In the Fall semester of 2023, the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation awarded $41,336 in grants for six student cocurricular projects, two faculty-led campus projects, and one faculty-led study-travel project in literature and language. The following student and faculty-led projects were approved for funding:
Student Cocurricular Projects in Literature and Language
*Janiya Ashford ’25
+Atlantis Medical Shadowing in Ponferrada, Spain
Project supervisor: Sarah Engeler-Young, Hendrix-Murphy Foundation
Over winter break Janiya will build her proficiency in Spanish and gain professional experience while shadowing doctors in Ponferrada, Spain, through the Atlantis Medical Shadowing Program.
+Carries Odyssey GA (Global Awareness) credit
*Harry Lance ’26
+Language and Art in Mexico City
Project supervisor: José Vilahomat, Spanish
Harry will travel to Mexico City, Mexico, over winter break to increase his Spanish language proficiency through private instruction at the Lengua y Cultura Mexico City Language Center and to broaden his pre-existing interest in Mexican Renaissance art with a specific focus on the work of Frida Kahlo.
+Carries Odyssey GA (Global Awareness) credit
*Sierra Lubetkin ’25 and Camryn Presley ’24
“Deepening Understandings of Narrative: Fall Narrative Medicine Basic Workshop”
Project supervisor: Hope Coulter, English and Hendrix-Murphy Foundation
Sierra and Camryn attended Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Fall Narrative Medicine Basic Workshop over fall break. In addition to the goals of developing narrative communication and reflective practice, the conference seeks to teach narrative competence to establish empathy in future medical providers. Sierra and Camryn are bringing the skills gained from discussing and creating narratives with workshop participants back to Hendrix through their leadership of the campus Narrative Medicine Reading/Writing Group.
*Claire Segura ’24
Spanish Immersion in Southern Spain
Project supervisor: Ruth Yuste-Alonso, Spanish
Claire will travel to Seville, Spain, in January to take an intensive Spanish course that includes language instruction, immersive housing, writing and film workshops, and cultural activities in the evenings after class. This experience builds on Claire’s previous Spanish language immersion projects and will help her prepare for her ultimate goal of teaching in Spain.
Natalie Vailes ’26
Online Course in American Sign Language
Project supervisor: Sarah Engeler-Young, Hendrix-Murphy Foundation
Natalie will take an online, self-guided American Sign Language (ASL) course at Gallaudet University that teaches foundational ASL skills in cultural etiquette, simple conversation, fingerspelling, and basic grammatical structure. This project will help Natalie take her first steps toward the long-term goal of becoming a certified court interpreter.
*Trevion Williams ’24
Teaching English in Korea
Project supervisor: Colleen Mayo, Murphy Fellow in English
During this month-long winter break project, Trevion will travel to Seoul, Korea, to tutor a homestay family for 15 hours a week in English while increasing his Korean language proficiency through cultural immersion. This project builds on Trevion’s scaffolding of past Murphy Scholar projects and is a culmination of his Korean learning experiences at Hendrix.
*Murphy Scholar in Literature and Language
Faculty-Led Campus Projects
Colleen Mayo, Murphy Fellow in English
The Mockingbird Word
The Mockingbird Word is a radio collaboration with Hendrix’s station KHDX that highlights and celebrates creative voices across Central Arkansas. Through this project students and community members can enjoy a shared sense of celebration and identity while enhancing our vibrant literary landscape.
Kristi McKim, English
Nourishing Our Classroom Community: Dinner and Literary Discussion
Students in “Literary Analysis,” the gateway course to the English major, will enjoy guided literary discussion over a shared meal.
Faculty-Led Study-Travel Projects
Zachary Brandner, Murphy Fellow in Spanish
+ Coloniality Past & Present: Mexico City
During a week-long trip to Mexico City, students will visit sites featured in verbal and visual narratives examined in the course LIT 390: “Coloniality in Latin America Past & Present.” Written tasks related to daily excursions will require students to think critically about colonialism and history in present-day Mexico. Once completed, students will read their resulting essays in a student symposium to be scheduled for fall 2024.
+Carries Odyssey GA (Global Awareness) credit