The Hendrix College Committee on Engaged Learning is pleased to announce $39,178.72 in Odyssey Program funding awarded to 12 projects.
These projects involve a range of academic, professional, and personal explorations through experiences from researching how personal experiences and emotions shape the design, style, size, placement, and willingness to pay for tattoos and how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi respond to environmental changes to undertaking internships in auditing with an accounting company and in development with a philharmonic organization, and much more.
Since 2005, the Committee on Engaged Learning has awarded more than $5 million — $5,333,736.08 to be exact — in competitive Odyssey grants to support 1,614 projects by Hendrix students, faculty, and staff.
Odyssey Category: Global Awareness
Dr. Jenn Dearolf
Exploring the Belize Coral Reef – Associated with BIOL 335: Marine Biology
In May, Dr. Dearolf and students from her Marine Biology class, along with Dr. Brent Yorgey, associate professor of computer science, will visit Ambergris Caye, an island off the coast of Belize, where they will explore the coral reef and study its organisms while learning from marine biology professionals, assessing the success of conservation efforts, and collecting data for a research project.
Raahi Kapoor ’27
Culture and Photography in the Himalayas
Supervisor: Dr. Colleen Mayo
Co-sponsored by the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation
Raahi will spend 10 days in Dalhousie photographing and writing about lower Himalayan mountain culture. This project's goal is to create an immersive exhibition through writing and visuals which communicates Himalayan culture and lifestyle.
Odyssey Category: Professional and Leadership Development
Izzi Metteauer ’27
Internship: South Carolina Philharmonic
Supervisor: Tricia Buris
Izzi will spend 12 weeks in Colombia, S. C., working with the development department of the South Carolina Philharmonic. This will help her gain experience in development for a music-based institution in preparation for entering this field upon graduation.
Oliver Naumann, December ’25
Frost Auditing Internship
Supervisor: Tricia Burris
Over the summer, Oliver will work at Frost PLLC in Little Rock. During this time, he will work with professional accounting staff to aid in the performance of various audits.
Odyssey Category: Service to the World
Lace Chaffin ’26
Providing Fresh Produce for Conway’s Food Pantries through Maintaining the Hendrix Garden
Supervisor: Dr. Candice Thomas
Lace will help build ties with Conway-area food pantries through donating produce from the Hendrix campus garden and educating individuals about the importance of participating in the sale of local produce.
Odyssey Category: Special Projects
Tannah LaRue ’27
Tattoo Apprenticeship: Exploring Willingness to Pay for Empirical Aesthetics
Supervisor: Dr. James Dow
Tannah will continue an apprenticeship designing and producing tattoos while exploring how personal experiences and emotions shape the design, style, size, and placement of the tattoos and how these factors impact pricing, to understand the tattoo industry.
Sarah Mulhearn ’27
Norway's Wool History: The Process from Sheep to Yarn
Supervisor: Dr. Sasha Pfau
Sarah will spend a week and a half in Norway exploring the wool and textile industry by visiting sheep farms and museums to learn the cultural history behind knitting in Norway and protect the dying artforms of knitting and handspun yarn. She will end her project by spinning yarn herself and knitting the Selbu mittens, a traditional Norwegian pattern.
Odyssey Category: Undergraduate Research
Reagan Crump ’27
Nonlinearity of Piecewise Matrix Transformations
Supervisor: Dr. Lars Seme
Reagan will complete research in mathematics over the summer, investigating the possibility of producing and controlling dynamical behavior in two and three dimensions, building upon experiences in linear algebra and computer programming. She will start by using a combination of matrices to determine if chaos is possible.
Brian Gittens ’26
Beyond the Bar: Uncovering the Path to Successful Law School Completion
Supervisor: Dr. Delphia Shanks
Brian aims to uncover often overlooked factors that contribute to law school success, such as financial stability, academic preparation, and psychosocial support. He plans to highlight how these elements, beyond just grades and test scores, impact a lawyer’s ability to thrive.
Rowan McCollum ’26
Replication of G-quadruplex DNA by Translesion Polymerases
Supervisor: Dr. Julie Gunderson
During the spring and summer of 2025, Rowan will work in Dr. Julie Gunderson's research laboratory, as well as participate as a member of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in the lab of Dr. Robert Eoff. The research focuses on the role of translesion polymerases in faithfully replicating G-quadruplex DNA and aims to improve understanding of the biological pathways that have evolved to maintain important genomic regions across organisms.
Cake Seeboonruang ’27
Studying Replication of G-quadruplex DNA by Translesion Polymerases
Supervisor: Dr. Julie Gunderson
During the summer of 2025, Cake will work with Dr. Julie Gunderson at Hendrix College and Dr. Robert Eoff at UAMS through the 10-week Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program to further her biochemistry laboratory skills. She will test the DHX36 protein and carry out single-molecule fluorescence experiments in hopes of learning more about the G-quadruplex region of the DNA.
Ty Tillman ’27
Investigating Responses of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to the Rapid Transitioning Environment of Lake Conway
Supervisor: Dr. Matthew Reid
Ty Tillman will take advantage of the rare opportunity to study how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) respond to environmental changes through using the conditions provided by the drawdown of Lake Conway. To ascertain how AMF responds to environmental changes, Ty will collect soil and plant root samples to estimate AMF abundance along the inundation gradient which will provide insight into AMF’s ability to colonize newly exposed areas.
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.” –Hendrix College Statement of Purpose