McElderry topics. He also also had the ‘When I was there, they didn’t have Spanish V. taught a course opportunity to However, I really wanted to continue taking Spanish, of Spanish 5, in share his love of so Señor Mac put me in with Spanish IV and had which students art with students delved into at the school. me come to his office for independent study, which some sophisWhen he first focused primarily on Spanish literature. ticated history joined the factexts in Spanulty in August We would have long conversations about the ish.

1995, the school readings, and it was the first time that I truly began “It’s not did not have ‘baby’ Spanish,” anyone teaching to appreciate art as a discipline. Anyway, we were he said. While it art classes. using one of his textbooks for the independent was finals week McElderry, study, which he let me borrow. I distinctly remember of his last sewho minored mester, many in art, and bringing it back to his office during finals and him books in Spanchemistry insaying that the book was for me to keep—and ish remained structor Fred on the book Buzen taught enjoy—as a graduation gift.’ shelves in his a photography office. Pointing class together.

Josh Bregy (‘09) to them, he said, McElderry add“All these books ed the Science represent stuff of Art and Dethat is not taught in most high schools. rely on themselves and encouraging sign, black and white photography, In Spanish 5, I was using those books future international trips. “I don’t treat 2D design, 3D design and sculpture to introduce them to other societies them like a mother hen with chicks. to the courses he taught. and cultures. That doesn’t happen at During the first week, you may, but “I scouted around where could I most schools.” you teach them to live and survive. teacher art classes. I started unlockBesides teaching courses in native You’re there for them, but you expect ing doors and found rooms piled with texts, another effective way McElder- them to get out on their own. I teach furniture. I turned them into an art ry encouraged students to learn how to be a citizen of the world. They room. My favorite was teaching 3D Spanish was through study abroad learn how the country functions while art. I really loved it,” he said. trips that included living a period of living with the family. They learn how Eventually as other faculty memtime with a host family. While there to get around and how to take care of bers who could teach art were hired, are some good tours offered for stu- themselves,” he said.

McElderry refocused on teaching dents that provide an introduction to McElderry said he’s often asked if strictly Spanish. a foreign country, those don’t provide he’s not afraid to encourage indepen“It was hard to give it up,” he said. the same depth of experience as an dent travel in a foreign land. Besides What made it easier, however, were immersion trip, he said. the native Spanish-speaking countries the European study abroad trips in He said he started taking people already listed, he has been on trips to which he became involved. “As I was asmsa.org

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‘Señor Mac’s class was such a fun environment to learn in, but specifically for Stacy (Strange, her future husband) and I just because he used to pick on us about our relationship. We used to think it was so funny when Mac would be deep in a Spanish lesson and suddenly turn to Stacy and say, ‘She’s too pretty for you,’ and continue with the lesson.

‘Aside from that, he always watched out for the two of us and gave us advice on balancing a relationship with school. He took time out of his day to look over my research paper, even though he wasn’t my advisor.

‘Even though these things might seem like small memories, he was such a big part of our lives at ASMSA. We will be forever grateful for the things he taught us and the memories we have with him.’

Kalyn Strange (‘13), on the experiences she and Stacy Strange (‘13), her husband, had with Dan McElderry while at ASMSA doing that, it exposed me to all this culture. I went to the Picasso museum. Visited museums in Barcelona and went to the Louvre and saw all this artwork by fabulous artists.”

McElderry said ASMSA has always had a strong contingent of instructors to match the caliber of students. He said he’s done his best to offer advice to new colleagues who may accept advice from an older, matured and experienced teacher, just as Harrison did for him early in his ASMSA career.

“It feels kinda good. I think they look at me as the grandpa of the department. They tease me mercilessly, but they do come to me to talk. They kept me laughing for years,” he said.

Dr. Mary Leigh, a literature and composition instructor in the Humanities Department, said McElderry reached out to her on her first day of campus.

“He showed me around, introduced me to the faculty, and made me feel like I was a part of the campus community from that moment,” she said. “I was nervous about teaching in a new school, and he was very encouraging. His advice to me was to try everything I thought might work — you will succeed in some things, find out what doesn’t work in others, but you will always gain something valuable 4

from trying it. It gave me the courage to really make my classroom my own, and I don’t think I would have gotten there so quickly if not for him. I will miss him tremendously.”

Dr. Dan Kostopulos, Humanities Department chair, said McElderry offered stability and wisdom to the department and to students.

“Even though he’s never been department chair or an administrator, Dan McElderry has been the rock of the Humanities Department for a long time,” Kostopulos said. “All of us have relied on his guidance and professionalism as an example of what great teaching and collegiality should be at ASMSA. “For students, he was often like a surrogate parent away from home, sometimes bringing them fresh-baked cookies from home but still demanding excellence in Spanish from them all.”

McElderry said as he has grown older he was often asked when he’d retire. He would say that as long as he feels that he was doing a good job and the students were having a good and worthwhile experience, he would continue to teach. Circumstances over the last few years led him to believe it was time to make a change.

He became ill last year with a rare bacterium that was destroying

his lung. He eventually had to go to have half a lung removed to stop the spread of the disease.

“It was attacking me, and I was sick about seven months. It scared me,” he said. While the surgery helped restore his health somewhat, he thought that perhaps it was time to retire. “I don’t think I have it in me to be the teacher I have been,” he said.

Tearing up and his voice breaking, he also described the struggle his wife has had battling cancer. She retired two years ago and is in the midst of her third reoccurrence of cancer. “Part of it is we don’t know how long we have, and I need to be with her,” he said.

McElderry said his wife isn’t sure that he’s as ready for retirement as he thinks. “She says ‘Who are you going to talk to?’ She says I need to find some things to do outside of the house,” he said.

That may include taking some additional art classes. He said the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Central Arkansas and Arkansas State University at Beebe are all within half-hour drives from his home in Jacksonville.

“I can take classes for free. I’ll likely enroll in classes for the fall. Besides that, I’ll do something worthwhile, even if it’s volunteer time,” he said.

Flynn new dean of academic affairs ASMSA’s new dean of academic affairs is an Arkansas native who is coming home after spending almost two decades at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

Stuart Flynn was named dean of academic affairs in May after a national search. He assumed the duties in July. Flynn said he sees his job strongly as one of support.

The dean of academic affairs is the lead academic administrator for the campus and serves as the chief advocate for student support, success and intellectual engagement.

“I’m going to do everything I can that allows the students, teachers, staff and family to succeed and have a meaningful experience,” he said.

The dean also provides leadership, supervision and evaluation to faculty members and staff within the academic component of the institution. The dean determines teaching schedules and oversees the planning and implementation of statewide professional development and outreach opportunities for teachers around the state through digital learning, among other duties.

Flynn served as director of student support services at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Ala., from 2015. Before that, he served as a creative writing instructor from 2001-2015 at ASFA. He served as chair of ASFA’s Creative Writing Department from 2002-2015. Flynn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas School of Law and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Alabama.

When he saw the ASMSA position advertised, he saw an opportunity to expand his educational leadership experience. He said he tries to be a listener and collaborative as a leader.

Flynn said those are important qualities for a dean to have. asmsa.org

“Everyone has a different background. They have different needs and different interests. I try to appreciate those distinctive qualities that all students possess,” Flynn said.

He said he is impressed with how the school approaches not only the education of the student but the student as a whole. “Student development and wellness is important. I think the environment is very attractive,” he said.

Before entering the teaching field, Flynn earned his law degree intending to work in politics. He did serve as a consultant for one political campaign and was a legal adviser for the Arkansas Workers Compensation Commission. That experience will help him in his new position as well, he said.

“I try to be a good listener and try to take in multiple perspectives. I try to see as many angles as possible and be deliberative about situations and what may be the best response. You also have to be prepared to navigate education law,” Flynn said.

The job has a personal advantage as well. Flynn grew up in Conway and has family members who live in Hot Springs. “I’ve wanted to live in Hot Springs for a while and wanted to move back over the last couple of years,” he said.

Gregory ends tenure as academic dean When Bob Gregory started his job as a math instructor at ASMSA in 2011, he had no intentions on becoming an administrator. He felt he had already done that at two previous schools he worked at — the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Art and the Webb School of Knoxville in Tennessee.

“I was going to teach math the rest of my career and be happy,” Gregory said.

But that was short-lived as in the spring of 2013 he was asked to step in as interim dean of academic affairs when the current dean left for personal reasons. He continued as interim dean for the 2013-14 academic year and was named permanently to the dean position that school year after a national search.

He continued to serve in that capacity, but announced at the beginning of the 2018-19 academic year that it would be his last at ASMSA. He said he would move closer to family in St. Louis, Mo. His wife, Denise, was also a math instructor at ASMSA until she took a position with Washington University in St. Louis at the end of the 2017-18 school year. His mother and brother also live in St. Louis.

Gregory said he felt his time as academic dean was successful.

While serving as a math instructor, students would ask him for things or share their concerns with him. While he was limited as what he could do as an instructor, he found that once he became dean, he could be more effective in being an advocate for the students.

