Projects to enhance Brookvale and Freshwater as vibrant night-time destinations for locals and visitors are set to receive funding from the State Government.

Both Brookvale and Freshwater were among 21 districts across Greater Sydney that were successful in receiving funding under the State Government’s Uptown Grant Program.

The Brookvale Arts District (BAD) will receive $198,450 to support the coordination and marketing for its BAD POSTER public art exhibition.

The exhibition will feature augmented reality street posters connecting artists, audiences, and communities to enhance Brookvale’s cultural credentials.

And the DuskDown project in Freshwater, led by Freshwater based businesses, will receive $200,000 to stimulate the region’s night-time economy and re-engage the local community.

The funding will see a precinct strategy and brand developed, followed by a marketing campaign that celebrates businesses in the Freshwater area.

The Grants will allow the successful districts to hire dedicated resources to manage their combined initiatives, including events, marketing and operations.

The State Government said the funds presented an exciting opportunity for groups of businesses and creatives in the selected districts to co-ordinate their efforts and build further consumer engagement to realise their visions for vibrant local communities.

The grant program follows the successful completion of the State Government’s Uptown Accelerator late last year, in which more than two dozen district teams took part in capability and vision-building workshops.

Applications have just opened for this year’s Uptown Accelerator program. A business briefing is scheduled for 28 June, so if you would like to register or find out more, please email uptown@investment.nsw.gov.au.

June 22, 2023

Susquehanna University has appointed six new members to its Board of Trustees.

“Susquehanna University’s leaders are committed to providing our students with an innovative education that prepares them for productive, creative and reflective lives of achievement, leadership and service,” said University President Jonathan Green. “Our Board of Trustees is integral to the university achieving these goals.”

Appointed to terms ending in 2027 are:

Kendra Aucker, president and chief executive officer, Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg.

Aucker was appointed president and chief executive officer in 2015 after serving the hospital previously as executive vice president/chief operating officer. An integral part of Evangelical Community Hospital’s senior leadership team since 1990, Aucker also served in operations, physician practice management and marketing roles.

Aucker holds a Bachelor of Arts from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration from Frederick Taylor University.

Megan McMullen ’02 Blue, senior director of major gifts team, White Plains Hospital, New York.

McMullen Blue is a key member of the development senior leadership team at White Plains Hospital. Prior to her tenure there, she served in director of development roles at organizations including Read Alliance, The George Washington University and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

After graduating summa cum laude from Susquehanna with a Bachelor of Arts in public relations, she earned a Master of Public Policy from the George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration. Before being elected to the Board of Trustees, McMullen Blue served as president of the Susquehanna University Alumni Board.

Douglas Powell ’75, attorney, Powell & Associates, Atlanta, Georgia.

After graduating from Susquehanna with a bachelor’s degree in English, Powell earned his law degree from Wake Forest University Law School in 1980. He practiced law in North Carolina before serving as a decorated lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the United States Navy Reserve (1981-1985). After completing his service, Powell practiced law at Fortson & White (1985-88 and Hinton & Powell (1988-2021) before founding Powell & Associates in 2021.

In addition to his work as an attorney, Powell graduated summa cum laude in 2006 from the Art Institute of Atlanta in culinary arts. He was employed as a sous chef at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta hotel from 2006 to 2010. He became a certified sommelier and wine judge in 2009 and taught wine courses at the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2010. In 2021, Powell became a fine art and landscape photographer.

Joseph Yalch Jr., DDS, ’86, dentist, Penn Family Dental, Philadelphia.

After graduating from Susquehanna University with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Yalch enrolled in Georgetown University School of Dentistry, Washington, D.C., and graduated in 1990.

Yalch is a general dentist who spent nearly 29 years in private practice in downtown Washington, D.C., before joining Penn Family Dental in 2018. His emphasis is in advanced restorative dentistry, providing clinical skill and expertise in all aspects of restorative dentistry, but he is particularly adept at treating complex, multi-disciplinary cases.

He maintains memberships with the American Dental Association and Academy of General Dentistry, among others.

