Oct
3
One of the greatest experiences I have had at the University of Oklahoma was being a part of OU’s Integrated Business Core (IBC) program. IBC offers so many learning experiences as well as the opportunity to meet new people who will become your close friends. With IBC, not only do you get credit hours for school, but you also get to develop your own company, which will look really good on your resume. In IBC, you get grouped with people and start your own company.
As part of the IBC process you make loan presentations, come up with a product, and sell that product to the public. You also learn about giving back to the community with IBC because you donate service hours as well as the money you raise by selling your product. Overall, taking IBC has made me more knowledgeable about how a company runs, how to work in groups, and how to give back to the community. This is something I definitely recommend for anyone!
Cassandra Nguyen
Moore, OK
Class of 2014
Finance major
Sep
27
“What is your name?”
“What is your major?”
“Where are you from?”
I have heard these three questions hundreds of times in these first three weeks of school. It is one of my favorite things about my freshman year so far. Although the questions are repetitive, the people who ask the questions are always different. It amazes me how friendly the people are here. It took me a while to realize why everyone here is friendly, but I realized it is because of the Sooner Family. The Sooner Family is a concept that students and faculty at OU take seriously — we take care of each other.
When I first came to OU I thought that the Sooner Family was just some random nickname of OU students. I admit, I doubted that people would be friendly and care about someone they had never met. Turns out the second you are on campus, you become a member of the OU family.
My first experience of the Sooner Family was during Freshman Move-In. I had an early move-in so I was just wandering around when everyone else started to arrive. I did not expect to see so many current OU students and organizations helping the new Sooners move in to their dorms. How many strangers do you know would carry your belongings up ten flights of stairs in the heat? These Sooners where not asking for any compensation, they just wanted to help.
My most recent experience of the Sooner Family was the Help OUr Neighbor initiative from President David L. Boren. As a member of the President’s Community Scholars, we were asked to collect money around campus. The students at OU raised a total of over $2,400 for those in the Sooner Family impacted by the recent wildfires.
There are so many more examples that I could tell you about the Sooner Family, but there is not enough time. I invite you to come and experience it for yourself!
BOOMER SOONER!
Haley Maguire
Coppell, Texas
Class of 2016
Political Science major with a minor in International Studies
Sep
25
“You’re from Nevada?! Wow! So….why’d ya come to OU?”
“Wait, you’ve never been to Braum’s?”
“Wait. Reno? Like, Reno 911?!”
My responses have become automatic, engrained in my brain from hundreds of conversations that have all begun the same way. Automatic, perhaps, but no less true.
“Yeah, I’m from Reno, Nevada. I love the spirit, pride, and community of the university—it’s so unique!”
“No, I’ve never been to Braum’s. Never even heard of it. What should I get?”
“Sorry, Reno is really nothing like Reno 911. We don’t have palm trees. Or cops in short shorts. Usually.”
I applied to fourteen schools before making my decision. Fourteen. That’s a clear death wish, y’all. The University of Oklahoma’s application is the first I started and the last I finished. Because I was not going to Oklahoma. Sure, it had everything I wanted, from the size of the university to the excellent academic reputation and incredible sports programs, but…it’s Oklahoma. I’m from Nevada. Who goes to Oklahoma? No one, that’s who. Except for me, apparently. And Jake Dalton. I think more people know him than they do me, though—being an Olympian has that effect. My friends back home didn’t get it. They pointed to our local university’s spirit, pride, and sense of community—why was I looking for anything else? But it was a feeling I couldn’t explain. A sense of being home, a sense of feeling as if I was in the right place at the right time. I finally just let the football intro video from 2011 do the talking for me.
I pledge allegiance to the Crimson and Cream. If that opening line doesn’t send chills down your spine, nothing will. It’s a promise, a declaration that I will work to fulfill the rest of my life. I will honor this university, and take part in the incredible traditions established over generations of Sooners. I will to be part of a family so much larger than my own, and celebrate my family’s victories and mourn my family’s losses with thousands of others for the rest of my life. I will be that crazy alum, surrounded by friends and family gathered around a television screen, screaming “Boomer Sooner” until I simply can’t gather the strength to give it justice—and even then, I’ll still be hanging out with my right index finger up in the air pointing to victory.