“I found it really positive. I could affect positive change for kids.

Students would ask for things or tell me things, and I could say that makes sense and we can fix this.

That’s the advantage to school like this. You can be nimble and change things,” he said.

See Gregory, Page 33 5

From the left, Wyatt Hoyt (‘19) and Worthy Fleming (‘19) watch Colin Rogers (‘19) play a round of ‘Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.’ Team members work together to either capture or protect various sites on a combat map in the game. This past year, ASMSA officially sponsored esports teams for two high school esports leagues, one of which used ‘Rainbow Six Siege’ as its official league game.

Joining the Esports Ranks

ASMSA team tops inaugural season in high school gaming leagues with trip to national tournament 6

Students playing video games in their rooms aren’t a new phenomenon at ASMSA. There’s been plenty a game of “Super Smash Brothers” played on ancient consoles in the student lounges. The games can bring lots of opportunities to release the daily pressure of classes and build community among peers.

At one time, the game “League of Legends” was listed as ASMSA’s official “sport” on WikiPedia. If only the contributor knew somehow that would become true in the future.

In the past year, a group of students had a more — dare we say — legitimate reason to gather in front of their computers in their rooms.

ASMSA joined the official world of esports, competing in two different competitive high school leagues.

For those not familiar with esports,

the term is short for electronic sports.

Esports leagues provide platforms for gamers to compete against each other. In the case of the leagues in which ASMSA participates, matches are held online. Tournaments can be held in a central location, but even then gamers are logged onto individual computers, using headsets and microphones to communicate with each other during the game.

ASMSA plays in the High School Esports League and the PlayVS league. Both leagues gave ASMSA teams the chance to play against other high schools. PlayVS has an Arkansas high school league that falls under the supervision of the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA), the body that oversees traditional athletics and other extracurricular activities in high

Yes, all those hours of screen time are worth it

You can earn an esports college scholarship

You don’t need a ball to make the big bucks

Kyle Giersdorf, better known in esports as Bugha, won the inaugural Fortnite World Cup Solo competition in July. The 16-year-old walked away with a $3 million dollar prize. He also has signed a contract to play for the Sentinels, a Los Angeles-based pro esports team. A 13-year-old player who goes by King won a $900,000 prize for placing fifth. Even players in the 100-deep field who finished the tournament without scoring a point walked away with $50,000.

A Wired online article in January said the average scholarship competitive esports players earned was worth $4,800, according to statistics from the National Association of College Esports.

Henderson State University in Arkadelphia was the first college in Arkansas to offer esports scholarships. Arkansas State University and Lyon College also have official esports programs.

A May 2018 Forbes magazine article said that the esports is growing at a phenomenal rate. Newzoo, a global leader in esports, games, and mobile intelligence, said the esports global market was growing at a 41 percent clip and expected to top $1.5 billion by 2020 when about 300 million people will watch an esports event. That is up from $362 million in 2017. For comparison, the NHL is at about $4 billion.

schools across the state.

One team focused on playing “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” in the HSEL while the other team played “League of Legends” in PlayVS. The HSEL team did well enough in the fall season to finish seventh place in the fall national playoffs. That qualified the team to participate in the HSEL Summer Invitational, a national tournament featuring the top 16 teams from the fall and spring seasons. The team finished eighth in the summer finals that were held in Las Vegas in June.

“At the beginning of the year, we started out holding tournaments in school,” said Worthy Fleming (’19), one of the team captains. “Colin (Rogers ’19) and I were already playing and he brought up the idea for an esports league. I and a few of my buddies already played in a league.

We got pretty far in the winter season.”

Fleming’s team played “League of Legends” more, while Rogers was a “Rainbow Six” player. Both games have five players at a time actively participating on the team. Once Rogers suggested starting an official school league team, they took the idea to Bret Vallun, a student success coordinator on campus, to see if he would serve as a club adviser. They then approached Director Corey Alderdice about getting support for the team.

Vallun also serves as the coach and adviser for the ultimate Frisbee team. That team began competing as a club team in various tournaments

around the state. Vallun said he saw the same value in an esports team.

“I see this as an advertisement for our school,” Vallun said. “If we invest in this, not only do they have fun but it also provides stress relief. And I think it will help recruit students.”

During this past, individual students logged in to computers in their rooms. They use Discord, a free text and voice chat service, to communicate with each other during the game. They discuss strategy, alert each other of the other team’s positions and organize league games with other teams through the service.

Future games will be held in the Boole Lab. Team members worked with information technology staff to develop an on-campus “arena” in the lab. The machines were custom built to support gaming. The lab not only gives the competitors dedicated devices in their own space with which to compete this year, but it also creates a space where other students can observe the games and cheer on their classmates.

If you think that it must be a small number of players participating in the leagues, you’d be wrong. In the HSEL, there are three conferences or leagues. Each one — a Pacific, a Central and an East Coast league — had 50 teams each.

“In the central, there are 24 to 25 good teams,” Rogers said. “It was much more serious.”

PlayVS had leagues based in individual states. Some schools had at least two teams. Several had up to

five or more.

“I was surprised by how many schools are on this,” Vallun said. “This was the first year for Arkansas to have a league. It has come a long way from what I may think of as a ‘normal’ sport and how things have come along in gaming and technology. Our players are extremely knowledgeable about their games. I see a lot of opportunity for leadership.”

Vallun likely wouldn’t be the only person surprised at the growth in esports, not only in high schools but also in colleges. According to a KATV report, Henderson State University was the first college in the state to offer scholarships for an esports team. Lyon College and Arkansas State University also have official esports programs that include scholarships and are members of the National Association Collegiate esports. The University of Arkansas offers a competitive club team.

According to a Fortune article in February 2019, the total revenue for the global esports market is expected to hit $1.1 billion this year — a 26.7 percent year-over-year growth compared to 2018. Audience figures for esports are estimated to grow to 454 million this year and could reach 645 million by 2022, the article said.

“If colleges are going to give scholarships, and it’s considered athletics, I think it can be a viable sport for us. How many schools can have it at this level? I think it’s wise for us to invest in esports,” Vallun said.

asmsa.org

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Kenny Ventress, left, and Nina Thomas will have the opportunity this fall to spend a full academic year studying abroad in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX). Originally members of the Class of 2020, they will return to ASMSA in August 2020 as part of the Class of 2021 to complete their ASMSA experience.

Leaving to Come Back ‘Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.’

Terry Pratchett, from ‘A Hat Full of Sky,’ a novel by the popular ‘Discworld’ fantasy novelist 8

Students choose to study abroad, including in yearlong programs

Four ASMSA students learned this spring that they will be studying abroad through two U.S. Department of State programs dedicated to introducing youth to international cultures and preparing them to be global leaders.

Blaine Martin (’20) and Jared Block (’19) were each selected to participate in the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLIY) while Kenny Ventress (’21) and Nina Thomas (’21) are going to study in Germany through the CongressBundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX).

While several ASMSA students have been selected to participate in the NSLI-Y program in the past few years, this marks the first year students have been chosen for CBYX since 2011.

CBYX allows students to spend a full academic year living with a German host family and attending a German school. Thomas and Ventress will leave in late August for their German stays. Thomas will be in Wiefeslstede where she will study at Kooperative Gesamtschule Rastede. Ventress will

live in Jerichow and study at Bismarck-Gymnasium in Genthin.

Previous ASMSA participants in NSLI-Y have chosen to enroll in the six-week summer program. That’s what Martin chose to do this summer.

He left in late June for Indonesia and returned in early August. But Block, who graduated in May, is the first to be selected for a yearlong program through NSLI-Y. He will leave in late August to spend a year in Chisnau, Moldova, studying Russian.

Spending a full year in a studyabroad program offered some challenges to Thomas, Ventress and Block. For Thomas and Ventress, they still have completing both high school and the ASMSA experience to consider. For Block, there was the consideration of whether to do the year abroad or start his freshman year of college at Baylor University.

Once he was selected for the program, Block let admissions officials at Baylor know about his desire to study Russian in Moldova. Participating in the program would give him a jump on learning Russian to use in a future career in diplomacy or social work.

“Baylor was really helpful for my acceptance to carry over for the next year and helped figure out ways for me to keep my scholarships,” he said.

“I really got the love of languages from Bryan Adams (a French instructor at ASMSA). He knows a little bit of Russian and knows it is a critical language. Organizations need more speakers. It is really complicated, so I decided to try to learn it in an immersive program.”

Block said he decided nine months living and learning in a language would be a better start than jumping in cold as a freshman in college.

He plans to study Russian as a major when he returns, but the NSLI-Y program will provide him with the chance to develop conversational skills and maintain fluency that more rigid study may not.

“I’ll be living with a host family.

That will give me the most first-hand experience. Dropping me into a family will help me better learn about their customs.”

Thomas and Ventress had to decide whether an additional year of high school was worth having the asmsa.org

Blaine Martin (‘20), fourth from left on the front row, spent six weeks of his summer break in Indonesia through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth. It was the first time an ASMSA student has visited Indonesia through the program.

