Arnedia Smith, Outstanding Undergraduate Paper

The OAGE Outstanding Undergraduate Student Paper award honors and remembers Professor Arnedia Smith, who was a well-liked and well-respected educator with a strong dedication to gerontology education. Professor Smith worked at Edison State Community College for 13 years and died after a brief illness at age 40. She was an original member of the Ohio Network of Educational Consultants in the Field of Aging (ONECA, formerly OAGE). Professor Smith was very prominent in promoting the development and advancement of gerontology programs throughout the region and state and co-chaired ONECA’s annual conference. She was involved with professional workshops designed to assist educators and service providers in the field of aging.

Eligibility criteria:
Nominations must be made by an OAGE member. Submit an online nomination with:

Undergraduate students whose abstracts are accepted for presentation at the OAGE annual conference and have registered for the conference.
Students must be the lead author of the paper. If a student co-authors with a faculty member, the lead author (student) only will be considered for the award and the faculty member must state that the majority of the work is that of the student’s. If a student co-authors with another student(s), only the lead author will be considered for the financial award, but all co-authors will be provided a certificate.
Submission Process:
Submit an online application with:

A full paper (limit of 20 pages following the APA 7th edition format) demonstrates:
• Importance of the topic, research problem, question, or issue.
• Adequacy of the methodological approach and/or logic of the argument.
• Adequacy of the implications.
• Clarity and style of writing.
A letter of support from the faculty advisor.
Nature of Awards:

The awardee presents at the annual conference.
The awardee receives a certificate and a cash award.
The awardee is recognized at the annual conference.

Jenae Fisher
Arnedia Smith Outstanding Undergraduate Paper 2025
College of Health and Human Services, Bowling Green State University