MEET OUR 2023 ACADEMIC ALL-STARS.

BY AUSTIN BAILEY, RHETT BRINKLEY, DANIEL GREAR, MARY HENNIGAN, LINDSEY MILLAR AND STEPHANIE SMITTLE

The 2023 Arkansas Times Academic All-Star Team, the 29th team the Times has honored, is made up of 20 students selected from a wide pool of applicants from across the state, each nominated by their school counselor or principal. Past winners have tended to be multitalented students and have gone on to become innovators in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, technology and the arts, and this year’s roster includes budding activists, tireless volunteers, computer whizzes, polished musicians and aspiring physicians. Read the following profiles for a much-needed antidote to the state’s legislative debacles, followed by the lists of All-Star finalists and nominees.

Age: 18

Hometown: El Dorado

High School: Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and Arts

Parents: David and Robin Boerwinkle

College plans: Missouri University of Science and Technology

Charismatic Robert Boerwinkle is a self-proclaimed stereotypical computer science major, which he said includes key traits like a dash of social awkwardness, plenty of time behind the screen — a “room rat” if you will — and an interest in robotics. Robert doesn’t mess with the gamer computer setups with flashing lights and mechanical keyboards. No, he works his coding languages on hand-me-down business laptops that have seen better days. Before finally getting a recent upgrade, Robert made magic on a 2011 Lenovo that he had repaired time and time again through a broken hinge, cracked screen, blown fuse and failed hard drive. It’s not so much about the machine you’re working on as it is about how skillful the user is. Despite his dad’s recommendation to choose a major other than computer science, he and his siblings have run straight to it. Robert said he was raised to be curious and he thinks of computer science as a tool that will help him build other tools. He plans to spend his summer self-studying the programming language C, which his future college uses as the foundation of its classes. For the sake of science — and for fun — Robert has his sights set on a future in big data and software development, though he hasn’t completely crossed off robotics and artificial intelligence. Of all his accolades, Robert said that being involved in former Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s push to encourage computer science in the state is near the top of his list. Robert was part of the team that came out with the blue ribbon for Hutchinson’s all-state coding competition in 2022. MH

Age: 18

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: Episcopal Collegiate School

Parents: Chris and Cristy Cooley College plans: Vanderbilt University

Over spring break, Emma Grace Cooley accompanied her mentor, Dr. Laura J. Hobart-Porter, to the 2023 World Congress on Spina Bifida Research & Care, where Hobart-Porter presented the research they conducted together last summer during an intensive, eight-week internship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. On top of shadowing specialists and attending lectures on subjects as wide-ranging as hematology, cardiology and medical ethics, Emma Grace supported Hobart-Porter in evaluating the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in children afflicted with a specific spinal birth defect. “My role primarily was to just go down rabbit holes of different articles to try and find different ways that ASD and spina bifida could potentially correlate,” she said. There’s a good chance Emma Grace will study biology and chemistry on the path to becoming a pediatric physician, but characterizing her as just a science nerd is an incomplete picture. Through years of grind in the Writing Center at Episcopal Collegiate, Emma Grace now occupies the highest leadership role, student director. “There’s a lot of reading and a lot of writing in research activities in the medical field,” she said. “While they can seem like opposite subjects, I feel like they can go hand in hand.” Additionally, as a freshman, she was nominated by her peers to be a member of the Honor Council. Now — of course — she’s the president, with integrity and rehabilitation as her modus operandi. “It’s a really thoughtful and heavy topic,” she said. “While there is obviously a consequence if a student commits an infraction, we’re constantly trying to ask ourselves how we can help, whether it’s referring them to a tutor or getting help from a teacher.”

Without even mentioning Emma Grace’s extensive volunteer history, which includes nearly a thousand hours of service to the National Charity League, it’s clear that whatever she ends up doing, intellect and empathy will be the driving forces. DG

