S T R I V E - Arkansas

A huge thank you to NCTR for hosting Christy Henslee during her STRIVE placement! 🔬🧬

Christy recently shared her experience with us, highlighting the invaluable time she spent learning about research, data collection, and the quest for neurovascular disease treatments. By providing these opportunities, NCTR is helping educators like Christy bring authentic, real-world relevance back to the her students at White Hall High School.

Partnerships like this are shaping the future of workforce development and scientific education. Thank you for your incredible support!

Arkansas STEM teachers: Can you see yourself immersed in hands-on learning next summer? If so, visit ualr.edu/strive to learn more!

We are incredibly grateful for our business partners who invest in the future of education. 🤝

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit Delta Asphalt of Arkansas in Paragould to learn more about Caroline Kelly's impactful involvement as a STRIVE teacher. It was also a fantastic opportunity for Pamela Cox, our STRIVE teacher placed with Nabholz, to tour the facility and see her cohort colleague's work environment.

Thank you to Delta Asphalt of Arkansas for hosting us and supporting the STRIVE program's mission!

Learn more about how STRIVE connects teachers with industry: ualr.edu/strive

Recently, we toured Garvan Woodland Gardens with two of our fantastic STRIVE teachers, Schondra Marlin and Rachel Botsford, along with their work mentors!

These two have been hard at work on some incredible hands-on projects. They’ve been doing everything from getting their hands dirty building a fence to putting on their creative hats to help with the upcoming holiday light display!

We love seeing our STRIVE teachers making real-world connections and preparing to take these experiences back to the classroom.

Thank you, Garvan Woodland Gardens, for your partnership with STRIVE! 👏👏

We’re excited to share this post highlighting one of our amazing STRIVE teachers, Henry Thomas!

It’s been a pleasure partnering with WER to support hands-on learning and real-world experiences for teachers. Opportunities like this truly make a difference in preparing students for future careers.

Our 2026 STRIVE teacher cohort were able to go visit Riggs Cat to learn about how they support Caterpillar equipment across the state of Arkansas!

It's a BIG day for STRIVE! 🎉 Today, our teachers are officially kicking off their 20-day placements.

Join us in wishing them the absolute best of luck!

We are delighted to welcome STRIVE teacher, Pamela Cox, this summer from Paragould High School!

Pamela teaches Algebra I and Technical Math, and she’s on a mission to bring more dynamic, hands-on learning into her Technical Math classroom. For 20 days this summer, she will be learning from one of the best in the business, Nabholz, and the job site couldn't be any closer to her classroom. She will be working at the job site of the brand-new Paragould High School Arena!

By working directly with the construction team, she’ll experience hands-on skills used by Nabholz employees. This fall, her students won't just learn math from a textbook; they’ll see exactly how it’s used to build their own campus.

We look forward to seeing the incredible, real-world lessons Pamela takes back to her classroom at Paragould High School!

We are delighted to introduce Christy Henslee from White Hall High School as a STRIVE teacher this summer! Starting next week, she will trade the classroom for the lab—bringing a wealth of experience teaching AP Biology, Biology, and Human Anatomy.

Over the next 20 days, Christy will be working hands-on at the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). This amazing opportunity will allow her to dive into cutting-edge research and learn the exact, real-world skills that modern workforce employees need to succeed in the scientific field.

By bridging the gap between high school biology and top-tier scientific research, Christy will be able to bring invaluable insights back to her students this fall!

Join us in wishing Christy an incredible 20 days at NCTR!

Joining STRIVE this summer is Randi Hasley from Warren High School, where she teaches Algebra I.

We are incredibly excited to follow her journey as she trades the classroom for the farm. Randi will be working at Ingalls Farm to discover the real-world math that keeps a major agricultural operation running.

Join us in welcoming Randi to the 2026 STRIVE Program! We can't wait to see the lessons she cultivates from this experience!

STRIVE is thrilled to welcome Caroline Kelly from Nettleton High School!

Caroline teaches Physics and Physical Science, and this summer, she is hoping to answer that nagging question every teacher hears: “When am I ever going to use this?”

Over the next few weeks, Caroline will be working hands-on at Delta Companies to learn the real-world skills used by their employees daily. She will then take that first-hand knowledge and incorporate those experiences directly into her classroom curriculum to better prepare her students for the workforce.

We are so excited to see the outcome of this amazing partnership! Welcome to STRIVE 2026, Caroline!