Five students were recently recognized as outstanding students by their departments in the College of Liberal and Performing Arts at Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia.
Jessica Leigh Brown, a double major in criminal justice and political science from Prescott , was named the Outstanding Student for the entire College. She was also the Outstanding Student from the Department of History, Political Science, and Geography and the Department of Behavioral and Social Science.
While maintaining a 4.0 grade point average during her time at SAU, Brown has remained active in the Criminal Justice Club, Pre-Law Club, and Pi Gamma Mu, the international social sciences honor society. Off campus, she has served in a supervisor’s position at El Dorado High School, where she tutored students in history, Engish, business law, and ethics. She also trains new tutors.
During her summers, Brown has spent time with mission work. Her outreach carries on in the form of mission and foreign aid trips which she has taken with the Wyatt Baptist Church in El Dorado. These have led her to such places as Ghana, West Africa, and most recently to Nicaragua, Central America.
Brown is married to Logan, a student at SAU Tech and a former Operation Iraqi Freedom fighter. Logan received a Bronze Star for his actions while there.
The couple is looking forward to their future together as Jessica heads toward law school and more mission trips with their church.
The Department of Art and Design recognized Kassie Holloway as its Outstanding Student. Holloway is a graphic design major from Haynesville, La.
Holloway was the recipient of the Shirley Jeffcoat Combs Scholarship. During the spring semester, she worked as an intern at Southern Aluminum in Magnolia. After graduation, she will move to Shreveport, La., and look for work. She has also continued her work as a freelance designer while maintaining her duties as a student worker for the Department.
She has volunteered in campus and community projects and is a member of Pivot Point and the American Institution for Graphic Artist.
Sharee Robinson was named the Department of Music Outstanding Student. Robinson is a music major from Alma.
She served two years as the assistant music director for the First Presbyterian Church in Magnolia. She was also an assistant director of the Harvest Time Tabernacle Youth Choir in Fort Smith. Robinson plays the piano and bassoon. While attending college at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, Robinson taught lessons for the Kimmons Junior High Band.
Jennifer Walsh, a mass communication-print journalism major from Magnolia, was named the Department of Theatre and Mass Communication Outstanding Student.
While at SAU, Walsh served as editor of The Bray, the student newspaper. She is also a member of Alpha Chi, Sigma Beta Delta, and Beta Gamma Sigma.
She currently works as an accounts payable clerk at South Arkansas Youth Services, Inc., in Magnolia.
The Department of English and Foreign Languages named Elena Yakunina as its Outstanding Student. Yakunina is a double major in English and psychology.
Yakunina has been on the English language track since she was 16 years old. She had to choose her field before leaving for the University of Sofia in Bulgaria, where she spent three years before coming to SAU.
Not too long after she arrived at SAU, Yakunina decided to add psychology as a second major to her studies.
Yakunina has membership in the Southwestern Psychological Association, Psi Chi, Alpha Chi, and the National Academic Honor Societies. She is an active member of Sigma Tau Delta and the French Club. She has also served as a part-time volunteer at the Women’s Crisis Center in Camden.
After graduation, Yakunina will continue her education at the University of Akron in Ohio to pursue her Ph.D. in psychology in the field of counseling adults.
