Freed-Hardeman University

For the third consecutive year, Freed-Hardeman's analytics teams brought home honors, this time at the Bluegrass DataFest held in late April at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. In this competition, students had 48 hours to evaluate a complex, real-world dataset and present their findings. This year, Freed-Hardeman fielded two teams of five students each, doubling in size from the team's inaugural appearance in 2022. Team members Lou Joseph, Eli Combs, Justin Steward, Kate Fitzgerald and Taylor Guess secured the Best in Show and Best Visualization honors. Meanwhile, John Robinson, J.T. Moore, Justin Ellis, Carson Kizer and Aidan Harrison won the Best Use of External Data award. "These results continue to demonstrate our students' academic competitiveness nationwide," said Charlie Smith, one of the DataFest faculty advisors. "Their insights into the data and recommendations for action were on par with professional data analysts. I'm proud of their dedication and abilities."

Members of the Freed-Hardeman University Honors Council recently participated in the Tennessee Collegiate Honors Council 2024 Annual Conference on February 9 and 10. During the event, students presented diverse topics and engaged in learning opportunities from fellow scholars. Notably, FHU students clinched first place trivia trophy, and did so with very few errors, according to Matthew Kuhl, a senior biochemistry major. "The hosts told us we only missed three questions," he said adding the team made the most out of the experience. The conference, hosted by Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, attracted honors programs from various prestigious schools across the state, including Middle Tennessee State University, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the host institution, Lincoln Memorial University. The annual event serves as a prime platform for highlighting student excellence, according to Dr. Jenny Johnson, dean of the Honors College. "Making presentations in a setting like this offers numerous benefits," Johnson explained. "One tangible advantage is the significant boost it provides to a graduate school application."

Freed-Hardeman University students produced impressive results in their debut appearance at the Hub City Innovation Cup, a regional business pitch competition, winning third place and a cash prize of $500. The two-day event was held Feb. 9-10 at the Jackson Energy Authority Training Center in Jackson and challenged participating college students to create ideas using technology to improve the quality of life for disabled individuals. Students received the topic Friday afternoon and had just under 24 hours to prepare their five-minute pitches to judges. Eleven FHU students competed against other students representing other area higher education institutions. Of the 18 participating teams, FHU sent three, with two advancing to the final round of six.

Two FHU students, Dan Chang and Danny Ngabonziza, won first place for their research poster presentation and third place for their oral presentation during the Tennessee Academy of Science's annual meeting in November. The research is a culmination of the work done by the FHU Summer Research Team under the direction of Dr. Joe Deweese. The 2023 research team consisted of Chang, Ngabonziza, Allison Jones, Addie O'Brian, Matte Hardin, Brooke Latham and Clark Endsley. This was the second year for the Biochemical and Biomedical Sciences Summer Research Program at FHU.

FHU student Dominique Michaud was selected to receive the Hospital Alliance of Tennessee Nursing Scholarship in the amount of $10,000. Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association (TICUA) created this scholarship in partnership with the Hospital Alliance of Tennessee to award an outstanding nursing student seeking to complete their education in preparation for service in a Tennessee nonprofit hospital. Each of TICUA's member institutions with nursing programs was allowed to nominate one highly qualified student to be considered for this scholarship. "We are proud to name Dominique Michaud as our 2022 TICUA Hospital Association Nursing Scholar," said TICUA President Claude Pressnell. "There were many qualified applicants, and we saw an impressive commitment to the nursing profession from each applicant. As our nonprofit hospitals face a critical nursing shortage, it is an honor to be able to help students on their path to this incredibly important and noble profession." Michaud, of Oxford, is earning a bachelor of science in nursing and is on track to graduate in May 2024. She has maintained a 4.0-grade point average throughout her academic career while being active in campus organizations and volunteering to help those with mental and developmental disabilities. Michaud is a certified pharmacy technician, assistant in Disability Services, and American Red Cross Lifeguard, and is certified in First Aid and CPR.

A newly formed data analytics team from the Freed-Hardeman University College of Business won one of the three top prizes in its first intercollegiate competition. Judges in the 2022 DC DataFest gave FHU the award for Best Insight, noting that the team had "mature and profound" observations that would be useful for a professional data practitioner.

FHU students Caleb Johnson and Jonathan Helton were awarded scholarships for their research and writing while John Parigger and Jewell July received cash prizes for giving the best scholarly, creative, or artistic presentations in their fields.