For Mama Sweet, it all began in 2002 with a gig at one of Norman’s most coveted venues: The Deli.
That’s when front man Aron Holt, along with band members Alan Orebaugh, Boyd Littell and John Carnuccio, joined forces to form an outfit that’s a little bit country, a little bit rock n’ roll and a whole lot of local flavor.
“When Mama Sweet started, it was just a matter of wrangling up the necessary ingredients to make a band,” Holt says. “I had written a bunch of songs and hadn’t been in a band in a while. Everyone was asking when I was going to start another one. So, I decided to give it a shot.”
It was a good call for both the band members and local audiences. Mama Sweet played their first show opening for Norman favorite Mike Hosty at the hottest spot on Campus Corner. They quickly established a loyal following among the locals and soon released two albums – 13 Tunes From Texas and Mama Mia – before Holt was lured to try his luck in New York City.
Now, nine years after that seminal show at The Deli, Holt is back from the big city and Mama Sweet is rocking local venues again. Touring has been put on hold indefinitely as the band focuses on recording a follow-up record to their 2008 studio re-release, Welcome to the Well, and their live album, Now. Here. This., recorded at The Deli and at Wormy Dog Saloon in Oklahoma City.
“All I can really tell you about the new material is that it is very representative of Mama Sweet and is a reflection of a band in constant evolution,” says Holt of their upcoming release. “There has always been diversity within the material and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”
When asked about the band’s musical influences, Holt says each band member has been inspired by a wide variety of artists.
“I personally have always been drawn to very charismatic front men, but also appreciate the more folky storytelling stuff. So, that’s what I have tried to bring to the table: some sort of combination of those two,” he says.
After almost a decade in the local music scene, Mama Sweet is staying true to their musical roots, making regular appearances at The Deli and the bars of Bricktown.
When asked how they have changed musically since that first gig, Holt says, “We’ve always just done whatever we wanted to do. The music may have changed; that’s for the fans to decide. But I don’t think we have ever departed from how we do things.”
As a teenager, I worked at a local ice cream store. Almost everyone who frequented the store ordered a single scoop – five ounces – that cost 26 cents with tax. This amounted to approximately 110 to 130 calories, five grams of fat and 15 to 20 grams of sugar. The major ingredients in ice cream back then were simple: milk/cream, sugar, and vanilla, along with some minor ingredients to enhance the quality and storage of the ice cream.
Today, many ice creams have a long list of ingredients that may not be so healthy. For example, low carbohydrate varieties are loaded with sugar alcohols to cut the calorie content. Some contain up to 21 grams of sugar alcohol per serving. The problem is that with more than 10 grams per serving, sugar alcohols are known to cause cramps or diarrhea. I caution people to read the list of ingredients in processed food and to stay away from foods that contain a long list of ingredients.
It is best to keep the caloric content of ice cream lower by returning to the five-ounce portion, which is a little more than a half-cup, and buy ice cream that has been “slow churned.” Slow churned ice cream is lower in calories and fat without all the extra ingredients.
Place a heavy saucepan over medium heat and add all five ingredients. Cook the mixture, while stirring, until the chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth. Serve warm, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Every first Friday of the month, families, musicians and arts appreciators make their way to Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District to enjoy a feeling of creative community. The First Friday Gallery Walk typically draws up to 2,000 visitors for one night along the vibrant stretch of Spanish-revival architecture housing a high concentration of galleries along with trendy restaurants, coffee houses and other businesses in the state. “They come in snow; they come in ice; they come in the heat. It’s amazing,” says Jo Wise, executive director of the Paseo Arts Association. Whether seeking good food (Sauced on Paseo), good theater (Ghostlight Theatre Club) or a great gallery (take your pick, there are many!), pedestrians will find it. And it helps that most businesses stay open late and galleries hold receptions for new exhibits on the first Friday of each month. Go ahead explore. www.thepaseo.com
“Our Mennonite church got chased out of Arkansas by the mosquitoes in 1911,” says Bill Chupp. “So it’s celebrating its 100-year anniversary here.”
Chupp, owner and operator of Chupp Implement Company, is a longtime resident of the Chouteau-Pryor area, which is home to one of Oklahoma’s scarce Amish and Mennonite settlements. Residents agree that he is the be-all, end-all of sources for local lore. Chupp’s family settled in Chouteau after leaving Kansas in 1929, and he is steeped in local history and culture.
Although Oklahoma has relatively small Amish and Mennonite populations, members of the religious cultures have been growing. In the past 20 years, the Amish church alone in the Chouteau area has expanded to encompass four separate houses, where services are held for some 20 families in each. Every other Sunday, “bench wagons” load up portable benches for church members and set up in delegated homes. On Sundays when there is not service between Easter and Thanksgiving, members share a single Sunday school location.
