24 Oct 2022 UACCM student, faculty recognized at state conference
MORRILTON — A University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM) student, faculty, and staff were honored at the Arkansas Community Colleges’ (ACC) 34th Annual Conference held Oct. 9-11 in Hot Springs.
April Brown of Morrilton was recognized as the 2022 UACCM Academic All-Star. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa international honor society and one of the first students to be admitted to UACCM’s Honors program, researching campus newspapers for her Capstone project. She volunteers on campus and in the community, stocking food pantries and gardening. She also served UACCM as an administrative assistant, all while maintaining a nearly perfect G.P.A.
Governor Asa Hutchinson presented the keynote address at a brunch honoring the 22
all-star student scholarship winners. The students were awarded a full-tuition transfer scholarship to any Arkansas public, four-year university to complete their bachelor’s degree. The combined total for the scholarships is estimated to be more than $500,000.
“These scholarships will enable our highest-achieving students to reach for their dreams at any of Arkansas’s public, four-year universities,” said Andrea Henderson, ACC Executive Director. “Many of these students are not only working hard to maintain excellent grades but are also adding jobs and parenthood to their list of responsibilities, which makes their accomplishments even more impressive. These students deserve our recognition, and these scholarships are a fantastic way to help them achieve their goals.”
Each of the 22 public two-year colleges names one student as an “Academic All-Star.” These students maintain a cumulative grade point average of no less than 3.25 out of a possible 4.0 and are outstanding campus and community leaders.
The 22 member institutions of ACC, located throughout the state, serve more than 60,000 Arkansans per year through educational programs, technical training, continuing education, and customized workforce training for today’s business and industry.
Also honored at the conference was Stacy Stracner, as UACCM’s Outstanding Staff Member of 2022. Stracner is a financial aid analyst and has been serving UACCM for over 30 years. She attended UACCM as a student and has since held numerous positions in the Financial Aid department while serving on various committees.
Kristen Karetov was also recognized as UACCM’s Outstanding Faculty Member of 2022. Karetov is an instructor of Computer-Aided Drafting and Design. She first attended UACCM to study Computer-Aided Drafting and Design and now leads that program while also serving as Chair of Faculty Senate and a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