Emma Fleck, department head of management and marketing and associate professor of entrepreneurship and marketing at Susquehanna University, was appointed as a faculty representative to Susquehanna’s Board of Trustees.

Fleck came to Susquehanna from Colorado Mesa University where she was an assistant professor of entrepreneurship and marketing. She earned her doctorate in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, where she also earned a postgraduate certificate in teaching higher education.

Her research has included gendered aspects of entrepreneurship, internationalization and spirituality in the workplace. Additionally, she is the co-founder and strategic development director at Zenith Online Marketing.

Ryan Rorls ’25, of Frederick, Maryland, was appointed as the junior representative to the Board of Trustees and will serve a two-year term.

Rorls is a management major with a minor in data science & analytics. At Susquehanna, she is a member of the women’s volleyball team, Enactus and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Vancouver’s Chinese Canadian Museum opening for business July 1 – Hospitality, Marketing & Tourism | Business in Vancouver

Skip to main content

Under the terms of the agreement, Slate Milk will receive prominent branding in the world-famous Octagon at some of UFC’s biggest events, including select Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights, all episodes of Dana White’s Contender Series starting this August, and all episodes of season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter, which debuts in 2024. 

In addition, Slate Milk will receive branding integration within a number of Pay-Per-View broadcasts as well as within event-specific social media content that is distributed through UFC’s popular digital and social channels, which collectively reach over 233 million global users.

Slate Milk will also be featured within UFC’s state-of-the-art Performance Institute in Las Vegas and will be made available to UFC fighters and other elite athletes for their use. 

“I got turned on to Slate from a friend of mine and started using the product, fell in love with it, and now they are an Official UFC partner,” said UFC President Dana White. “There is nothing better than doing deals with people, products or a company that you actually love and use.”

Slate Milk, co-founded by Manny Lubin and Josh Belinsky in Boston, Mass., has seen rapid growth since their launch. “UFC is an incredible organization with some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the world. The continued growth of their business is really one of the more remarkable entrepreneurial stories of our generation,” said co-founders Manny and Josh. “Our mission at Slate Milk is to help make people and the planet stronger. We’re extremely excited to partner with UFC to amplify our brand awareness and provide the UFC fanbase with shamelessly chuggable high protein, low sugar, delicious drinks.”

Slate Milk began as an idea for “helping to give chocolate milk a clean slate,” as stated by Lubin and Belinsky. After a successful Kickstarter campaign and an appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank, the business launched in late 2019. Since then, the business has raised over $20 million in venture funding and has grown to over 12,000 retail locations across the U.S.  Their products do not require refrigeration and are also sold online at slatemilk.com (U.S. only) and on Amazon.com.

Years before a tourist submersible went missing on an expedition to explore the Titanic shipwreck with five passengers on board, red flags about safety issues emerged about the company that designed and operated the vessel. 

OceanGate, which charged $250,000 per person for the Titanic voyage, is a privately held company that touts its “innovative use of materials and state-of-the-art technology” in developing submersibles that can fit five passengers. 

But behind the marketing lingo, lawsuits and industry experts had raised serious safety concerns about the project years before the sub’s disappearance. In 2018, a professional trade group warned that OceanGate’s experimental approach to the design of the Titan could lead to potentially “catastrophic” outcomes, according to a letter from the group obtained by CBS News.

That same year, an employee of OceanGate raised safety concerns about the Titan’s design and the company’s protocol for testing the hull’s reliability. That employee, David Lochridge, was fired by OceanGate after airing his complaints to government regulators and OceanGate’s management, with the latter then suing him for breach of contract. 

In response to OceanGate’s lawsuit, Lochridge counter-sued, airing his concerns about Titan’s safety in a 2018 court document. 

Lochridge claimed he believed the company could “subject passengers to potential extreme danger in an experimental submersible,” according to the legal filing. 