According to Chupp, the first members of the Amish church in Mayes County mostly traveled from Ohio and Indiana to settle in Mazie, Okla., before an epidemic forced them to move to nearby Chouteau. Farming was done by horse and steel-wheeled tractors only, although recent years have seen the advent of rubber tires locally.
When asking about town, one can still hear the family names of the original settlers: Yoder, Coblentz, Detweiler. Low German is still spoken by many members of the community, who learn such skills as carpentry, mechanics and furniture craftsmanship from older generations. While recent years have seen many younger generations of Amish convert to the Mennonite faith – in part due to the Mennonites’ more tolerant perspective on technology – members of the two cultures co-exist harmoniously here. They share religious roots in the Anabaptist movement, but small yet crucial differences separate the churches. In the Chouteau area, many families have members belonging to both sects.
Although members of these communities may live quietly separated from much of modern society, they often can be found lending a helping hand anywhere in the world. Each fall, the Mennonite Central Community meets in Enid for its Oklahoma Mennonite Relief Sale. Homemade ice cream, furniture, noodles, pies and more are sold to raise almost $100,000 in charitable funds. In addition, members of the church have canned some 17,000 pounds of meat for relief in disaster-stricken countries such as Haiti, and this past spring, several members of Chouteau’s Amish church traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to assist with tornado relief efforts.
“It’s a very benevolent group of people,” says Chupp, who himself has traveled to more than 40 countries, and has visited other Amish communities in such unlikely places as Brazil.
But while Amish and Mennonite communities may also be found across the globe, they have definitely become an indelible part of Oklahoma history and culture.
“These people are true citizens of this area,” says Chouteau Mayor Jerry Floyd. “They get involved in most town functions, such as the Black Buggy Days, with their concession stands and their rodeos. The Amish Cheese House and the Dutch Pantry bring in a lot of travelers and tour buses; they all stop by on their way through town. Some of the Amish cater dinners at their homes, which bring in out-of-towners.
“As a whole I feel that they are a great asset to the town and surrounding areas.”
It’s a little before 6:30 on a summer Sunday evening at Tulsa’s Full Moon Café. As they’ve done virtually every Sunday for the past five years, musicians Shelby Eicher and Mark Bruner are setting up on a stage so close to the diners that both could reach out and snatch a calamari ring off a dinner plate with little effort.
The two know that by the time their second set comes along – they always do two separate shows on Sunday evenings – the long table in front will be filled with people who’ve come down from the Jazz Hall of Fame’s early-evening Sunday show, and most if not all of them will be fans and friends of the duo. However, at this time the table is occupied by what looks like a large family group celebrating a birthday, and the members don’t seem to know the guys on the bandstand from Adam’s housecat.
At half past six on the dot, the music begins. It’s “City of New Orleans,” with Mark on guitar and lead vocals, Shelby on mandolin, performed in a way that’s both laid-back and sure handed. You could call it conversational, offered up by guys who have something very interesting to say, but would find it unseemly to shout it out.
The approach works, too. By the time they’ve followed up with a Taj Mahal blues song, a gypsy-jazz version of “Little Coquette” and an incredibly laid-back but technically adept reading of Eric Clapton’s “Layla,” the table in front, and the rest of the crowd, is right in their collective pocket.
It is, these veteran players will tell you, just an example of what they call their “music-service business.” That’s what they say they’ve been providing audiences with over the past 15 years, with the Full Moon Café a big part of that business for the last five.
“We can’t overstate the role of the ownership here,” says Bruner, when he and Eicher take a break. “(Owner) Tony Henry has been instrumental in giving us latitude, trusting our instincts and letting us do our job. We don’t work in the kitchen, and we don’t work behind the bar, but what we can do is get people in here and entertain ‘em while they’re here. That’s what we get hired for.”
“We don’t work in the kitchen, and we don’t work behind the bar, but what we can do is get people in here and entertain ‘em while they’re here. That’s what we get hired for.”
“We have a service that we provide,” adds Eicher. “We keep people engaged. They want to buy another drink. They want to come here to have dinner. That’s really the service that we have, no matter what music it is that we’re playing.”
And indeed, they play all kinds of music. Equally adept at everything from Western swing and cowboy tunes to straight-ahead jazz, jazz-pop, down-home blues and classic rock, the two never do two shows exactly alike. The only thread that runs through their repertoire, besides a high level of musicianship, is their acoustic approach – Bruner plays hollow-body guitar, Eicher, usually, mandolin or fiddle. Upon seeing them break out those instruments, some would immediately peg the two as bluegrass musicians. That assumption, however, would be wrong.
