Achievers

Seventeen technology students were inducted in The University of Texas at Tyler chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau, Dr. Jim Tarter, College of Business and Technology dean, announced.

Epsilon Pi Tau is an international honor society for professions in technology. Membership is by invitation only.
Students by hometown are:

ATHENS — Bree A. Copeland.

BEN WHEELER — Nathan J. Bailey.

GLADEWATER — Daniel A. Hawkins.

HALLSVILLE — Brenda A. Murrell.

KILGORE — Shingairayi Shumba.

LONGVIEW — John A. Delaune and Nancy I. Lamouroux.

TYLER — Justin R. Fairley, Nancy K. Hill, Rocio Ordorica, Kevin M. Reidy and Amanda M. Ritchie.

WHITEHOUSE — Otis C. Freeze and Amanda K. Merritt.

A one-act play written by a creative writing class at The University of Texas at Tyler has been selected as a top winner in an annual competition sponsored by the Tyler Civic Theater Center.

The screenplay, along with four other scripts chosen, will be read at the third annual New Play Festival to be held at the Rogers Children’s Theater June 14. The spring 2008 English 3314 class wrote “The Bathroom Window,” which began not as a screenplay, but a weekly free writing assignment.

“The students began each Wednesday night’s class with 15 minutes of free writing,” said Dr. Dana Adams, UT Tyler senior lecturer in English, who taught the course.

Adams then received an invitation to enter a work in the civic theater center’s “Seeking a Good Story, Well Told” competition.

Writing the play was a “really neat” process, according to Hannah Strout of Tyler, a spring 2008 graduate who took the course as an elective.

“It was challenging to put everyone’s different ideas into a cohesive product but it taught us great life skills such as learning how to work with people, cooperating and making compromises in order to achieve a finished product,” Strout said. “It is great that our work was recognized. It showed us that a whole semester’s worth of writing, editing and rewriting had finally paid off.”

Scripts in the competition were selected by a panel of experienced theater educators and producers.

“I’m very proud of the students and hope to enter the competition again next spring semester,” Adams added.

A studio fine arts major at The University of Texas at Tyler received Best in Show honors for his artwork submitted in a recent state exhibition, James Pace, professor of art, announced.

John Bradley of Rockwall, a UT Tyler junior, participated in this year’s Rockport Center for the Arts on Aransas Bay exhibition. He submitted three works of art, including an artist statement for each.

“This was a huge surprise for me,” said Bradley. “I was happy to get into the show, but the Best of Show award was the kicker.”

Bradley, who plans to graduate in December 2009, is a member of the UT Tyler Art Club and Web Historical Society. Upon graduation, he hopes to attend graduate school.