In February, the CEO of OceanGate, Stockton Rush, was sued by a Florida couple after they struggled to get a refund on their deposits for several canceled trips on the Titan. The pair, Marc and Sharon Hagle, said in their lawsuit that OceanGate canceled one expedition saying it hadn’t had enough time to certify that the Titan could reach the depths of the Titanic. Another trip was canceled because of “equipment failure,” according to a copy of the Hagles’ lawsuit published by the Fort-Myers News Press. 

Attorneys for the Hagles didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

OceanGate didn’t respond to requests for comment about the lawsuits and allegations. In a statement to CBS News, Lochridge’s attorney said he had no comment regarding his allegations. “We pray for everyone’s safe return,” the attorney said.

Certification issues

One of the red flags about the Titan was its certification — or lack thereof. 

The 2018 letter from a professional trade group, the Marine Technology Society, flagged the company’s marketing materials which advertised that the Titan’s design would meet or exceed a certification called DNV-GL. Stemming from the independent Norwegian foundation Det Norske Veritas, or DNV, the certification is considered the gold standard for marine equipment. 

But, the Marine Technology Society noted, “it does not appear that OceanGate has the intention of following DNV-GL class rules.” Such representations would be “misleading to the public and breaches an industry-wide professional code of conduct we all endeavor to uphold,” the letter added.

A factsheet about the Titan on OceanGate’s website doesn’t mention if the vessel had received DNV certification.

“Refused to pay”

Certification and testing was also a focus of Lochridge’s countersuit, in which he refuted OceanGate’s claims that he breached his employment contract when he filed a whistleblower complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

Lochridge wrote that he learned the viewport on the sub was only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, even though the Titan intended to go down to 4,000 meters in depth. He also urged OceanGate to use an agency such as the American Bureau of Shipping to inspect and certify the Titan.

“OceanGate refused to pay for the manufacturer to build a viewport that would meet the required depth of 4,000 meters,” Lochridge’s filing alleges. 

He claims that rather than address his concerns or use “a standard classification agency to inspect the Titan,” OceanGate immediately fired him. 

OceanGate’s lawsuit against Lochridge stresses that he wasn’t an engineer, and that he refused to accept its lead engineer’s “veracity of information,” leading to his firing. In his legal response, Lochridge admitted he wasn’t an engineer, but noted that “he was hired to ensure the safety of all crew and clients during submersible and surface operations.”

From a young age, DOCG was taught he should become a doctor, lawyer or engineer.

Born to Sri Lankan immigrants, the Melbourne-based artist — who wants to go by his artist name, DOCG — said his cultural upbringing never gave him room to explore other career paths.

Like many Asian-Australian migrants, DOCG’s parents wanted him to chose a stable, high-paying profession.

“All my cousins were becoming engineers and doctors,” he told the ABC.

But as DOCG grew up, he realised that he did not like the expectations of what he was meant to do with his career, and wanted to carve his own identity as an artist.

“I’ve never seen someone have that kind of career path, especially in our culture.”

After seven years working as a creative director, stylist, artist and photographer, DOCG has collaborated and worked with big brands including Platypus, Adidas, Reebok and New Balance.

He said his parents were initially confused by his artistic career path.

“They were like, ‘Where did this come from, who were your friends, who have you been listening to, we never taught you this.'”

However, DOCG said that as he grew older, he began to have “a lot of empathy and understanding” for his parents’ reasoning for wanting him to pursue a different career.

He said the culture had taught people, like his parents, that only those with professional jobs could make a living.

DOCG said people who grew up in a developing country would also have different views on art and design compared to those from a Western culture.

“[My parents] were unaware of how important art and design is in Western society,” he said.

Having designed and released everything from clothes and jewellery to hosting international shows and exhibitions, DOCG said he enjoyed the sense of expression and freedom of doing something he loves.

And although the artist did not become a doctor, the creation of his moniker “DOCG”, allowed him to turn this cultural expectation into a name that he has made on his own.

“I just want to have fun. I want to be able to make things and hope that when people see what I make as an individual, they become inspired to do that for themselves,” he said.

“I want to expand, grow and evolve — and I hope that’s what the future for others will look like.”

