Hendrix Receives $25,000 Gift from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Aug 02, 2023

News Center

Gift tosponsor Disco Tray Studios and Career Term Power Hour

Jason Carter, Manager of Talent Selection for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Dr. Mark Goadrich, Professor of Computer Science and faculty advisor to Disco Tray Studios. / PHOTO BY HENDRIX COLLEGE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

CONWAY, Ark. (August 4, 2023) — Hendrix College has been awarded$25,000 from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

The gift will support Hendrix computer science students honingtheir software development skills through the College’s Disco Tray Studios, aswell as the Professional Power Hour segment of the College’s annual CareerTerm, a yearly intensive career exploration and preparation program forsophomore students.

“ArkansasBlue Cross and Blue Shield is pleased to support the innovative learninginitiatives of the Hendrix College Department of Mathematics and ComputerScience,” said Odell Nickleberry, vice president and chief human resources officerfor Arkansas Blue Cross. “The community connection of Disco Tray Studios forsocial good is particularly appealing to our own corporate mission. And we haveexperienced firsthand the caliber of Hendrix students who have participated inour nationally recognized internship program and who now work for our company.We believe this gift is an investment in the futures of Hendrix graduates andin the companies fortunate to have them on their teams in the future.”

Formed in July 2020 by Dr. Mark Goadrich, chair of theDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science at Hendrix, Disco Tray Studios is acommunity-focused software development initiative at Hendrix (“Disco Tray” is areference to a beloved Hendrix community tradition in the campus dining hall).

Disco Tray Studios employs students to develop interactiveeducational games, apps, and websites for social good. It also providesopportunities for students to execute and complete longer-term softwaredevelopment projects that support the technological needs of the localcommunity. In addition to developing coding and other professional technologyskills, students sharpen their skills in communication, project management, andteamwork by working with clients on campus and in the community, and theirteammates.

Among the studio’s past projects, students released GoodVibes, a well-being mobile app for iOS and Android that helpsusers track their moods and get inspired, and built a website for the Hendrix Arboretum, acatalog of over 1,000 trees across the Hendrix campus. Disco Tray Studios has beenfeatured on KATV.

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s support will providetwo academic semesters of funding for a project team of at least six studentsto work with multiple community nonprofit partners on websites, databases,mobile applications, and other technology needs that serve the missions ofthose partner organizations. It will also underwrite network servers to housethe work of Disco Tray Studios and provide funding for Disco Tray Studiosstudents to attend and present their work at professional conferences.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this gift from ArkansasBlue Cross and Blue Shield to support our work on community-focused projects,”said Goadrich. “Our students will be able to experience the full lifecycle ofsoftware engineering projects beyond the classroom in a way that prepares themnot only for their careers, but as engaged citizens able to enact changethrough technology.”

A portion of the Arkansas Blue Cross gift will also helpunderwrite the Professional Power Hour section of Career Term. Launched in 2018, Career Termincludes a series of intensive experience-based workshops at the end of WinterBreak designed to help Hendrix sophomores get a head start on their careergoals and put professional skills into practice. Career Term workshopsemphasize self-awareness to assist students in building confidence and clarityin decision making about their future; practical and professional skillbuilding to capitalize on opportunities; and communication skills for the realworld. The program has been featured nationally by The Chronicle of HigherEducation, The Washington Post, and Inside Higher Ed.

“This gift will greatly benefit our students’ careerdevelopment at Hendrix,” said Leigh Lassiter-Counts, director of career servicesat Hendrix. “Career Term programming – in particular, the Professional PowerHour – helps our students not only learn the ‘smallthings’ like a proper handshake or how to dress professionally, but alsothe ‘big things’ like articulating to future employers the career skills andcompetencies gained through a Hendrix liberal arts education.”

The Arkansas Blue Cross gift represents “a very meaningfulinvestment in the types of engaged learning and professional developmentopportunities we offer at Hendrix,” said Hendrix President Dr. Karen K.Petersen.

“We are deeply grateful to Arkansas Blue Cross and BlueShield for their generous support of Disco Tray Studios and Career Term,” saidPetersen. “These programs exemplify our commitment to preparing students forprofessional success when they graduate.”

See more photos from the reception

About Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Foundedin 1948, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, an independent licensee of theBlue Cross Blue Shield Association, is the largest health insurer in Arkansas.Arkansas Blue Cross and its affiliates have more than 3,200 employees. The BlueCross Blue Shield Association is comprised of 34 independent, community-basedand locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans that collectively providehealthcare coverage for nearly 106 million members— one in three Americans.

About Hendrix College

A private liberal artscollege in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition asone of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions and is featured inColleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think AboutColleges. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value haveestablished Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, andrankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with the UnitedMethodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.