Education Commons^™

From The "Ouachitonian": Julianna Parsons, Angela Webb, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Julianna Parsons, a freshman business entrepreneurship major from Celina, Texas, is Madame Pastry. Parsons has baked recreationally and professionally in her time as a baker and has drawn her inspiration from the sweeter things life has to offer.

From The "Ouachitonian": Dawson Bray, Madi Darr, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Being in love with the music industry gave Dawson Bray, senior music industry major from Little Rock, the drive to succeed as a musician. Bray decided to spend his pandemic summer in Nashville, Tenn., as an intern at the music label SSM Nashville on Music Row.

From The "Ouachitonian": Hunter Swoboda, Caroline Johnson, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

TikTok took the world by storm in 2020 as a social media app that allows users to create and share fun videos. Each video can consist of dancing, comedy or anything in between. Hunter Swoboda, a junior political science and business double major from Bentonville, did not hesitate to jump on the TikTok bandwagon. When he first downloaded the app, Swoboda said, “It was just for fun. I wasn’t expecting to get a lot of followers or attention.”

From The "Ouachitonian": Levi Dade, Kathryn Totty, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

While on a mission to answer his questions about Christianity, Levi Dade, a sophomore Christian Studies and Spanish double major from Senatobia, Miss., started his podcast, Defending Christianity. Through his podcast, Dade’s goal was to answer common questions regarding the Christian faith.

From The "Ouachitonian": Wade Wilson, Anna Roussel, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Wade Wilson, a Christian studies major from Springdale, was one of only two sophomores to be selected as a Tiger Tunes Rewind host. Prior to being selected, Wilson loved to sing and play guitar but did not have an outlet to do so. After seeing that sign-ups had opened for Tunes host, several friends encouraged him to take a chance. He decided to try out.

From The "Ouachitonian": Abbigale Sullins, Caroline Johnson, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic left many students with ruined plans during the summer of 2020. For sophomore music and chemistry major Abbi Sullins from Benton, that was not the case. Sullins worked as a medical screener for the coronavirus at the Saline Memorial Hospital in her hometown of Benton. Sullins had a history at Saline Memorial as her mother Amy worked in the hospital for many years when Sullins was a child.

From The "Ouachitonian": Caroline Johnson, Sophia Talley, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

In the summer of 2020, the United States was a breeding center for historic riots and the battle grounds for a pandemic. While most citizens watched these historic happenings on the news, Caroline Johnson, a sophomore political science major from Springdale, interned in Washington, D.C., aiding the nation’s leaders in a time of crisis.

From The "Ouachitonian": Ben Blocker, Greg Bryant, Sean Mckinney And James Renshaw, Anna Roussel, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

While most people were stuck in quarantine for the summer, a few students opted to spend their time in the last frontier. Juniors Greg Bryant, James Renshaw, Ben Blocker and Sean McKinney spent nearly two months on salmon boats in Alaska. Just when they thought they would be having an uneventful time off, their plans changed within a matter of days.

From The "Ouachitonian": Drs. Mary Chung And Carlos Feller, Mackenzie Hall, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita music professors Mary Chung and Carlos Feller have been traveling the world together for 11 years sharing their love and passion for music by performing and educating others. At a young age, Chung and Feller both found music as their refuge. Chung moved to the Dominican Republic where she encountered a language and culture barrier; she retreated to music as her escape. This led her to enroll at a conservatory where she began to earnestly study music. Feller attended a technical school, a specialized high school, at the age of 15. At that mere age, Feller was living in …

From The "Ouachitonian": Rickey Rogers, Jr., Kathryn Totty, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

For Rickey Rogers Jr., a freshman communications and psychology double major from Arkadelphia, Ouachita has always been home. When Rogers was 10 years old, his family moved into O.C. Bailey Hall because of his father’s new position as the Tigers’ wide receiver coach and residence hall director.

From The "Ouachitonian": Riley Carson, Mackenzie Hall, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

What seemed like the flu for senior Riley Carson, a worship arts major from Springdale, turned into several nights of hospital stays throughout Spring 2020. In late February 2020, Carson went home for several weeks because of what he thought was the flu. After a trip to the emergency room and a negative test result for the flu, Carson was told he could return to Ouachita. However, Carson’s stay on campus did not last long.