‘Staying true to yourself’

Many Australians from Asian backgrounds have reported experiencing cultural and social barriers when choosing a career in the art industry.

Diversity Arts Australia chief executive Lena Nahlous said Australia’s art and cultural practices were deeply rooted in the Euro-American model, which could exclude many migrants.

Ms Nahlous said they were often unable to access funding, not recognised for the work they produced and had limited access to opportunities and work.

Many were also under-represented and “historically excluded and marginalised” in these workplaces, she said.

Research from Diversity Arts Australia revealed that only 9 per cent of the 1,980 leaders of the country’s institutions are culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians, even though the Australian Human Rights Commission found 39 per cent of the Australian population have a CALD background.

“Research tells us that culturally diverse people have struggled to find work in the sector and that there is an over-representation of people from Anglo-Celtic backgrounds in the arts, screen and creative sectors,” Ms Nahlous said.

“Calling-out and countering this exclusion and opening pathways into the funded or mainstream creative industries for historically excluded people is critical to our work at Diversity Arts Australia.”

The under-representation of CALD Australians in creative roles has discouraged many aspiring Asian-Australian artists from pursuing a career in the industry.

But Asian-Australian artists like musician Grant Perez say it’s time for that to change.

Perez, who is also known as grentperez, is a Sydney-based musician who has performed across Australia and in Europe and the United States.

The indie pop artist has more than 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify and has released his latest EP, When We Were Younger, earlier this month.

When asked about his musical journey, Perez told ABC News that he did not think people like him could succeed in the industry.

“Growing up, I was just unaware of other Asian-Australian artists. I think I wasn’t presented enough with it compared to the Western American pop music scene,” Perez said.

Despite this, Perez never gave up on his dream.

“I am a big believer of staying true to yourself,” Perez said.

“And I always pictured myself performing on stage and singing stuff that I made in front of people.”

And with the success of his YouTube covers and debut single, Cherry Wine, Perez believed he could impact communities as a young Filipino artist.

“I really try to convey the message of being yourself because that’s what makes you unique,” Perez said.

“It makes me really happy to see more Asian people come into the industry — that’s a big motivator.

“I just tell them to just go for it because there’s nothing stopping you.”

‘Steer the boat to where you want it to go’

Many first-generation migrants who worked in industries such as IT, medicine and accounting in their home countries had to chose lower qualification jobs in Australia to meet visa requirements, according to Nick Parr, professor of demography at Macquarie University.

Those migrants would often encourage their children to pursue the professions they originally had back home, but their children have more freedom to chose what they want to do, Professor Parr said.

“It has been suggested that parents from Asian countries have tried to influence their children’s choice of degree programs, educational qualifications and occupations,” he said.

“[Their children] don’t have the same constraints on their choice of occupation as opposed to their parents’ generation.

“It shouldn’t be surprising if there is more diversity in occupations.”

Melbourne-based photographer Luisa Brimble said at one point in her career, she was pressured to become a nurse.

She then studied banking and finance at college for two years in the Philippines before migrating to Australia with her family, and eventually worked in marketing.

However, when Brimble decided to pick up her old DSLR camera and started taking photos of her family and friends, she quickly realised that photography was her passion and left her marketing job of 10 years.

As a food photographer for more than 15 years, Brimble has worked with leading publishing houses including Penguin Random House and Hardie Grant Publishing, and was a James Beard nominated photographer in 2019.

Brimble told the ABC that sometimes people did not listen enough to what they love to do.

“It’s a much different generation [now] because we don’t have the pressure to be a person [working] in the stock exchange or nursing — you don’t have to wait for others to tell you,” Brimble said.

Steep cliffs, narrow passes, waterfalls, and wide, sloping hills are fixtures among the ocean bound landscapes of the Faroe Islands. The archipelago in the North Atlantic is a cluster of 18 individual islands, a few of which Swiss photographer Jennifer Esseiva (previously) visited last April. On Vágar and Kasloy, she documented the dramatic vistas, peering out from summits and across vast swaths of land and sea.

