����vlog���� alumna Ariel (Nichols) Merrell ’14 has gone from being a first-generation college graduate to one of the most powerful women in Arkansas.

Originally from Clarksville, Merrell was one of 94 women from across the state named to the 2025 Power Women list by Arkansas Money & Politics (AMP) in its December edition.

According to the publication, “Where there are women, their power is truly a force to be reckoned with. We at Arkansas Money & Politics are proud to highlight some of the most incredible women leaving their stamp on the state of Arkansas.”

Merrell currently serves as corporate controller for CFS Technologies in North Little Rock, Ark., where she oversees accounting and financial operations for two manufacturing plants in Arkansas. She also serves as vice president of finance and operations for C&F Flooring and Rug Gallery in Little Rock and Springdale, Ark., overseeing all financial aspects of the company while ensuring operational efficiency across sales, warehouse, and administrative functions.

In these roles, Merrell oversees accounting teams, payroll, tax compliance, audits, contract negotiations, the design and implementation of standard operating procedures, KPI development, and financial planning.

The first in her family to graduate from college, Merrell earned a degree in accounting and business administration from ����vlog����.

“I know my grandpa is incredibly proud of me, even though my education and career choices have taken me away from my hometown of Clarksville,” she said. “My dad was my biggest advocate in my education so that I could live a life outside of what we had. Having this education has opened doors that just aren’t possible in our small town. I’ve seen some really cool places, provided a good life for my family, and I am always thankful for my start at ����vlog����.”

Merrell said her four years at Ozarks were special because of the relationships she formed with faculty in the business department.

“I had professors I admired who gave me not only the education needed to complete the coursework, but also mentored me on a personal level,” she said. “They helped me reach my goals outside of school and taught me how to manage my time with family, work, and education.”

Her advisor also helped her secure a valuable internship that helped launch her career.

“The accounting program was incredibly beneficial as I worked my way from bookkeeper up to vice president of finance and operations, handling financial statement preparation, tax returns, mergers and acquisitions on a large scale, budgeting and forecasting, and various ‘clean-up’ projects for companies,” Merrell said. “The business administration program helped me manage relationships with vendors and stakeholders, maintain the operational health of a company through processes and people, and lead teams with different goals and personalities. I’ve been able to blend well within many industries and connect with everyone from production-floor employees to C-suite leaders and private equity groups.”

Merrell said she might not have been able to attend college without the scholarships she received from Ozarks.

“I worked through high school and college to save money and received smaller scholarships locally and through the state, but Ozarks scholarships played a significant role in allowing me to gain a college education,” she said. “Because I was an independent student who did not rely on family financial support, my advisors helped me maximize those awards by strategically planning for me to double major in accounting and business administration.”

She still looks back fondly on her time at Ozarks.

“The connections with other students and professors are what I remember most,” Merrell said. “I made lifelong friends and learned so much from instructors who have continued to be a part of my life. I really hope they know how much I appreciate them and their role in helping me ‘make it.’ I worked a lot during college, so I didn’t participate in as many campus activities as others, but Ozarks worked hard to keep our community connected through some really great events.”

Merrell resides in Maumelle, Ark., with her husband, Jason, and their children: Maddox, Benson, Elijah, and Lucy.

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A trio of ����vlog���� business students have reached the pinnacle of a state-wide collegiate business-plan competition.

(Pictured, from left) Gabriel Mendoza, Daniella Ugarte, and William Guillen have earned a spot to compete in the finals of the prestigious Arkansas Governor’s Cup on April 14-16 in Little Rock for their prospective business, Pet Buddy. The eco-friendly business concept takes used clothing items and turns them into pet items, such as toys and beds.

The ACC Capital Governor’s Cup is an annual collegiate business-plan competition among students from the state’s colleges and universities. The winning team will be announced during the award’s competition on April 16 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Pet Buddy is the first team from Ozarks to compete in the Governor’s Cup since 2012. No Ozarks team has ever won the competition.

The trio captured the University’s inaugural StartUp Challenge Competition, presented by the University’s Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club), during the 2024 Fall Semester.

“When participating in the StartUp challenge, our group started thinking about common problems we shared,” said Ugarte, a management and communications major from Costa Rica. “One of the members mentioned the amount of unused clothes they had and eventually the textile contamination problem popped out so we thought about creating something useful and attractive while also keeping the idea environmentally conscious. Later on, one member mentioned an experience with his dog stealing his clothes. That is the moment when Pet Buddy was created.”

