The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts held its 32nd 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.
Reed said she works with researchers and clinicians at UAMS to help them move their discoveries beyond the lab toward having a real-world impact, helping them “bridge the gap between early research and the people it could eventually help.”
Where she is now professionally isn’t the same place she imagined she would be when she first came to ASMSA. She grew up in Magnet Cove, a small town with a population of less than 1,000 people located between Hot Springs and Malvern. Her understanding of what was possible was shaped mostly by what she saw around her.
Her parents, however, dreamed of her going to college as a first-generation student one day. She watched her father build a business from the ground up, allowing her to see what it was “like to work hard, to solve problems and to create something from nothing. I didn’t have the words for it at the time, but that was my first exposure to entrepreneurship.”
When she arrived at ASMSA, she had a plan — go to ASMSA for the arts, go to college for music and become a music teacher. That plan began to shift when she took the Folk Music and Acoustics class, which combined music with physics and mathematics.
“And for the first time, something clicked. Science wasn’t separate from creativity. It was another way of understanding the world, and I think the realization changed more for me than I understood at the time. Up until then, I think I viewed people as being either ‘creative’ or ‘scientific.’ But suddenly I realized those things could exist together. Curiosity existed in both places. Problem solving existed in both places.”
Reed’s participation in her first science fair at ASMSA further cemented that idea. Her project was her first real exposure to science outside of a classroom lecture, and it instilled a confidence in her abilities, interests and passion. She was inspired to pursue a doctorate in biochemistry to study how aggressive brain tumors resist current treatment options after losing her grandmother to an aggressive brain tumor.
She realized during her time in the lab that even when promising discoveries are made in the lab that many of them never made it to patients. During her postdoctoral training, she participated in a fellowship that trained scientists to do that. She took a scientific idea and developed it into a business concept, eventually pitching that work at events.
Reed remembers walking into some of those spaces and feeling completely out of place. She would see teams from schools that people often describe as “top” or “elite” and wonder if she belonged there. Over time, Reed realized something that she felt was important for the current graduates to understand.
“The ideas coming out of Arkansas are just as strong. The research coming out of Arkansas is just as meaningful. The innovation in Arkansas is just as creative,” she said.
The difference isn’t talent but access — access to resources, mentors and networks. Once she realized that, her perspective changed. “Your lived experiences are not something to overcome. They are something to build from,” she said.
Talent exists everywhere, and great ideas can come from anywhere, including in Arkansas, she said. Sometimes the biggest barrier is not ability but in the belief that you belong in the first place.
It’s also important to understand that your journey won’t be a straight line and that their path may eventually be very different than what they originally imagined, Reed said. While their current paths may take them out of state, she encouraged the Class of 2026 to remember one thing.
“Wherever life takes you, I hope you remember this: Places like Arkansas need people like you,” Reed said. “People who are willing to build. People who are willing to lead. People who are willing to create opportunities where they didn’t exist before.
“Leadership isn’t always about going somewhere bigger. Sometimes it’s about helping something become better.”
Vidal spoke about learning the lesson of letting go — whether that is of perfectionism, one’s ego, ideas of perfect friendship, familiar and comfortable settings — and coming out on the other side loving the challenges and experience of ASMSA.
He spoke about his first day on campus after saying goodbye to his parents on move-in day. Before they left, he hugged his mom tightly, “tighter than I ever had before.” Once he was alone in his room, he stared at the family photo he had on his desk.
“Alone, I started to cry, hoping my mom would come through the door any moment to console me. But she didn’t, and that was the best thing that could’ve happened to me,” Vidal said.
He reminisced about a question that Stuart Flynn, the dean of academic affairs, asked him during an academic overview session during the first week of school — do you consider yourself a perfectionist. Vidal answered no but knew deep down that he had struggled with perfectionism in many areas of his life.