There’s only one. There’s only one university as welcoming and encouraging as this, there’s only one shot at the epitome of a college experience in a lifetime. There’s only one Oklahoma, but thousands of paths that one may take once here. One school, one choice, thousands of opportunities waiting to be seized.
See you next fall.
Kendall Burchard
Reno, Nevada
Class of 2016
Political Science and Psychology
Sep
21
September at OU
September at OU is a beautiful time of the year. Everyone is all settled into classes and daily routines, the weather is beginning to cool down (no more 100 degree weeks!), and best of all…it’s football time in Oklahoma! Football Saturdays are very special days in Norman. Tailgating can begin at 10 a.m., even for evening games. The floods of fans dressed in crimson and cream begin appearing on Campus Corner once traffic is blocked off from the area. Students, locals, and out-of-town fans all mingle, chat, and contribute to the many cries of “Boomer Sooner!” around campus. Once the game begins, you can hear the roar of the crowd from halfway across town. Oklahoma football brings a further sense of unity to the campus and community, and even if you aren’t a regular attendee to the games or a sports fan at all, the feeling of togetherness is still a great experience.
Even on non-football days, the OU community is very tight-knit. Despite the large number of students on campus, there is a very strong sense of community. Students from all disciplines, backgrounds, and extracurricular activities join up and interact together on a daily basis. Whether you’re eating lunch at the student union, hitting the books in the library, or just walking from class to class, chances are you’ll see somebody you know. The small-campus feel that you experience while still receiving all of the benefits of a large research university is unbeatable. OU is a great place to spend your college years and build some of the best connections and friendships of your life, because no matter where we came from, we all have one thing in common: we are all proud to be attending the University of Oklahoma, and even if it’s just for four years, lucky enough to call this beautiful place home.
Good luck with your search, best wishes, and BOOMER SOONER!
Lara McLellan
Clemson, South Carolina
Class of 2014
Environmental Sustainability and German Major
Sep
18
Opportunity Knocks
Chase your dreams; choose Crimson and Cream. Whether you know your life’s calling, or you’re still waiting for that phone call, at the University of Oklahoma opportunity knocks at every door.
Growing up, you and I were told to dream big and reach for the stars. Our parents, teachers, and friends encouraged us to chase our wildest dreams; to go out and find the passion that makes our hearts beat. They told us everyone has something they are called to do, something that they are great at that makes them different, unique, and special. But now as your senior year of high school comes to an end, and those stars you reached for come even closer, I’m sure you’re starting to wonder just what exactly your dreams are and what’s next. You may have an idea of what you want to major in and the kind of job you want after college or you may be like most of my friends and have absolutely no idea as to what type of cereal you want for breakfast tomorrow morning much less what you want to do for the rest of your life – either way, the University of Oklahoma is the place for you.
All the time people here at school or those from back home ask me, “What is the best part of OU?” My entire freshman year my answer would be, “Oh! It has to be how much fun the football games are!” or “It has to be having so much fun meeting so many new people!” or “It’s great to be away from home and able to do my own thing!” However, as true as those things are, as I head into my sophomore year I can sum up the greatest thing about OU in one word, and that is: Opportunity.
The University of Oklahoma has given me the opportunity to gain a world-class education in state-of-the-art facilities. The University of Oklahoma has given me the opportunity to make life long friendships with people from across the country and from around the world. More than anything, the University of Oklahoma has given me the opportunity to go out and make my dreams a reality. I walked onto campus as a freshman wanting to be active in business and politics some day but had no idea how to make that happen or what it even meant. Now today, just a kid from rural Oklahoma, I am an intern for a large corporation in downtown Oklahoma City as well as a part-time intern in a congressional office living and experiencing more than I had ever dreamed of. At the University of Oklahoma, if you can dream it, it can happen. Imagine your opportunities – the possibilities are endless. See you in the fall and best wishes.
Boomer Sooner,
Brent E. Bowles
University of Oklahoma, Class of 2015
Price College of Business
Entrepreneurship and Supply Chain Management
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