This past October at Southern Adventist University, the Student Managed Asset Risk and Return Training (SMARRT) Fund surpassed a major milestone of $1 million in stocks.
The initial $500,000 investment, entrusted to a group of School of Business students in 2019, is part of the university’s endowment. Earnings are used to continually support scholarships and student programs across the campus.
Last school year, the student team switched from investing in exchange-traded funds to single-equity stocks. This change led to an immediate increase in returns, accumulating a $272,000 profit in just one year. Business students have since achieved one of their top investment goals – to outperform the S&P 500, a benchmark average of the top 500 companies on the market.
With a return rate nearly twice that of the S&P 500, the SMARRT Fund also outperformed several major hedge funds.
Business professor Joelle Akiki, DBA, who serves as faculty sponsor of the SMARRT Fund team, highlights the hard work and dedication of Amarandei, Glenn Grakov and Alicia Garver, senior finance majors; Kylie Mastrapa and Adrian Helm, junior finance majors; and Eric Barnuevo, senior accounting major.
In addition to growing the fund, students learn invaluable lessons in managing assets. Enrolled in the SMARRT Fund course, they receive Bloomberg Terminal certification in the Bloomberg Finance Lab and develop responsible trading practices alongside leadership skills. The program will be housed in the new Ruth McKee School of Business building, slated to open in Fall 2026.
Original story by Julia Juler
Southern awarded $156k fusion grant
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Southern Adventist University’s School of Engineering and Physics a Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) grant of $156,000 in early 2025 to advance nuclear fusion research through curriculum development, bootcamps and student internships.
Nuclear fusion is a counterpart to nuclear fission, which is widely used as an energy source around the world.
“Instead of fission – taking something heavy, such as uranium, and splitting it apart – we take something light, often hydrogen, and fuse it together to release energy,” explains Dr. Sean Walters, associate professor. “The technology has the potential to become a very efficient and controlled fission alternative.”
Under the guidance of Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the federal government’s largest multi-disciplinary research and development center, Southern partnered with several universities: Missouri University of Science and Technology, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Tech University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Tuskegee University in Alabama.
Two professors in Southern’s School of Engineering and Physics – principal investigator Walters and Dr. Vola Andrianarijaona – are leading the initiative. Professors at each partner institution are developing curricula that will be implemented free of charge in classrooms across the United States.
“At Southern, we’re planning to create short, two-week modules on specific fusion energy topics that can be inserted into any class,” Walters says. “That way, universities can introduce students to these new concepts without asking them to take extracurricular classes on top of their required course loads.”
Courses focused on nuclear fusion typically begin at the graduate level because of the subject’s technical specificity. However, larger universities have begun implementing specialty tracks in fusion engineering. Southern’s effort to introduce undergraduate students to nuclear fusion places the university at the forefront of emerging trends in engineering education.
The RENEW grant will also fund guaranteed internships for Southern students – first at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and then with private fusion-energy companies. Angelina Castillo, a junior double major in physics and mathematics, earned the first internship placement at the Oak Ridge lab in summer 2025.
“Nuclear fusion has a lot of untapped potential, and I was grateful and excited for the chance to intern in the field,” Castillo says. “I worked to find a process to recycle the fuel used in nuclear fusion, exploring ways to separate the different particles in the fuel into the parts that can be reused and the parts that can’t.”
Castillo has already contributed to fusion research at Southern through her work with Andrianarijaona, who has maintained a partnership with the national laboratory in Oak Ridge since 2009. For the past five years, Andrianarijaona has coordinated Southern students’ participation on the laboratory’s beamline for ion-neutral collisions.
“Nuclear fusion is unstable in part because when particles fly out after the reaction, they have enough kinetic energy to melt the walls containing it,” Castillo explains. “Lining the walls with molecular hydrogen could absorb some of the particles’ energy, and the beamline we’re building will help us measure how much energy hydrogen can hold, helping to determine the viability of hydrogen-lined fusion chambers.”
Original story by Chehalis Eno
SVAD finalists shine in rebrand
Two students and a professor from Southern Adventist University’s School of Visual Art and Design were named finalists in a rebranding contest launched by the city of Collegedale, which is also home to the university.
Laurissa Mancía, a junior graphic design major, won first place and a $2,500 prize Feb. 17. Runners-up were Joe La Com, associate professor in SVAD, and Larnell Samuel, a senior graphic design major.
Led by staff planner Jason Allin, city commissioners and leaders sought a cohesive visual identity that reflected Collegedale’s spirit, history, landmarks and community values. Contestants were asked to submit a full logo and branding package – including designs, mood boards, color palettes and application mockups – for the competition, which launched last November and was open to students and city residents.
Entries were judged by a panel of city staff, local artists and community representatives. Judges evaluated submissions for creativity, originality, relevance to the city’s identity, versatility across print and digital media and effective use of color and typography.
Mancía’s designs will now appear on city signage as well as the municipality’s website, promotional materials and merchandise.
When asked about her inspiration, Mancía described an immersive creative process.
“I probably walked a marathon across Collegedale trying to get different views of things,” she says. “I also sat at my table drawing for hours, spending weeks trying to figure out something that wasn’t traditional [or] expected.”
Mancía said she learned about the town’s background from Dr. Mills McArthur, a professor in Southern’s History and Political Studies Department who grew up in Collegedale. Her work was also shaped by a branding class taught by Randy Craven, adjunct instructor and former dean of SVAD.
“We wanted our new look to be homegrown, and utilizing our local talent made all the difference,” says Tonya Sadler, vice mayor. “The beauty of this logo is that it was born right here in Collegedale. Our local artists have a perspective you can’t outsource. Laurissa brought a level of heart and history to her presentation that resonated with everyone, and that local soul is what makes the final piece special.”
Original story by Tina Smith