Martin and his fellow NSLI-Y participants hold up a piece of cloth that they have used a batik method on. Batik is wax-resist dyeing process used to create various designs that is native to Indonesia. year of exposure to another language and culture.

“I really wanted to do something international before college,” Ventress said. “I’ve never wanted to major in a language but maybe in business or international affairs. I knew it would mean an extra year of high school and leaving my friends.

“I wanted to graduate from ASMSA for sure. As I learned more about the program, it became obvious I would need to graduate from a U.S. school for scholarships, but at the same time I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

I’ve always wanted to be an exchange student.”

Thomas said all of the advantages the program would offer her made the choice of coming back to ASMSA for the 2020-21 academic year an easier one.

“While this was a very huge decision to make, the choice was obvious,” Thomas said. “I told myself when I began the application that if I was accepted I was definitely going on

this exchange. This experience completely outweighs its drawbacks.

“I have no problem with graduating a year later or anything like that. It also helps knowing that Kenny would be going through all of this alongside me: preparation, the exchange itself, and also returning to ASMSA to a completely new set of people.”

Thomas actually credited Ventress for finding out about the program.

She said the duo had bonded over their interest in languages and he shared information about CBYX after learning about it.

She said her mother speaks German and went to college in Germany as an exchange student from her university in Moscow, Russia. “I thought to myself that nothing would be more amazing than to return home and carry a normal conversation with her in German,” she said.

What might be considered a couple of matters of coincidence, Thomas said the oldest child of her host family will be participating in CBYX 9

as an exchange student to the United States. Her own family will also host an exchange student from Colombia who is Thomas’ age at the same time.

While his trip was much shorter than his classmates’, Martin anticipated his stay in Cinere, a suburb of Jakarta, Indonesia, would be no less educational. He had no previous experience with Indonesian.

“I have heard of Bali, but I knew Indonesia was more than a vacation destination,” he said. “I wanted to experience a culture and language rarely mentioned in the United States.

I have no experience with Bahasa Indonesia, so I think it will be an amazing experience that tests my language learning limits.”

Each participant said their parents, family and friends were supportive of their choice to participate in their individual programs, though some more than others. Martin said his family realized how great an opportunity he was granted to go to Indonesia.

“My family is very supportive of my travel and language-learning endeavors, so they were all for it. They know this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will open my mind to unknown cultures,” Martin said.

Thomas said her parents were complete for the exchange from the beginning. “I’m not sure why I was surprised by their response when I first expressed my interest in the CBYX. I knew they would support me, but more than that, they were extremely enthusiastic about it. They told me to start my application right then and submit it as soon as possible,” she said.

Block said his mother had lived in Germany when she was younger. She could relate to how the first-hand experience and being in different scenarios could broaden his mind, he said.

Ventress and Thomas also noted that their year at ASMSA had helped prepare them and their families for them to be away each other for a school year, even if it was not quite as far as Germany.

“Going to ASMSA is already like going to college,” Ventress said. “I have lots of brothers and sisters, and this gives me a chance to be an example for them.”

10

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the keynote speaker for the 25th commencement in ASMSA’s history. While serving of first lady of Arkansas in 1990 and 1991, Clinton led a committee to explore the creation of ASMSA.

Former secretary of state speaks to Class of 2019 Be brave. Be resilient. Be kind. Be grateful.

Those were the words of advice former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered the 102 students in the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Class of 2019 during their commencement ceremony at Bank OZK Arena on May 25.

Clinton was the keynote speaker for the ceremony celebrating ASMSA’s 25th anniversary of the graduation of first class of students. Serving as first lady of Arkansas at the time, she was among a group of state leaders whose work was vital to the creation of the school in 1991. The first cohort of students arrived on campus in 1993, and the charter class of graduates celebrated commencement in May 1995.

Being invited to speak at this event gave her the opportunity to reflect on her own experiences and what she wished she had heard as a young adult at the time of her graduation, she said.

First, she told the graduates to

be brave. She told them to be brave in seeking their dreams, in love and work and service. She encouraged them to be brave even as they take on what is not easy or comfortable. And while being brave, don’t worry about being perfect, she said.

“Perfection is one of the biggest problems that young people encounter today, especially young women,” she said. “The pressures of social media in which everyone looks perfect, sounds perfect — well, you know that’s not the case. So don’t be tempted to think if you can’t be perfect that you shouldn’t try.

“You shouldn’t be expected to be brave because you’re perfect. You’re in really good company because no one is perfect.”

Clinton followed that with encouraging the students to be resilient. Being brave enough to chase your dreams will sometimes lead to setbacks, disappointments and disillusionment. You can’t let those failures hold you back, she said.

“Remember, being resilient is really what separates those who get

up and keep going no matter what knocked them down and those who get overtaken by their fears and stop themselves from moving toward their dreams,” she said.

She shared an early lesson about resilience from her mother. As a young child, she was bullied by other children in the neighborhood for weeks. One day when she was being bullied, Clinton tried to go back in the house, but her mother locked the door forcing Clinton to remain outside. As she was encircled by the group, she started waving her arms in worry and accidentally struck one of the little girls. She was then accepted into the group.

“My mother was fond of saying, ‘Life is not about what happens to you. Everybody gets knocked down in life. What matters is whether you get back up and what you do with what happens to you,’” Clinton said.

The former U.S. first lady referenced Henry James for her next piece of advice. She quoted the 19th century American novelist as responding to a question about the secret to life as saying, “My best advice about how to live a good life is be kind, be kind, be kind.”

Clinton said that kindness today is sometimes seen as soft, out of fashion and even held in contempt. “But there is no substitute for kindness,” she said.

Her final piece of advice was to be grateful. Clinton said scientific studies have shown that sharing gratitude has positive effects on a person’s physical and mental health. She spoke about the “discipline of gratitude,” in which a person finds something to be grateful for every day.

“Because practicing gratitude challenges you to separate out all of the problems, all of the challenges, all of the disappointments, even what you’re grateful for on the big world stage, whatever it might be. It allows you to focus and re-center on what is really important,” Clinton said.

In closing, she said she was very optimistic about the future despite how many problems the world faces.

The time she has spent with today’s young people has allowed her to experience their ambition, caring, concern and determinations about asmsa.org

Mackenzie Bell (‘19), second from left, and Ian Bell (‘19) share a laugh about a scene in the senior slide show during commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2019 in May. tackling those problems, leaving her reinsured and thrilled about the future.

Clinton’s speech was preceded by Dinah Everton (‘19), who was chosen to give the senior address. She spoke about the future, placing responsibility for changing the situation for the better on her generation.

“Today, we live in a world that is erratically changing like a dime spinning on its edge; the situation that lies ahead of us may seem more hopelessly grim than ever, but I, for one, have not lost hope,” she said.

“Our generation must change the status quo in order to move forward and face the amassing problems of the near future, our future.

“That is no easy burden to bear, but as privileged as we have been to receive this education, we ought to use it to the world’s benefit. Use your newfound knowledge to heal, to inform, to make a statement, and to make the world a kinder and more equitable place for everyone.”

Everton encouraged her fellow graduates to seize opportunities the world offers to apply their unique abilities just as they seized the opportunities at ASMSA. Alex Kaye, who served as president of the Student Government

Association for this academic year, spoke of what it meant to be among “Arkansas’ best and brightest” students at ASMSA. “We’re not ‘Arkansas’ best and brightest’ because we’re smarter than everyone else because sometimes we’re not. We’re ‘Arkansas’ best and brightest’ because we had the courage to take a step into the unknown. We had no idea if it would work out, and we had no guarantees it wasn’t a mistake. But we had faith in ourselves, and we took that step. And now we’re here. And it is incredible,” Kaye said.

He said that the students’ two years here were not perfect. There were many reasons students may have struggled, but in the end, they persevered, he said.

“I look back and I don’t see failure or weakness,” he said. “I see some of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my life. And when I see some of the messier or more challenging aspects of my time here, I don’t grimace or cringe. I say, ‘Dang, I did that.’”

Among the accomplishments of the Class of 2019, it was announced the graduates had an average composite ACT score of 30.1 and earned more than $13 million in scholarship offers.

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More Than Just a Friendly Face Licensed professional counselor provides mental health services for students Sometimes you just need someone to listen to you. It may be one person or it could be a group of people you can easily identify with and feel comfortable sharing personal feelings and information.

Everyday life of being a teenager can be stressful on its own. Add in that you are living away from home — sometimes hours away — with 200-plus people from all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs you don’t know while attending a school with a rigorous academic schedule. It can become a bit overwhelming.

It’s no wonder then that when asked what they would improve about ASMSA that many students said adding mental health services to campus were a necessity.

School administrators began exploring the possibility of adding a 12

professional licensed counselor to the staff in the fall of 2017. An initial search didn’t yield the right candidate, but the next did.

Staci Stich began in April 2018.

She has a bachelor’s in psychology from Louisiana Tech University and a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Arkansas. Prior to coming to ASMSA, she was a counselor at a school in Mississippi serving children with emotional disabilities as well as students on the autism spectrum.

