Higher 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": 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": 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": 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 Preparing To Launch New Engineering Program, Felley Lawson, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University is preparing to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering as early as Fall 2022, pending approval from the university’s institutional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The new 4-year program is being designed to meet standards set by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) and will be housed in the J.D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences at Ouachita.

A general engineering program provides solid preparation for graduates to move into any field of engineering, in addition to a wide range of related careers-–some of which require additional training or graduate study-–including robotics, renewable …

From The "Ouachitonian": Trey Lamb, Madi Darr, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Trey Lamb, a freshman Christian Studies major from Oak Grove, Ark., had a plan, but it was going to take hard work, commitment, and prayer. He was selfless and totally reliant on the Lord. He had this plan for a while and had to figure out how to execute it with grace and efficiency.