Mendoza said the idea to compete in the StartUp challenge began with the “desire to put our knowledge and business skills into practice.”

“As business students, we have always liked the idea of challenges that help us grow and think outside the box,” said Mendoza, a management and psychology major from Guatemala. “Under this mindset, our goal was always to compete in the Governor’s Cup. Having won the StartUp challenge, there was no doubt that we wanted to demonstrate our full potential.”

Guillen, a management and political science major from El Salvador, said his group has gained some valuable knowledge and skills throughout the competition process, namely time management.

“With every step we took with the business, we had to learn how to balance our studies and extracurricular activities while also finding time to meet,” Guillen said. “Teamwork skills were also polished as we learned how to effectively communicate our ideas, complementing each other with our individual skills and discussing our goals with the business. Among the different things we learned, these are the skills that we value the most as they helped us through the process of creating a business and facing all the challenges that come with it.”

The concept for Pet Buddy has evolved over the past six months with the help of University professors, including the group’s advisor, Jon Langlois, assistant professor of business.

“Pet Buddy has grown a lot since its creation,” Ugarte said. “During the StartUp competition the business started enhancing the bases of what later on would become an eco-friendly product for pets. During that time the Pet Buddy team worked hard to offer a unique, yet attractive, value proposition through our products. By applying to the Governor’s Cup, and eventually making it to the semifinals, the Pet Buddy team continuously worked to improve the idea through research and exhaustive revisions with the advising of Professor Langlois, who supported us in this new phase. We also reached out to mentors and professors who provided us with insightful feedback that helped us to increase the effectiveness of our business.”

Guillen said the experience with Pet Buddy has made the idea of owning a business more attractive.

“After overcoming some of the challenges of creating a business, our team is excited to see what the future holds for us as business students,” he said. “The idea of owning a business sounds less difficult than before. We still want to improve our business skills and gain more knowledge with our studies. We do not know what can happen in the future, but we are sure that this experience taught us the importance of preparation, discipline, and teamwork.”

Pet Buddy is one of six finalists from throughout the state in the Governor’s Cup’s Small Business category. After pitching their business plan online during the semifinal round earlier this month, the team found out it had advanced to the final by email.

“We felt joyful, excited and grateful with the result of our hard work,” Mendoza said. “We are very grateful to be able to compete in the finals and definitely very excited about what is coming next. After several stages, we are reaching the culmination of a great adventure and encountering mixed feelings. This experience has provided us with knowledge and skills through every challenge we have faced; so as you can imagine we are ready to give our 100 percent and show who we are.”

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A summer academic course on entrepreneurial development at one of Mexico’s most prestigious universities, Universidad Iberoamericana, has ����vlog���� students Eduardo Murillo and Nataly Vindas fired up for the upcoming academic year.

Murillo and Vindas, both Walton International Scholars from Costa Rica, complete the six-week course in Mexico City in late June. The course focused on increasing networking opportunities and enhancing entrepreneurial skills.

The two students are both executive members of the University’s Entrepreneurship Club and are excited to share what they learned with their classmates and fellow club members.

“The comprehensive knowledge and insights I acquired are invaluable resources that I intend to apply to both my personal and professional career,” said Murillo, a senior management and psychology major. “This experience has equipped me with innovative strategies and perspectives that I plan to implement in my role as an executive member of the Entrepreneurship Club. The skills and understanding gained from this course will definitely contribute to my growth and the continued success of our organization.”

Vindas, a junior finance and marketing major, said the experience not only enhanced her academically and professionally, but also personally and culturally.

“In the classroom, I gained practical insights and advice on starting a sustainable business, which really brought to life the theoretical knowledge I learned at Ozarks,” she said. “The importance of teamwork, especially in a business setting, was greatly emphasized, and I got to experience the ups and downs of working in a multicultural team. I also worked on my public speaking skills, although I did manage to embarrass myself a couple of times along the way.”

“Navigating such a big city as Mexico City was also a significant challenge that tested my independence and emotional resilience, and such a challenge helped me grow significantly and learn a lot about myself. Culturally, the experience was equally enriching. I enjoyed trying delicious local meals, visiting cultural places, and meeting incredible and kind people who made me feel at home even though I was far from Costa Rica.”

Murillo said one idea he would like to implement immediately with the Entrepreneurship Club is a “startup challenge.”