Age: 18

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: Pulaski Academy

Parents: Edwin and Kristi Diaz College plans: Undecided

Josh Diaz’s parents are both medical doctors, so when Josh created an email in middle school he included “md” in the address. But a model United Nations class his freshman year shifted his focus to international relations and diplomacy. At Pulaski Academy, where he’s ranked near the top of his class with a 4.68 GPA, the official title of his book-length senior honors thesis is “The Clash of Secularization and Religion in Post-Colonial States.” He used India and Nigeria as case studies. “Their traditional religious beliefs were suppressed during colonialism, which left people to politicize religion,” he explained. “That’s a consequence of secularism.” But he found that when traditional beliefs were allowed to flourish, there was less politicized religion and violence. Josh credits his parents for instilling a hard work ethic in him. His dad is a urologist who also has his MBA and is attending law school. “He loves school and he’s definitely imparted that on me and my siblings,” Josh said. Following in those footsteps would be cool, but for now Josh sees himself pursuing a career in the international realm, either in diplomacy or at a firm that invests globally. “Those are both ways to get involved in the international system and make change,” he said. To that end, he’s already about halfway to becoming a proficient Mandarin Chinese speaker. He’s studied the language since eighth grade and is taking AP Chinese 5 this year. He’s passed three of the six HSK Tests, the standard test to determine proficiency. Despite a high school career jam-packed with advanced and honors classes, Josh finds time to play on the school’s lacrosse team, read for fun (Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” was a recent favorite) and play jazz and blues guitar. He’s an Eagle Scout, too. You can thank him for wayfinding help on the west side of Pinnacle Mountain State Park. He erected trail markers on the mountain as part of his Eagle Scout service project. LM

Age: 17

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: Central High School

Parents: Sumana George and Doss Lucas College plans: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville or University of Washington at Seattle

Central High senior Jessica Doss runs her life with order and efficiency, with no moments going to waste. She has to. With eight AP classes, a volunteer gig, Quiz Bowl and dance to squeeze in, she has to stay on schedule. “I know a lot of people consider me Type A. I like keeping everything in order,” she said. She never procrastinates, and craves the satisfaction that comes with getting things done. It’s possible that a medical challenge from age 11 drives Jessica’s regimented approach. A Type 1 diabetes diagnosis meant she had little choice but to pay attention to sleep, exercise and diet in ways other kids her age didn’t. “I have a lot of mental fortitude when it comes to the way I live my life,” she said. She wakes up early, eats healthy and dances a lot. “I enjoy being active, and it’s something that my body requires of me to keep myself healthy.” She aims to keep other people healthy too by pursuing a career in medicine. This path interests her because she both likes and excels in math, and because heart disease runs in her family. Based on her beyond-perfect track record and pulling a superhuman GPA while volunteering with the American Red Cross, we’re predicting success. There’s more to Jessica than her sky-high GPA and relentless drive to do all the things perfectly. She adds art and beauty to her life with dance and music, thanks to some influence from her dance instructor mom. For 10 years Jessica has honed her skills in Kerala, a form of Indian classical dance. She’s also a singer of both Western pop and Indian music, and she plays bamboo flute and piano. She’s got some innate talent with languages, too, speaking Tamil and Spanish and with plans to add more languages to her roster. Jessica aims to study abroad, and to put herself to the test someday with a challenge some would find daunting but she finds exciting: “I would like to drop myself in a place where I have no linguistic ability and pick it up.” AB

Age: 17

Hometown: Sherwood

High School: Sylvan Hills High School

Parent: Krisharna Blackman College plans: Morehouse College or Tennessee State University

When Xavier Graves was only 8 years old, he went to the hospital after school practically every single day. Locked into place by his older sister’s near-death health crisis, he clocked so many hours in waiting rooms that the hospital transformed into one of his primary sources of community. “The staff and doctors and nurses — they really were there to provide me and my family a second home,” he said. Although Xavier appreciated the embrace of this ecosystem, he also felt powerless and excluded. “I was never allowed to see her,” he said. “All I knew was that my older sister was somewhere behind these closed doors that I’d never be able to go through. And it hurt me.” After six months of standing by without knowing how to help, Xavier was given two gifts — the survival of his sister and a purpose: to live intentionally and to one day become a doctor. Ever since, Xavier has held tight to that commitment. Some of his proudest moments include almost single-handedly organizing two fall food drives through his role on the student council and taking part in the UAMS Healers program, a selective and behind-thescenes exposure to the medical field for juniors and seniors that finally granted him the access he’d been craving since his sister’s hospitalization. Through volunteering and observation, Xavier deduced the strand of medicine he hopes to eventually join: anesthesiology. In pursuit of his dreams, Xavier plans to major in biology at a historically Black college or university, where he expects to find lifelong camaraderie. “If you ever talk to someone that’s attended an HBCU, that’s all they mostly talk about,” he said. “That sense of community that you build.” He has a full-ride offer waiting for him at Morehouse College and is a finalist for the Gates Scholarship. DG

