2013-2014 Scholarship Recipients

Posted on October 2, 2013  by collinsandrews Posted in News, Academy News

The Arkansas Academy of Computing is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2013-2014 scholarship awards.

 

University of Arkansas at Monticello

School of Computer Information Systems:

Jason Holmes

Jason Holmes has been a computer enthusiast ever since he received his first computer in the 3rd grade. He began repairing and building computers at the age of 14, eventually becoming a Senior Technician at Millennium 3 Computers in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Linux has been his main operating system since 2008.

In 2009 he volunteered as Webmaster and IT Department for a small school in El Progreso, Honduras. In 2013, Jason was captain of the 1st place team in Acxiom’s Collegiate Programming Contest for the COBOL division. He is currently employed part-time by the City of Monticello, attached to the Mayor’s Office in a technical capacity.

Jason plans to graduate from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in May 2014, with degrees in Modern Languages and Computer Information Systems. He has a 4.0 GPA and holds membership in the Alpha Chi and Delta Zeta Epsilon honor societies.

 

University of Arkansas

College of Engineering, Department of Computer Science & Computer Engineering 

Kanat Bektemirov

Kanat Bektemirov is a junior at the University of Arkansas pursuing a degree in Computer Science. He has volunteered to assist at the ACM High School programming campus at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville and to give a presentation to freshman engineering students at the U of A. In addition, he is a regular member of U of A Recycling, has raised funds for Cancer Relay for Life, is a peer mentor at Washington Elementary, volunteers at the Fayetteville Public Library, served food during Christmas to the elderly in nursing homes, is a member of the Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter, and has volunteered at events for elementary students at the Botanical Gardens. Kanat is a member of the ACM student organization, placed 6th at the 2013 CCSC Programming Contest, 2nd round qualifier at the 2013 Facebook Hacker Cup, 2nd place at the 2012 Acxiom Collegiate Programming Contest and 2nd round qualifier at the 2012 Google Code Jam. He also won 1st place at the PBL “Computer Concepts” even in Arkansas in 2012 and placed in the top 25 in the country.

“I have known that I wanted to study computer science way before I entered college. So, I am pursuing a degree in B.S. Computer Science at the CSCE department. After graduation, I would like to start my own start-up; if that doesn’t go as well as I expect, I will work for Amazon.”

Kanat Bektemirov

 

University of Arkansas

College of Engineering, Department of Computer Science & Computer Engineering 

Alexander Anderson

Alexander Anderson is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering. He has served as a volunteer at FRC Razorback Regional at the U of A and mentor of the FRC team 3612 the Gearhogs from Springdale High School. He is a member of the Arkansas Robotics Club. Alex has been accepted into the Honors College at the University of Arkansas.

“I am pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering. My future plans are to work with new robotics technologies, specifically in the areas of unmanned vehicles.”

Alexander Anderson

 

University of Arkansas

College of Engineering, Department of Computer Science & Computer Engineering 

Nghia Nguyen

Nghia Nguyen is an international student pursuing a degree in Computer Science and Information Systems at the University of Arkansas. Nghia is involved in several volunteer works, some of which are Mentor Launch Program at LifeStyles, Inc. assisting students with disabilities with social and living skills, and assisting the ACM/Acxiom high school programming competition in 2013. In addition, Nghia has served as secretary of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) and is a member of ACM. As a student who studies abroad, he would love to improve his skills by going to graduate school or interning at companies that provide support for international students.

“This scholarship does not only encourage me to explore new knowledge and study harder but also helps me a lot with my future career. The more achievements I could get, the more trust graduate schools and companies believe in my ability. In the future, I plan to get an internship here, in US. As an international student, that is not an easy task for me. I would love to work in companies that could give me practical experience that students who study abroad, like me, are lacking. Please convey my deepest gratitude for providing the Arkansas Academy of Computing scholarships for students in the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas.”