“I remember when we were across the street at (the former restaurant) Camerelli’s,” says Eicher with a grin, “and we were playing ‘It Had to be You.’ It was just beautiful. And when we’re done, this lady turns and says, ‘That’s the best bluegrass I ever heard.’”
Eicher laughs. “We just sort of went, ‘Uh-huh,’ because it’s so not bluegrass.”
The two prefer the term “acoustic variety,” which is as good a definition as any.
“It can be very eclectic,” Bruner points out.
“Right now, a real popular thing we do is an arrangement of ‘Norwegian Wood,’ with a section in the middle that’s totally free-form,” he adds. “We each take a solo there. We can be totally creative, and the audience has come to really like and expect that. Although they wouldn’t want to see it on every tune, they want to see how far we can push the envelope.
“And then, we come right back with ‘Take Me Back to Tulsa’ or a Robert Johnson blues.”
Eicher, from Ohio, and Bruner, from Oklahoma City, both got into music at an early age. Eicher started playing dances with his grandmother – “polkas, schottishes, lots of fiddle tunes for square dancing” – as a kid, while Bruner was making a living in a hotel band by his early 20s. They both eventually moved to Tulsa, where Eicher married popular local singer Janet Rutland.
In 1984, Eicher was a member of Roy Clark’s band and Bruner was with Tulsa’s Ronnie Dunn, who was several years away from pairing with fellow singer-songwriter Kix Brooks to become half of the biggest country-music duo of all time. Both Clark and Dunn were summoned to Washington, D.C., that year to perform in the Fourth of July celebration at the Capitol, and they brought their band members along.
“Mark and I met in the parking lot of the hotel,” recalls Eicher, “and it was like, ‘Are you from Tulsa too?’” It was the first meeting for the two. Clark and his group were averaging almost 250 days a year touring then. But when the country star decided to start spending a good portion of his time off the road and in his own theater in Branson, Mo. – making him the first major act to do so – Eicher found that he was a lot happier not having to travel so much.
“All the years I was on the road, I’d come home, and Janet would say, ‘Hey, do you want to go out and have dinner?’ and I’d say, ‘No, I want to stay at home,’” says Eicher, laughing. “She’d been home the whole time, and she wanted to go to a restaurant. I’d been eating every meal at a restaurant and I wanted to stay home and sit on my couch and watch my TV.”
Whenever he was back in town and off the road for a few days, Eicher would sometimes jam with Bruner, and the two had found that they had similar tastes and a like-minded approach to the business of music. Then, in the mid-‘90s, Clark decided to leave his theater and go back on tour. A disappointed Eicher gave Bruner a call.
“I said, ‘Oh, man, we’re getting ready to go out there and just burn down the road again,’” recalls Eicher. “And Mark said, ‘Well, did you ever think about getting off the road?’
“I said, ‘And do what?’ He said, ‘Well, I was thinking work with me.’ And that’s how it all came about.”
Although they’re both full-time musicians who also take gigs independently of one another – Eicher, most recently, began leading the Western swing group the Tulsa Playboys, while Bruner has longstanding regular engagements with Tulsa guitar hero Tommy Crook – they always reserve their weekends for Bruner-Eicher jobs, playing a dizzying number of different events in addition to their Sunday shows. They even return to the Full Moon on Wednesdays, with either Mary Cogan or Molly Colvard on vocals. Otherwise, they’re liable to pop up just about anywhere around Tulsa, in cowboy outfits playing for the Christmas Train at Camp Dry Gulch in Adair, for instance, or donning evening wear and performing at a private event, as they did for the wedding of former Tulsa mayor Kathy Taylor’s daughter.
To Bruner, that versatility simply illustrates what they’re about.
“It all goes right back to the music-service business,” he says. “If you need someone to fill a slot, and you’d like it to be quality – well, we’ll give it a go.”
Career plans: Teaching art while I work on piecing together my business plans and bringing them into fruition.
What has led you to pursue art? Art has always been so therapeutic for me and has taught me so many great life lessons that I want to share it with everyone in every way that I can find.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement? I am self-taught in many things, such as knitting, sewing and photography, but the one thing that stands out to me is my large portfolio of artwork and the awards and shows that I have participated in.
What are you best known for? My red leather boots, ever-changing hair colors and my animal backpack; most often, however, people come to me seeking scissors, Band-Aids or hugs because those are things that I always seem to have.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? I had an art teacher, Mr. Bayer, who told me that the worst comment you can get about a piece of work is that it is “nice” because that means that it was in no way striking or controversial or anything beyond the ordinary. I’ve always kept that in mind while I’m creating my work.