Esseiva shares that reaching her destinations required a significant amount of hiking, made extra difficult due to intense wind and rain. She explains:

The rain comes in whenever it wants, often accompanied by a strong wind! We’re in a wild environment where the weather changes rapidly…Suffering from vertigo, this trip was a real challenge for me, especially on the island of Kalsoy. On its northern tip is the small lighthouse of Kallur, nestled in a spicy setting and surrounded by sheer cliffs. The best photographic compositions require you to get close to the cliffs, which are battered by the wind.

In the coming weeks, Esseiva plans to share photos from Eysturoy and Streymoy islands, so keep an eye on Instagram for updates.  Prints are available on Etsy.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Waterfalls Spill Across the Dramatic Lush Landscapes of the Faroe Islands appeared first on Colossal.

Dozens of students from the Poway and Rancho Bernardo area have recently earned academic honors and college degrees.

Mackenzie Rogers of Poway was named to the Spring 2023 Dean’s List in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

Rogers was among more than 2,000 students honored at the campus in Fayetteville, Arkansas. To qualify, students had to earn at least a 3.75 GPA for the semester while completing at least 12 credit hours.

* * * * *

Ethan Gilmour of the Rancho Bernardo area among the nearly 300 students who graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. Gilmour earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business with a concentration in management.

* * * * *

Anisia Dumitrascu of the Rancho Bernardo area was recently awarded a $1,000 study abroad grant from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Dumitrascu is one of 125 students nationwide to receive the award given to undergraduates seeking to expand their knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad.

The criminal justice major at San Diego State University will be attending the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Grant recipients were selected based on their academic achievement, campus and community service, relation of travel to academic preparation and career goals, a personal statement, letters of recommendation and acceptance into a study abroad program.

* * * * *

Ohio Wesleyan University has named three students from the Rancho Bernardo area — Bryan Benavente, Henry Blom and Megan Knee — to its Dean’s List for the Spring 2023 semester. To qualify at the campus in Delaware, Ohio, students had to earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

* * * * *

Coley O’Connor of Poway graduated magna cum laude from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. O’Connor, who majored in philosophy and theology, was among the 424 students to receive degrees during the May 2023 commencement ceremony.

* * * * *

Brooke Tyler of the Rancho Bernardo area was among the 1,051 students who made the President’s List at Utah Tech University for the Spring 2023 semester. They represented nearly 10 percent of the university’s students.

To make the list, students had to earn a semester GPA of 3.9 or higher and complete a minimum of 15 credits at the campus in St. George, Utah.

* * * * *

Grace Mihata of Poway was among the Spring 2023 graduates at Auburn University. Mihata earned a Bachelor of Science in business with an emphasis in marketing from the campus in Auburn, Alabama.

* * * * *

Patrick Oh of Poway was named to the Dean’s List at Miami University for the 2023 spring semester. Oh is working on a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.

To be honored, Miami University students had to rank in the top 20 percent of undergraduate students within their division during the semester. The campus is in Oxford, Ohio.

* * * * *

Sydney Barnas of the Rancho Bernardo area was named to the Spring 2023 Dean’s List at Hofstra University. Barnas is a drama major.

To be honored at the campus in Hempstead, New York, students had to earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

* * * * *

Annabel Prodnuk of ZIP code 92127 has graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science in games & simulation arts & sciences. Prodnuk was among the 1,957 students to earn degrees this spring from the campus in Troy, New York.

* * * * *

Trevor Gaswirth of Poway has made the Dean’s Academic Honor List for the Spring 2023 semester at Baylor University. To be honored at the campus in Waco, Texas, students had to earn at least a 3.7 GPA while enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours.

* * * * *

Two students from the Rancho Bernardo area made the University of Mississippi’s Dean’s Honor Roll for the spring 2023 semester. They are Alyssa Amaral, who is majoring in criminal justice, and Ava Zamadics, who is majoring in biological science.

To be listed at the campus in University, Mississippi, students had to earn a semester GPA of 3.50 to 3.74 and complete at least 12 graded hours.