Stich has an additional 30 years of experience in community health, focusing primarily on working with children and adolescents in southeast Arkansas, northwest Arkansas and South Carolina. She also has worked in residential care in Louisiana and two years with the Arkansas Depart-

ment of Human Services.

When she first arrived at ASMSA late that spring semester, many students weren’t comfortable coming to visit her at first. Most of the students she spoke with were recommended by staff and faculty members to visit her. She learned many students would stay to themselves.

In the fall 2018, Stich began introducing groups that would meet at lunch time. She would send out an email to all of the students encouraging them to attend the various meetings.

She told students they could meet with her first if they were interested, but what she found was that students were more relaxed coming to the groups.

Once they attended a group session, they usually came back for more

group meetings. to juggle these pressures,” Morris solving skills and focus on what you “There was no commitment re- said. “UCA’s Counseling Center did a can do to improve a situation rather quired. I told them it was up to them great job with these students through than looking at what you can’t do. to choose if they come back or not. teaching them coping skills and sim“They need to understand what Attendance might drop off at the end ply just listening to them while nor- they can take control of. They’re used of each semester, but then it would malizing students asking for help.” to parents asking have you done this pick back up the next. Individual sesDestigmatizing the use of men- or have you done that. They need to sions would increase a lot at semester tal health services is one of the main learn to come up with a plan and work test time,” Stich said. challenges Stich must work to over- on one thing at a time,” Stich said.

That approach worked very well. come. Morris said she saw that on the One thing she’d like to do more One group she started grew large college campus as well which is an- of this year is to be on campus more enough for it to split into a second other reason she felt it was important nights during the week. While she is group. Groups she started to try to ASMSA have a mental health profes- flexible with her schedule to meet get students to socialize with others sional on campus. student needs, she also wants to beoutside of their residence hall room “I felt that some of this normaliz- come a familiar face to students. grew as well. ing should have occurred before the That doesn’t necessarily mean “Group members began to encour- got to college. Having a counselor on more groups, but it could be attendage other kids to come or to bring campus helps to remove the stigma ing student programs that take place someone to come to the meetings with from asking for help because it is no at night such as band concerts or them. They would come up with their longer a huge event to get into seeing drama performances. own assignments to do before the someone just to chat. I think mental The ultimate goal is make sure next meeting with each other. They health is very important because it af- someone who needs her services is always followed comfortable in through with it coming to her ‘Having a counselor on campus helps to remove the and completed when they do their tasks,” she need help withstigma from asking for help because it is no longer a said. out feeling unhuge event to get into seeing someone just to chat.

Students comfortable would exabout it.

I think mental health is very important because it change phone “I can come affects every aspect of your life — your thoughts, numbers and be supportive as seek each out much as I can of your emotions and your behaviors.’ to do things. those things so They’d also they get to know Dr. Rheo Morris, ask each other me better and me speaking about why it is important for ASMSA to have a for help while know them betfull-time licensed professional counselor on staff studying, she ter,” she said. said.

Having Morris said the meeting allowed the participants fects every aspect of your life — your she and her staff are very appreciato develop a core group of if not thoughts, your emotions and your be- tive of having Stich on staff because friends at least colleagues to whom haviors,” Morris said. she educates the residential life staff they could reach out.

As the year progressed, Stich no- on signs of mental distress and helps Sometimes a student would come ticed students becoming more will- them build coping skills for living and to her with problems with a suitemate. ing to visit with her one-on-one. It working in the same place.

In some instances it led her to doing might just be dropping by between Morris said she has also seen the a session with a whole suite of room- classes to visit with the door open students become more friendly and mates. or it might be a more serious matter accepting of Stich.

Dr. Rheo Morris, dean of students, that required a closed-door session.

“Having Staci around creates an was one of the early advocates for Regardless, students were becom- environment where students know providing licensed professional ser- ing more comfortable with the idea of that there is always someone to supvices to students. Prior to coming to seeking help when they needed it. port them outside of the people they ASMSA, she worked at the University “A lot of them didn’t feel comfort- live with,” Morris said. of Central Arkansas in Conway. She able talking about situations before “The majority of students love had opportunities to interact with coming here. Now they feel more having her around to just chat with.

UCA’s Schedler Honors College par- comfortable discussing some of it,” Group sessions are amazing, and I ticipants.

Stich said about both one-on-one think in time more students may take “I have seen in the past the type of sessions and group sessions. advantage of her services and group pressures [students] place on themWhether it’s in a group session or sessions as we continue to normalize selves and that others place on them individual visits, she encourages each mental and emotional health converand how sometimes they struggle student to work on their problem- sations,” Morris said. asmsa.org

13

Team Pedagogue was the first high school team to ever compete in the Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition. Team members included, from the left, Solomon Ni (‘20), Victoria Hwang (‘20), Dawson Jones (‘20) and Vraj Modi (‘20). They presented an app that provided tutoring services and other educational information for students.

Governor’s Cup performance a new high mark for entrepreneurship program Team Pedagogue did something no other high schoolers in the state of Arkansas have ever done it the 19-year history of the Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition — qualify to compete. Once they did, they made sure to take advantage of the opportunity by making the final day of competition and finishing in the top six teams, another first.

The Arkansas Governor’s Cup is a business competition in which teams determine a business plan for a fledgling company and pitch their ideas to a group of judges. It is an in-depth experience in beginning entrepreneurship that encourages teams to create a business that solves a problem or provides a unique and useful product for consumers. They also research a financial and marketing plan that will help support the business.

Victoria Hwang (’20), Dawson Jones (’20), Vraj Modi (’20) and Solomon Ni (’20) comprised Team Pedagogue.

The team developed an app called Pedagogue for the Fourth District Congressional App Challenge during the fall semester. The app offers easy access to specialized, campus-specific tutors from a variety fields of study. Students choose a tutor listed on the app. The student choos14

es options such as whether to work in person with the tutor, on or off campus, or online. Both the student and tutor are able to communicate their specific needs in order to work out the best times and places for each.

Students would also be able to share important information about individual schools and classes, Hwang said.

The information would allow new students to settle in at a school more quickly.

“We were asking friends, members of the [Residential Life] staff, members of security what kind of app they thought they would use,” Hwang said. “Instead of coming up with something new out of the blue, we decided to create something we wish we already had. Since we had just transferred to a new school and new environment at the beginning of the fall semester, we thought about how other new people would like to know — things like teachers’ academic requirements, what the workload for individual classes were.

“We didn’t know what kind of classes we were going to walk into that first day of school. We knew it would definitely be harder than our home school. But we were walking into a new school year with limited knowledge.”

The members of Team Pedagogue competed in the Congressional App Challenge for fun and not as a class requirement. They placed fifth in the competition, and they received enough positive feedback about it to decide to pursue a spot in the Governor’s Cup Challenge.

“After the Congressional App Challenge, we regrouped,” Hwang said. “Steve Rice (ASMSA’s entrepreneurship instructor) said ‘Why don’t you consider expanding the idea?’ He said it was a pretty good idea.

“It was an interesting competition, so we decided to find a fun way to keep it going. We were all passionate and excited about the idea. At least we’d learn a little bit about entrepreneurship and how things work in the business world.”

The team worked with Rice to prepare a competition application packet for the Governor’s Cup. They were one of three ASMSA teams who submitted an entry for the competition, but they were the only one selected.

“We didn’t really know what we were getting into,” said Ni, who handled the team’s marketing research.

This year’s Arkansas Governor’s Cup included 17 teams from seven universities and ASMSA to compete in four divisions. There were 12 teams in the undergraduate division in which ASMSA competed.

The semifinals were held at the Little Rock Regional Chamber headquarters in downtown Little Rock. Six teams from the undergraduate division advanced to the finals on the next day where judges will choose a first-, second- and third-place winner.

Teams made oral presentations to a panel of volunteer judges over two days in hopes of winning a share of the $154,000 cash prize pool. Presented by Delta Plastics of Little Rock, the prize pool is recognized as one of the largest in the national collegiate business plan competition circuit.

Team Pedagogue competed against teams from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas State University at Beebe, Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. asmsa.org

Being the lone high school competitor, Team Pedagogue didn’t expect big results. The rest of the competitors often took courses designed specifically for these kind of events.

“We realized our competitors in college probably had more insight in entrepreneurship. This was the first time any of us had shown interest in the field,” Hwang said. “We all had to work together to figure it out. We went into the finals round believing we had done the best we could.”

Efforts to develop the semifinals pitch were a team effort. Hwang worked on the narrative of their story, Ni on the marketing, Modi on the financial viability; and Dawson on the coding and what should be included on the appearance. It became a hands-on experience that helped them branch into new areas.

“For me it was pretty difficult because I wasn’t really sure how to do a lot of the finance stuff,” Ni said. “I had to use a lot of outside resources.

I wasn’t really sure what our numbers needed to be but I was able to us a lot of outside resources.”

“I definitely kept my expectations low on how we would do. I was excited to see all the other teams. It was a little intimidating but also good to get to talk to everyone on the other teams,” Ni said.