Age: 17

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: Little Rock Christian Academy

Parents: Ricky and Shea Halbert College plans: University of Michigan

Little Rock Christian Academy’s Adison Halbert is so sweet that you’ll have a toothache by the time you’re done talking with her. It’s fitting considering Adison founded the school’s Spread Kindness Club during her junior year. Now, only in its second year of existence, the club is one of the school’s largest with 80 members. At the helm of the ship, Adison has organized a variety of do-good events, including fundraisers for local homeless organizations and the collection of nonperishable goods for the Arkansas Food Bank. She has already made an impact both big and small. “It really put into perspective that what I’m doing when I’m actively involved in community service isn’t going to nothing,” Adison said. “It’s actually affecting people in my community and playing out in their everyday lives as well.” The club’s focus also stems from Adison’s up-front approach to mental health. She said that everyone should have a therapist to talk to. She’s seen one for several years, and said that there’s no shame in taking care of your mental health like you would your physical health. With this in mind — and volunteer work with expectant mothers at the Arkansas Pregnancy Resource Center under her belt — Adison is an aspiring pediatric psychiatrist. She’s particularly interested in the biopsychology cognition and neuroscience major offered at the University of Michigan. She’s headed there in the fall, and we hope she finds the right cold-weather gear to make it through those winter months. Aside from Adison’s impressive academic accolades that include national merits, she also balances out her mental state with creative outputs. Lately, she’s been working as head of the make-up crew for school plays and honing her skill on colorful eyelashes for the bird girls in “Seussical: The Musical.” MH

Age: 18

Hometown: North Little Rock

High School: North Little Rock High School

Parent: Antranette McFelson College plans: Columbia University

During her freshman year at North Little Rock High School, Nevaeh McFelson became aware of the district’s lagging achievement in science, technology and math. “I kind of wanted to see what I could do to help,” she said. So she started the EAST Elementary Project. The EAST Initiative (EAST stands for “education accelerated by service and technology”) begins in middle school, but Nevaeh thought the EAST model could work in elementary school with high school EAST leaders assisting elementary teachers. She pitched the idea to the North Little Rock Public Education Foundation in 2021 and was the first student to be awarded a teaching grant. She’s already seen the project inspire the elementary students. One class, after learning about robotics, was working on a mechanized solution to help a classmate with mobility issues. Another group of students, after learning about hydroponics, had started their own garden. She’s also a co-founder of the Be a Buddy program at NLRHS where she and other students work to build relationships with their special needs classmates, who are often physically separated from the rest of the student body. The Be a Buddy group organizes field trips and activities, and was planning a special high school prom designed to accommodate neurodivergent students who can’t handle loud noises. Even with those efforts and a sterling academic career, Nevaeh makes time to volunteer at a small animal rescue service (she owns a rabbit); plays violin, cello, viola, ukulele and piano; draws, paints and spends time outdoors. She’ll head to Columbia University in New York in the fall on a Questbridge Scholarship. LM

Congratulations to the Class of 2023!

“Remember the Lord in all that you do, and He will show you the right way.” — Proverbs 3:6

Age: 17

Hometown: Bentonville

High School: Haas Hall Academy in Rogers

Parents: Antonio and Coletta Patterson College plans: Boston College

Olivia Patterson was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, famous as Oprah Winfrey’s small town birthplace. “There was a lot of struggle there,” Olivia said. “There was a lot of hereditary disease — diabetes, heart disease and such. And a lot of people using government aid and not knowing the right insurance.” Her grandmother developed breast cancer, which might have been detected if she’d had more frequent screenings. Being around those sorts of health disparities inspired questions she hopes to one day help to solve: “How can we get underrepresented people better health care, and how can we make sure they’re better informed? And how can we defend these people to make sure they’re getting equal care?” To address those questions, she plans to double major in political science and public health at Boston College, where she’s attending on a full ride courtesy of the prestigious Questbridge Scholarship. From there, she hopes to be admitted to medical school and then law school en route to becoming a medical lawyer. As a Black woman, Olivia said she’s understood from a young age that she would have to work especially hard to succeed. Her parents helped. From early in Olivia’s life, they presided over “Patterson school,” and would prepare worksheets and reading assignments for her. Moving from Mississippi to Northwest Arkansas helped her along her academic path, Olivia said. She’s part of the inaugural graduating class at Haas Hall Academy in Rogers. Amelia Dunavan, Olivia’s academic adviser, said she’s worked with other similarly intelligent students in the past, but that Olivia’s humility and good nature separate her. “She never talks down to her classmates,” Dunavan said. “Instead, she’s patient and kind. She works to guide her peers with dignity, grace and a healthy sense of humor.” An accomplished artist, Olivia takes commissions in her spare time and has had art featured at the Springdale gallery Interform. LM

