Based on the Hendrix faculty’s longtime awareness of the educational value of engaged learning, the Odyssey Program was implemented in the fall of 2005 to encourage all Hendrix students to embark on educational adventures in experiential learning. The graduation requirement includes the
completion of an approved experience in at least three of the six Odyssey categories, which importantly allows students to learn more about themselves and the world around them. For more information, visit the
Odyssey Program Info Hub.
Below you will find examples of ways students pursuing a major Health Sciences have encountered Odyssey. Remember that these are only suggested opportunities; students are encouraged to propose their own creative Odyssey projects. Further, Odyssey experiences do not need to be related to
your major or minor.
Established Pathways to Odyssey through
the BIOL Major
Undergraduate Research
Students in Biology can achieve UR Odyssey credit through research experiences in the following classes:
· BIOL 435 – Cancer Biology with Lab
· HESC 499 – Independent Studies (research done with Biology faculty)
Professional and Leadership Development
The Health Sciences Program includes an internship experience as one of the graduation requirements. Students are encouraged to complete their internships in the medical field disciplines they are considering for their career. See examples provided below.
· Places where HESC students have interned include:
o Local/regional
o Batesville Therapy Clinic
o Carson Physical Therapy
o Acute Care Physical Therapy at Conway Regional
o Beard Family Chiropractic
o Conway Human Development Center
o Conway Regional Therapy Center
o Hurley Chiropractic and Wellness Center
o Pediatrics Plus
o Salem Place Nursing and Rehab
o Conway Animal Clinic
o Conway Regional Hospital
o Greenbrier Nursing and Rehab Center
o Advanced Allergy and Asthma Clinic
o AR Department of Health and UAMS College of Public Health
o Arkansas Children’s Hospital
o Bowen Hefley Orthopedics
o D1 Sports Training
o Little Rock Zoo
o Allied Therapy
o Further afield
o Studying Nutrition in Head and Neck Oncology at the University of Michigan Health System
o Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital in Shenzhen, China
o SCC Health Lutheran in Wheat Ridge, CO
o CHI Health St. Elizabeth in Lincoln, NE
o Physical Therapy Professionals in Reno, NV
o C4 Sports Performance and Fitness in Durant, OK
o React Neuro Rehab in Addison, TX
o Orthopedic Physical Therapy in Corpus Christi, TX
o Kinetik Chain Chiropractic in Dallas, TX
o Spring Valley Dental Associates in Dallas, TX
o Synergy Wellness and Performance in Dllas, TX
o Peak Physical Therapy in Princeton, TX
o Texas Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine in Tomball, TX
Examples of Other Past Odyssey Experiences related
to the HESC Program
· Other PL experiences have been achieved through the following projects:
o IRIS Mentor
o Stead Scholars Program
o Intercollegiate Athletics Leadership Program
o Student Outreach Academic Resources (SOAR)
o A Journey into the Field of Public Health
o Supplemental Dry Land Training for Special Olympics
Special Projects
· Medicine in Society
· Explorations Peer Assistant
· Lessons Learned: True Stories of Humanitarian Responders on the Front Line, Editorial Assistantship
Service to the World
· City of Hope Outreach volunteer
· Serving Central Arkansas Through Science Experiences
· Student Note Taking
· Hendrix Well-Being Coalition
· Miller Center Service Fellowship
· Exploring Medicine, Linguistics, and Culture in Rural Peru
· Volunteering at the Humane Society of Pulaski County
· Conway Animal Welfare
· Arkansas Children’s Hospital Volunteer
· Volunteering at the 12th Street Health Clinic Owned by UAMS
Global Awareness
· An Investigation of the Chinese Health Care System with Regards to Modern and Traditional Chinese Medical Treatment
· Exploring Health and Wellness in Germany
· Study Abroad
Many of our students pursue original research with faculty on our campus and elsewhere. Below you will find examples of research topics and programs that students have used for UR credit on-campus and off-campus.
· On-campus
o Form and function of mammalian skeletal muscles (Dearolf)
o Interplay between transcription and chromatin structure (Duina)
o The physiology of stress tolerance in insects (Gantz)
o Evolution of viruses, bacteria, and snakes (Harper)
o Understanding how different components of a tumor alter cancer progression; Understanding factors that lead to increased student success in the sciences (MacDonald)
o Human impacts on wildlife behavior and conservation (McClung)
o Ecology of grasslands, tropical ecology, conservation (Moran)
o (Murray)
o Plant evolution, building and apply phylogenetic trees (Schneider)
o Bdelloid rotifers as a model system for DNA repair (Schurko)
· Off-campus
o Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU):
LINK>
o University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS):
o Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE):