Author: Donnie Sewell

Kemdi Ekeanyanwu, a student at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, placed in the top 5 national High School Three-Minute Thesis (HS3MT) competition.

Ekeanyanwu, a junior from Little Rock, was one of four national Honorable Mention recipients in the contest in addition to the one winner. HS3MT is a national competition that challenges high school students to turn research in all disciplines (STEM, humanities, social sciences and more) into clear and powerful presentations, according to the competition’s website. Each talk is limited to three minutes while using one slide and no props. Competitors submit videos of their presentations which are later judged. The competition follows the model for the Three-Minute Thesis competition that features college competitors.

Ekeanyanwu’s presentation focused on his research on the disparity in youth’s cardiovascular health. “As the leading cause of death, heart disease impacts millions (of people) a year and disproportionately affects communities,” he said. “My project aimed to locate the disparity and address it before it solidifies in adulthood by assessing a set of biomarkers.”

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts held its 32^nd annual Commencement celebrating the graduation of the Class of 2026 at the Oaklawn Event Center on Saturday, May 16.

The ceremony honored 107 graduates from 40 counties. The graduates earned almost $32.5 million in scholarship offers, pushing the overall total to $386.2 million over the school’s history. Megan Reed, Ph.D., MBA, who is a member of ASMSA Class of 2010 and serves as a senior licensing associate at BioVentures, the technology transfer office at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, served as the commencement’s keynote speaker. Grace Ann Conn and Luis Vidal Jr., both members of the Class of 2026, were student speakers.

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts held its annual Honors Convocation on Monday, May 11. The Honors Convocation is an opportunity to recognize students’ academic achievements for the school year as well as special awards and fellowships.

Zee Kidd, a senior from Little Rock, was featured as a student speaker during the event. Kidd encouraged her fellow members of the Class of 2026 to reflect on how they see the world, each other and themselves. She described how she first felt upon arriving at ASMSA, wondering if she belonged. Her experience as a student resulted in her learning to not view the world for what it is currently but for what it could be.

“Visualize a world where we refuse to see the world for what it is and take action to turn it into what we want it to be,” Kidd said. “Look beyond your doubts and hesitations. Look beyond your insecurities and abandon your preconceptions.”

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts recognized students for their achievements in the 2026 Arts and Humanities Research Capstone Symposium during its annual Honors Convocation on May 11.

The symposium is an opportunity for ASMSA students to showcase their talents within the arts and humanities. The event, which was held on May 1, features lectures and performances by students in the fields of humanities, creative writing, fine arts and film. The lectures and performances are the result of capstone research projects conducted by the students as a required part of ASMSA’s academic program.

Humanities

1. Paris Goodman, a junior from Black Rock 2. Destiny Martin, a junior from DeValls Bluff
   Best Presentation: Collisa Bucknor, a junior from Little Rock

Creative Writing

Fiction: 1. Priya James, a senior from Mountainburg 2. Clem Sutterfield, a junior from Little Rock 3. Spencer Bryant, a junior from Little Rock

Poetry: 1. Judah Raimondi, a junior from Summit

Creative Writing — Senior: 1. Halie Cook, a senior from Pine Bluff

Best Symposium Reading: Leo Grimes, a junior from Hot Springs

Fine Arts

Junior: 1. Andy Kneebone, a junior from Arkadelphia 2. Cotton Foyt, a junior from Blytheville 3. JD Whitworth, a junior from Paragould

Senior: 1. Coley Rogers, a senior from Cherokee Village 2. Brylee Hughes, a senior from Gurdon 3. KC Cavin, a senior from Mount Vernon

Best in Show: “Before the Fin” by JD Whitworth, a junior from Paragould

Film

1. Addison Schulist, a junior from Russell 2. Dane Adamson, a junior from Lonoke 3. Douglas Reeves, a junior from Sherwood

Several students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts earned recognition at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair, including taking top honors in various categories as well as qualifying for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.

Miranda Lee, a senior from Conway, won the George Scheffer Best in State Award for placing first in the Best in State Individual Awards category. The team of seniors Nathan Grady of Blytheville, Emily Lin of Little Rock and Kaitleen Toh of Little Rock placed third in the Best in State Individual category. The category features all projects in the competition that includes all category competitors as well as competitors in the ISEF Finalist category.

Lee and the team of Grady, Lin and Toh competed in the ISEF Finalist category at the state event. Each of them had already earned a trip to ISEF by placing in the top three overall projects at the West Central Regional Science Fair held at ASMSA in February.

Five other students earned trips to ISEF through the state competition held at the University of Central Arkansas on April 3. Aarush Goyal, a senior from Bentonville; Nathan Harbut, a senior from Hot Springs; Isaac Cotton, a senior from Stuttgart; and the team of seniors Beau Goldthorpe of Benton and Stevie Watkins of Perryville qualified for the international competition that will be held in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 9-15.

Through qualification at either the state science fair or the West Central Regional Science Fair, ASMSA is set to send 10 students to this year’s ISEF competition, matching the single-most students in a year since 10 qualified for the 2020 ISEF competition. Senior Tanvi Marupally of Conway is the 10^th student who earned an ISEF slot by winning first-place overall at this year’s West Central Regional Science Fair.

When Donovan Hurtarte learned about The Presidential 1776 Award for Civics competition, he saw it as an opportunity he couldn’t ignore.

“I’ve always believed that if something challenges you and aligns with your interests, you should always go for it,” said Hurtarte, a senior from Little Rock.

The Presidential 1776 Award for Civics is a national civics competition that challenges high school students in ninth through 12^th grades to test their knowledge of the founding of America and the ideas that shaped the country. Hurtarte qualified for the in-person regional semifinal round that will be held Saturday, May 2, at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta. Regional semifinals will also be held at presidential libraries in Boston; Dallas; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Yorba Linda, Calif.

The award-winning Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Wind Ensemble will hold its spring concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, in the Creativity and Innovation Complex on the school’s campus.

The Wind Ensemble earned top honors at the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association 2026 Class 3A State Concert Contest that was held at Searcy High School on April 15. Fifteen bands competed at the state contest. ASMSA earned First Division (Superior) ratings from all three judges.

By scoring top honors at the state contest, ASMSA will serve as the Honor Ensemble at the 2027 state contest. It will be the second time in three years that ASMSA will have that privilege. ASMSA won top honors at the 2024 contest, which qualified it to serve as the Honor Ensemble in 2025. ASMSA scored First Division (Superior) ratings at the 2025 contest, but ASBOA rules prevent schools from serving as the honor band in consecutive years.

Tuesday’s spring concert will feature Arkansas Composer Laureate Dr. W. Francis McBeth’s seminal work “Of Sailors and Whales” with narration by Dr. Dan Kostopulos, an ASMSA humanities Instructor of Excellence. The performance of Philip Sparke’s “Wind in the Reeds” will feature Dr. Thomas Dempter, ASMSA’s Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities, on solo bassoon.

The concert is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Oaklawn Foundation Community Center in the Creativity and Innovation Complex, located at 200 Whittington Ave.

The Arkansas Activities Association Spring 2026 Esports Championships will be held at The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts on Thursday, April 30.

Twelve teams from high schools across the state will play for titles in three games: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Rocket League and Madden NFL 26. Schools set to compete include:

• Mario Kart Deluxe: Valley View High School, Bentonville High School, Buffalo Island Central High School and Fort Smith Northside;
• Rocket League: Cabot High School, El Dorado High School, Bryant High School and Dardanelle High School;
• Madden NFL 26: Pea Ridge High School, Lake Hamilton High School, Newport High School and Trumann High School.

The tournament will be held in the Creativity and Innovation Complex at ASMSA at 200 Whittington Ave. Semifinals for the playoffs will begin at 10 a.m. The tournament is open to the public, and there is an $8 admission fee. Tickets may be purchased on on-site on the day of the tournament, but all they must be purchased electronically. No cash or checks will be accepted.

 

The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Quiz Bowl team will compete for the Arkansas Governor’s Quiz Bowl Association Class 7A state title on Saturday, April 25.

ASMSA will play Fort Smith Southside High School in the championship game, which will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the ArkansasTV studios in Conway. The match will be televised live on ArkansasTV, formerly Arkansas PBS, as well as streamed live on arkansastv.gov/live. The Class 7A game is one of seven championship games set for Saturday.

ASMSA is the defending Class 7A champion, winning the 2025 title game against Bryant High School. It was the second Quiz Bowl title in the school’s history, and it was the first time since 2013 that an ASMSA team had played for the state title.

Several Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students received recognition at the 2026 Arkansas Foreign Language Teacher Association World Languages Competition.

The state foreign language competition included more than 250 students from across the state in several categories that tested their knowledge of French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Turkish, Latin and Chinese. Competition categories include Poetry Recitation, Vocabulary Bee, Extemporaneous Speaking, Extemporaneous Reading, Culture Bowl, Art and Live Sketch, and Drama, Music and Dance. Various levels were included to accommodate multiple levels of language learners. The competition was held March 7 at Harding University in Searcy.