Age: 18

Hometown: Fayetteville

High School: Haas Hall Academy

Parents: Xintao and Guohua Wu College plans: Considering Georgia Tech

Forget learning within the restraints of time or topics, Philip Wu said that he finds joy in “learning irresponsibly.” While other kids may have spent their downtime during the pandemic vegging away in front of a television, Philip was drawn to a whiteboard and dove into a self-study of advanced mathematics, including surface integrals, terrain of gradients and integration theorems. His journey first started as a way to show off and then became pure, he said. “In hindsight, it was very immature,” Philip said. “When I was younger — to some degree — I used to conflate someone’s worth with how intelligent they were. And, for some reason, to me, mathematical ability was one of the more significant indicators of intelligence. I’ve come to realize that that is definitely not true.” In conversation with Philip, he was methodical and answered questions with patience and poise. The “freedom” that he said came from his personal study of mathematics was charming, especially as he admitted he may not be smart enough to become a mathematician. (He was selected to lead an advanced physics study group absent a qualified teacher.) Philip said his path will likely include something adjacent to researching artificial intelligence through an engineering or computer science degree, but he also hopes that his school of choice has room for exploration into humanities for more of that irresponsible learning. He said that while quite scary, he thinks artificial intelligence is both impressive and “incredibly intimidating.” To balance his already wildly impressive academic involvement — he’s also great on the school’s Quiz Bowl team — Philip plays piano and clarinet. He started playing piano around age 7, and has played every day for the last handful of years. Philip played Chopin’s “Nocturnes, Op. 48 No. 1” at his school talent show in April. Humbly, Philip said that his attention toward academics and instruments are seasonal, and he has enough time to balance his interests. MH

Age: 18

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: eStem High School

Parents: Howard and Carrie Massey College plans: Harvard University

Like Elle Woods of “Legally Blonde,” Sydney Massey is not to be underestimated. A rising senior bound for Harvard University who was accepted into all but one Ivy League school, Massey was described by her school counselor as “brilliant, mature, creative, caring and empathetic … one of the most remarkable students I have known during my 21 years in education.” Sparked by inspiration from none other than Elle Woods herself, Sydney’s headed for law school after she obtains her bachelor’s degree in environmental public policy, hoping to work for the Environmental Protection Agency or for an NGO defending sustainability-focused projects. “A lot of times, underrepresented communities don’t have a voice” when it comes to impactful environmental policy, Sydney told us, citing developments like pipelines and energy infrastructure. Empathy, Sydney said in her submission essay, is her “number one value.” She’s used it to foster understanding between classmates in her role as student body president and when her school director sought out her input to increase waning participation in extracurricular school events. She used it in her family life when, after her mother was hospitalized with liver failure, she stepped in to help her father in caretaking; Sydney maintains her impeccable academic record all while managing household responsibilities like grocery shopping and housekeeping. She also used it in her work at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library, where she helped develop a reading nook in which characters with diverse backgrounds and identities were represented. “I feel like every kid deserves to see themselves in the books they read,” she told us. SS

TAKSH PATEL

Age: 17

Hometown: Fayetteville

High School: Fayetteville High School

Parents: Kinnary and Yogeshbhai Patel College plans: Undecided

Taksh Patel joined Fayetteville High School’s vaunted Science Bowl team as a freshman and was encouraged by seniors on the team to pick a subject area focus. Taksh chose physics, and when the coronavirus hit and he was forced into isolation, he dove into the subject headlong. “It was frustrating at first, but I kind of got used to it,” he remembered. “It kind of became a passion, and I thought, ‘Why not take it to the next level?’” So he got connected with the University of Arkansas Quantum Materials lab, where he has worked for two years alongside graduate students growing quantum materials that could be used to make more effective solar panels or more efficiently conduct electricity. Perhaps not surprisingly, Taksh won a first place in a special category at the International Science and En gineering Fair and his Science Bowl team won the state competition in 2022. “What I really appreciate about Taksh is that even though he is brilliant, he is so kind and respectful,” his school counselor, Cindy Marsh, said. “He has a gentleness about him that I am not sure even he sees in himself. He has told me he is an in trovert and feels like he struggles with getting to know others; however, I see him as a great leader in our school.” In that vein, he’s the state service coordinator for the Hindu denomination Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swamina rayan Sanstha and a member of the Fayetteville Public Library Advisory Board. Ranked No. 1 at FHS with near-perfect ACT and SAT scores, Taksh plans to continue his exploration of phys ics in college. LM

