FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sara Hanna, a human nutrition student in the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, has been named the 2018 undergraduate Outstanding Dietetic Student in the state by the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Hanna, a senior from Stilwell, Kansas, was named the state's top dietetic student at the academy's annual meeting in Little Rock in April.

The award recognizes emerging leaders and high-achieving students in dietetics programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, and encourages them to participate in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at the local, state and national levels.

Hanna graduated this spring with a bachelor's degrees in human nutrition and hospitality innovation, with a dietetics concentration, in Bumpers College's School of Human Environmental Sciences, and with a bachelor's degree in biology.  

"I am so proud of Sara," said Mechelle Bailey, clinical instructor and director of the didactic program in dietetics. "She has served as the Student Dietetic Association secretary and has proven herself to be a strong leader. Sara is an outstanding student academically, but more importantly, she is just a wonderful human being who is kind and considerate of others. It has been a joy to have her in our program and watch her grow over the years. We have a strong history of producing quality students who are emerging leaders in the field of dietetics, and Sara adds to that tradition. I'm excited to see what her future holds."

Hanna begins a dietetic internship this fall at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. Taylor Martin earned the award in 2013, Jessica Bradley in 2014, Christina Crowder in 2015 and Lauren Ince in 2017.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.