Nghia Nguyen

 

University of Arkansas

College of Engineering, Department of Computer Science & Computer Engineering 

Ted Chou

Ted Chou is a senior at the University of Arkansas pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering and a Mathematics Minor. He volunteered to perform live music in several organization campus events such as the Japanese Tsunami Relief Charity event in 2012 and the International Student Organization Banquet. He is also an active member of the ACM (Association of Computer Machinery). Ted was on the University of Arkansas Dean’s list and Chancellor List in 2012.

He indicate that he “loves and enjoys the computing field very much with all the supports from the faculties and the organizations. Furthermore, getting involve with all the campus and organization events make my college experience even better aside from spending countless amount of time with computers.”

 

University of Arkansas

College of Engineering, Department of Computer Science & Computer Engineering 

April Abiera

April Abiera is a junior at the University of Arkansas pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering and a member of the Honors College. She is a member of the Society of Women Engineers and American Indian Science and Engineering Society. April was voted ASMSA best community leader of the year in 2012. She spearheaded fundraising efforts in a Japanese tsunami victim charity in 2011. In addition to her recognition for her volunteer work, April was awarded winning senior thesis by ASMSA in 2012 and received four first place medals for regional Arkansas Robotic Competition in 2011, as well as first place Chinese in 2010 and first place prepared speech at the State SkillsUSA Competition in 2010. In addition, she is involved in the freshman engineering student mentor program where she mentors thirteen students and does volunteer work at the Fayetteville animal shelter updating their database with incoming animals.

“It is a privilege to receive this scholarship. I am pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. I aspire to work for the Federal Government as a hardware developer in the future.”

April Abiera

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

Dustin McMahan

Dustin McMahan attends the University of Arkansas at Little Rock pursuing a degree in Information Science with a minor in American Sign Language. Dustin is currently a Flight Operations Sergeant with the Arkansas Army National Guard.  Dustin’s daughter, Jazmin, is his corner stone and driving force that pushes him to pursue a career that will hopefully one day make a positive impact on society.  His goal is to one day become an app developer, however he reserves plans for a career oriented social network.

Dustin McMahan

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

Gage W. Allen

My name is Gage W. Allen. I was born March 20, 1994 in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Melissa and Johnny Allen. I have a little brother, Jonathan Dakota Allen or Dakota as we call him, who was born on May 12, 1997. I am the type of person who loves to analyze all kinds of various things for the sheer passion of doing it. Over time, this developed an interest in games for me on many levels. Consequently, simple board games were fun to me, but were just a bit too easy sometimes. This led me to try things like video games, chess, and various collector card games. I was, and still am, hooked on all of them. I love my passion for these games because they can constantly challenge me in new ways as I find different players and with the video and card games, even how they can add on or change.

School itself was something I loved since the beginning. It was a place where I made some of my truly greatest friends who I cherish dearly, and where I was able to have a, honestly, great time learning. Classes seldom ever got boring for me as I tried to always figure out all of the things I was being taught each day. English and Science classes were always my favorites. I developed a love for reading early on in school and was always having my nose in one book after another. I simply couldn’t wait for the next in a series to come out and find what happens next. Science was something of a passion, and still is. I always loved just how things that appeared so simple could hold such surprising qualities. The technology involved was always a wonderful thing to me to experiment with as we were allowed in class.

Overall, I developed a great love of technology and games as a result. I would use my free time to try out all kinds of new things when I could after getting them. I admit I was never much of an outdoors kid, but I truly enjoyed and loved what I was doing. This created my reasoning for choosing UALR as my college of choice. It is a leading college in Arkansas for technology and is one of only three in the nation with an actual nano-technological facility! I was quite impressed when going there on Open House for the first time. From here, my goals are to graduate with a Major in Computer Science and a Minor in Digital Graphics, join a game development company, one-day lead a team on a game of my own design, and hopefully create a company of my very own one day for technology.

