News

"It is our pleasure to nominate Chris Simpson Brent for a National ARCS Spark Award on behalf of the members of the Scholar Relations Committee.

Chris recognized early on the importance of engaging ARCS Scholar Alumni as a distinct and valuable constituency and took the initiative to establish and lead a committee dedicated to that mission. Through her vision and leadership, Scholar Alumni engagement became a strategic priority, laying the foundation for stronger connections between ARCS and the outstanding Scholars whose careers continue to advance science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical research.

As the committee grew, Chris thoughtfully organized its work by creating focused sub-teams dedicated to specific aspects of Scholar Alumni engagement. She served as the committee’s chief communicator, motivator, and cheerleader, ensuring that volunteers felt supported, informed, and energized as they pursued ambitious goals. Her ability to bring people together, maintain momentum, and celebrate successes fostered a highly collaborative and productive environment.

Chris also played a pivotal role in advancing the committee’s work at the national level. She effectively presented the accomplishments and potential of the Scholar Relations Committee to the National Board, helping secure additional funding and resources to expand its impact. Her advocacy elevated the visibility of Scholar Alumni engagement throughout the organization and strengthened support for future initiatives.

Over the past two years, the tremendous progress achieved by the Scholar Relations Committee can be directly attributed to Chris’s exceptional organizational skills, boundless enthusiasm, strategic leadership, and unwavering commitment to ARCS. Equally important, her positive attitude, generosity, and encouragement make her a joy to work with and an inspiration to those around her.

Chris embodies the spirit of the ARCS Spark Award. Her dedication to advancing ARCS’ mission and strengthening lifelong connections with our scholars has created lasting value for the organization. We can think of no one more deserving of this recognition."
 
-Scholar Relations Committee, Nominators
 

"I nominate Sue Dintelman for an ARCS Sparks award for the tremendous amount of work she put in to shepherd the website upgrade through to fruition. She wrote requirements, evaluated vendors, followed the process every step of the way through migration, and oversaw QA testing. She created a list of 200-plus issues and made sure they were resolved. Then worked with each chapter on specific issues, often late at night or weekend. I don’t think the upgrade would have been possible without her organized and helpful approach."
 
-Barb Goergen, Nominator

"Sarah sponsors a scholar at Georgia Tech, Lilly Capeci. When she and her husband, Dan, first met Lilly they discovered she did not have a car and offered to show her around Atlanta taking her to the Botanical Gardens and the High Museum of Art.  Sarah has gotten into the habit of inviting Lilly to dinner once a month.  During one of those dinners they learned due to budget constraints Lilly's travel budget was reduced and she was not able to attend a conference she was looking forward to.  Sarah offered to pay for her plane ticket and Dan offered up some of their hotel points to cover her stay.  Sarah has gone above and beyond in supporting her scholar but says the payback has been wonderful getting to know Lilly and following her professional success.  Lilly is lucky to have Sarah as her sponsor and the Atlanta chapter is lucky to have Sarah as a member."
 
-Carolynn Cooper, Nominator

"Sarah's ongoing administrative support of our chapter with great organizational skills, technical knowledge, and always smiling demeanor."
 
-Linda Thier, Nominator