Picture this.
An elementary art classroom full of students eager to let their imaginations run wild. As they begin to draw, paint and make prints, a young boy sits quietly by himself. The boy has a disability. He can’t control his hand muscles, making it difficult for him to fully participate in class projects.
A kiln sits in the far corner of the room. However, without the funds to cover the cost of clay, it remains unused.
Now imagine this.
A group of college students walks into the classroom, with bags of clay nestled underneath their arms. They greet the children and assist them in making crafts with the kiln that will be used as Christmas presents in the near future. More importantly, because of the clay’s plasticity, the young boy is now able let his imagination run wild with the rest of his classmates.
Community Service
Since 2013, OBU Alpha Chi, an interdisciplinary academic honor society comprised of 71 members, has provided 800 pounds of clay to Perritt Primary in Arkadelphia. Through this service project and others, Alpha Chi is making a difference in the lives of local teachers and youth.
“Often the arts are the most neglected subject at any academic institution, so as an educator, especially as an art educator, the fact that OBU Alpha Chi would take interest in our art department is extremely meaningful to me,” said Jane Watson, art teacher at Perritt Primary. “The students look forward to our unit on clay every year, and without Alpha Chi’s contribution, it would never be possible.”
In addition to the clay donations, each year Alpha Chi purchases books for local daycares and pre-K facilities, at which members host pajama days and read bedtime stories to the children. Each child is allowed to take one of the books home. For some of them, it is the first book they will have ever owned.
“The kids love it when we visit the daycares,” said Justin Isenhour, assistant professor of music and co-sponsor for OBU Alpha Chi. “My children were in attendance for one of our visits, and they enjoyed having ‘big’ college ‘kids’ read to them. It made them feel special.”
During the fall 2015 and 2016 semesters, the organization also participated in dissecting sheep plucks with sixth grade students at Goza Middle School. Alpha Chi members coached students through the dissection, teaching them physiological functions and demonstrating safety techniques, while also creating a positive educational environment.
“We really try to encourage the kids to dissect and get involved,” said Cyntanna Hawkins, junior biology major from England, Ark. and secretary for OBU Alpha Chi. “I love the service with the kids and the idea behind it: to get them talking and thinking about college. We want to spur interest in science for the students by showing them that what we do is not boring, it’s fun.”
Collaborative Research
As the only academic honors society on campus that accepts students from all disciplines, OBU Alpha Chi takes pride in its diversity, which is exhibited each year through a collaborative research project put together by a handful of Alpha Chi members from different majors. The past two projects each won first place and $5,000 for OBU Alpha Chi at the 2015 and 2016 Alpha Chi National College Honor Society conventions.
This year’s project will feature the combined research efforts of Hawkins, junior biology major Austin White, senior business administration/marketing and mass communications major Katie Smith and senior biology, chemistry and applied physics major and president of OBU Alpha Chi Jace Bradshaw.
“This year’s theme [Real World Solutions] is pretty vague, and because of that, we wanted to be bold in choosing our research topic. The increasing rate of antibacterial resistance is a problem in Arkansas, the United States and globally, so we definitely saw it as a pressing issue,” Bradshaw said. “There are potential methods to solving this problem. One is finding new bacteria to produce antibiotics, and another is called bacteriophage therapy, which involves using a virus that infects bacteria. We will hypothesize which method is more effective and then conduct economic analysis to give the project a holistic approach.”
The group’s findings will be presented in a 10-page paper and poster presentation at this year’s Alpha Chi National College Honor Society convention in April.
How to Get Involved
“Right now, Alpha Chi is largely officer-driven. So, one of our primary goals moving forward is to generate interest and increase member involvement in our service projects, collaborative research and other events,” said Dr. Lori Hensley, J.D. Patterson Chair of Biology and faculty sponsor for OBU Alpha Chi.
While Dr. Hensley and Dr. Isenhour would like to see increased member participation in Alpha Chi meetings and activities, the organization is in a great position to effectively serve Arkadelphia, make a difference in Arkansas and, through the efforts of its members and graduates, change the world.
“Our past two collaborative research projects have brought home $5,000 and first place, and we have a Ouachita student [Bradshaw] on the national council for the first time ever,” Dr. Hensley said. “In addition to this, students are actually approaching me now, asking how they can be invited to join Alpha Chi. We have evolved into an organization that students are striving toward and want to be a part of. That’s been a great transformation to see.”
OBU Alpha Chi members are pulled from the top 10 percent of Ouachita’s junior and senior classes by hours. Students in the top 10 percent of the sophomore class will soon receive invitations to join the academic honor society. New members must pay a one-time membership fee before being inducted late in the spring.
For more information about OBU Alpha Chi and its various activities and service projects, email alphachi@obu.edu or contact Alpha Chi faculty sponsor Dr. Lori Hensley, co-sponsor Dr. Justin Isenhour or Alpha Chi officers Jace Bradshaw, Cyntanna Hawkins or Evan Wheatley.
– By Evan Wheatley, features editor