Age: 17

Hometown: Bentonville High School: Bentonville High School

Parents: Jay and Ann Pearce College plans: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kate Pearce isn’t afraid of artificial intelligence. In fact, she’s written two papers about it and says it’s misunderstood. “I feel like people just maybe have a lot of misconceptions about what AI is,” she said. The Bentonville High School senior said artificial intelligence is a helpful tool that can be used to help people complete tasks, like audio transcription, that they’d rather not do. It’s also helpful with data visualization, which is another of her interests. “I generally have a positive view on the future of AI as something that makes way for humans to spend less time on menial tasks,” she said. Kate has published one research paper on the topic and has written another that hasn’t been published but has been cited by other researchers. Headed for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, Kate has already put her interest in AI and data science to practical use. She’s worked with organizations like the Sunrise Movement, which advocates for green infrastructure, and Code for Democracy and has been a tutor with Khan Academy. “While her technical expertise is second to none, she applies this knowledge to work in pursuing societal reform,” said Justin Horschig, Kate’s college and career counselor. Ranked second in her class of 705 students, Kate hasn’t settled on a college major, but said she’s considering computer science, linguistics, urban planning or, of course, artificial intelligence. GC

Age: 18

Hometown: Bentonville High School: Bentonville High School

Parents: Anitha Yerneni and Srikanth Vasireddy College plans: Harvard University

Looking at Dinesh Vasireddy’s list of accomplishments is enough to make you want to hand the leadership reins over to the next generation immediately. He was honored by Yale University (at which he’d later be accepted, though he’s headed to Harvard) for research he did on the acceleration of online xenophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was presented the Modern Visionary Award by Democratic Party of Arkansas Secretary Joshua Price for developing an artificial intelligence model to predict electoral trends among Arkansas voters. He’s become a voice for change and visibility through the Indian Students Association, talking with school administrators “for months,” his career counselor said, to receive approval “to host cultural events, traditional sports events and public displays on religious holidays (Holi, Diwali, Ramadan, etc.) on campus.” He worked with Arkansas United to develop policy proposals aimed at “addressing unethical labor laws, inadequate health care access, which are now being used by AU in national lobbying efforts regarding DACA and the DREAM Act.” On top of all that, he maintained a 4.67 GPA and made near-perfect scores on both his ACT and SAT. His transcript is full of computer science and STEM courses — an effort, he says, to “learn things I want to learn about and apply those things outside of school. It also helps me keep a mental balance — I’m not stressed out trying to pursue all of these activities because a lot of them I’m very passionate about.” Up ahead: Dinesh wants to work at the intersection of computer science and politics. Narrowing down a focus is an ongoing project, but he’s most interested in predicting election outcomes to optimize political analysis, “advocating for responsible legislation surrounding technology usage” and generally seeking to make political campaign data work for the “benefit of the social good.” SS

Age: 18

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School

Parents: Verora Dean and Talmadge Hasberry College plans: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Tyler Hasberry has always been good with numbers, which makes him a shoo-in for the accounting degree he’ll obtain at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville starting this fall, but there’s one number that stood out to us when we read his All-Stars submission criteria. That’d be the number one, the class ranking Tyler holds in a particularly competitive graduating class at Parkview. “Numbers kinda click,” Tyler told us. “It’s just something I’ve always been drawn to, even as a kid.” His interest in law came later when he practiced debate at school, getting an introduction to policy debate and the process of constructing arguments — skills he honed at Boys State, at Arkansas Governor’s School and in the whopping 13 AP classes on his school transcript. “Legal advice and working with people, and seeing that there’s multiple sides to the same argument — it just drew me into that atmosphere,” he said. As for his plans after college, Tyler is particularly interested in practicing tax law as a defense attorney, so he’s bound for three years of law school with his CPA in hand. “I try to set the bar high for myself,” Tyler said, and a little friendly competition with his siblings adds fuel to that drive. “My older sister motivates me to try and do better than her, to excel. And then my brother makes me more competitive, gives me that edge, like if I’m going to do something, I’m gonna try to be the best at it.” Most impressive to us? Tyler’s maintained his spotless academic record, kept up some extracurricular basketball with his brother Talmadge, and balanced schoolwork with volunteer opportunities at organizations like Paws on the Runway — all without keeping a day planner. “I just try to focus on one thing at a time,” he said. SS asmsa.org