“This will allow students to pitch a business plan to a panel of judges,” he said. “This is precisely what we had to do for our final project in our summer course, so we are excited about leading this initiative at Ozarks along with our executive teammates.”

Both students received funding from the University’s Student Enrichment Fund to take part in the summer class.

“I’m deeply grateful to the Student Enrichment Funds committee for making this experience possible,” Vindas said.

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Dr. Juan Carlos Garcia-Pina Rosete, assistant professor of management at ����vlog����, is the lead author of a paper that has been accepted for publication in the prestigious Meditari Accountancy Research Journal.

Garcia-Pina Rosete is the paper’s principal author along with co-author Dr. Rafael Hernandez Barros of the EAE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. The paper is titled, “Sustainability Accounting Reporting: Issues for the Automobile Industry.”

“I am deeply honored and delighted to announce the publication of our research paper in the Meditari Accountancy Research, a prestigious JCR Q1 journal, which signifies the highest quality and impact in our field,” Garcia-Pina Rosete said. “I need to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Lord for His support and guidance throughout this journey, which has been crucial in achieving this milestone.”

Garcia-Pina Rosete, a 2004 alumnus of Ozarks who has taught at his alma mater since 2021, said the paper underscores the urgent need for an internationally accepted standard for sustainability accounting reporting across all industries, with a particular focus on the automobile sector.

“By analyzing data from the Newsweek Green Rankings of 25 Global Fortune 500 corporations between 2014 and 2016, the study reveals significant gaps and challenges in current reporting practices due to the lack of standardization,” he said. “The findings highlight the benefits of standardized reporting, such as improved data accessibility and the promotion of sustainable practices. The research provides empirical evidence linking sustainable variables with profitability margins, advocating for global standards to enhance transparency and accountability, thus positively impacting corporations, governments, academic researchers, and society as a whole.”

Garcia-Pina Rosete called the research paper a team effort.

“I am deeply grateful for our research team’s unwavering commitment and meticulous work, whose perseverance and resilience were instrumental, particularly during the extended review process necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “This publication not only highlights the importance of standardized sustainability reporting, but also our commitment to contributing valuable insights and advancing best practices within the automobile industry and beyond. We are proud of our work in such a distinguished journal, and we hope it will inspire further research and positive changes in sustainability accounting practices worldwide.”

Meditari Accountancy Research Journal is considered a Q1 journal in Journal Citation Reports (JCR). A Q1 journal is one that ranks in the top 25 percent of journals in its subject category based on its impact factor.

The paper is available to be viewed online at

Garcia-Pina Rosete earned a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico, before achieving his Ph.D. in business administration from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain in 2019.

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Former Walton International Scholarship recipient Laura Calderon returned to the ����vlog���� campus earlier this month for the first time since she graduated in 2015 and she had an important message to current Walton Scholars at Ozarks.

Calderon lives in her hometown of Guatemala City where she is a junior buyer for Cemaco, the largest retail company in Guatemala.  Her message to current Walton Scholars was to take advantage of their opportunity of a college education at Ozarks and then, following graduation, return to their respective countries to make a difference.

“I enjoyed visiting with the current Walton Scholars and seeing myself in them 10 years ago,” Calderon said. “I just tried to convey to them how important this opportunity is for them and how it can open so many doors. For a lot of them, they are the first in their families to go to college, so I just tried to inspire them to work hard and to be a part of breaking the cycle of a lack of education in their families. The education they are receiving is planting a seed that will one day blossom for them, their families and their countries.”

Calderon told the students that making a difference back home can be as simple as being the best professional they can be in their chosen profession.

“People sometimes think you have to do all these big things or donate a lot of money to make an impact, but it can really be as simple as focusing on your career and being professional and ethical in your field,” Calderon said. “You can inspire people by being a professional, having high standards and being a contributing citizen in the workplace. I see what other Walton Scholars are doing from my class and they are all making an impact in their countries by just being good at their jobs and doing things the right ways. That’s how generational change happens, a little at a time over a period of time. It happens when you’re not even trying.”

Calderon said she told the Walton Scholars to focus on what they came to Ozarks to do.

“Find out what you’re passionate about and then learn as much as you can in those areas,” Calderon said. “I told them being able to get an education in the United States will set them apart back home because they will have a different point of view on so many things. That’s a valuable trait and it will allow them to stand out above everyone else.”