Bruce Haiduk Broken Arrow Senior High School
College: Oklahoma State University
Intended major: Music performance for trombone
Career plans: I would like to play trombone in a major symphony, record solos and play a little jazz, too.
What has led you to pursue music? I have always been drawn to music, especially since starting piano in second grade. I enjoy listening to and playing classical music, especially with focused, first-rate musicians. I enjoy many subjects and work hard to succeed, but music is my main focus.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life? My mom has always pushed, encouraged and supported me. What do you feel is your biggest achievement? I had the privilege to play jazz and solo with Lenny Pickett (band leader for Saturday Night Live) at the Ovations Concert at the Broken Arrow PAC. What would people be surprised to learn about you? I have a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon-Do and was a National Spelling Bee semifinalist. If you could trade places with one person for a day, who would it be? Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic; his job is exactly what I want to do as a career. He is one of the most respected and influential musicians in the world and is very active in the musical community as a teacher, clinician, performer and solo artist.
Caleb Cook Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
College: Harvard University
Intended major: Physics
Career plans: Research physicist or electrical engineer
What has led you to pursue that field? When I was young, a pet dog mangled a cord connecting my video game console to our television set. Spurred on by a desire to continue my game, I independently repaired the cable with duct tape and wire from my bed frame. The experience taught me to always question how things work – whether it be a game console or the physical laws that govern the universe.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life? My grandmother for working tirelessly to give me educational opportunities not available in my hometown; without her selfless six-hour round-trips to and from Oklahoma City, I would not be able to attend OSSM.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? I repeated my junior year of high school in order to attend the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics; as a result, I am a fifth-year high school senior.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? My late father once told me that if I sought out a profession that I enjoyed, it would never seem like a job.
If you could trade places with one person for a day, who would it be? I would trade places with Drew Brees. I can’t image how incredible it would feel to throw an NFL pass while wearing black and gold.
Sarah Dagget Union High School
College: Johns Hopkins University
Intended major: Biomedical engineering and a minor in applied mathematics
Career plans: To design prosthetic limbs for those who have undergone amputations or to research and develop medications to alleviate the symptoms of debilitating diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
What are some characteristics that make you stand out from the rest of your graduating class? The characteristic that makes me stand out from the rest of my peers is my success as both a student and an athlete. I have been a cross-country, track and Academic All-Stater, which I believe shows my ability to effectively manage my time and reveals my devotion and passion in what I pursue.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement? Personally, I am most proud of my winning the MVP award for my high school cross-country team. The fact that my own teammates voted for me for this honor makes me feel like I truly am an integral part of the team and looked upon with respect by my own peers.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? People would be surprised to learn that I am obsessed with mystery books, specifically by Agatha Christie. I have read all of her novels, and she has over 80.
Nancy Ha Bishop Kelley High School
College: Baylor University
Intended major: Biochemistry and business
Career plans: Enter medical school and study to become a physician.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life? Mother Teresa has been my biggest influence and my biggest inspiration. She was so giving of her time – and life – to helping the most impoverished. She was so humble and her kindness was full of love for every human being.
What are some characteristics that make you stand out from the rest of your graduating class? One of the things that makes me very different from my classmates is that I commute as well as carpool every day from Muskogee to attend high school. I am the only student from Muskogee to graduate with the school’s Brother Bernardine Scholars program, and I am the first person in my family to graduate high school.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement? My all-time biggest achievement was attaining the Gates Millennium Scholarship. Out of about 23,000 applicants, I was one of the thousand chosen. I did spend many late school nights working on the eight essays required, but every moment was worth it.
If you could trade places with one person for a day, who would it be? Michelle Obama. She travels around the world making differences with her reputation and position of power. She’s an influential and active person.
Lincoln Howard Mitchell Holland Hall
College: Yale University
Intended major: Political science
Career plans: Lawyer, lobbyist or politician
What has led you to want to pursue that field? The 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections sparked my interest in politics. Also, controversial laws such as Proposition 8, Arizona’s immigration law and Oklahoma’s bill to end affirmative action gave me the desire to be able to have an impact on policies and laws.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life? My parents have been the biggest influence in my life. My mom has pushed me to seek out and capitalize on every opportunity available. She helped me understand that this leads to more opportunity. My dad taught me that hard work in academics, tennis and any other endeavor is what teaches one how to be successful. He also taught me that hard work does not guarantee success but inspires one to continue to strive for it.
What are you best known for? My willingness to express my opinions in classrooms and social settings.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? My 10th grade Humanities teacher, Mr. Greg Carey, told me that I viewed the world from extremes. He said that I had a “black and white” worldview and I needed to look at issues from multiple perspectives in order to see the “gray areas.” This mindset has changed the way I viewed politics, and various social encounters.
