With the help of Grace Dugger, our Social Work Alumni Society President, we launched our Bachelor of Social Work mentor program.

Our first cohort includes four mentees and four mentors! Three of the students and two of the mentors were able to come to the first meeting. We had a great time meeting each other while sharing a meal.

We are very excited to have mentor program and offer our students an opportunity to learn and grow beyond classroom setting.

Two Department of Computer Science master's students, Trupesh Patel (M.S. in Computer Science) and Andrew Schatz (M.S. in Data Science), won the first place for the best graduate paper at the ACM Mid-Southeast 2018 conference. The paper, "Classifying Basketball Players by Hall of Fame Merit," predicts the probability of basketball players achieving the prestigious honor of being granted access to the Hall of Fame. This project was done using various machine learning strategies and data mining skills, under the guidance of Professor Chengcui Zhang.

Patel and Schatz's project was an obvious choice for best graduate paper at the conference, as it demonstrated a solid analysis and evaluation framework and pursued a unique goal. It was also one of the only projects at the conference that was not funded by any third-party organization, meaning that it out-performed many well-funded research projects.

Participating in the ACM Mid-Southeast conferences is one of the most rewarding experiences for computer science students at UAB, and the department encourages current and future students to submit their projects to upcoming conferences. It is not only for graduate students — undergraduate students have their own category and this year greatly outnumbered graduate students. The conference encourages creativity in student projects, as seen by this submission and the undergraduate champion for best project, which was a 2D-style video game created by five students from Middle Tennessee State University.

In addition to the rewarding experience, the conference location of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is beautiful place and offers entertaining activities to conference attendees. So make sure to submit your projects to ACM Mid-Southeast 2019 conference, where hopefully you will have as much fun as Trupesh and Andrew!

After thieves stole baby items and other personal items from a new mother, the Student Social Work Organization (SSWO) hosted a successful baby goods drive. The Department of Human Resources client lost all of the baby supplies that she had purchased. SSWO was able to collect a car-seat, a stroller, diapers, wipes, clothes, and other baby goods. It was very encouraging to see so many items collected on such short notice and seeing the impact first hand!

Tamesha Duesbury, a Fulbright Scholar pursuing her Master’s of Science in Criminal Justice, is the first Barbadian student at UAB. Driven by her experience working at a probation office in Barbados, Duesbury wants to further develop the skills to better serve at-risk youth. She credits the support of her family with allowing her to study at UAB. “Not only am I a Fulbright ambassador, but I am an ambassador for my country,” she said.

 

Our next Fulbright Scholar is Tamesha Duesbury! Tamesha is currently a Criminal Justice graduate student and the first Barbadian student at UAB. Driven by her empathetic heart and her determination to be a better professional, Tamesha made the sacrifice to move away from her home and family to pursue her dreams. . . . #uabisss #globaluab #internationalstudents #ichooseuab #Fulbright #barbados #usembassybridgetown #masters #criminaljustice @ladytamzdues

A post shared by UAB International Services (@global.uab) on May 16, 2018 at 11:15am PDT

Five UAB students majoring in music technology have successfully passed the Avid Pro Tools certification exam. While many students successfully complete the music technology program in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences Department of Music, only an elite few also complete the Avid certification training and certification, explains University Professor Henry Panion III, Ph.D., director of the program.

The Avid-certified students are Philip Clark, Jason Turner, A.J. Pilkerton, Michael Morris, and Ian Keel (pictured left to right) with University Professor Henry Panion, III, Ph.D., director of the UAB music technology program.The Avid-certified students are Philip Clark, Jason Turner, A. J. Pilkerton, Michael Morris, and Ian Keel. These students join a select group of music technology students to achieve this prestigious certification since UAB was designated as Avid Learning Partner (ALP) in 2012.

The UAB music technology degree program is among a few in the Southeast designated as an ALP program with Avid-certified instructors providing training on these tools and more.

The certification training and examination combine practical skills for recording, editing, mixing, and mastering music for various applications such as film soundtracks, commercial music and live-sound reinforcement. The certification examination includes with a theoretical comprehensive written exam for which the highest level of mastery must be achieved. This level of training and examination gives assurance to the industry that certified users have knowledge of the technology and can better perform at a professional level.

“It is impossible to hear a major recording or see a Hollywood movie where Avid Pro Tools is not used in the recording and editing of everything from the dialogue and sound effects to the movie soundtrack,” Panion says. “Certification is a designation that industry professionals seek when looking for future interns and employees and gives UAB students an advantage out the door.”

Learn more about the UAB Music Technology Program.

Political Science student Laila-Rose Hudson, who is graduating on April 28, 2018, is featured in the latest issue of Pi Sigma Alpha newsletter. She is both a recent Pi Sigma Alpha honors inductee and the UAB Political Science Program’s Outstanding Student for 2018. Pi Sigma Alpha is the premiere honor society for students of political science.

Read her profile on the Pi Sigma Alpha website.

A group of social work students who went to Kenya this spring break for study abroad presented their experiences at the UAB Undergraduate Spring EXPO on April 13, 2018. Abbie Mescher, Victoria Brake, Gabbie Manly, and Summer Gardner (Social Work undergraduate students) prepared posters and shared what they did with children and local communities.

A few days later there was a reception celebrating their study abroad experiences in Kenya at the Somalian International House. More posters were presented there to share about their experiences conducting service learning abroad.

The Department of Biology recognized a number of undergraduate and graduate students at its 2018 Spring Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on April 12. Department chair Dr. Steven Austad, along with other senior faculty members, honored the following students:

Dr. Austad also honored Martin C. Nowak with the 2018 Alumni Award. Nowak earned his B.S. in Biology from UAB and from 1998 to 2002, served as the Chief Executive Officer of UAB Hospital. From 2002 to 2005, he was the Chief Planning and Strategy Officer for the UAB Health System. Today, he owns Nowak & Associates, a healthcare consulting firm. He has served on numerous the Alabama Hospital Association and been honored with numerous awards over the course of his career, including the "Distinguished Service Award" from the Alabama Hospital Association (2002), and a "Top 100 Who's Who in Healthcare" by the Birmingham Business Journal (2002 and 2007).

Lastly, Dr. Austad and Dr. Thane Wibbels paid tribute to former student Michael David Luketic, who passed away on April 4. Those wanting to honor Luketic’s memory can give to the Foundry Ministries or to the Michael David Luketic Graduate Scholarship Fund in Marine Biology at UAB.

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