Congratulations to Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts seniors Kacie Koen and Robert Boerwinkle for being nominated as Arkansas Times Academic All-Stars!

Kacie is an aspiring playwright who has already garnered attention in state and national theater competitions. Last summer, she attended the prestigious Iowa Young Writers’ Studio Summer Program and Sewanee Young Writers Conference. Boerwinkle has earned state recognition as a member of ASMSA’s All-State Coding team as well as part of its award-winning programming and robotics teams. He is a 2023 National Merit Finalist and a U.S. Presidential Scholars Candidate.

ASMSA offers hundreds of young Arkansans an experience that combines the best parts of high school and college in a unique community of learning. It is the only school in the state to provide advanced course opportunities in STEM and the arts in an on-campus residential setting. Discover how you can engage in courses designed to challenge bright minds and grow as a student while earning more than a year of college credit.

Ignite your potential by attending one of the nation’s top public high schools!

Age: 17

Hometown: Cabot

High School: Cabot High School

Parents: Tara and Jason Childs College plans: Georgetown University

Alexis Childs was already fluent in German by the time she started high school because she spent her sixth- through eighth-grade years living in Germany. Her father, a retired member of the U.S. Air Force, was stationed in Germany, and Alexis dealt with the culture shock of moving back to Cabot by joining her school’s debate team. “It was really the most helpful thing because I got to travel right away,” she said. “I got to make friends with freshmen and upperclassmen and people from around the state.” She’d taken a casual debate class at her old school, but didn’t have any expectations. She figured she’d drop it after a semester if she didn’t like it. Four years and 50 tournaments later, she was named the 2023 Arkansas Speech and Debate Student of the Year. She said the award is a culmination of her competitive performance over the last four years, the impact she had on the state through volunteering, judging debate tournaments and mentoring young debaters. Alexis said debate is a valuable skill for students because it teaches them to think on their feet and to not just communicate with others, but to listen. “Debate in general is a great way to be exposed to so many different ideas and people with all different backgrounds,” she said. Do people ask her if she plans on being a lawyer because of her success in debate? “I get that a lot,” she said. “I actually am planning on law school at the moment.” Georgetown University has been her dream school since her 10th-grade year, but she worried that she wasn’t the ideal student the prestigious university typically accepts. “I don’t have perfect test scores or anything,” she said, modestly. “I feel like I’m surrounded by a lot of smart students.” Alexis is a National Merit Finalist, an AP Scholar with Distinction and has an Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy for German and English. She was an Arkansas Girls State junior counselor, a member of the Cabot Youth Leadership Council and she’s president of the Young Republicans club at her school. She will study international politics at her dream school in the fall. RB

BEN HOLLIS

Age: 18

Hometown: Hot Springs

High School: Lakeside High School

Parents: Doanh Doanh and Tom Hollis Jr. College plans: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Ben Hollis was the runner-up in the 5A state tennis singles championship his junior and sophomore years. A tennis player since he was a child, what he loves most about it is that it's not a team sport, it’s just him vs. his opponent. “Whether I win or lose it’s all on me,” he said. This year he tried to change his mindset and remember that it’s all about having fun, which allowed him to relax and just play. The championship match this year was held at his high school, and his principal excused his classmates to watch Ben play. “It’s usually a solitary sport and there’s no one else out there,” Ben said. “But for this one moment there’s like 100 students watching me play.” Ben won the state championship in front of his classmates in straight sets (6-3, 6-0). “It was truly amazing,” he said. Ben wrote in his Academic All-Stars essay that of all his high school accomplishments none means more to him than making his grandfather proud. Born and raised in Vietnam, his grandfather once told him, “Ben, you are number one,” and although Ben says he may not feel that way, he tries to make those words true in his daily actions. He’s No. 1 in his class, a National Merit Finalist, an AP Scholar with Distinction and he earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2021 and 2022. He was part of the executive board for Our Promise Cancer Resources and over the last three years helped raise over $300,000. “A lot of people don’t realize that cancer patients have various needs, such as paying the electricity bill or gas cards and wigs. A lot of these needs go forgotten and we’re here to help them with that.” Ben’s grandfather has prostate cancer and he said seeing the ways that it impacted his life inspired him to help others with similar issues. Ben likes to play guitar (Smashing Pumpkins and The Strokes) and chess with his older brother and would like to be an audiobook narrator. He will study biochemistry at the University of Arkansas on a pre-med track in the fall. RB