Teams spent the morning presenting their projects to the semifinal judges. All four team members said it was a bit nerve-racking as they chose to let each person speak about the sections they handled. After their pitch, they received feedback from the judges in an informal session. They also received written notes from the judges.

“They gave us suggestions of things we hadn’t even thought about,” Jones said. “The main thing was that our presentation was seven minutes when you’re allowed 20. A lot of the other competitors went about 15 minutes.”

After the presentations were done, all of the teams gathered into a room at the Little Rock Tech Park. Then came the announcements of the six finalists who would present again the next day. As each finalist was called out, Team Pedagogue’s hopes diminished.

“Every time they announced a team that made it to the finals we were like,

‘Oh no only four left. Three left. Two left,” Modi said. “Then we heard Arkansas School and we were all excited because we knew it was us.”

“Victoria shrieked, and we all got a big smile,” Jones said.

“I might have squealed a bit,” Hwang said. “Everyone around turned around and looked at us. I couldn’t believe it until I saw the schedule.”

The schedule wasn’t exactly friendly. They had to return the next day to present to the final judges.

They had less than 24 hours to take the feedback they had received from the semifinal judges and incorporate it into their presentation.

They went section by section, essentially beginning from scratch in some sections trying to follow the judges’ advice. Several of the team members stayed up until 1:30 or 2 that morning working on the project.

Ni said he stayed up until about 5 before he finally went to sleep.

The team went to the finals pitch with new graphics, more information and an extended pitch. Then they had to wait for about two-and-a-half weeks until the banquet to find out if they finished in the top three.

The Governor’s Cup Awards Luncheon was held on April 11 in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The team presented a short elevator pitch for the luncheon crowd, and then all they could do was wait.

Their name was not called in the top three, and the results for the other three were not revealed. Regardless, Team Pedagogue felt the whole experience was worthwhile enough that they are considering competing again this year in the Congressional App Challenge and submit a plan for the Governor’s Cup, although they don’t know what the topic will be.

“Now that we’ve had the full experience, there’s confidence to do it again but with experience under our belts as a nice tool,” Hwang said.

“We’re considering a few options for the upcoming year, but we all agreed we have to maintain our courses and grades. We will all also have to do college applications, so we’ll see later if everyone is on the same page. Even if we decide we’re not going to compete, we would help other teams.”

15

16

Stirring Up Treble New rehearsal and performance spaces provide first-year director opportunities to extend band program’s range

asmsa.org

17

O

On the last day of his kindergarten year, Dr. Thomas Dempster did something he had never done before — he sat down at a piano at school and started playing it.

The school’s principal walked by him as he sat banging a wide range of notes on the keyboard. He asked Dempster if he played the piano.

“I said, ‘Clearly I do,’ and went back to playing,” Dempster said.

18

Dr. Thomas Dempster, right, leads a rehearsal in the Morris Rehearsal Studio in the Creativity and Innovation Complex. Dempster completed his first year as a music instructor and band director at ASMSA in the spring. The opening of the CIC provided Dempster new spaces to hold classes, rehearsals and performances.

The principal called his mother to let her know. She asked him why he told the principal that he played the piano when he obviously didn’t. He said it was because he wanted to learn to play. He began taking lessons a couple of days later.

For Dempster to sit down and begin trying to play the piano was out of character for him. Until he was around age 4, he couldn’t deal well with loud sounds or music. He would place his hands over his ears and cry. A doctor told his parents he would grow out of it.

“Like a switch in kindergarten, I like sound and noise. I like what I’m doing. I could do something kinda mechanical and physical and create something that didn’t exist before,” he said.

That’s one of the guiding principles Dempster tries to instill in his students now. He just finished his first year as music instructor at ASMSA. It’s also the first year that the school has had a full-time dedicated faculty member to teach music courses.

In class and during band rehearsals, Dempster emphasizes that each performance is unique. Once that performance takes place, it will never exist again. You may attempt to replicate the experience by performing various selections again, but they will never be exactly the same.

People will also see them doing something with their body asmsa.org

that they can’t do but wish they could, he said.

Dempster was a music major at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, but not before almost taking a completely different path. He was taking music courses at the same time as math courses. He was very good at math.

“I was going down the path of not pure mathematics but more the applied mathematics track,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘I really don’t want to be an actuary. I can’t see myself in a cubicle eight hours a day running figures for an insurance company.’”

He knew he wanted to become a musician and composer. He began composing pieces in high school.

His band director let him hand out one of his pieces to the band to read and to let him direct it in a rehearsal. He attended Governor’s School in North Carolina in 1997, and two faculty members who were professional composers took him aside to give him advice on how to follow his passion.

So eventually his desire to create musical pieces never heard before and be a performer won out. He earned his bachelor’s degree in performance and composition from UNC-Greensboro in 2002 and master’s and doctoral degrees in music composition from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 and 2010 respectively.

He has taught at UNC-Greensboro and the Governor’s 19

School of North Carolina as well as South Carolina State University and Claflin University, both in Orangeburg, S.C. At each stop, he has been responsible for developing or revitalizing the music programs at those schools.

His experience developing programs combined with working with talented students at summer sessions of North Carolina’s Governor’s School drew him to ASMSA. Developing a program from scratch is exciting, he said.

“There’s a lot of opportunity to see something grow and flourish,” Dempster said. “I think it’s exciting to have a chance to do stuff, figuring out which way to do it. It’s most exciting to have a blank slate. I’d like to create a program that I would have wanted to see in high school.”

To achieve his goals, Dempster created smaller performance ensembles that may not have existed before. There is a dedicated jazz band and several other smaller ensembles. While there was still a larger group that provided students the opportunity to play in a traditional large ensemble band and compete in contests, the smaller ensembles allowed them to be more creative and improvisational.

Dempster said he was pleased with the turnout at this first year of concerts. The audiences this year, while perhaps not full capacity, were enthusiastic, he said. While the rigorous academic requirements may make some students unable to attend every performance, those who have attended along with faculty, staff, and parents and families of students have been very positive.

“Granted, it’s a bit of a steep hill to go from a few concerts a year to seven, but musicians create and interpret culture, and in a way, part of my job at ASMSA has been to tap into that and build a new culture in music.

And so, while the performance hall wasn’t always at capacity this year, I think in coming years we’ll have far fewer open chairs for latecomers,” he said.

In the future, he would like to expand the offerings, including some pieces that incorporates the choir with the wind ensemble as well as more 20

jazz pieces and a string orchestra. “So hopefully we’ll have more events for more tastes next year,” he said.

“One student’s father came up to me after the third band concert of the year and said, ‘I’ve been to a lot of band concerts, high school and college, and this was the best one I’ve ever heard.’ I can deal with a few empty seats now and again if something like that, spoken with great sincerity, reverberates down my ear canals. That said, we don’t have a whole lot of empty seats!” Dempster said.

At the same time, his students have gained an appreciation for a wider variety of works than they may have previously had.

“If nothing else, my students, particularly in wind ensemble, have learned two things — that there is life outside of very generic, stock-in-trade medleys and contest music, and that a musician — hobbyist, pro, or in between — is accountable to both oneself and a community. Several of our wind ensemble concerts included works that pushed the envelope a little bit,” he said.

He said what his students performed was on part with what you may expect a college ensemble to perform. “On a few hours of rehearsal a week, the students really rose to the occasion, put their heart, soul and fingers in the music and got a lot out of it,” he said.

•••• Dempster performed with his students at the first chamber group concert. His instrument of choice is asmsa.org

bassoon. He began playing it in high school after finding one of the instruments in a case while helping his director clean up the band’s storage space.

When Dempster walked into his first band rehearsal as a young student, the junior high band director placed him with the percussion group because the only instrument he knew how to play was the piano. After some discussions between his parents and the director, Dempster began learning to play clarinet.

The next year in ninth grade, he discovered a “weird white case” in the storage closet. He asked what it was for and was told it held a bassoon. No one was playing it, so the director told Dempster to take it. He went on to earn all-district and all-state honors playing the bassoon.

“I stopped participating in cross country and wrestling. It was all bassoon all the time,” he said.

It has been his instrument of choice since then, he said.

He decided to major in performance and composition at UNC-Greensboro in bassoon as well as trumpet. He would find ensembles and other groups to play in while in college.

He took a break from performing while working on his graduate degrees, but began again once he moved to South Carolina.

Once there, he began performing with various symphonies and other groups. Double-reed players—such as bassoon performers—were in short supply in that area of the country, he said.

Dempster reflects on his high school career. He decided to attend the North Carolina School of Science 21

and Mathematics beginning in his junior year, but he left his musical instruments at home. There was the thought he would be too busy with studies to perform much if at all.

He said he could understand why some ASMSA students may have similar thoughts.

“I think the expectation is that if you come here to do physics or geometry or whatever, you won’t be able to be part of an ensemble.

That is not true,” he said.

“One of my challenges is that I need to find students academically eligible for ASMSA but who also happen to meet my needs for ensembles.