Kevin Daroga Riverfield Country Day School
College: Drury University
Intended major: Undecided
Career plans: Physical therapy
What has led you to want to pursue that field? I enjoy helping people and I also enjoy science. What do you feel is your biggest achievement? Becoming an Eagle Scout and being captain of my teams.
What are you best known for? Being athletic and funny.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? That I have been active in Scouts since first grade, soccer since I was 3, and basketball since second grade. I have only played football since eighth grade.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? To never give up and never let others affect the actions that you take because nobody can control you, you have the power as long as you believe in yourself.
If you could trade places with one person for a day, who would it be? I would say President Obama, because I would like to see what it’s like to be president for the day.
Kai Jones Booker T Washington High School
College: Washington University in St. Louis
Intended major: Major in biology with a pre-medicine professional track
Career plans: I want to pursue a career in cardiology.
What has led you to want to pursue that field? When I was 10, I was diagnosed with an innocent heart murmur. At the time, I was very paranoid. I researched the illness and found the field to be intriguing.
What are some characteristics that make you stand out from the rest of your graduating class? The members of my class are outstanding. We are all ambitious, determined and diligent. If there were one thing that makes me stand out, it would be the leadership skills I have gained through my extracurricular activities.
What is your biggest achievement? I felt an enormous sense of pride after qualifying for state in golf this year with a team. It has been at least 20 years since a team from Booker T. Washington has qualified. I was proud of this experience because my teammates and I had worked hard to qualify. As a senior, this experience has been bittersweet. However, I have faith that my team will make it for years to come.
What are you best known for? I could say my determination, but I am probably best known for my hair.
Joshua Thomas Jenks High School
College: University of Oklahoma
Intended major: Medical humanities scholar. I will major in mathematics.
Career plans: My goal is to become an oncologist. What has led you to pursue that field? Two days before Thanksgiving of 2009, I found out that my mother had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. One month later, I again received heartbreaking news. Doctors diagnosed my grandfather with a rare type of lung cancer, although he had never smoked. After witnessing the devastating effects of cancer on my mother, my grandfather, and my family, I now want to pursue a career in medicine and cancer related research. My desire is to give people hope by preventing such an illness from overwhelming other families as it did mine.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement? When cancer hit my family, I wanted to give everything up and spend time with my mother and my grandfather. However, with the help and advice of others, including my mom and grandfather, I decided to do what I could despite extremely difficult circumstances. Although I struggled, I took a number of AP tests, the SAT and the ACT during this difficult time and did very well on all of them. The situation showed me what I was capable of doing even when my world was falling apart. What would people be surprised to learn about you? Having lived in England for seven years, I have a passionate love for soccer.
What do you hope to accomplish while in college? In addition to doing well academically, I want to touch my community by continuing to be active in community service, in particular, with Habitat for Humanity and the Good Samaritans Health Clinic.
Annie Hull Edison High School
College: Yale University
Intended major: Engineering
Career plans: To help develop technology that will improve living conditions in developing countries.
What has led you to want to pursue that field? My favorite subject is math, and I like solving problems using logic and working in a team environment.
What are you best known for? Being easygoing.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? I have never broken any bones.
What do you hope to accomplish while in college? I want to obtain a broader and deeper understanding of the world and learn how I can improve it.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? “Actions speak louder than words, but not nearly as often.” –Mark Twain
If you could trade places with one person for a day, who would it be? Barack Obama, because he gets to interact and collaborate with tons of interesting and diverse people every day.
Anne Pennington Cascia Hall
College: University of Texas
Intended major: Political science and English
Career plans: Practice law
What has led you to pursue that field? The want to write, travel and explore new cultures.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life? My close friends. Each one is unique in their talents and abilities. From those qualities, I model myself and am influenced to want and achieve more.
What do you hope to accomplish while in college? I hope to become enriched by new ideas and proficient in new languages.
If you could trade places with one person for a day, who would it be? It would be either Margaret Thatcher or Golda Meir because of their accomplishments – politically and socially – as women and as world leaders.
Anson Hwang Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
College: The Wharton School of Business at The University of Pennsylvania
Intended major: A double major in economics, with a concentration in finance, and computer science.
Career plans: In my early career, I want to go into the realm of investment banking. Ultimately, I want to try my hand in managing my own investment fund.
What has led you to want to pursue that field? From early on, I have been career-oriented, but I was not sure what I wanted to do. Through reading newspaper articles, news blogs, etc., I fell in love with the hectic, pressure cooker operations of Wall Street. I wanted to pursue a path with no limits, and I found it.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life? My parents have definitely influenced me more than anyone else. I can never thank them enough for the love and care they have put into my upbringing.
