FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A College Girl's Guide to Fayetteville, AR: Building Culture, Confidence & Community at the University of Arkansas by Sydney Johnson, a senior hospitality management major, does everything the title suggests. An Austin, Texas, native, Johnson experienced moving to Northwest Arkansas for college and learning what it had to offer.

"I didn't know how to make friends, where to go for the best latte in town, how to find the quiet study spots, or what the city really had to offer," said Johnson.

The concept of a guidebook came to Johnson while looking for a way to combine her love of hospitality and giving in her honors thesis project. She began reaching out to local businesses, the city of Fayetteville and working with Dede Hamm, assistant professor and Johnson's honors mentor in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

"Sydney did an amazing job from start to finish developing the College Girl's Guide to Fayetteville, AR," said Hamm. "She [Johnson] pivoted early in her honors program to the idea of developing a resource for female freshman students that incorporated hospitality."

The goal of the project is to "ease loneliness and give information while giving back to the city," according to Johnson. With 125 pages and categories such as "For the Foodies," "Things to Do'" and "Encouragement & Advice," there is a wide variety of information included.

Over the four years Johnson spent at the University of Arkansas, she experienced those topics personally and learned more through various student groups and widespread involvement, including the Panhellenic community and the Miss Arkansas organization.

"The project was a huge undertaking that she navigated with a sense of curious professionalism," said Hamm. "I'm truly proud of Sydney and her final project."

The book is available for purchase in local stores and on Amazon. Johnson will be working in Northwest Arkansas in sales post-graduation in December 2024.

"I'm so grateful to see this project grow and be a published author so young," said Johnson. "Writing and revising the copy took hundreds of hours; I hope it helps girls."

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: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.