The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Staff Senate has recognized five staff members who are bettering themselves by pursuing degrees while working full time. 

Two UA Little Rock staff members received a $250 Staff Senate Scholarship: Doniece Allen, an administrative and data specialist at MidSOUTH, and Zedralyn Butler, regional team leader and CHRIS trainer at MidSOUTH.

With a current 3.5 GPA, Allen is pursuing a Master of Education degree in adult and professional learning as well as a graduate certificate in learning systems technology education. She wants to use her education to train and develop staff within a business by creating unique curriculum and work aids that are tailored to adult learning styles.

Butler is a single mother of three children, including 1-year-old twins, who plans to graduate in spring 2020 with a master’s degree in sports management.

The winners of the Jerry Crittenden Employee Book Scholarship winners include Colleen Godley, career services program coordinator at William H. Bowen School of Law; Larry Rhodes, learning technology coordinator in the College of Social Sciences and Communication; and Christina Smith, director of development and external relations in the College of Social Sciences and Communication.

The first recipient, Godley, plans to graduate in the spring 2020 semester with a Master of Science in business information systems. Additionally, she is working on graduate certificates in financial data analytics and management.

Rhodes went back to school at age 42 to pursue not one, but two degrees. After chaperoning a trip to Morocco in 2016, he realized that photography and storytelling are his greatest passions. He is working toward bachelor’s degrees in applied communication and international studies as well as minors in information technology and Middle Eastern Studies. After completing his degrees, Rhodes dreams of working as a cultural documentarian and using his skills to help people around the world tell their stories.

After what Christina Smith recalled as some “gentle prodding” from Dr. Julien Mirivel, interim dean of the College of Social Sciences and Communication, she is pursuing her Doctor of Education in higher education administration. In the future, Smith hopes to lead fundraising efforts at a university.

In the upper right photo, Richard Harper, immediate past president of Staff Senate (right), presents the Crittenden Employee Book Scholarship to Larry Rhodes (left), Christina Smith (middle), and Colleen Godley (right). Photo by Ben Krain.