What are some characteristics that make you stand out from the rest of your graduating class? The Oklahoma School of Science and Math has produced numerous professors, researchers, doctors and engineers, but only a few have taken the path to apply their math and science education to business. My passion for business has made me unique in my class and has helped me to become the first ever OSSM student to have been directly accepted to Wharton Business School.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? My dad once told me that no matter how smart someone is, there is always someone smarter. Essentially, he has taught me the important lesson of humility.
Caroline Cameron Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School
College: University of Oklahoma
Intended major: Some sort of health major.
Career plans: I want to be either a pediatric physical therapist or physician assistant.
What has led you to pursue that field? I enjoy helping people, and the things both professions do interest me. I also love to work with kids. What are some characteristics that make you stand out from the rest of your graduating class? I feel that my leadership skills have helped me to stand out from my peers as well as a strong sense of independence and ability to stand up for what I believe in.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement? Winning that state basketball tournament as a senior, after working for four years, to finally achieve the ultimate goal was one of the greatest feelings in the world.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? I like to fish.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? To never give up, good things will come out of every situation. You have to keep working through the hard times to find the positive that will come out of it.
Christina Crowder Metro Christian Academy
College: University of Arkansas
Intended major: Public relations with apparel studies emphasis, or pre-law
Career plans: My “dream job” would be to work for a couture designer in New York and travel all over the world for fashion shows.
What has led you to want to pursue that field? I am quite the “girly-girl;” I remember as early as 4 years old getting in trouble for ruining tubes of my mother’s lipstick while playing “beauty parlor.” I love fashion and beauty – every prom/formal dance at school I have gladly helped my friends get ready, and I enjoy making other people feel good about themselves. Inner beauty is so much more important than outer beauty, but a little lipstick always makes things a shade of pink better.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement? To date, the biggest achievement in my life has been managing and excelling in athletics, academics and the arts. All through high school I have excelled in rigorous AP courses, spending more than 20 hours a week at gymnastics practice and competitions and other extracurricular actives, such as orchestra and art. Truthfully, there have been times during this last year of high school where I was tempted to throw in the towel because of utter physical and mental exhaustion; but, the maxim I have lived by is proven true to me every day: “Hard work beats talent when talent won’t work hard.”
They say it’s never too soon to start planning for your future, and when it comes to higher education in this day and age and economy, that couldn’t be more true.
With many colleges and universities, both private and public, reporting record-breaking numbers of applicants and record-low rates of admission, getting an early edge on their admissions process is something that all students considering college might want to start thinking about long before their senior year.
Getting started goes above and beyond academics, however, with carefully planned timing playing a crucial role.
As early as their freshman and sophomore years in high school, simple efforts by students – like exploring their college options and getting an early start on tests in case they need to retest – help to make more competitive college applicants.
“We see far too many students who still aren’t sure where they want to apply to well into their senior years,” says Jason Jessie, assistant executive director of enrollment management at Northeastern State University.
“This will not only delay where they apply to, but ultimately, other important decisions will get made later. If a student waits until the last minute, universities may make admissions offers to those students who are more committed earlier on.”
“One thing we like to see from our students is an actual activities resume…”
Although successful grades in required coursework and good test scores are still the heaviest hitters when it comes to getting in, it never hurts to get involved in extracurricular activities for that extra edge.
“One thing we like to see from our students is an actual activities resume, this way we can see what all they’ve been involved in,” says Michelle Lockhart, senior director of admissions at Oklahoma City University.
“They should make sure that it’s in order and easy to understand how those activities can be applied to their college education.”
In the age of on-demand information, this newest batch of college recruits coming in – the Millennials – is more adept at research than any previous generation, and their parents can also be credited for more active participation in the college decision-making process than parents in the past.
In fact, it’s almost rare now that parents aren’t involved on some level.
“Parents are there to guide them through the process, but it’s important for them to remember to serve as guides and not as the people actually conducting the whole admissions process. Students really need to be the ones doing it themselves,” Lockhart says.
As part of this proactivity, students are advised not to be afraid to contact their admissions counselor on their own, and not to expect their parents to do it all for them.
“Parents play a huge role in the admission process,” Lockhart says. “With a lot of students, we talk to their parents more than we actually get to talk to them – and that can be ok, but it’s helpful for them to be the ones to start the conversation and be active along the way. We really want to hear directly from the students.”
As technology advances, the modern scholar is finding it easier and easier to access astounding advancements in information technology. While clearly this advantages today’s college students, Oklahoma’s institutions of higher learning are employing a more cautious approach to keeping pace with technological applications.