Age: 18

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: Little Rock Central High School

Parent: Jing Xu College plans: Yale University or Brown University

Aaron Liu always tries his best. That’s the way he was raised. It’s a philosophy instilled by parents that led the Little Rock Central High School senior to being the top-ranked student at his school and scoring a 36 on the ACT. “If I don’t try to a certain extent, I feel kind of guilty on the inside, because it feels like I’m not putting in all my effort and I’m just wasting the time I’m spending here,” he said. Aaron will be applying his work ethic either at Yale University or Brown University in the fall and he plans to study biochemistry. “I think it has a lot of applicability in the real world,” he said. “It allows for research and studying the natural world, which I’m pretty interested in. It opens up a lot of possibilities for new discoveries.” Aaron, who said he might want to become a doctor, has participated in a variety of extracurricular activities and was named Arkansas Quiz Bowl All Star, but it was his role in a school club that helped him grow as a leader, his counselor Kim Williams said. “Aaron is a naturally shy student, but his leadership skills have grown since becoming Mu Alpha Theta president,” she said. Aaron also enjoys playing piano, although he didn’t always like it. He says he was dragged into piano as a child but has come to enjoy it. He enjoys playing classical music, including the technically difficult pieces by Chopin, as well as songs by Coldplay and The Chainsmokers. GC

Age: 18

Hometown: Springdale

High School: Har-Ber High School

Parents: Timothy and Jessica Graham

College plans: Georgetown University

Don’t be surprised if you see the name Knox Graham in the future, maybe even in the political sphere. As the two-time Team Captain of Arkansas Student Congress, the first-place winner for International Extemporaneous Speaking in state debate competitions and state chairman of Arkansas’s Teen Republicans chapter, it’s not surprising that Knox had astonishingly polished answers for any question we threw his way, including some complicated ones about growth and inequity. “When it comes to economics in our state, we need to create something out of nothing,” Knox said when asked about how to ensure economic growth across lines of income and inequity. “Economics isn’t a zero-sum game.” At Georgetown, Knox plans to study international political economy (think: an economics degree that focuses less on economic theory and more on how we practice economics across digital and international lines.). “I’ve always been fascinated with the science of how people use money, how they make decisions for themselves and how they’re incentivized to do that.” One of his teachers described him as “uncommonly motivated,” and another called him “a scholar, a gifted speaker, a talented writer, a friend, an academic and, most of all, a true leader.” And, maybe luckily for us here in Arkansas, Knox dreams of turning his talents homeward once he’s established his career path; he sees Northwest Arkansas as ripe for innovation and even more exponential growth. “Arkansas is a very vibrant place to find a job and to make a living for yourself, in part because it provides a lot of economic opportunity for yourself, and also because it’s a great place to raise your family. We have very strong cultural institutions here. Arkansas is a place where we’re very involved with each other. We care about each other.” On that note, Knox has spent some of his high school career volunteering with Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Arkansas United and Benton County- and Washington County-based campaigns for state Senate and Congress during the 2022 election season. SS

TONY JIMENEZ

Age: 18

Hometown: Conway

High School: Conway High School

Parents: Juan and Leyla Jimenez

College plans: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sometimes school feels like a game to Tony Jimenez. And it’s a game he’s winning. From trying to see how quickly he can finish all his homework to seeing how perfectly he can perform on all his tests, Tony finds joy in his schoolwork. “It was just really fun,” he said. “In high school, it’s certainly been more stressful, but I still find joy in just sitting down and doing homework and just learning new things.” Tony has even created an online study guide for each of the 13 AP classes he has taken. The 300-page online document is so impressive that his counselor said he could sell the guides but has given it away instead. “He wants his classmates to do well on the AP test as well,” said his counselor, Cameron Jernigan. The son of a father who didn’t attend college and a mother who didn’t graduate high school, Tony is headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a full-ride scholarship. He scored a 35 on the ACT, is ranked in the top 10 of his class of 682 and ascribes his success to “genetic” and “situational” lotteries that gave him the skills to achieve. Tony’s success in school has left him feeling in debt to those who have supported him. “I try to pay it in hard work,” he said. “I try to pay it in love. Ultimately, I am very grateful to owe it.” GC