Calderon, who got married in June of 2022 to Carlos Barillas, has quickly climbed the corporate ladder at Cemaco, starting as a category analyst six years ago and moving to a purchase analyst and then junior buyer. As a chemistry and management major at Ozarks, she said her unique academic background has bode her well in her career.

“Chemistry really challenged me in college, but the critical thinking and analytical skills that I learned from those classes have benefited me greatly,” she said. “I’ve been told that one of my strengths is that I have a good balance of analytical, communication and management skills, and I owe all of those to my professors and to the education I received at Ozarks.”

Calderon also praised Ozarks’ diverse student body in helping prepare her for a workplace made up of various personalities and cultures.

“Ozarks really taught me tolerance and understanding of different people,” she said. “There were so many people at Ozarks from different parts of the world and being able to be in that melting pot has helped me so much. I never would have thought back then how impactful that would be.”

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The recent addition of several new business-related academic programs at ����vlog���� is providing students with more options of study and better preparation for the business world.

The University added majors in finance, management and marketing as well as a minor in entrepreneurship during the fall semester. The new programs were approved by the University’s Board of Trustees last spring following a recommendation from the faculty.

Dr. Steve Oatis, associate vice president for academic affairs, said the new majors and minor within the business program were developed in part from the business faculty’s assessment of student performance in the business administration major.

“Since its implementation in 2016, the business administration major had given students a generalized curriculum in business,” Oatis said. “While this curriculum exposed students to a range of different content areas, including marketing, management, finance, accounting and economics, results on comprehensive examinations in the major’s capstone course suggested that students would benefit from the opportunity to delve deeper into a business content area that aligned with their particular professional interest.  Additionally, the recognition that most prospective employers in the business world tend to ask for degrees in specific business areas contributed to the faculty’s decision to design and approve the new majors and minor.”

Oatis said the finance major will includes new courses in risk management, portfolio management and other finance topics.

“This will prepare students for a field with an above-average projected job growth over the next decade,” he said.

Oatis said the management major captures much of the former business administration major under a more semantically appropriate name.

“Management is a more widely recognized term as a professional specialization than ‘administration,’ especially in the home countries of many of Ozarks’ business students,” Oatis said. “The curriculum of this new major also includes more focused attention to topics of employee supervision, organizational behavior, and other important areas of human resources management.”

NaLisa Brown, assistant professor of marketing, said the new marketing major will provide students a better understanding of how companies market products and services.

“The beauty of a marketing degree is it provides a wide variety of opportunities in the marketplace,” Brown said. “Students can focus on social media, sales, advertising, public relations, product design or market research. On a personal level, learning consumer behavior and persuasive communication helps students effectively communicate with others. “

Brown said that market forces show that business professionals specialize in distinct areas, such as marketing, management, accounting and finance.

“For our students to be competitive in the job market, they need degrees that fit their future employment needs,” she said. “According to multiple sources, marketing majors are in the top five in-demand degrees. A report by the University of Potomac lists E-commerce and marketing at 3 and 4, respectively, while the National Association of Colleges and Employers lists marketing as number 5. Finally, marketing is listed as the highest-paying business major by Indeed.com.”

Dr. Christine Scott, associate professor of business, said the new entrepreneurship minor will give students the opportunity to explore the foundations of a sustainable small business. 

“For example, a psychologist may want to open their own practice, or an artist may want to open an art gallery—yet do they have the foundations needed to be successful?,” Scott said. “Obtaining this minor broadens the opportunities for students who do not necessarily want to major in business but are interested in learning about becoming an entrepreneur. “

Scott called small businesses “the heart of the economic system.”

“Many fail in the first year because of lack of knowledge of the ‘ins and outs’ of running a sustainable business,” Scott said. “This minor fills a gap in not only in our global economic system, but in our local economies as well.  And provides students with the fundamentals that can lead them to potentially owning a sustainable business.”

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����vlog���� alumnus Dr. Juan Carlos Garcia-Pina Rosete has been hired as an assistant professor of management at ����vlog����, beginning the Fall 2021 Semester.

Garcia graduated from Ozarks in 2004 with a degree in business administration and management with Cum Laude honors. He has taught in Mexico for the International University of La Rioja in Spain since 2020.

“I’m always blessed by great opportunities and being able to come back to Ozarks is a true blessing,” Garcia said. “Ozarks gave me a great education, now I can give back to my beloved alma mater and contribute to future generations of great Ozarks students.”