Adoption of new technology certainly affords universities many opportunities to connect with students through such avenues as iPhone applications, YouTube channels or school-sponsored Twitter feeds.
The University of Oklahoma, for example, has done well to remain on the forefront of development, with products such as its pair of iPhone applications, OU2GO and OU4YOU. The first program, released two years ago, provides several features to students, such as a campus map, a news feed, media on the school and archives of campus traditions. OU4YOU allows students to access more personalized features, such as grades and course information, a method for renewing library books and real-time updates on the campus’ rapid transit system.
“Both apps are free to download for iPhone and iPod and will soon be optimized for the iPad,” says Catherine Bishop, OU’s vice president of public affairs. She says that the school is also working to expand the program for non-Apple devices.
OU also plans for its new architecture library to have iPads and portable e-book readers – items that are immensely popular among college students – available for checkout by students.
“There certainly is plenty of conversation about the pros and cons of new tech devices, particularly the more mobile devices such as iPads and e-readers.”
This growth in usage has not gone unnoticed by university administrators in Oklahoma, but colleges appear to be cautious when it comes to rushing into what might end up being gap technologies.
“There certainly is plenty of conversation about the pros and cons of new tech devices, particularly the more mobile devices such as iPads and e-readers,” says Rick Shipley, the director of information services for the University of Tulsa’s student association.
“But the general consensus I have heard is that students are not ready to completely switch from textbooks to electronic devices.”
Though the benefits of a portable library of books are many, Shipley says that textbooks in an academic environment are not practical in electronic form.
One reason schools may be slow to adopt new technologies immediately is new platform stability.
“When a new product comes out, it will inevitably have plenty of bugs that need to be worked out,” says Shipley. “So it doesn’t make sense to purchase a new product immediately after it’s released.”
Another major issue is cost. While a $600-plus iPad purchase for a college student is certainly sizable, it is nothing compared to the price a university would pay to purchase, test and develop applications for such products in bulk.
Cost, says Shipley, is the primary roadblock keeping colleges from remaining in perfect symmetry with its student body. Optimizing a campus for wireless service, even a small one such as TU, he says would cost “millions” – and it is an expenditure that is exceedingly risky to take with the newest and most untested technologies.
“Simply put, there is no good time to buy new technology, because it will be obsolete in a matter of years,” Shipley says.
This summer’s revelations about the wave of standardized test cheating in several of the country’s major school districts were just another black eye for American public education. From substandard test scores to security concerns, public school systems have had a rough few years.
But while public education critics often tout their advantages, many private schools around the nation are also struggling in the wake of the ongoing economic mire.
Fortunately, private schools in Oklahoma appear to be staving off the problems others elsewhere face. In fact, Oklahoma private schools report that enrollment has stabilized after a decline tied to the recession. Some of Tulsa’s and Oklahoma City’s largest private schools saw enrollment decline in 2009, bounce back last year and look solid as the new school year arrives.
“There is no question that the economy is a factor,” says Geoffrey Butler, headmaster at Tulsa’s Holland Hall.
But Holland Hall, like fellow notable Tulsa institutions Bishop Kelley High School and Cascia Hall, report that enrollment for the new school year will be in line with last year and years past.
Cascia Hall Headmaster Roger Carter, in fact, says enrollment is “as big as we have ever been.”
Oklahoma City’s Heritage Hall is experiencing a similar phenomenon. Heritage Hall has been “going up every year,” according to spokesperson Debbie Bolding. “Every year for the last 10 years there has been a steady increase in enrollment.”
Fact: Many students are following in the footsteps of parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents.
Just a few miles down the road, Bishop McGuinness is living in the same bubble.
“Our enrollment has been pretty constant,” says public relations director Sandy Cunningham.
Bishop McGuinness has even had to add portable classrooms each of the last two years to keep up with its growth.
Casady School Headmaster Christopher Bright says his school experienced a decline in 2009, but bounced back the next year.
Oklahoma private schools are bucking the national trend. As far back as 2009, CBS News was reporting on shrinking private school enrollment, noting that drops are common following even mild recessions. After the relatively brief 1990-1991 recession, private schools lost 33,000 students; they lost more than 200,000 students after the recession triggered by the Sept. 11 attacks, according to CBS.
About 5.6 percent of Oklahoma’s approximately 699,000 elementary and high school students attend private schools, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That puts total enrollment in Oklahoma’s 250 private schools at about 39,000. Nationally, that percentage has held consistently at 10 to 12 percent for the last four decades, whether boom time or bust, whether it’s the Baby Boomer surge of the early 1970s or Net Gen kids shuffling off to class today.
