Students will begin taking final exams next week and then we will host several in-person Commencement ceremonies. It has been a unique year, to say the least, but I feel like we are turning a corner, and we are all ready for a return to a more traditional campus life experience.
The nurses, doctors and other staff in the Pat Walker Health Center have been at the forefront of our COVID-19 pandemic response since the virus was first discussed on the world stage in January 2020. They provided testing for students, faculty and staff and then became a vaccination center for everyone on campus. This group has had to pivot like the rest of campus, and they have done an excellent job of managing an ever-changing situation.
It is wonderful to see a student have a vision for a huge project and be able to carry it out. That’s what the story on the Schools of the SEC Food Fight is all about. Our Full Circle Food Pantry created and competed in a Southeastern Conference wide Food Fight to stock the shelves of the campus food pantries across the SEC.
That student, Briana Roden, is also the subject of our student Q&A. Briana works in the pantry and conceived of the competition among all 13 food pantries in the SEC. Our staff Q&A is with Sage McCoy, food programs coordinator in the Center for Community Engagement. McCoy is an Alumnae who is doing amazing work around food insecurity issues and more.
And last but certainly not least, we have stories about a couple of staff members who recently won awards – Mary Skinner in Student Activities and Adrain Smith in the Multicultural Center.
Thanks for checking out the May issue of the Student Affairs Bulletin. If you’re interested in more information about anything you read here, or have other story ideas, please email Scott Flanagin, executive director of communications at sflanagi@uark.edu.