This year’s University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business Ambassadors group includes 11 students from diverse backgrounds.

The program connects the college’s top students with local business leaders and networking opportunities. Selected students also are considered for internships.

Program participants are chosen from throughout the college based on faculty references, grade-point average, and college activities.

“The Ambassadors are the face of our college,” Dean Jane Wayland said.

This year’s group includes:

• Business Information Systems major Calton Davis, who describes himself as “always enticed by the evolution of technology.” An Osceola native, the UALR student made himself at home in Little Rock. He’s active in campus affairs including the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and tutoring in local elementary schools. Davis held an internship with Tyson Foods, working with software development and data management.
• Samantha Davidson switched to a business management major from pre-pharmacy when she realized that creating the business and the customer relationships were her central concerns. A UALR Donaghey Scholar, Davidson recently studied in Spain, sharpening her language skills.  This summer, she attended a seminar on the economics of business success that brought together students from across the world.
• California native Jason Duncan is pursuing a double major in international business and marketing. He sees the growing Chinese market as especially important and is learning Mandarin Chinese, to “become one of the people who can help build bridges between East and West.” Here in Little Rock, Duncan completed an internship with the Mission Team of Fellowship Bible Church that introduced him to principles of organizational leadership and an international mindset. He also is involved in a mentorship program with men recently released from prison who are transitioning into community life.
• Austin Fleming describes the College of Business as his “first choice due to its central location and great reputation with the business community in the city of Little Rock.” A full-time accountant at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Fleming enjoys discussing “various ways of solving business problems” and “the possibilities that will be facing our generation.” He volunteers with local food banks and a local elementary school.
• Originally from a family farm background in Junction City, Arkansas, Jacob Hall brought his interests in art and business together at the College of Business to focus on a marketing major with a digital graphics minor. He is active in campus affairs as a member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps, the Delta Chi fraternity and other organizations, and operates an online retail business. In the community, Hall has volunteered at Boo at the Zoo, the Color Run, and the Arkansas Nature Conservancy, among other activities. In the summer of 2015, he served as intern at Arkansas Repertory Theatre, assisting in creating a project honoring The Rep’s 40th anniversary season, a project he described as “an amazing opportunity.”
• Finance major David Jones will enroll in the MBA program after completing his undergraduate degree in finance. His favorite area academically is investment analysis. Jones enjoys educating people, especially those who are at a social or economic disadvantage, about how to establish a good financial foundation. He works with Dr. Galchus in the Financial Literacy Workshops at War Memorial in Little Rock; Jones created and taught two new workshops in the program in the summer of 2015. In his off hours, Jones is a workout enthusiast and also participates in boxing.
• Michael Silva-Nash is focusing on international business at the College of Business. He also hopes to pursue a law degree. The civically minded North Little Rock resident has held internships with Congressman Tim Griffin’s Washington and Little Rock offices, the Republican National Committee, and the lieutenant governor’s office in the state of Arkansas. He is co-owner of a central Arkansas business that employs 55 people and also is on the board of the Ms. Molly Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence.
• Joseph Waller, who hails from Sherwood, plans to take his double major in Accounting and Finance to the corporate world, perhaps in aviation.  His experience so far includes several years working part time as a carpenter’s helper. He participated in the Free Market Reading group at the college in 2014-15. During the past several years, Waller volunteered at summer camps in Arkansas and Wyoming and also in youth activities for his church.
• Jon Wicklund decided on a business information systems major because it offered a “multitude of career options.” Originally from Jackson, MI,  he is a member of the Microsoft Power Team at the college and has canvassed with the Young Democrats of Arkansas. Wicklund is exploring a help desk internship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Other activities include peer tutoring, volunteering at the Jacksonville animal shelter, and both playing and coaching rugby.
• Brittany Wright is a management major, especially interested in human resources. Her current internship with Dassault Falcon Jet in Little Rock, a French-based company, allows her to use her minor in French language and also to assist with hands-on employee relations work. She participates in community volunteer projects through the UALR Children’s International, an organization that was important in her life as a child. She says: “Words cannot express how it feels to come and give back in the same way someone did for me growing up.” She’s also a member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps.
• A native of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Achi Yapo decided to pursue a finance major because of his interest in the “ideas behind money, investment and economy” and because of the “corruption and bad management” he observed impoverishing ordinary citizens of the country despite its rich resources. He says, “My goal is to be able to use the knowledge I will get in the United States to create job opportunity and employment in my country as well as here in the United States.” He enjoys volunteer work with College of Business projects, “It always feels good to be part of something positive.” Yapo is a soccer player, a sport he describes as “as popular in his country as basketball or baseball is in the U.S.”

The UALR College of Business is accredited by the AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and recognized by US News and World Report as one of the top undergraduate schools of business.