Five A-State Graduates to be Recognized as 2025 Emerging Young Alumni
From L to R: Dr. Will Little, William Terrell “Trey” Outlaw III, Sophie Rogers, Jeffrey Higgins and Dr. Hunter Smith.
JONESBORO – The 2025 recipients of the Emerging Young Alumni (EYA) Award at Arkansas State University have been announced by the A-State Alumni Association and Student Philanthropy Council. This is the seventh year of the recognition program for A-State's young alumni.
Those selected as Emerging Young Alumni are those who, through personal participation, have made significant contributions to A-State, their profession or their community.
The five EYA recipients will be recognized during a luncheon starting at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, in the Cooper Alumni Center, 2600 Alumni Blvd. Ticket information is online.
Here are brief highlights on the five EYA 2025 recipients:
Jeffrey Higgins
A native of Marianna, Higgins graduated from Lee Academy before earning his bachelor’s degree in agriculture business from A-State in 2010. While at the university, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity.
Higgins is the owner of JTown’s Grill and The Social in Jonesboro. He serves on the Red Wolf Foundation Board, Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce Board, City Water and Light Board, Signature Bank Advisory Board, Kappa Alpha Order Housing Board, and is chairman of Craighead County Ducks Unlimited.
He and his wife Kacey, a 2010 A-State graduate, have three children — Mary, George and Jack.
Dr. Will Little
Little earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from A-State in 2009, then graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 2013 before returning to Jonesboro to practice clinically with Dr. Ron Burnett. In 2015, he teamed up with college and dental school friend Dr. Hunter Smith to co-found GPS Dental.
Since its founding, Little has worked to build quality partnerships with clinicians across the country. GPS Dental was built on the foundations of clinical autonomy and transparency between the DSO and its clinicians. Outside of work, Little enjoys golf — particularly studying and playing new courses — as well as duck hunting in Northeast Arkansas and spending time with his family on Greers Ferry Lake. He and his wife Brynn have three children, John David, Jack and Emma James.
William Terrell “Trey” Outlaw III
A Monticello native and three-time A-State graduate, Outlaw earned his B.S.E. in physical education in 2012, M.S.E. in building-level administration in 2015, and Ed.S. in district-level administration in 2020. A student-athlete from 2007–2011, he was a letterman on the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Championship football team and was named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.
Outlaw is currently principal of West Fork High School. He has held roles as a teacher, coach, district athletic director and head football coach, with a focus on building strong school cultures, supporting educators and creating high-impact opportunities for students. His tenure as athletic director and head football coach at Arkansas High saw increased participation and success across all sports, the launch of wrestling programs, and the creation of an affordable youth football and cheer program.
He resides in Farmington with his wife, Brittney, and their daughter, Caroline, and is completing his Ed.D. in rural and diverse educational leadership at Southern Arkansas University.
Sophie Rogers
Rogers is a visual problem solver, creative strategist and storyteller with nearly a decade of experience building bold, impactful brands. She is the founder of Open Coffin Creative, partnering with local businesses on strategy-driven design, and also works as a graphic designer for the international beauty booking SaaS company Booksy.
A longtime leader in the American Advertising Federation, Rogers has served as president of the NEA chapter, American Advertising Awards chair for District 10, and government relations chair for Arkansas, organizing a Day at the Capitol to discuss advertising legislation with state lawmakers. She spearheaded initiatives such as ADvocacy, which has donated over $70,000 in creative work and labor to local charities, and ADvantage, a career clinic connecting students from A-State and other regional colleges with industry professionals.
She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design with minors in theater and music from A-State in 2017.
Dr. Hunter Smith
After graduating from dental school to become a general dentist, Smith co-founded GPS Dental in 2015 with Dr. Will Little. The pair launched the company in their hometown of Jonesboro with the goal of creating real, meaningful and lasting equity partnerships with dental clinicians through a dental support organization that adds value to all areas of non-clinical needs.
Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in pre-professional studies with a biology emphasis and a minor in chemistry from A-State in 2010.
He went on to earn his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Dentistry in 2014.
Married to his high school sweetheart, Nan, since 2012, the couple has two sons, Brady and Win. Smith enjoys traveling with his family, playing and watching golf and tennis, collecting watches, keeping up with popular TV shows, laughing at memes and smoking a cigar by a well-made fire.