Gage Allen

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

Jermaine Marshall

I am a currently a student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and major in Computer Science.  I am from West Helena, Arkansas and graduated from Central High School.   Some of my favorite hobbies include: troubleshooting and programming, helping others with their schoolwork, performing research, and practicing for step shows.  I also like to inform other students about the numerous opportunities for scholarships that are available in college, because many believe that a person can only gain most scholarships as incoming freshmen.

Some of my achievements since I’ve been in college include: entering the honors college at UALR, maintaining a 3.75 cumulative GPA, receiving a volunteer award from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), and joining the McNair Scholars Program.  In the future, I plan to obtain my PhD in Computer Science from the University of Texas and afterwards starting a gaming company, dedicated to creating educational video games to help younger kids with their academics.

Jermaine Marshall

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

Jesse Hyde

Growing up in Benton, AR, I graduated with honors from BHS in 2010. I decided to attend the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and I received both the Chancellor’s Academic Distinction Scholarship from UALR and the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship. I am a senior in the college of Engineering and Information Technology as a Computer Science major with a minor in Mathematics.

While most of my time is spent in front of a screen, whether it be for videos games or actual work, I do enjoy some activities outdoors including swimming and hiking. Other time away from school is spent with my friends watching movies or just hanging out. I plan on going to graduate school at UALR for a master’s degree in either Computer Science or Management Information Systems. As for a career choice, I have yet to fully decide but maybe something in networking or information security.

 

Jesse Hyde

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

Katherine Lea

My name is Katherine Lea. I am currently studying at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; majoring in Information Science major with a minor in Information Assurance.

I originally decided to major in information science because I wanted a career in network administration. However, I have recently become very fond of computer programming and software development through my studies at UALR. I have also become very interested in web and mobile application development as well. My goal after graduation will be to find a career that will allow me to build on these interests.

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

Marisa Damm

Marisa Damm attends the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as an EAST Scholar pursuing a degree in Information Science with a minor in American Sign Language. Currently, she works at the EAST Initiative as a member of the Technical Support Group. Marisa is passionate about showing others how to make technology relevant in their everyday lives. Marisa likes to spend time with loved ones and spending time behind a camera taking photos.

Marisa Damm

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

College of Engineering and Information Technology

Reginald H. Pearson Jr.

Hi, My name is Reginald H. Pearson Jr.I was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas! Due to being born prematurely, I have been hard of hearing since birth. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 9 years, and we have 3 wonderful children! I am a non-traditional student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock majoring in Information Science located in the College of Engineering and Information Technology.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my wife and children, playing my guitar, and researching the latest trends in technology. I am very good at solving problems and creating ideas. Others say that I am wise and give hope. Graduating from UALR has been a lifelong dream and I know that this school will adequately prepare me to reach my future career goals! My favorite bible scripture is “So shall you find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight or judgment of God and man.” Proverbs 3:4 Amplified Version

Reginald H. Pearson Jr.

 

University of Arkansas Little Rock

Thoren Paulson

I grew up here in Little Rock and spent much of my childhood either playing outside, or taking my toys apart. At some point I started taking an interest in computers, and started taking those apart, and eventually I even learned how to put them back together. Near the end of middle school I started to figure out that what I wanted to do was to program games, and if I couldn’t do that, I would work with computers in some other way. After graduating from Mills University Studies High School, I came to UALR to learn what I need to know in order to create games. Thanks to the Arkansas Academy of Computing, I can focus more on games and computers, and less on money.

Thoren Paulson

 

Arkansas State University

Matthew Manning

Matthew Manning is double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics with a minor in Statistics at Arkansas State University. He is the president of the ASU Student Chapters of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). His research interests include parallel processing, high performance computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and applied mathematics.

Matthew has presented his research at several venues, including the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the regional meeting of the Mathematical Association of America. Matthew also interned with Nucor Steel Arkansas as a programmer in the web development group. He will be graduating in May 2014 with honors.

Matthew Manning