Bucket List: Preslee White

 When I think about my future, many exciting hopes and dreams flood my mind. 

School has always been my top priority, and I would love to find myself in medical school, like Alice Walton’s School of Medicine, studying neurology or a related field that focuses on the body and its functions. Understanding the brain and its functions is my passion, and I feel it is what I am meant to pursue in my career. 

Because I take college courses online, I want to take advantage of the ability to travel anywhere while keeping up with my classes. A big dream of mine is to participate in the Disney College Program and move to Orlando for a few months to work onsite at Walt Disney World. Being accepted into the program would be such a unique opportunity as well as a huge accomplishment for me.

 

I have an overwhelming desire to travel and make a difference in the world. Sometimes, it feels like I just know that it is my purpose, since fulfillment truly is my favorite feeling. There are many things I want to do on my travels, such as base jumping, learning to ski, or traveling overseas. 

So far, I feel as though I have accomplished many of my dreams already, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for me. I am only 18, with so much more life to see and experience, but I hope to make the most of it all. 

Matriculation Ceremony 2025

The 2025 Matriculation Ceremony for the incoming Honors College students had a great turnout. Our guest speaker, Dr. Tyler Rives, an SAU Honors alumnus, gave a presentation to the students and guests. He spoke of his undergraduate experience at SAU, along with his journey that allowed him to get where he is now in the medical field as a Doctor at UAMS in Little Rock. 

Dr. Tyler Rives

Incoming Honors College Students

L to R: Dr. Kardas, Dr. Odendaal, Dr. Rives

The Honors College wishes to thank everyone involved for their hard work and dedication. We also wish the incoming honors students a spectacular first semester! 

NCHC Summer Giveaway Winner

 Jenna Holmes was lucky enough to be drawn as NCHC's first winner of the Summer Registration Giveaway! Congratulations Jenna!

2025 Spring Graduates

We had 11 honors graduates for Spring 2025. We are extremely proud of the accomplishments these graduates have made. 

(From left to right) Grace Edwards, Jonathan Parker, Aiden Thacker, Gage Ward, Rylee Griffis

(From left to right) Ashlyn Broughton, Teressa Hedglin, Jacob Stroman, Brooke Burton, Carmen Lok, Alexis Goodwin

Electric Guitar Show

The Electric Guitar Show was a hit! The students got to show off their guitars for the first portion of the event, then a jam session followed. 

The early crowd for the event

The Brinson Fine Arts lobby was full as soon as the event started, everyone excited to see what the students had been working so hard on all year.

The jam session group

Various people played for the jam session including some of the honors students, SAU faculty, and even SAU's President Hicks!

President Hicks played his acoustic guitar

Honors student Jonathan Parker played saxophone

Senior Projects 2025

Honors College seniors Gage Ward and Jonathon Parker  along with another computer science student presented Computer Science Senior Design Projects yesterday. The group created their senior project on how to get cows to eat in smaller areas. 

Pictured above is their presentation

 

Pictured above on the left is Gage Ward and on the right is Jonathon Parker 

Honors students Christian Wiggins and Aiden Thacker presented their senior project of a game called, Blight's Grasp. The group of computer science students along with a few art students designed the game over the course of two semesters.

 

Pictured above on the right hand side on the left is Christian Wiggins, and on the right is Aiden Thacker

Pictured above is their presentation

The Honors College is so proud of its students, and the hard work they've put in! Congratulations seniors!

Electric Guitar Making Showing and Concert

The students from Electric Guitar Making, one of the full Honors courses that was offered this spring, will be hosting an exhibition of their electric guitars created during the semester, as well as a concert on  May 5th, 2025. Below are some photos throughout the semester, exhibiting the students' hard work in creating each of their guitars. Each student worked hands on throughout the entire process, from brainstorming the design they wanted, to creating the name for their final piece. 

William Ashcraft 

"The Astronaut"

"Taking this class, I learned how much I enjoy woodworking; cutting, sanding, and routing the body was easily my favorite part of the course. It was so relaxing."

Lakken Caffey

"The Fabricator"

"Taking part in this Guitar-building course has been a great opportunity for me! As a graphic designer, much of my work takes place in a 2D space, so having the chance to get my hands on a 3D medium has been a lot of fun and a good change of pace."

Monet Coppersmith

"Scintilla"

"My favorite part was installing the hardware and electronics. In the past I did robotics, and this brought back fun memories for me. Soldering the electronics and installing the hardware is when I really felt the bass come to life, and you see your vision and hard work pay off."

Alyzia Devereaux 

"Hope"

"My guitar is my baby. I started this class wondering what I would do, and if I could really accomplish this, but I did it! All of us did it! The research phase, and before we had our guitars, was interesting."

Jade Dillard

"The BUG!!!"

"The BUG!!! did genuinely go beyond my expectations. It plays, it turns a rich orange-brown at certain angles and a pretty emerald green at others, and it makes for a fantastic art piece. When something comes out as good as my guitar did, all of the mess seems worth it."

Lilly Henry

"Glitoris"

"Guitar building is a skill that not a lot of people can say they’ve practiced, and it was an amazing opportunity to be a part of this class."

Rory Lowther

"Alma Cósmica"

"At the start, I set my aspirations atmospherically high with pages of ideas and artists to look up to, which made some of the simpler aspects of my guitar feel like they didn’t measure up. However, whenever I took a step back and looked at the process it took to get to this point, I realized that the path—full of learning opportunities and challenges—was the most important aspect of this class, not just the guitar itself."

Mtende Moyo

"The Daydreamer"

"The Daydreamer. I look at it and am reminded of my time in class this semester, but also all the thoughts that ran, and still run, through my head. An opaque mirror. Creative or exhausted, optimistic or uncertain, regardless of the myriad of emotions and memories, they’re all parts of myself."

Gabrielle Nelson

"Leto"

"The overall outcome of the design is my favorite part of the guitar. I love how what started as my hand drawing later came to life through the engraving. Now that I have my own guitar, I want to learn how to play it."

Gavin Nussey

"Belle"

"I would absolutely build another guitar. This project has made me more interested in learning to play and I would not mind making another one."

Allison Parker

"Icarus"

"The longest part of the journey was definitely the shaping and painting, and the fastest part was putting in the guts and getting it to be play-worthy. It was very cool seeing it turn from a couple slabs of wood into a working, playable guitar that you guys can see now."

Jonathon Parker

"If someone ever asked me about making a guitar I would highly recommend it. While it looks intimidating, if you have the right tools, it is not a hard process. It requires a bit of patience, but the end result is very much worth it."

Madeline Reynolds

"The Amoeba"

"I have learned so much in only a few months of class. Even outside of the classroom, I have gained knowledge in an area I’ve never really poked my nose into. I’ve become more appreciative of the time and energy it takes to build such beautiful and intricate instruments."

Lilly Smutz

"Lucifer"

"The latin saying around the edge is, Audaces fortuna juvat, or fortune favors the bold; I felt that this phrase kind of embodies my experience through the class and how it made me feel."

Emily Stanich

"Gobstopper"

"If I had one piece of advice for anyone making a guitar, it would be to take your time. Don’t rush the process. There are so many details that make a difference in the final outcome. Overall, I’m really proud of Gobstopper, and I had a lot of fun bringing this idea to life. I will definitely do this again!"

Each one of these guitars is truly a work of art and really exemplifies the creativity and dedication our honors students offer. We really appreciate the willingness of the course professor, Professor Nathan Lambert for making this class available for honors students to take. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some of these students, and we're very proud of each student's final product.