* * * * *

Two students from the Rancho Bernardo area have received academic honors from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee.

Leilani Baker was named to the President’s List for earning a 4.0 GPA. Baker is working toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art.

Elliha Baker was been named to the Dean’s List for earning a GPA of 3.4 or higher. Baker is working toward a Bachelor of Science in psychology.

* * * * *

Dania Grant of Poway earned a Master of Arts in biology from Miami University through Project Dragonfly.

Since joining the Global Field Program master’s in 2020, Grant has traveled to Baja and Namibia, engaged with global conservationists in action projects through an online course, and conducted projects that have made a difference in the Poway area.

Grant’s Master Plan final portfolio was “Tall Tales and Small Scientists: Youth Conservation Education Through Storytelling.” Grant is the Wildlife Conservancy Fundraising Ambassador for San Diego Zoo Global.

Project Dragonfly is based in the biology department at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

* * * * *

Savannah Evanko of Poway earned both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in commerce & business administration from The University of Alabama. The campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama awarded over 5,885 degrees during its spring commencement ceremonies.

* * * * *

Abilene Christian University has named two Poway students to its Dean’s Honor Roll for the Spring 2023 semester. They are Emi Aguilar, a sophomore majoring in advertising/public relations; and Lucy Wilkinson, a sophomore majoring in social work.

To be honored at the campus in Abilene, Texas, students had to achieve a 3.6 or higher GPA while enrolled in at least 12 credit hours.

* * * * *

Two students from ZIP code 92127 were named to the Dean’s Honor List for the Spring 2023 semester at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. They are James Hunt, who is studying biomedical engineering; and Annabel Prodnuk, who is studying games and simulation arts & sciences.

To be honored, undergraduate students had to complete 12 or more credit hours with a GPA of 3.5 or better for that term.

* * * * *

Tate Nelson of the Rancho Bernardo area was named to Albion College’s Dean’s List for the Spring 2023 semester. Nelson is majoring in music education with a concentration in K-12 education.

To be honored at the campus in Albion, Michigan, students had to earn a GPA of 3.5 or better while taking four graded courses.

* * * * *

Ethan Marasco of the Rancho Bernardo area was named to the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Honors List for the 2023 Spring Quarter. Marasco is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in marketing. To be honored at the Milwaukee campus, undergraduate students had to earn a quarter GPA of 3.20 or higher.

* * * * *

Lehigh University has named Dylan Morschl-Villa of ZIP code 92128 to its Spring 2023 Dean’s List. To be honored at the campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania students had to earn a scholastic average of 3.6 or better while carrying at least 12 hours of regularly graded courses.

* * * * *

Matthew Hogan of the Rancho Bernardo area was among the more than 6,500 undergraduate, graduate and professional students to receive degrees or certificates during the University of Iowa’s 2023 commencement ceremony. Hogan received a certificate in leadership as part of the university’s Graduate Management Program. The campus is in Iowa City, Iowa.

* * * * *

Cory Lin of Poway was among the more than 6,500 students who earned undergraduate, graduate or professional degrees from the University of Iowa in May.

Lin received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the university’s Carver College of Medicine at the Iowa City campus.

* * * * *

Jenna Crowley of the Rancho Bernardo area has received two academic honors from the University of Iowa.

The second-year student majoring in English at the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was among the more than 7,100 undergraduates named to the Spring 2023 Dean’s List for earning a GPA of 3.5 or higher while completing at least 12 semester hours.

Crowley was also among the more than 1,100 undergraduate students named to the Spring 2023 President’s List for earning a 4.0 GPA while completing at least 12 semester hours for two consecutive semesters.

* * * * *

Three local students have earned academic honors at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.

Sarah Lawhorn of Poway was named to the Spring 2023 President’s List for being a full-time undergraduate student who earned a semester GPA of 4.0.

Sophia Righthouse of San Diego and Robert Wagenseller of Poway were named to the Spring 2023 Dean’s List. They are full-time undergraduate students who earned a semester GPA of at least 3.40.