Hello there! I am Sydney Stavinoha, a freshman here at the wonderful campus of OU, majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in aviation. First, I will tell you about myself…

I am from the “sweet” town of Sugar Land, Texas, where I attended Kempner High School. That’s right outside of Houston, TX if you weren’t sure! I loved living there, but I also love living in Norman!  I chose to come to OU because first off, I fell in LOVE with the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication! It is amazing, and another great perk is that it is completely  “TEAM MAC,” or in other words, it is all Apple-based products that you get to use while in the building! Another reason, probably the main reason, I came to OU is because I was selected for the President’s Leadership Class. What is the President’s Leadership Class, you ask?

…I will tell you!

The President’s Leadership Class at the University of Oklahoma is a prestigious scholarship/program for incoming freshmen, solely based on leadership experience in high school, and only about 100 freshmen are chosen to be members. Every prospective student that applies to OU is also applying for this PLC scholarship (it’s the same application!). I actually knew about PLC before I even got accepted to OU, only because I’m a huge leadership nerd and read about it on the OU website. Once I actually knew what it was, I told myself that I HAD TO BE IN IT! And look, here I am now, a proud member of PLC! It is one of the greatest organizations on the OU campus (in my opinion of course), and I met all of my best friends at OU through PLC. This year, the PLC group lucked out, because we got to celebrate the 50th Reunion of PLC with past OU leaders as well as President Boren, himself! We do other fun things, like a weekend retreat at Lake Texoma, a campus scavenger hunt, and even dinner at President Boren’s house! I am extremely blessed to be a part of such a life-changing organization. PLC has definitely been the highlight of my freshman year, thus far.

My friend Rebecca and I by the welcome sign at the PLC Retreat!

Hanging out in the PLC office!

The Snitches - My group at the PLC Retreat!

My classes this semester are actually all really interesting and I haven’t had any problems with “mean” professors or hard coursework. All of my professors are great! I am taking Intro to Mass Communication, Intro to Psychology, Nutrition, Social Problems, and Gateway. I enjoy my Mass Communication class because it is preparing me for my future in journalism! And my professor dressed up like Zorro for one of our lessons. Yeah, AWESOME, right?! Gateway has also been a helpful class, because it teaches information about all of the great things offered on campus. I feel one step ahead of the other freshmen that aren’t taking Gateway, only because the class is preparing me for my future at OU.

Alright folks, I have to get back to studying, but trust me, I will be posting more, SOON!

BOOMER SOONER!!!