UA Students Receive Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award honors one man and one woman of this academic year's graduating class as well as one non-student. The recipients of the award have demonstrated the highest standards of scholarship, leadership and service. The student recipients are:

Joline Hartheimer

UA has brought Joline Hartheimer face to face with some of the more agonizing threats to health - a form of brain tumor that resists treatment and the persistent, genetically born sickle-cell anemia.

She has used her research skills to fight the tumor - glioblastoma multiforme - and her experience as a medical scribe and trainer at DCH has shown her how sickle-cell anemia causes suffering. Both experiences are fueling her passion for research in her major of chemical engineering and as a Randall Research Scholar.

"I began college wanting to create bioengineering solutions for patients, but I have realized that the bench-to-bedside pipeline is leaking for all but a few lucky and privileged individuals," she said. "I have a great appreciation for biomedical science through my research on glioblastoma cancer stem cells and genetics, as well as my courses in chemical engineering and biology."

Hartheimer, who serves as co-president of UA Society of Engineers in Medicine, works in the lab of Dr. Yonghyun "John" Kim, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, where she was helping to study the brain tumors. She is first author of a paper under review with Journal of Neuro-Oncology.

Coupled with her research skills is a profound sense of mission to help people. She has served as a campaign coordinator for Teach for America, and she has worked as a peer tutor and as an Al's Pals volunteer at Northington Elementary School.

Her parents are Linda Hartheimer and Walter Hartheimer.

Kyle Van Frank

UA's theatre and dance community got together in 2018 for "Greater Giving: A Benefit for Five Horizons," which supported West Alabama AIDS Outreach, now called Five Horizons Health Services. The benefit scored more than $4,000 for the charity - much more than the group had raised in the past.

And taking center stage was Kyle Van Frank, vice president of Alpha Psi Omega Theatre Honor Society, with a passion both for acting and for helping people and the environment.

Van Frank, a theatre major, also has been involved in the Student Government Association and the Blackburn Institute. For SGA, he served as associate vice president for Community and University Affairs and on the Executive Committee as director of Environmental Affairs - a way to express his strong ideas about preserving the planet.

On top of his service, Van Frank has been an active participant in theatre and dance productions, including playing Toby in "Sweeney Todd" and a character in the spring production of "The Drowsy Chaperone."

"It is rare that we begin to miss those students before they leave, and that is indeed the case with Kyle," said Seth Panitch, professor of theatre. "There is not a professor in my department who does not recognize the significant loss his departure presents us. His ability to shape morale with the quality of his character is, in my 13 years of experience at UA, unrivaled."

Van Frank's parents are JoAnne and Thomas Van Frank.

To view these students click here: https://ua.meritpages.com/achievements/UA-Students-Receive-Algernon-Sydney-Sullivan-Award/101296