Exceptional I.E. Students Recognized


Photo of Ashleigh HegwoodUA alumna, Ashleigh Hegwood spent the 2016 spring semester working as a professional intern in the industrial engineering department at Walt Disney World. Her tasks included making spreadsheets and contributing to studies that analyze data and help determine ways to better guests’ experiences.

“I kind of got to see the whole operation from a bird’s eye view,” Hegwood said.

Industrial engineers often collect data to create a better product for consumers, and Disney prioritizes guests similarly to create a better park experience for them, Hegwood said.

Hegwood worked as an intern for Walmart the following June, and after graduating in December she accepted a full-time position in Rogers, Arkansas.

“Whenever I interviewed with Walmart for different full-time positions, almost every one of them asked me about Disney on my resume. I think having that work experience for a whole semester helped me stand out in the job market.”

Hegwood was also one of seventy-one students selected as Seniors of Significance in fall 2016. The award given by the Arkansas Alumni Association recognizes exceptional seniors based upon academic achievement, leadership skills and substantial extracurricular campus and/or community activities. In addition to Ms. Hegwood, the Department of Industrial Engineering had two other students selected as Seniors of Significance, Salma Boudhoum and Claudia Chavez.

Students named as Seniors of Significance, are automatically considered for the distinction of Razorback Classic which comprises the top 11 male or female graduating students at the University of Arkansas. This is the pinnacle of the Arkansas Alumni Association awards program that started in the fall with hundreds of nominations. Ms. Hegwood was also selected as a Razorback Classic.


Photo of David CoxSenior, David Cox was selected as the Outstanding Senior. This award is intended to recognize the most outstanding undergraduate industrial engineering student who graduated in fall 2016 or is graduating in either spring or summer of 2017. The nominations are sought from faculty to identify students who excel in academic performance, leadership, service, collegiality, ethics and dedication.

As a member of the University Arkansas band, David participated in Marching Band, Concert Band and the HogWild band. The program requires on average, a twenty-hour commitment. In 2016 he was selected as Head Drum Major, the highest leadership position in the Razorback Marching Band. Initiated into the band’s honor society in 2015, David went on to serve as the sergeant-at-arms and the secretary/treasurer of the Southwest District.

On top of all of this, he also excelled in his academic studies. He was selected as the Industrial Engineering ArcBest Corporation Outstanding Freshman in 2014, and was inducted into the industrial engineering honor society, Alpha Pi Mu where he served as social chair. He has completed three summer internships with three different companies, resulting in a full-time job offer from each company. In addition he has been working on an honor’s thesis with professor, Manuel Rossetti, which he plans to complete this spring.