That included his academics. Before attending ASMSA, he never struggled with school and didn’t learn how to properly study. That changed quickly, he said, when he received his first failing grade ever. He was so scared and disappointed in himself that he dropped the class.
“My perfectionist mindset had convinced me that was my only solution, but it wasn’t. It was just a learning point, a time to reflect on what went wrong, and I noticed that ASMSA began teaching me things outside of the classroom,” he said.
He was trying to be the perfect friend, the perfect student and the perfect son when he wasn’t sure if he knew how to be. While he eventually learned to let go of that first failing grade, he still had a tough challenge ahead.
“I had to learn to love myself, whether I failed a test or broke a promise. One of my favorite things about ASMSA is the people. Every person has their own passion, niche, their own unique qualities, and most importantly, confidence. Seeing my friends love me, and love themselves, showed me that letting go of that perfectionist mindset was not just OK but better for me.”
'To love is to let go'
Vidal spoke about all the moments that make being a student at ASMSA special, both inside and outside of the classroom. That ranged from staying up late to finish an assignment to finding ladybugs chilling on the couch in his room to trips to Walmart and Sonic or visiting West Mountain.
“The problem about moments like those is that you can’t stay in them forever. The Sonic slush melts. The sun sets. The song ends. You go back to your separate lives, and those small moments turn into lasting memories,” he said.
“But every time I’ve had to let go of something at ASMSA — my mom, my ego, my idea of a perfect friendship, I have reflected and come out on the other side knowing how much I truly loved it all. You won’t always know what something means to you until you have to let go of it. … Today, ASMSA teaches us its last lesson: To love is to let go.”
Trimming to grow stronger
Conn began by sharing how she worked at a family friend’s greenhouse during Spring Break earlier this year. Her first task was to trim growth from a plant that appeared to be very healthy and could appear on the cover of Better Home and Gardens magazine. She was initially confused as to why she needed to trim it. The family friend explained that trimming the plant would help it grow back stronger.
Conn said she was much like that plant when she first came to ASMSA as a sophomore. Her sending school was adequate but applying to ASMSA was like taking the clippers and trimming her leaves.
“We all applied; we chose to be here. Like the (plant), we cut off our perfectly working vines, we gave up guarantees of becoming valedictorian, being the captain of that one team, and always being referred to as the ‘smart’ kid for something new,” she said.
Graduating from ASMSA is like another period of leaf trimming, leaving a place they began to call home. While they may be trimming their leaves, she encouraged her classmates to not forget their roots.
“So as sad as it makes me, we can now leave our senioritis to rest. Just like the plants at the nursery, we are all about to be shipped to different places,” she said.
Graduates by county
The following is a list of graduates listed by county:
Arkansas: Isaac Cotton of Stuttgart
Ashley: Mackenzie Curl of Crossett, Rozy Newhouser of Crossett
Benton: Aarush Goyal of Bentonville, Priya James of Mountainburg (formerly of Decatur), Lydia Robertson of Pea Ridge
Boone: Nathan Allred of Harrison
Carroll: Nakoa Beattie of Monticello (formerly of Eureka Springs)
