Ashley-Ann Davis, author of Partying with a 4.0: Finding Balance in College, gives her insight on transitioning to a new country. Ashley-Ann Davis is a Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellow at Missouri S&T pursuing her Ph.D. in engineering management. She completed her bachelor’s degree and hopes to pursue a career in entrepreneurship upon the completion of graduate school. In 2020, she authored the book, “Partying with a 4.0: Finding Balance in College” during the pandemic and her senior year of undergrad.

Davis was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the US at the age of 16 to pursue better college opportunities. As an immigrant, she faced many adjustments and centered her TEDx talk on how she transitioned to a new country and environment while redefining herself in this new space.

Dr. Larry Gragg, Distinguished Teaching Professor emeritus at Missouri S&T, has taught at S&T since 1977. He served as chair of the history and political science department for 17 years and served one year as vice-provost for undergraduate studies. Gragg’s talk will focus on his past five years of researching and writing a new history of the campus as S&T celebrates its 150th anniversary.

Sean Robert Johnson tackles a taboo subject that impacts our health and environment, and affects every culture regardless of location, climate or custom. Society can make progress to flush responsibly, and he wants to shed light on this seemingly embarrassing topic that has made widespread education difficult. Sean Robert Johnson studied mechanical engineering at Kansas State University and at Missouri S&T. Since 2013, he has worked as a machinist and woodworker, running a small business building squatting stools for a healthier bathroom experience. He lives in Saint James, Missouri with his wife, two daughters, a dog, a cat, and a snake.

Dr. Jossalyn Larson, a self-taught hobby farmer, shares the importance of fear and wellness behaviors that support the mind and body during times of illness. Dr. Jossalyn Larson, an assistant teaching professor of English and technical communication at S&T, is a breast cancer survivor and self-taught hobby farmer. In her talk, she continues to advocate for breast cancer research and awareness, and for wellness behaviors that support the mind and body during times of health and illness. Dr. Larson was a member of the American Cancer Society's 2019 Portraits of Hope.

Havva Malone, a teacher working with special education students at Rolla High School, says she takes great pleasure in integrating science and mathematics into everyday life to understand life better and make sense of the world. Malone lives for the a-ha realization moments of students. Malone was born in Turkey and grew up in Istanbul. She worked at several universities in Turkey as a research assistant and earned a master of science degree in physics from Missouri S&T in 1996.

Dr. William A. Stack is the co-founder and executive director of the Lifeway Center Inc., a charity staffed and led by volunteers that operate the Shepherd’s Nook Food Pantry, Project Win Cancer Support Group and the American Volunteers Veterans Organization. Over the last two decades, Shepherd’s Nook has provided over $1.2 million in food and other assistance yearly to rural Missouri residents in need. Dr. Stack hopes to inspire faith-based community leaders by imparting principles he has found useful in obtaining the personnel and resources necessary to help meet community needs.