Four students from UALR’s Donaghey Scholars Program – including art history major Alex Leme of Brazil, winner of the prestigious Boe Award – will highlight their research achievements at the Great Plains Honors Council Conference April 1-3 in Arlington, Texas. The conference highlights the research achievements of students in honors programs from across the region.

Leme, a non-traditional student who left a career in finance to pursue his interest in art history, will present his project, “The Myth of Persephone and Demeter as Metaphor for Sexual Initiation.”

Chemistry and biology major Ryne Ramaker, son of Randy and Pam Ramaker of Bentonville, will present his paper, “The Effects of Low levels of Amplitude Modulated Electromagnetic Fields on Hepatocellular Carcinoma.”

English and creative writing major Robert Bruno, son of Jay and Lisa Bruno of Little Rock, will present his paper, “Am Not Writing This about You: A Collection of Poems.”

A member of the William G. Cooper Jr. Honors Program in English, Bruno is president of the UALR chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honors society, and co-editor of Equinox, UALR’s literary magazine.

Susanna “Suzi” Garcia, also an English and creative writing major, will present her poster, “Second-Person Narration in Junot Diaz’s ‘How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie.'”

The daughter of George and Laura Garcia of Little Rock, she is part of the Cooper Honors Program in English, a Ronald F. McNair Scholar, vice president of UALR’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and co-editor of UALR’s Equinox literary magazine.

The UALR research proposals were among 214 submitted – 150 for oral presentations and 64 for posters. Only 75 student oral presentations and 47 student posters were accepted. Six students were accepted for the Boe Award.

The Great Plains Honors Council is comprised of honors programs from Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas, and they coordinate with the National Collegiate Honors Council promoting the flow of information, ideas, fellowship, and professional encouragement throughout its member programs across the region.