Garcia earned a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico, before achieving his Ph.D. in business administration from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain in 2019.

He served as a visiting research scholar at Oklahoma State University in 2017 and also has experience in the private sector as a finance and treasury manager and financial planning officer for various companies and agencies.

Garcia will teach finance, strategy, international business and management courses in the University’s business program. He described himself as a “proactive” professor in the classroom.

“I always encourage my students to seek other answers that are not found in the textbook,” he said. “Only through a constant search for the truth can true knowledge can be found.”

Garcia was a Walton Scholar at Ozarks and was active in the University’s PBL and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) programs while he was a student.

“My time at Ozarks gave me great friends and some of them became my brothers from another mother,” he said. “The best memories that I have involve the great friendships that were fostered by the small community vibe, and the opportunity to being so close to each other.”

Garcia and his wife, Alejandra, were married in March of this year. Outside of the classroom he enjoys working out, reading and a variety of outdoor activities.

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Several U of O students recently placed in the Arkansas Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) 2021 State Leadership Conference.

The conference was held online via Zoom in April.

William Paiz placed first in the category of Cyber Security and Isaias Ortiz placed second in Economic Analysis & Decision Making. In addition, Katherine Martinez placed third in Macroeconomics and Josue Maldonado placed third in Statistical Analysis.

PBL advisor Dr. Scott Sheinfeld, assistant professor of management, said, “While this was another year of dealing with very different circumstances for our Phi Beta Lambda business student organization, the team came together to compete and win. I want to congratulate all our competitors.”

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Though they’re doing it in markedly different ways, 2016 graduates Liliam López and Debora Castro are each using their ����vlog���� business degrees to make a positive impact in their respective Central America countries.

The two former Walton International Scholars visited campus recently and talked about their professional careers.

López, (pictured, left) a marketing and management/business administration major living in Choluteca, Honduras, is an analyst coordinator for the Agrolibano Group, one of the top cantaloupe-producing companies in the Americas.  Castro, an international business and management major living in San Salvador, El Salvador,  is a partnership/advocacy technical assistant for a USAID project called Bridges to Employment, which helps at-risk youth in the country gain training and find employment.

The Agrolibano Group exports more than 4,000 large shipping containers of melons each growing season, which runs from December to May. While the fruit is shipped around the world, about 50 percent of the melons head to either the United States or Europe. López is the coordinator of the Great Britain account, handling financial reports, quality control and customer service.

López, who has worked for the company for almost three years, said it is especially satisfying to know that she is helping to promote and advance Honduras through her work.

“I’m really proud when I hear about melons from Honduras that are eaten around the world,” she said. “People will send me pictures of the stickers and it’s really neat to see. I know the passion that the growers in Honduras have for their melons and I know the work that is done to produce them, so I’m especially proud to play a small role in producing something that is in demand all over the world.”

López credited Ozarks’ diverse student population for helping her prepare to work for a global company.

“At Ozarks, you learn to get along and interact with so many different cultures and that’s been very beneficial to me,” she said. “I work with clients from all over the world and I strongly believe that my time at Ozarks has helped me in my daily interactions with my clients. Ozarks helped instill in me a cultural sensitivity and openness to others.”

Castro has worked for almost three years for the non-profit Bridges to Employment project, which is funded by USAID and implemented by DAI Global, LLC.  The program works with at-risk and vulnerable youth between the ages of 16-29 in El Salvador to “successfully integrate them into the workforce as fully qualified and productive citizens to help boost the economy, lower crime, and reduce illegal immigration.”

Castro said the type of work she is doing is what she envisioned when she first came to Ozarks as a Walton Scholar.

“When I was selected as a Walton Scholar, I had dreams of going back home and helping my country, but I didn’t know exactly what that would look like or how I could do that,” Castro said, “Now I’m working with a program which uses national and international cooperation that, working together, we actually change things for the better. It’s very fulfilling, professionally, for me because I’m contributing to the development of my country and actually making an impact. That’s exactly what I wanted to do.”

Castro said her time at Ozarks and her involvement in service-oriented organizations like Enactus, PBL and Alpha & Omega helped her understand and appreciate the importance of giving back.

“The volunteering and service opportunities I had at Ozarks really opened my eyes to the impact that we all can have on others,” Castro said. “My desire to help others was definitely boosted at Ozarks and now that’s what I do for a living. My education and experiences at Ozarks prepared me perfectly for this.”

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