Age: 17

Hometown: Little Rock

High School: Pulaski Academy

Parents: Tariq Parray and Sameera Farooqi College plans: University of Virginia

When Mariam Parray was tutoring at Little Rock’s Mathnasium, she was drawn to a Thelonious Monk quote on the wall that said, “All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians,” not because it was pertinent to her life, but because of the contrast between her math skills — a subject where she’s always excelled — and her musical abilities as a flutist, an area where she lacked confidence. “I didn’t really understand how something that felt rigid like math could be tied to something as creative as music,” she said. While isolated at home during the pandemic her freshman year, she found a passion for music when she was able to practice purely for the sake of enjoyment without the pressure of a performance or being compared to others. Over time she learned how the fields of math and music were not only connected, but could be applied to other areas in life as well. “No matter what problems we face in what fields, we can always embed some type of creativity into our logic,” she said. “As I’ve gotten older I’ve tried to embrace this sense of being interdisciplinary.” Mariam is ranked No. 1 in her class. She is a National Merit Finalist, president of the Model UN, president of the school band, captain of the lacrosse team and co-captain of the Quiz Bowl team. A member of her school’s Amnesty program, she’s found a passion for social justice and being able to uplift others and tell their stories, she said. A prolific researcher, she was the winner of the American Foreign Service Association’s National High School Essay Contest and got to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In her junior year she submitted a 42page paper to the Concord Review — the longest paper a PA student has ever submitted — about how Islam has functioned in Russia during the Russian Empire, the Soviet era and beyond. She also submitted a paper addressing the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. “I think there’s an overarching theme in my passions of understanding how people’s identities function in the world,” she said. RB

ALLY ALHAJJAJ Benton High School

KIYA BRITT Bryant High School

RILEY BRYANT Central Arkansas Christian School

MELANIE CASTILLO Fordyce High School

BLAKE COVERT Benton High School

JACK DIGNAN Berryville High School

COLIN FISHER Guy-Perkins High School

KATHERINE FOREMAN Lakeside High School

SCOTT GOWEN Valley View High School

GAVIN HILL Bryant High School

ISAAC HUBBERD eStem High School

ALLISON HUMPHRIES Calico Rock High School

LUCY JOLLEY Joe T. Robinson High School

KACIE KOEN Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts

REESE MCCALLUM Valley View High School

HALEY PERSON Springdale High School

EMMA PRONDZINSKI Nettleton High School

IRENE RAICH Fayetteville High School

ELLA RAPER Conway High School

ZULETTE ROMERO Rogers Heritage High School

JOHN STORER The Academies at Jonesboro High School

NATHAN THURMAN Cabot High School

ETHAN TRITCH Paragould High School

CASSIDY WAIDE Haas Hall Academy at The Jones Center

TRISTAN WENDEL Fountain Lake Charter High School

WILL ZHENG Marion High School

It takes a family to find just where you belong.

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The right path feels less like a job and more like a calling. Is this you?

Doesn’t shy away from hard work with a powerful payo . Is this you?

A company with national reach that feels like a family. That’s Youth Villages.

BATESVILLE

QUINCY BEARD

Southside Charter High School

BAUXITE

REECE ROWLAND

Bauxite High School

BEARDEN

EMMA BEARD

Bearden High School

BENTON

ALLY ALHAJJAJ

Benton High School

BLAKE COVERT

Benton High School

BENTONVILLE SHERLIN JOE

Haas Hall Academy Bentonville

KATE PEARCE

Bentonville High School

JUAN SEGURA

Haas Hall Academy Bentonville

JORDAN STEWART-MITCHELL Thaden School

DINESH VASIREDDY

Bentonville High School

HADLEY WARD Thaden School

BERRYVILLE

JACK DIGNAN

Berryville High School

ELIZABETH PEREZ

Berryville High School

BRINKLEY

JAMIAH ROBINSON

Brinkley High School

BRYANT

KIYA BRITT Bryant High School

GAVIN HILL

Bryant High School