FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Global Campus awarded its first four $2,000 scholarships to students studying in U of A online degree programs starting in the fall 2018 semester.

The Global Campus awarded W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarships to:

• Olivia Caillouet, 24, of Fayetteville, who is pursuing a master’s degree in the agricultural and extension education master’s degree program.
• Sree Chintalapudi, 28, of Bentonville, who is pursuing a master’s degree in the operations management.
• Molly Heath, 32, of Wynne, studying in the program for registered nurses to earn bachelor’s degrees in nursing.
• Thomas Nance, 23, of Bella Vista, also in the bachelor’s degree in nursing program.

Donald Judges, vice provost for distance education, announced the launch of the Manning Scholarship in April, and the Global Campus notified scholarship recipients in July.

“Online education helps students overcome the barriers of time, distance and life demands, and scholarships help lower the cost barrier,” Judges said. “This scholarship program began as a heart-felt gesture by co-workers and friends of William E. Manning Jr., a man who was passionate about serving students and continuing his own education.”

Co-workers and friends established the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship fund soon after Manning died in 1993. The Global Campus added funds to that account in the past two years, making these four scholarships available for the first time in fall 2018, then contributed additional funds to increase the number of scholarships to seven or eight for fall 2019.

At the time of his death, Manning was studying in a U of A doctoral program and managing independent study programs, a forerunner of today’s Self-Paced Online Courses. The U of A awarded a posthumous degree of Doctor of Education in adult education to Manning in May 2018.

Scholarship recipients

The Global Campus scholarship committee selected recipients based on their financial need, academic merit or significant community service. Preference was given to first-generation higher education seekers and Arkansas residents. All four recipients carried 4.0 grade point averages and provided essays that described their qualifications.

Olivia Caillouet, in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, said she will use the scholarship to spend two weeks in India as part of her college’s international program: Experiential Learning in Indian Agriculture.

“I really hope to be immersed in the communities, work with farmers hands-on, and be able to learn all about the aspects of Indian agriculture,” Caillouet said.

In 2016, she studied horticulture for one month in Nampula, Mozambique, as part of her sustainability minor capstone project. In 2015, Caillouet spent two months in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, with the Tierra Verde Project to learn about sustainable beekeeping and tropical farming. She also served as the assistant manager for the Bentonville Farmer’s Market and has clocked more than 40 hours of community service at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.

Caillouet plans to complete her master’s degree in agricultural and extension education in May 2019 and then pursue a doctorate.

Sree Chintalapudi, in the College of Engineering, overcame a community nuance in India, where it was not so common for women to get education in a specific field of study, she said. With her family’s support, she earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and took jobs in industry there. She also designed an energy-efficient stove that relies only on dried tree branches to help people in rural India.

She used the money she saved in India to begin her master’s degree in operations management at the U of A. The scholarship will provide the remaining funds she needs to complete that degree, she said.

“I’m so happy I can complete my courses,” Chintalapudi said. “Once I complete the degree, I will get work authorization, which will allow me to work. In this way, I will get my independence back.”

Chintalapudi, who moved to Bentonville in 2016, has been financially dependent on her husband since 2015. She is currently a demand forecasting intern at Rockline Industry.

Molly Heath is in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing in the College of Education and Health Professions. She works full-time as a registered nurse at the Forrest City Medical Center and part-time at the CrossRidge Community Hospital while studying to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“I love to take care of people,” Heath said. “It’s very rewarding to me.”

She and her husband also coach their children’s baseball teams and take their daughter to dance activities.

“We’re very active,” she said. “With the support of my husband, we just work it out.”

Heath, who plans to complete her bachelor’s degree in December, is the first person in her immediate family to earn a high school diploma, but her parents encouraged her go to college. Some day she plans to earn a doctorate in nursing, she said.

“I want to continue my education,” she said. “As a nurse, I feel it is very important to stay abreast of what is going on in the field.”

Thomas Nance, also in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, changed his life’s course after he spent 10 days in the hospital with his father, who suffered from a life-threatening diabetic condition. At the time, Nance was in college, studying to go into law enforcement like his father, but he switched course and became a registered nurse in 2015.

Working three 12-hour shifts each week in the intensive care unit at Northwest Medical Center did not stop him from taking online classes to earn his bachelor’s degree in nursing. He intends to graduate in December.

“I’ve always been motivated to do the very best I can,” Nance said. “I plan to pursue a doctorate in nurse anesthesia. Getting a bachelor’s is one of the stepping stones.”

Learn more about U of A online students on the Student Experience page of the U of A ONLINE website, where online degree programs are showcased.

About the Global Campus: The Global Campus supports U of A colleges and schools in the development and delivery of online, distance and workforce education programs and courses. It provides instructional design services, technology services and assistance with marketing, recruiting and strategic academic development.

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.