Religious instruction appears to be one reason for stable enrollment in the state’s private schools. The vast majority of private schools are affiliated with Christian denominations or churches.
“Parents want support in passing on the faith to their kids,” says Fr. Brian O’Brien, president of Bishop Kelley.
Family tradition is another factor at play. Cascia Hall’s Carter notes that many students are following in the footsteps of parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents.
When children are young, parents tell them that they can do anything they want to when they grow up, as long as they do the best job they can do. When those children land in college, parents change their tunes. Kids have learned to do the best they can do. Now it’s about having the best job they can have. Getting that job makes living in the jungle – that place graduates reach on the other side of the stage after picking up their diplomas – a lot easier.
Only 10 percent of students are employed immediately following graduation. Roughly 75 percent are employed within six months of leaving school. Those numbers could be better if students had the right degrees.
Experts from three of Oklahoma’s top universities know what those degrees are.
The common quality these degrees share is the placement of graduates in positions and fields that are in demand. Engineers design, make and manage complex things that keep the wheels of society rolling. There will never be a drop in demand for health care workers. And Americans rely on businesses more than any country on earth to provide the goods and services we need (and want). Even in today’s rough economy, business degrees reliably translate into jobs.
Engineering Engineering is consistently at the top of experts’ lists of in-demand degrees. As a field, engineering pays well and it’s resilient, almost recession-proof. Many new engineers are seeing higher salaries now than ever before.
“There’s been a robust and fairly sustained market for engineers, particularly for petroleum and geological engineering, which, for Oklahoma, is great. And for electrical and computer engineering. Any engineer that has the capability to work with technology, hardware and software development, is in a good spot,” says Nancy Mergler, senior vice president and provost at the University of Oklahoma.
As an occupation, engineering also has an advantage of being a field in which its practitioners is flexibility. Good schools make sure that students learn at least some aspects of the basic engineering principles that can be applied across any engineering disciplines.
The only thing hotter than an engineering degree is an engineering degree with an MBA stapled to it. To understand the science behind something and grasp the workings of the business where it’s applied – that’s gold to most employers, sources say.
Health Care While the health care field often requires specialization, the field is also incredibly broad, offering opportunities to everybody with the right degrees and training – whether they’re speech therapists or neurologists. In fact, experts generally feel that health care related degrees and subsequent job opportunities are the most recession proof of all options.
“There’s a continuing market for individuals who are interested in health care related fields. Many of those students do need advanced degrees. Not all, but some. The nursing market, for example, is very strong,” says Mergler.
The nursing field is so hot that Oklahoma’s practically gone to war with Kansas and Texas to bring in the best nurses. As a result, those nursing salaries aren’t too bad. Once all that school gets paid off, it’s all gravy, experts intimate.
Business “Engineering and business are hot areas right now. Agriculture is doing well, too. But business and engineering are tops right now. The top business degree is accounting. There are a lot of companies that, after the whole Sarbanes-Oxley deal, need accountants and people who can work with auditors and watch the money. If students get degrees in one of those two fields, they probably won’t have any trouble finding employment,” says Pam Ehlers, Oklahoma State University’s director of career services.
Mergler notes that the demand for business students has softened a bit, but fully expects a turnaround.
“A couple of years ago, finance and accounting were really hot. There’s been a little bit of change that might have to do with the stock market. I fully expect them to recover. We can’t survive without people that are finance and marketing and management. We need those folks. That market will recover. This is just a temporary dip,” she says.
One thing business degrees share with engineering and health care degrees is that having one in hand means a graduate has trained specifically to work in that field. Unless a graduate plans on pursuing an academic career, the same can’t be said for liberal arts degrees, currently the least successful in the job market.
“Accounting is doing well. It’s one of the fields where you’re getting a degree to prepare to go to work in that field. Those are the ones that are doing well right now,” says helly HollySr, the University of Tulsa’s director of career services.
All is not lost for graduates with other degrees, though. Ehlers emphasizes that any student can improve his chance of employment by gathering work experience while in school.
“If you’re going to go major in history or philosophy and you’re not going to work and get some work experience while you’re going to school, it’s going to be extremely difficult for you to get any kind of professional job when you graduate,” she says.
Getting the job quickly is as important as becoming the job at all. Schools are getting more and more expensive. The average graduate drags $23,000 of loans into the jungle with him. Getting rid of them means finding that job. And that has everything to do with the degree a graduate holds. But a graduate has to want to use that degree, too.
“Fifty percent of graduates spend only one year in the job they take first. They leave because they don’t like it or want to try something else,” says Holly.
Still, it’s better to have a job to leave than to not have one at all.
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