From The "Ouachitonian": Kiyia Floyd, Mallory Wallace, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

One of the most common questions Ouachita students were asked was, “How did you end up at Ouachita?” Every story is unique. Some have family roots that run deep; others chose Ouachita because it “felt like home.” Regardless of the reason, there was a point in each student’s life that made the decision to further their education at Ouachita Baptist University. For Kiyia Floyd, a junior business major from Jacksonville, her decision to transfer to Ouachita came as a result of smaller moments that stuck with her over time.

From The "Ouachitonian": Allyson Oliver, Gracen Goudy, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

With the unknowns that carried into the summer, junior political science and psychology major Allyson Oliver from Conway wondered if the internship she had in place would carry through. She had the privilege to intern in the public affairs office of Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. Fortunately, Oliver’s experience was only delayed a month due to the pandemic and was virtual only a portion of the time.

From The "Ouachitonian": Hannah Pilcher, Madi Darr, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Hannah Pilcher, the resident director of Frances Crawford Hall, found a unique opportunity for ministry within her job in the freshman girls’ dorm. Pilcher is originally from Little Rock and has spent the past eight years pouring into the lives of freshmen girls and resident assistants, as a student and as an RD. Her time at Ouachita inspired Pilcher to build relationships with others that directly parallels her experience as a student.

From The "Ouachitonian": Eric Phillips, Mallory Wallace, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Emily Watson’s family owns Joyhouse Coffee Company, a premium Haitian coffee company dedicated to providing joy with every cup of coffee. Being a part of such a special exchange represents everything Watson loves.

From The "Ouachitonian": Emily Watson, Emily Barton, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

One family’s dream to help a country that they do not even live in has encouraged their daughter to lead a life in the same servant-hearted way. Emily Watson’s family owns Joyhouse Coffee Company, a premium Haitian coffee company dedicated to providing joy with every cup of coffee. Being a part of such a special exchange represents everything Watson loves.

From The "Ouachitonian": Dr. Wesley Kluck, Madison Cresswell, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

After moving back to Arkadelphia, his hometown and town of his alma mater, following his time in medical school and residency, Dr. Wesley Kluck was asked what his dream job was while playing a newlywed game at church. “My answer was always to work at Ouachita Baptist University,” said Kluck.

From The "Ouachitonian": Elizabeth And Madeline Steely, Julia Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Most Ouachita students have several different roommates for four years during their time in Arkadelphia, but for twin sisters Elizabeth and Madeline Steely, having a roommate is all they have ever known. The Steely twins have shared a room together for as long as they can remember, and that tradition continued throughout their years at Ouachita.

From The "Ouachitonian": Kirsten Swanson, Mackenzie Hall, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

As high school graduation grew near for Kirsten Swanson, a dietetics and nutrition major from Canyon Lake, Texas, she struggled to make a college decision. After realizing she was unsure of what she wanted to do career-wise, Swanson decided to take the year off and started her journey for what would become a seven-year gap period.

From The "Ouachitonian": Saboot Esho, Mackenzie Hall, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Sabaoot Esho, an international student from Erbil, Iraq, made a 6,841-mile trip to small-town Arkadelphia to attend college at Ouachita Baptist University at the mere age of 17. Before moving to America, Esho had only seen Ouachita’s campus through a computer screen. From her first steps on campus, Esho immediately felt welcomed and seemed at home.

From The "Ouachitonian": Lindsey Crowder, Julia Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Learning how to overcome challenges is a skill that some acquire throughout a lifetime. However, for Lindsey Crowder, a senior psychology major from Bentonville, understanding how to face adversity became a way of life at the age of two.

From The "Ouachitonian": Sam Conine, Sophia Talley, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Many students spent quarantine with their eyes glued to the screen, but Sam Conine, a freshman business entrepreneurship major from Little Rock, was on the other side of the camera. Over the summer, Conine wrote, produced, directed and starred in “AEGIS,” the film of his dreams.

