Williams, Jeesan, Bhattarai Win Bumpers College Honors Program Poster Competition

Micayla Blair

Shady Afrin Jeesan, an M.S. student in food science who won the graduate division, discusses her poster with Bumpers College associate dean Lona Robertson.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Claire Williams and Shady Afrin Jeesan were the overall winners of the Honors Student Board Poster Competition held by U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Williams won first place in the undergraduate division while Jeesan claimed top honors in the graduate division.

In addition, Gehendra Bhattarai won the popular vote category.

Williams is a senior majoring in apparel merchandising and product development. Her poster was "Cross Cultural Comparison of Factors Driving Luxury Consumption."

Jeesan is a master's degree student studying food science. Her poster was "Green Colored Cooked Rice? Colors of Cooked Rice can Modulate Consumers' Willingness to Eat, Sensory Perception and Emotional Responses."

In the undergraduate division, Sophia Landers, a junior majoring in animal science, was second and Samantha Findley, a senior majoring in food science, and human nutrition and hospitality innovation, was third.

In the graduate division, Olivia Caillouet, a master's degree student in agricultural and extension education, was second, and Brad Borges, a master's degree student in agricultural and extension education, was third.

Bhattarai is a doctoral student in cell and molecular biology working as a graduate research assistant in the Department of Horticulture, Landscape and Turf Sciences.  

The competition is conducted by the Bumpers College Honors Student Board, and co-judged by honors student board members and honors faculty committee members.

Student judges were Katie Gardner in agricultural education, communications and technology, Kaylee Chambers in animal science and Guillermo Tellez in poultry science. Faculty judges were Jeff Miller in agricultural communications, Lisa Wood in crop, soil and environmental sciences, and Jacquelyn Mosley in human development and family sciences.

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. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

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 2.7 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.