U of A Honors College Selects 2019 Class of Honors College Fellows

Photo by Russell Cothren

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Honors College has selected 80 exceptional high school students, 70 of them from Arkansas, to receive prestigious Honors College Fellowships.

The $72,000 fellowships largely cover tuition, fees, books, room and board and other academic expenses over four years, providing these students the freedom to pursue original research, study abroad, service learning and other academic interests. The fellowship funds can also be combined with other scholarships and grants, such as the more than $1 million in study abroad and research grants that the Honors College awards to students each year.

“We had more than 1,000 fellowship applications this year, a new record for the Honors College,” said Noah Pittman, assistant dean of the Honors College. “Each of our new fellows is incredibly bright and accomplished, and we look forward to helping them achieve their ambitious goals at the University of Arkansas and beyond.”

The new fellows boast an average grade point average of 4.21 and an average composite ACT score of 34.15, making them one of the most competitive groups of Honors College Fellows to date. Ten percent of the incoming fellows are the first member of their family to attend college.

The members of this distinguished class plan to study a diverse range of subjects, from chemistry and biomedical engineering to theatre, art history and architecture. Additionally, 24 members of the new class of fellows were named National Merit Finalists.

The fellowship application process is rigorous. Students must score a least a 32 on the ACT and have a minimum 3.8 grade point average to apply, and Honors College administrators and faculty review each student application for evidence of intellectual curiosity, leadership potential and community involvement. The selection process also involved a timed writing test and campus interview for finalists.

Including the 2019 recipients, a total of 1,348 students have benefited from the Honors College Fellowship program. Recent fellows include Truman Scholars, Goldwater Scholars, a Schwarzman Scholar and an Olympic pole vaulter. Many alumni are pursuing higher degrees at top schools such as Harvard Law School, Johns Hopkins, Cambridge University, the California Institute of Technology and Tufts University School of Medicine.

The Honors College Fellowships were made possible by a portion of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s $300 million gift to the university in 2002.

Honors College Fellows, Class of 2023

• Amber Alzufari, Greenwood High School, Fort Smith 
• Sara Armstrong, Blue Valley Southwest High School, Overland Park, Kansas
• Trenton Arney, Har-Ber High School, Springdale
• Miller Bacon, eStem High School, Little Rock
• Thomas Bailey, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville

• Wesley Barrett, Marion High School, Marion
• Jackson Black, Har-Ber High School, Springdale
• Laurel Black, Pulaski Academy, Little Rock
• Chloe Bowen, Springdale High School, Fayetteville
• Julia Brixey, Greenwood High School, Fort Smith

• Danielle Cagna, Collierville High School, Collierville, Tennessee
• Piam Pan Ya Chittisane, Huntsville High School, Wesley
• Leah Chistenson, Pulaski Academy, Little Rock
• Samuel Cobbs, Rogers Heritage High School, Rogers
• Cesca Craig, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville

• Taylen Day, Bethesda Christian School, Mansfield, Texas
• Abby Denison, Greenwood High School, Greenwood
• Sydnee Ehorn, Benton High School, Benton
• Creighton France, Benton High School, Benton, Louisiana
• Colby Free, Pangburn High School, Searcy

• Gabrielle Gies, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Lathan Gregg, Bentonville High School, Rogers
• Lauren Gwaltney, Russellville High School, Russellville
• Carson Haller, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Chloe Hansberger, Haas Hall Academy, Springdale

• Hope Hanson, Har-Ber High School, Springdale
• Ross Harper, Hazen High School, Hazen
• Spencer Hazeslip, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Cabot
• Reece Hodgson, Bentonville
• Thomas Hollis, Lakeside High School, Hot Springs

• Nicole Hooten, Quitman High School, Greenbrier
• John Hopkins, Morrilton High School, Springfield
• Braden Jerry, Greenbrier High School, Greenbrier
• Peyton Jobe, Bentonville High School, Rogers
• Patrick Jones, Southside High School, Fort Smith

• Caroline Judy, Plano Senior High School, Plano, Texas
• Ridhikaanth Kalaiselvan, Bentonville High School, Bentonville
• Julianna Kantner, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas
• Cassidy Khounborine, Springdale High School, Springdale
• Kendele Kramer, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Batesville

• Collin Larsen, Bentonville West High School, Centerton
• Abigail Lindsey, Loyola College Preparatory, Shreveport, Louisiana
• Alex Maldonado-Lopez, Berryville High School, Berryville
• Garrett Markham, Brentwood High School, Brentwood, Tennessee
• Josephine Matalone, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville

• Luke McClanahan, Central Arkansas Christian School, Maumelle
• Grier McClard, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Kristen Monzyk, Washington High School, Marthasville, Missouri
• Heidi Neumann, Bentonville High School, Bentonville
• Mollie Nichols, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville

• Terrell Page, Magnolia High School, Magnolia
• Neel Patel, Conway High School, Conway
• Ethan Peters, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Rachel Poole, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Isabel Powers, Conway High School, Conway

• Annette Quinn, Conway High School, Conway
• Zenic Rice, Pangburn High School, Pangburn
• Kendra Risener, Haas Hall Academy, Bentonville
• Brian Roden, Huntsville High School, Huntsville
• Julianna Rose, Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock

• Anna Rumpz, Little Rock Central High School, Cammack Village
• Angelina Sagardui, Mount Saint Mary Academy, Little Rock
• Megan Sattler, Bentonville High School, Bentonville
• Halle Schneidewind, Rogers High School, Rogers
• John Shelton, Scranton High School, Scranton

• Abigail Short, Greenwood High School, Greenwood
• Jackson Smith, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Sydney Sommers, Samuel V Champion High School, Boerne, Texas
• Zachary Stanley, Danville High School, Danville
• Tracy Tanner, Valley View High School, Jonesboro

• Katherine Taylor, Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock
• Brandon Tipton, Cabot High School, Cabot
• Maddox Townsend, Bentonville High School, Bentonville
• Amber Veach, Berryville High School, Berryville
• Luke Weiner, Little Rock Christian Academy, Little Rock

• Brendan Wolf, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Bryant Xie, Conway High School, Conway
• Yoshio Yamashita, Russellville High School, Russellville
• Grayson Young, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville
• Laura Young, eStem High School, Little Rock.

About the Honors College: The University of Arkansas Honors College was established in 2002 and unites the university’s top undergraduate students and professors in a learning environment characterized by discovery, creativity and service. Each year the Honors College awards up to 90 freshman fellowships that provide $72,000 over four years, and more than $1 million in undergraduate research and study abroad grants. The Honors College is nationally recognized for the high caliber of students it admits and graduates. Honors students enjoy small, in-depth classes, and programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students’ academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. Fifty percent of Honors College graduates have studied abroad and 100 percent of them have engaged in mentored research.

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 fewer than 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.