Right now we’re about 95 percent covered. It’s one of the interesting balancing acts I’ll have to do to ensure that I can have the right number of players each year,” he said.

He said the school administration has been supportive, including purchasing $70,000 of new instruments for the expanded program. The Morris Rehearsal Studio and the Oaklawn Foundation Community Center were included in the Creativity and Innovation Complex, which opened in late January. The Morris Rehearsal Studio has provided a more open rehearsal space. The Oaklawn Foundation Community Center has provided a much-needed community performance space.

Dempster said he also plans to add courses such as a history of blues/rock course as well as world music and jazz appreciation among others. He plans to offer a stable of three or four courses each semester, including music theory and music composition. He is also helping with the popular Folk Music and Acoustics class.

He described the music program as a toddler. Just as a child grows and changes, he foresees the same to happen with the program.

“It exists, and people are beginning to see that it exists, 22

and, like any toddler, I’m trying to make as much noise as possible (from the vantage point of a 40-yearold) to show Arkansas that we are here and we are ready to grow and morph and become something amazing,” Dempster said.

While a toddler may grow however it is genetically predisposed, Dempster has some choices to make in how to grow the music program, although it does include some bigger, unseen hurdles.

“Like a toddler, I see my goals and where I want the music program to be — and I reach for them and jump and whine and caterwaul, knowing I can’t quite get there — at least not yet. As this toddler of a music program grows, we’ll likely run into some growing pains. I’m bracing for these challenges, but I’m also planning assiduously for them,” he said.

He is excited about a large cohort of incoming students this upcoming year who want to maximize their opportunities to study and perform music, but it’s scary at the same time. He wants to able to provide the experience each student desires, even when he’s exhausted his own abilities or time to do so.

But that’s something to worry about in the future. For now, Dempster is ready to help the toddler gain its balance and grow stronger.

“In the meantime, I’ll continue to recruit, continue to provide cool research and creative options to my students, continue to add courses and partner with the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, and continue to put on seven or eight concerts a year and reach out to the community to show Arkansas our value and what it is that sets us apart and how we can take a strong young musician and make them ever more amazing,” he said.

Gift pledge highlight of Silver Gala Former Hot Springs Mayor Melinda Baran remembers how various government and civic groups joined forces to win the competition for the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts after its creation in 1991.

She was there after Hot Springs was chosen as the school’s host in 1992, speaking out as mayor for the city to raise the funding to cover what it promised the state for the facilities through a special election.

Now 25 years after school opened its doors for its charter class of students, Baran is once again leading the charge for ASMSA. She announced a planned gift for the school during the ASMSA Silver Gala, a special event on March 27 which celebrated the school’s milestone anniversary. Baran said she has established a trust that would leave the remainder of her estate to ASMSA, possibly resulting in a seven-figure gift or more to the school in the future.

Baran, who now resides in Cary, N.C., said she decided to include ASMSA in her estate trust after visiting ASMSA earlier this school year. It was the first time she had been back on campus since a 1994 campus dedication ceremony. She was invited to tour the campus by Director Corey Alderdice, who she met while on a trip celebrating the 25-year anniversary of Hot Springs’ Sister City relationship with Hanamaki, Japan.

Once back in the United States in September 2018, Baran made an appearance on the Talk of the Town radio show on 1340 KZNG with longtime host Dick Antoine. During the interview, Antoine asked Baran what was the most important accomplishment or change that took place during her tenure as mayor. She said the most important was getting the form of government changed from a mayor/alderman system to a city manager/board system in the late 1980s.

Second was Hot Springs winning the bid to serve as host city for ASMSA. “At that time, [ASMSA] was the crown jewel achievement of the city in the 1990s. Now that it’s such a sucasmsa.org

Former Hot Springs Mayor Melinda Baran, center, accepts a limited-edition ‘Razorback Scratch’ bronze hog from Dr. Jon Ruehle, left, and Director Corey Alderdice. Baran received the original piece created by Ruehle in recognition of her support of the school during her tenure as mayor and her pledge to include ASMSA in her estate trust as part of the Founder’s Society of the ASMSA Foundation. cess, it’s obviously the crown jewel today. And I certainly expect it will be the crown jewel for the remainder of the future for our city,” Baran said.

“What you’re doing here is making our future. These young people who are brilliant deserve not only the financial support of the state of Arkansas through the Legislature, but they also need the personal support of the people of Hot Springs because parents put them in the hands of the school staff, but once they go out the doors, they’re on the streets of Hot Springs.”

After the campus tour, she was discussing how impressed she was with the quality of the school with her partner, Steve Rebach, Ph.D., a former college educator who also was on the tour. He suggested that perhaps she should include the school in her estate trust. Baran decided it was a good suggestion.

Now she hopes her announcement will lead others to follow her example.

“There are so many people who have no children or family for whatever reason who could see this and

these young people as their legacy because I certainly see them as mine,” Baran said.

In recognition for her gift, Baran was awarded a limited-edition “Razorback Scratch,” a bronze hog sculpture by Dr. Jon Ruehle, a biology instructor at ASMSA. Ruehle is an internationally recognized wildlife artist. The bronze sculpture is presented to individuals who are members of the ASMSA Foundation Founder’s Society — donors who have given at least $50,000 in gifts to ASMSA. “ASMSA’s community of learning is humbled by former Mayor Baran’s trust commitment,” said ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice. “The past and present students of ASMSA are the beneficiaries of her original vision for the school and global partnerships with Hanamaki, Japan.

“Through this legacy pledge as part of the Founder’s Society, future ASMSA students will continue to enjoy access to opportunities to promote economic development, cultivate their talents within the arts, and explore the world.”

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Ready for a Challenge New art instructor shapes model ceramics students Sara Henry likes the challenge her choices of media provide her as an artist. Whether it is working with wood, metal or clay, the threedimensional aspect of each medium offers an opportunity for her and her audience to experience her art from various perspectives.

“I like the challenge of creating a piece of work that can be viewed from all sides,” Henry said.

“I like to get my hands around the whole piece. There’s something about art that takes physical ability, mental ability and technical ability where you mix all these parts together.

That’s what’s really special to me.”

Henry just finished her first year as one of two new arts instructors at ASMSA. Her specialty is ceramics, but she also works in metals and wood. She hopes to offer a

asmsa.org

metalsmith class in the future.

Her addition to the faculty continues the school’s efforts to enhance its legislated arts mission. She is the school’s second full-time art instructor, including Brad Wreyford who joined the ASMSA faculty in 2014 as its first full-time art instructor.

That same year, the school used a $15,000 grant from the West Central Arkansas Planning and Development District, Inc., plus other institutional funds to convert the former library computer lab into a visual arts studio.

A $50,000 grant from the Windgate Charitable Foundation in 2016 allowed ASMSA to offer several new arts courses including Modern Design and Regional Arts Survey to the program.

25

Theresa Markwardt (‘19) places a piece into the kiln in the ceramics studio. When working with clay, the artist must place their piece in the kiln for a process called firing. The firing helps make the piece more durable. The kiln is also used to fire the glaze that is placed on the pottery.

Henry said seeing the school invest in the arts program was one of the reasons she was interested in joining ASMSA’s faculty.

“It’s really encouraging to hear from the administration how they want to grow the program. I feel like part of a team and will have input on ways to make improvements. That was a selling point for me,” she said.

Building any program is a risk, she said, and school administrators have shown they are willing to take that risk on her and her ceramics abilities.

They took a chance on students being interested in a course that had never been offered before by purchasing a new kiln for her classroom, she said.

It will allow students to fire their own creations.

The risk has paid off so far, she said. Eighteen students signed up for her ceramics courses in the fall, only three of which had ever previously made anything out of clay. A similar number took ceramics classes in the spring.

Henry was encouraged that students were willing to take their 26

own risk on a course that they were not familiar with.

“I think there are lot of misconceptions about the difficulty of ceramics,” Henry said. “There is this first thought about coming in and making a coffee cup and how to color it. Then they realize they have to come in and work really hard, almost harder than many of their other courses.

They have to come in outside of class to flip their works so they will dry.

They have to build outside of regular class hours. There can be a lot of after-hours work they may not have been prepared for. I think once they get their first finished work however, they will be even more excited.”

Henry said the overall impression throughout the year was very positive.

Students were excited to have a new class that challenged them.

“The students were excited to be taking a new class that many schools in Arkansas don’t provide or have the facilities for,” Henry said. “And although the ceramic material is known to beginners to be difficult to work with, there were many

successes in the studio because students worked through challenges and stepped outside their comfort zones.”

Henry said she has always had a passion for making art. She started taking art classes in high school.

In community college, she began working with fibers. She took a 3D design class which led to her working with wood sculptures and metal casting. Her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska at Anchorage is in subtractive wood sculpture.

She happened to take a pottery class to help balance out her undergraduate degree work. That’s when she discovered she could really make anything she wanted with clay rather than having to carve it out of wood. She could sculpt with it more easily and more quickly.