Chicot: Elijah Stanton of Eudora
Clark: Benjamin Dong of Arkadelphia, Sephorah Faiq of Arkadelphia, Brylee Hughes of Gurdon, Grey Ivy of Paragould (formerly of Arkadelphia), Caleb Keeling of Arkadelphia, Emma Sedgwick of Arkadelphia, Kate Sedgwick of Arkadelphia
Clay: Jade Espinoza of Corning
Cleburne: Elijah Antonacci of Greers Ferry
Cleveland: Lilly Gray of Conway (formerly of Rison)
Craighead: Sophie Milton of Jonesboro, Reagan Nelson of Jonesboro, Raegan Smith of Jonesboro
Crawford: Grace Ann Conn of Van Buren, Priya James of Mountainburg, Nora Medlock of Dyer
Crittenden: Jhada Armstrong of Hot Springs (formerly of West Memphis), Ridgely Bond of Marion,
Drew: Nakoa Beattie of Monticello, Eli Gregory of Monticello
Faulkner: Bailey Bray of Greenbrier, KC Cavin of Mount Vernon, Micaela Collver of Greenbrier, Joe Cotabish of Conway, Lilly Gray of Conway, Claira Hartig of Greenbrier, Tristan Henson of Maumelle (formerly of Conway), Miranda Lee of Conway, Tanvi Marupally of Conway, Montgomery Wines of Vilonia
Fulton: Bryce Jackson of Salem
Garland: Jhada Armstrong of Hot Springs, Kace Capshaw of Hot Springs, Matthew Carter of Hot Springs, Giea de los Reyes of Hot Springs, Nathan Harbut of Hot Springs, Max Monroe of Hot Springs, Bianca Navarro of Hot Springs, Cassie Rudnicki of Hot Springs Village, Sarah Tanner of Hot Springs, Faith Wesley of Hot Springs
Grant: Paola Sustaita of Sheridan
Greene: Grey Ivy of Paragould, Abdissa Omer of Paragould
Hempstead: Colton Melson of Springdale (formerly of Nashville), Winston Wang of Hope
Jefferson: Halie Cook of Pine Bluff, Nathan McQueen of White Hall, Payton Stinnett of Redfield, Kaitleen Toh of Little Rock (formerly of White Hall)
Johnson: Dray Makepeace of Hagarville
Little River County: Jordan Gauldin of Foreman
Lonoke: Catherine Van Dorple of Cabot
Mississippi: Bridger Foyt of Blytheville, Nathan Grady of Blytheville
Newton: Mason Sims of Compton
Ouachita: Andrew Archer of Camden
Perry: Stevie Watkins of Perryville
Phillips: Maddie Helton of West Helena
Pike: Addie Nance of Delight
Pope: Beckett Beam of Russellville, Alexander Cox of Russellville, Sophia Lee of Russellville, Derek Ramey of Dardanelle, Gavin Rion of Pottsville, Subi Shakya of Russellville, Kian Shojaei of Russellville, Mason Vaden of Dardanelle
Pulaski: Graydon Anderson of Little Rock, Jeremiah Chen of North Little Rock, Violet Dailey of Sherwood, Phoenix Dunkley of Little Rock, Jack Ghotra of Little Rock, Aarush Goyal of Bentonville (formerly of Little Rock), Tristan Henson of Maumelle, Donovan Hurtarte of Little Rock, Rasikh Imam of Little Rock, Zee Kidd of Little Rock, Natalie Laryea of Maumelle, Madeline Lee of Maumelle, Michelle Li of Sherwood, Emily Lin of Little Rock, Errol Nagy of Little Rock, Jun Park of Maumelle, Rose Patella of Little Rock, Tatum Polzin of Little Rock, D’Kirrah Ragland of North Little Rock, Lisandro Ramos of Little Rock, Kaitleen Toh of Little Rock, Celeste White of North Little Rock
Saline: Beau Goldthorpe of Benton, Bella Guzman of Benton, Afton Krebs of Alexander, Makenna Kutzschebauch of Benton, Kira Marshall of Benton, Reese Wells of Benton, Kaiyan Yu of Benton
Sebastian: Anna Le of Fort Smith, Luis Vidal Jr. of Fort Smith
Sharp: Coley Rogers of Cherokee Village, Emma Sedgwick of Arkadelphia (formerly of Sharp County), Kate Sedgwick of Arkadelphia (formerly of Sharp County)
Stone: Mason Vaden of Dardanelle (formerly of Mountain View)
Union: Paul Boerwinkle of El Dorado
Van Buren: Jacob Lewis of Clinton
Washington: Colton Melson of Springdale, Malee Vang of Lincoln
Yell: Dahlia Cortez-Woodard of Plainview, Riley Richardson of Belleville