From The "Ouachitonian": Tyreese Allen, Emily Barton, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Freshman year of high school included moving from Kansas to Savannah, Georgia, for Tyrese Allen, a senior biology major and student body president. His family packed up their rental car, and all Allen cared about were his clothes and fishing poles. While living in Savannah, in the 10th grade, Allen created a mass college application to hundreds of schools.

Ouachita's Dr. Nathan Reyna Receives National Innovation In Education Award, Julie Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Dr. Nathan Reyna, associate professor of biology at Ouachita Baptist University, has won the first Innovation in Education Award from the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

The Cell Bio Virtual 2021 conference was held online Dec. 1-10. Cell Bio is a joint international annual meeting of the ASCB and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). Reyna spoke and was presented with his award on the first day of the virtual meeting.

Turning From Fear To Hope, Brooke Zimny, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

I had a front-row seat to Ouachita’s approach to pandemic planning as a member of several administrative groups on campus. I remember feeling fear, anxiety and discouragement starting in March 2020 at the challenge ahead of and all around us. Perseverance, optimism and grit were displayed in abundance, but still a strange cloud hung over the year for me, knowing how it compared to typical years not only on campus but also personally. We were adapting as well as we could, but everything was different about how we were experiencing the world.

One of my roles this academic year was …

Feed Arkadelphia Seeks To Address Hunger, Reduce Waste, Reach Hearts, Mandy Halbert, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

As a senior in high school, Reanna Johnson first realized her passion for ending hunger through her volunteer work with a local food pantry. After getting plugged in to Ouachita’s Elrod Center for Family and Community freshman year and gaining support across campus, she knew she wanted to build a way to make a tangible impact in Arkadelphia.

Now a rising senior at Ouachita, she has created Feed Arkadelphia, a program similar to Meals on Wheels that partners with Ouachita’s food service provider, Sodexo, to redistribute Ouachita’s unused cafeteria food to families in need in the Arkadelphia community.

Equipping Leaders (Worship Arts Program Combines Hands-On Music Experience With Theological Training), Rachel Gaddis, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

With its strong history of producing worship leaders who serve in well-known churches in Arkansas, Texas and beyond, Ouachita’s School of Fine Arts has been on the radar of local churches for decades. And as the ministry of worship continues to change, the preparation Ouachita offers also is shifting to equip rising worship leaders.

“Being proficient in music is not enough,” said Larry Grayson, chair of the Department of Worship Arts and instructor of music. “You have to be good at it, but it’s not enough. Students have to be willing to be equipped for ministry. It is crucial for …

The Johnson Family (A Ouachita Legacy From A Parent's Perspective), Jon Merryman, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

When you think of Tigers for Life, the Johnson family may have set a record – six Ouachita graduates in eight years, and one more headed for the stage in 2023. The Johnson family legacy began with Sally (Sullivan) Johnson, a 1954 graduate, and the Ouachita connections continued in the next generation. Sally’s son, Jerry G. Johnson, didn’t attend Ouachita but came to know the institution through his work and friendship with Ouachita alumnus and benefactor Frank Hickingbotham. Neither Sally nor Jerry could have guessed that all seven of Jerry’s children would one day call Ouachita home.

Jerry and his …

Hope By Way Of Lament, Doug Nykolaishen

Press Releases

“Back to normal.” Since the middle of last March, those words have felt like an impossible dream. As illness disrupted life for many and restrictions disrupted life for all, we longed for things to just be the way they used to be.

Now the widespread distribution of effective vaccines has encouraged many to hope that life may indeed be on its way back to something much closer to what we previously knew. Our natural desire is to get on with what’s good as quickly as we can. But in our haste to get to “a better world,” it’s worthwhile noticing …

Rachel (Waggener) Pool ('07) (Associate Professor Of Education), Jon Merryman, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

When Dr. Rachel Pool stepped onto Ouachita’s campus for Super Summer in high school, she fell in love. Not with a boy from another Arkansas town – she was in love with Ouachita.

“I was looking for a small, Christ-centered university where I could make quality Christian friendships, and I found that at Ouachita,” Pool said.

After graduation, Pool moved back to her hometown of West Memphis to teach high school algebra and later taught at McNair Middle School in Fayetteville, Ark., and Benton Junior High School in Benton, Ark. Since graduating from Ouachita, she earned her National Board Certification, …