Adora Curry-Nicholson, a UALR graduate student in the Professional and Technical Writing program, has received a $2,000 Heritage Grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

The grant will fund an African American oral history project to be sponsored by Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Morrilton.

In 2009, Hopewell Presbyterian participated in an ethnological research project researching the impact of the church on the Morrilton community. The new grant will be used to collect the oral histories of the church’s congregation and families from the Morrilton community and its surrounding area.

Curry-Nicholson, a native of Aurora, Colo., said she enrolled in the UALR program with the goal of becoming a grant writing consultant.

“I had my doubts about my abilities in grant writing, but after studying under Barbara L’Eplattenier, associate professor of rhetoric and writing, and landing four out of four grant proposals from 2010-2011, I have the validation I needed to become a freelance grant writer,” Curry-Nicholson said.

L’Eplattenier expressed her own expectations for Curry-Nicholson’s future success as a grant writer.

“I have every expectation that Adora will succeed in her grant writing career,” L’Eplattenier said. “She is a smart, hardworking individual who has great talent and perseveres. I was honored to have her in my class.”

Curry-Nicholson said she learned as much about grant writing as she did about Hopewell Presbyterian.

“What I enjoy most about grant writing is learning about the various organizations established to make our world a better place,” she said. “Whether it is an organization to decrease poverty, to educate children through technology, or to save animals from being euthanized, non-profit organizations give me hope. I am proud to help these groups attain the capital needed to further their causes.”