It may not be a new calendar year, but many of us are gearing up for a new school year. We have a little more than a month until students will be back on campus and parking lots will again be filled.

I thought it would be interesting to see what goals some of the faculty, staff, and students have for this upcoming semester. What about you? Let us know in the comments what your goals are.

Sporticus, Trojan Man mascot |  History major with emphasis on Ancient GreeceI have two goals this semester: Earn an A in Roman History, and make sure the crowds at UALR’s athletic events are the loudest in the Sun Belt!

Matthew Broderick, Criminal Justice major My goal is to get a 3.75 gpa and get accepted for an internship in Washington DC for the upcoming summer.

Alexa Treml, Music and Biology double major My goal is to maintain as close, if not exactly, to a 4.0 as possible and to work it out where I can possibly travel abroad!

Kayleigh Danielle, senior Spanish major

My goal is to get accepted for an internship at a Nonprofit Organization in a Spanish speaking country overseas to complete my minor.

Klansee Tozer, Graphic Designer | Office of Communications  My goal this year is to challenge myself more as a graphic designer… to push myself creatively, and explore new ways in design layout and typography. I want to continue to learn and grow with each assignment, which in turn, will continue to help me maintain and balance the needs of the campus.

Christian O’Neal, Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Development Our goal is to increase the percentage of alumni who participate in annual giving.

Jeff Walker, Professor and Chair | Department of Criminal Justice  As the chair, my goal is to make sure the department meets the needs of students so they can be successful in their studies. My personal goal is to complete some of the neighborhood research that will benefit the people of Little Rock.

Howard Turney, Professor and Director | School of Social Work The MidSouth Center is an integral part of the School of Social Work. We have recently hired a new Executive Director, Gigi Peters. Most recently she has served as the Executive Director of Women and Children First. Our goal is to raise the profile of this service arm of the School of Social Work and to prepare child welfare workers for their careers through training.

Erin Finzer, Assistant Professor | International and Second Language Studies My goal is to be a more productive writer this year and to continue to support safety and community-building efforts on campus.

Katie Halford, Instructor | Department of Speech Communication  The SPCH 1300 program looks forward to the challenge of fostering the co-creation of better social worlds through its new online, accelerated positive communication curriculum.