“Clay can take on any kind of texture and any color. It really opened up this array of possibilities that I didn’t know were possible before,” she said.

Discovering this new medium led to her earning her Master of Fine

Students in Sara Henry’s ceramics classes created many unique pieces during their classes. While some were very realistic, others were unusual or abstract.

Arts degree in ceramics from State University of New York at New Paltz.

It also led to a career serving as an instructor, adjunct professor, artist in residence and a visiting artist at schools and galleries in New York and in Lincoln, Neb. Henry established a successful career using her passion for art as its basis. It was something she wasn’t sure she could accomplish early on.

When she first expressed interest in art and developing a career as an artist, her parents weren’t supportive.

That led to years of her questioning whether she should follow her desire to be an artist or find a different career.

“I fought tooth and nail to get where I am now. It was the most difficult thing I could think of to do.

It occupies my time and mind and emotions fully. It encompasses my whole life. I’m not making things for the sake of making them. It’s my way of contributing to society. It’s a way to start conversations on many topics.

It’s a way to bridge the gap to younger generations to help bring them up to asmsa.org

where I am,” she said.

“I had to prove that to myself.

There were so many times I tried to talk myself out of it. But it was really something I wanted to do. Nothing else satisfies me.”

That’s why she is excited to work with younger students. She wanted to find a school with students who were driven to learn.

“I’m a lifelong learner and I want to be in a place with like-minded people.

I want to teach students who are excited to learn. I want to show them they can have meaningful lives. My students come into class ready to go.

I look at the work they are doing and putting in the time I’ve asked them to do. I can tell they are willing to go above and beyond,” she said.

27

Modern Design and Craft instructor Brad Wreyford, left, guides students through the use of a table saw in ASMSA’s wood shop.

Wreyford says the skills they learn in the course can lead to a range of careers in construction, engineering and architecture.

Chip Off the Old Block

Hands-on woodworking experiences offer life lessons One student uses a hammer and chisel on his project in an attempt to even out the sides so that it sits flat on a table. Another is sanding his piece with sandpaper to get a smoother finish. A third student maneuvers her work with a band saw to remove extra wood.

Each student is working on a cutting board in the Modern Design and Craft. It is their first assignment of the semester, and the project’s goal is simple — learn how to create a useful object by cutting and fitting together pieces of wood with glue.

“I have them do a cutting board first not because we need more cutting boards but because they learn how to glue wood together,” says Brad Wreyford, an art instructor at ASMSA. “They learn how to use wood glue and pressure to create good joints that don’t use a mechanical element.

“As soon as you learn this technique, 28

there really isn’t anything you can’t build.

You can find scrap wood laying around or you can always find something else to create. They’re learning how to do it without mechanical joints like screws and nails.”

Their next assignment will be constructing a joiner’s mallet, which can be used with a chisel to help remove extra wood or to bring joints tighter together. It’s also the first piece that might become a lifetime tool.

“If they make it well, it’s something that they can use for the rest of their life,” Wreyford said. “It’s something they will give to their kids. It’s that kind of quality.”

Wreyford’s goal is help the students form the knowledge on how to best use their medium with the correct tools to create functional items. They can then take that handson knowledge and apply it to future

pieces. It also broadens their thought process to other topics.

“In my opinion, the best engineers and architects are ones who actually worked in construction,” Wreyford said. “They understand the limits of the material they are working with better.

As long as you know the limits of your material, you are better equipped when creating the project digitally.”

While the students won’t all become the next generation of engineers or even artisans, they still gain valuable skills from the woodworking course. “There are a lot of students who want to be a surgeon, who will be using drills, scalpels and saws. A lot of skills they learn in Modern Design will translate directly.

Hand-eye coordination is important.

You learn how to harness the power of a power tool without it getting away from you. We produce students who

become professionals in all kinds of fields,” Wreyford said.

They are learning life lessons in the class, he said. Many of the students come into the class without ever having touched a hammer or chisel much less a power tool. They know nothing of how things are made, Wreyford said. By the end of the course, students produce a usable, functional piece of furniture.

“That’s empowering,” he said. “Even if they don’t go into a professional field or do anything else beyond this level, they are learning the life lesson that if you can envision it you can build it.”

From an instructor’s standpoint, he likes to watch the students grow in skill level to where they can walk into a second semester of the course and accomplish quality projects without his help.

“It’s rewarding to see them make something that I want. It may not happen every class but it happens regularly that they produce something that I wish I had in my house or in my office,” Wreyford said.

While he also teaches painting and drawing, Modern Design and Craft is his most popular course. He sees students who have a desire to learn something new.

“You can see it in the students’ eyes,” Wreyford says. “They may have never been trusted to build anything before. Some of them may have dads who have a shop, but they have never been allowed to do anything in it.

Most know nothing about power tools or the construction processes.

“So you can see it early on — see their excitement. Perhaps they couldn’t do that in their home school or their home school has a shop but they aren’t allowed to take a class in the shop because they are on a certain track. I’m encouraging them to learn how to cut some stuff up and put it back together. It’s very empowering.”

When Wreyford first started in 2014 as the school’s first full-time arts instructor, the wood shop was operating with shared machines that belonged to various faculty members.

A grant from the Windgate Charitable Foundation allowed him to buy new equipment for the shop. That not only benefitted the arts program but also robotics and the popular Folk asmsa.org

Jarrell Imamura (‘18) uses an oscillating spindle sander to smooth the edges of a project. Students use to learn power and hand tools in the class, including saws, planers and chisels, among others.

Music and Acoustics class.

“In years past, the people who had the arts budget had never envisioned buying a table saw or a saw stop or chisels for students,” he said. “With the grant, I was able to invest in a lot of tools. The other teachers who use it for their classes have invested some of their budgets as well.”

Sara Henry, whose main focus is ceramics but also has a background in wood sculpting and metalsmithing, just completed her first year as a

second full-time art instructor. That’s an immediate benefit for students but also adds some promising future possibilities, he said.

“You might say between our shared skill sets and with facilities, we could be more of a sculpture and functional fabrication program. There aren’t other high schools in the state that can say that. So that’s where we’re looking to go moving forward while shoring up our 2D art and 2D design genres,” Wreyford said.

29

Sydney Harris (‘20), left, and Tracy Gwinn (‘19) in the ASMSA Art Studio

A Capitol Achievement

Students earn honors in Congressional Art Competition, including trip to D.C. Tracy Gwinn’s expectations weren’t very high when she dropped her piece off for the Fourth District Congressional Art Competition.

Gwinn (’19) said other contestants were dropping off their pieces at the same time and several had already dropped off their entries.

“I saw of couple of other pieces when I dropped mine off. They were really good,” Gwinn said.

Fortunately for Gwinn, however, the judges disagreed with her – at least enough to award her first place for her 30

piece titled “Portrait 2.” The black and white drawing is the portrait of a man she drew during the second semester of her junior year.

“I worked on it in my free time initially, but I turned it in as an assignment for my capstone project,” she said.

“Everyone really liked it. I compared it with my other pieces. It was in my top 3. I like the details I got on his face.”

The portrait is inspired by a drawing she saw online.

She doesn’t know the subject.

“I prefer not knowing the subject. If I do know them, I’m always extremely critical and think that it doesn’t look like them. Not knowing them gives me a little bit of leeway,” she said.

“Tracy is a very independent student — very self-motivated and highly skilled in both representational art and pure design,” said Brad Wreyford, an ASMSA art instructor. “From the moment Tracy set foot on campus, it was clear she had creativity and craftsmanship to win a competition such as this.”

The Fourth District Congressional Art Competition winners were announced in May. It is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman and is part of the larger national Congressional Art Competition. A second ASMSA student also placed in the competition. Sydney Harris, a junior from North Little Rock, placed fifth.

First-place winners are selected from each U.S. congressional district. Their artwork is then displayed for a year in a hall at the U.S. Capitol.

“Knowing that my piece will be hanging in the Congressional Hall in the Capitol where congressmen walk every day is really exciting,” Gwinn said.

Gwinn had an opportunity to see exactly where her portrait hangs in the Capitol during a trip to Washington, D.C. . All of the winners received an invitation to the nation’s capital for a reception and other events. The trip was held June 22-26.

Fourth District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman showed her where the Arkansas winners’ pieces are displayed in the hallway leading to the Capitol.

Westerman told the Arkansas DemocratGazette that he was impressed with the caliber of artwork submitted for the contest.

“I’m glad I get other people to judge it because I don’t know if I could ever pick a winner.’ We get so many great pieces that come in,” he said in the newspaper’s July 1 issue.

Gwinn also gave her approval of the artwork displayed in the hallway. She told the DemocratGazette that “It’s absolutely amazing. I’m really impressed with all of this stuff.”

Her mother is went on the trip with her. In addition to visiting the Capitol, they visited the Smithsonian Institution.

“I’m still in shock by it. This is a really cool opportunity,” Gwinn said.

Gwinn will enroll at the Savannah School of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga., this fall.

She will study animation, leaning toward 2D animation.

