A-State names four Emerging Young Alumni winners
Arkansas State University recently named its 2024 recipients of the Emerging Young Alumni (EYA) Award. The A-State Alumni Association and Student Philanthropy Council selected Garrett Barnes, Zachary J. Brogdon, Meridith Cook, Mathew Hampton as this year’s honorees. This is the sixth year of the recognition program for A-State’s young alumni.
Those selected as Emerging Young Alumni are those who, through personal participation, have made significant contributions to A-State, their profession or their community.
A Bono native, Barnes serves Craighead County as a justice of the peace on the Quorum Court. He received a bachelor’s degree in management in 2010, followed by a master’s degree in education in 2017 and an education specialist degree in 2019. He has worked in public education, teaching at Rivercrest Junior and Senior High Schools and Douglas MacArthur Junior High School. Since 2018 he has served as assistant director of the Northeast Arkansas Career and Technical Center in Jonesboro. In 2023, he was named the Arkansas Young Democrat of the Year, he has done two terms as president of the Jonesboro Faculty and Staff Team, served as worshipful master of Jonesboro Lodge 129, been education chair of the Craighead County NAACP, and is a member of the University Heights Lions Club.
Brogdon graduated from A-State in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. He has worked for Nextivity, Inc. based in California for the past six years. He currently oversees global strategic sales for the technology company, consulting national and multinational companies on cellular, private networking and critical communication strategies. While at A-State, Brogdon was active in Sigma Chi fraternity, Student Government Association, Student Union Advisory Council, as a Chancellor’s Ambassador and is a Red Wolves fan. He is a sixth-grade Sunday school teacher at Immanuel Baptist Church, a founding board member for the Arkansas Travelers Youth Foundation, and a board member for Make-A-Wish Mid-South. A love for sports has led him to be a coach for the Junior Deputy Baseball league and Arkansas United Soccer Club.
A 2006 A-State graduate with a bachelor’s degree in health promotions, Cook has worked in the Jonesboro community in the healthcare field. She began her career as assistant director of Cardiology Associates and Clopton Clinic Foundations where she worked in nonprofit fundraising. She then spent more than a decade working as a community marketing manager for St. Bernards Healthcare. She currently works as an associate storyteller at Ascension Healthcare, capturing stories that highlight unique aspects of careers within the organization. An active community volunteer, Cook has worked with Make-A-Wish Midsouth as a wish grantor, with the United Way of Northeast Arkansas, CASA of the fourth Judicial District, Hope Found of Northeast Arkansas, and Junior Auxiliary. While at A-State, Cook was on the A-State Dance team and served as a volunteer coach following graduation. She continues to support the university on the A-State Committee with the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, A-State Letterman’s Club, and Chi Omega Alumni Board and as a recruitment adviser.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with an emphasis in theatre design and technology in 2014, Hampton moved to New York City where he works as a costume designer and associate costume designer. Hampton’s costume design credits include the Broadway performances of “Water for Elephants,” for which he is currently working, “Dancin’” by Bob Fosse, “Frozen,” and several U.S tour shows such as “Elf,” “Anastasia,” and “Oklahoma.” Hampton is still connected to A-State, providing access to samples and materials from past productions he has been involved in to the A-State Theatre Department. He encourages current theatre students to be involved in campus experiences and learn as much as they can through internship opportunities.