“There are a lot of jobs in 3D animation, but I love character animation. I grew up watching a lot of cartoons when I was little, and I still love animated movies,” she said. asmsa.org

Above: Tracy Gwinn (‘19) submitted this drawing, entitled “Portrait 2” in the Fourth District Congressional Art Competition. The portrait is inspired by a photo of a man Gwinn found online. He is unidentified.

Below: Fourth District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, left, presents Sydney Harris (‘20) with her award. Also pictured is ASMSA art instructor Brad Wreyford.

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Inaugural Arts and Humanities Capstone Symposium held Studying the arts and humanities can help us comprehend and digest the facts of science and mathematics and provide an opportunity to better understand ourselves.

That’s the message that Dr. Don Baker shared in his opening address of the inaugural Arts and Humanities Capstone Symposium, which was held May 3. Baker, who holds a Ph.D. in political science, currently serves as an economic and commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He has also served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Poland, Mexico and Jamaica. Before he began his career as a foreign service officer, Baker was a humanities instructor at ASMSA for six years.

Baker said, at one time, humanities was a part of a tradition of students receiving a liberal arts education in which they would study a broad array of disciplines. With the fear that the United States was falling behind the rest of the world in recent decades, a heavier emphasis was placed on mathematics and sciences. But it is because of the developments we are making in science and mathematics that the humanities deserve an equal amount of attention today, he said.

“We live in a world dominated by science, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “Just recently, we took the first photograph of a black hole, offering a tantalizing glimpse into the very origins of the universe. In mapping the human genome, we have the potential to cure diseases that have plagued mankind throughout our history.

“If we are to prepare for and perhaps even reverse the effects of climate change, the answers will depend largely on science. And yet, it’s precisely because the sciences are so dominant that we need the humanities more and more.”

While science and mathematics give us facts, information, truth and certainty, the humanities provide us 32

Dr. Don Baker speaks at the inaugural Arts and Humanities Capstone Symposium in May. Baker, a former faculty ASMSA faculty member, currently serves as an economic and commercial officer at the U.S. embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He spoke about the important role humanities studies play in understanding the world. the possibility of seeing how all areas of knowledge fit together, he said.

“The more we learn and discover about the physical laws that drive the universe, the DNA that makes up our genetic code, the effects of chlorofluorocarbons and greenhouse emissions on our environment, the more important it is that we bring human wisdom and judgment to bear to try to ensure that we use this new knowledge wisely and responsibly,” Baker said.

“The humanities give us the tools to analyze and grapple with serious moral and ethical issues, determine what it means to be a good human being and what should be the objectives of public policy. Perhaps most important, the humanities offer the possibility for reaction and the potential to understand ourselves — the mystery of the human heart, man’s search for meaning in an often confusing universe.”

He said the humanities gives us the tools to explore the issues of today honestly and rationally which will

lead us to be better scientists, physicists, engineers, mathematician, coder and more.

This is the first year ASMSA held the daylong symposium emphasizing the arts and humanities projects and research conducted by students. Previously, a Senior Research Symposium for arts and humanities was held in conjunction with the West Central Regional Science Fair. As ASMSA began to place more emphasis on the arts and humanities over the past several years, it became clear those students’ works deserved a day of their own.

The event featured sessions throughout the day in which students presented their capstone projects.

Some sessions featured presentations of original works of fiction and nonfiction writing, works of original music, original films and visual art pieces. Others covered presentations on research papers in arts, literature, history and social sciences.

“I’m very proud of all the students who participated,” said Dr.

Mary Leigh, a humanities instructor at ASMSA and a co-organizer of the event. “I feel like their hard work really made this come together. Organizing it is one thing, but it’s really their efforts and the seriousness they put into their research that made this a really good day.”

Dr. Neil Oatsvall, a history instructor at ASMSA and the other co-organizer of the symposium, said the event’s success was a reflection of the mentorship that the school’s arts and humanities instructors provided the students.

“I think today really showed the quality of student mentorship in the Humanities Department,” he said.

“The projects we had and the strength of them is really a reflection of bright students, hard work and the mentorship of my colleagues.”

Students were recognized in eight categories: visual art, music – performance and lectures, film, creative nonfiction, creative writing, arts and

literature, history and social science.

An overall winner was recognized in fine arts projects (visual art, music, film, creative nonfiction, creative writing) as well as an overall winner for humanities projects (arts and literature, history, social science).

Sydney Harris (’20) from North Little Rock won first place overall for fine arts projects. Harris’ project — titled “Hubris and the Color Brown” — focused on the use of fiber and materials such as yarn and fabric within her artwork. Her main inspiration was Eva Hesse, an American sculptor known for her pioneering work in materials such as latex, fiberglass and plastics.

“I was mainly inspired by other artists, Eva Hess specifically, just the way that she allowed herself to enjoy working with materials,” Harris said. “A lot of people thought my work was gross looking or a little off beat or weird, but I just kept doing what I wanted to do. I sold work today. I’ve

never done that before.”

Chloe Biermann (‘20) from Fayetteville won the overall humanities award. Her research project — Fashion and Fancy Dress: Elite Expressions of Masculinity Through Costuming — focused on men in the 19th century holding historically accurate costume balls that would allow them to wear fashions from previous centuries that may not conform to current fashion.

Biermann said she wanted to focus on fashion history for a research project. She stumbled across a photo of a man wearing 17th century fashions, but it was from the late 1800s featuring a man dressed for a costume ball.

The overall winners were chosen by the Humanities Department faculty members. First- through thirdplace winners in each individual category were chosen by outside judges.

The second annual Arts and Humanities Capstone Symposium will be held May 1, 2020.

Gregory

bers taught. It was a good learning method. So when I became dean, I wanted to continue to do it and make work within our framework.”

His methods led to many of the students to be comfortable enough with him to call him “Bobby G” when they would see him. Denise was called “Momma G.” Gregory said he enjoyed being called by the relaxed name and that students knew when more formal titles were needed.

“If they were coming into my office and in trouble, it was Dean Gregory. If the governor is walking around, they always knew what to say. It says something about the relationship and trusting and listening to each other,” he said.

It’s also something he was used to.

His tenure at the Louisiana School was his first teaching job. To get exercise, he would go participate in physical education classes. The students would call him Bob there. At Webb, some of the students wanted to address him by just the initial of his last name. It eventually grew to Bobby G and the moniker followed him to ASMSA. “I’ve always tried to be a bit of a caricature. My first job, I grew out my hair and wore tie-dye. I had a ponytail. You do what you can to try to make it a comfortable place to a cer-

tain level,” he said.

Speaking of caricatures, ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice had one developed that said “Bobby G Believes in Me.” It features a drawing of a smiling Gregory with the words wrapped around him. It was eventually used on magnets and t-shirts.

“I’ve learned that you have to hear people and be aware of the people that need to be heard. Wandering around was about being available, which is hugely important. In the principal role, there were lots of decisions to make, and I learned the importance of being even,” he said.

“As a teacher, I could get amped up and jump up and down. As an administrator, I had to temper that a bit.

The whole school is my classroom now. You have to learn from your mistakes and move forward. You have to always think about things as learning opportunities and frame it that way.”

On his last day on June 30, he was not sure if he’ll go back into a full-time job or try to find some other ways to give back to the community, such as possibly starting a math group at a youth organization.

“The next thing I do, I know I want to be able to add to a community,” he said.

Continued from Page 5

“Sometimes the changes were hard and not perfect and people had to adjust. I always wanted to have a clear explanation of what we did and why. You don’t have to agree with it to live with it.

If I can explain it, I can live with it.”

If you ask Gregory how he would describe himself, he always uses one word — relational. Sometimes he would be tied to his office with work, but quite often he could be found roaming campus, whether it is the four academic floors of the Academic and Administration Building to the Student Center across campus and then the Creativity and Innovation Complex when it opened in the spring.

“I like to walk around and visit the classrooms and hallways,” Gregory said. “I walk around and say hello.

That’s really an invitation for you tell me what you may be thinking about.

I thought that was more effective instead of having lots of formal meetings where three people are interested. I wander instead.

“I really have a good time doing that. I feel like it is impactive. I would do it even before I became dean, just to see how my fellow faculty memasmsa.org

33

A Campus of the University of Arkansas System • 200 Whittington Ave. • Hot Springs, AR 71901

Final Frame

Rachel Stall (‘19) was named one of Arkansas’ two U.S. Presidential Scholars in Spring 2019.

Each state selects one young man and one young woman for the program. Stall visited Washington, D.C., in June and received her Scholar Medal from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Each scholar is allowed to choose a teacher to be recognized as well. Stall chose Dr. Lindsey Waddell, a geoscience and chemistry instructor at ASMSA. Waddell served as Stall’s capstone project adviser. Stall’s project focused on the environmental health of Gulpha Creek in the Hot Springs National Park. She was ASMSA’s first two-time International Science and Engineering Fair competitor. She earned a trip to 2018’s ISEF through the state science fair. She won secondplace overall in this year’s West Central Regional Science Fair, earning a spot in the 2019 ISEF.