Never in a million years would I have thought I was going to be a 5^th year Senior. I thought that I was going to be a graduate of the Class of 2015 but boy, was I wrong. Halfway through my Junior year, I took a Supply Chain Management class just for fun and ended up falling in love with the course work. This resulted in adding a double major to my existing Energy Management degree and effectively pushing back my graduation date one more year. I never expected to be a 5^th year, but I ended up becoming one anyway.

Well halfway through my 5^th year, I can safely say that this has probably been one of the best years of my life. While last year, I had to participate with all my friends who were participating with their “lasts” on campus. I kept in mind that “Hey! I actually have one more of these.” Fast-forward to my 5^th year and I get to participate in all the things with that my friends went through last year with some experience under my belt. My “Last First Day of Class”, my “Last First Football game”, everything has been such a surreal experience.

I wanted to make my 5^th year the year that I did everything that I wanted to do, but haven’t gotten the chance to do. I became President of an organization, I joined new organizations, made more friends, networked with more faculty and made my experience during this 5^th year the best that it could be and its only a quarter of the way through! I also made my 5^th year, the year of spontaneity. A few weeks back, my friends and I decided to head down to enemy territory and visit The Austin City Limits Music Festival and I can safely say that was probably the best weekend of my life with some of my closest friends (I cried during Drake). I also just came back from a fun (but slightly depressing) OU/TX weekend and made some more memories as well.

Future Sooner,  if you’re weary about taking that extra Fifth year, do not worry. This point in college, you’ve already made your friend groups, already found your faculty mentors, and you pretty much already get the gist of how campus works. You get to have that “one more chance” in college and believe me, I am taking advantage it right now. OU has been place that I have grown into the man I have become today and getting that one more shot at college is yet another exciting year to grow as an individual. If you have to, take that extra year because “With 5^th year, comes wisdom.”

Bunty Patel

Energy Management/Supply Chain

Class of 201(6)

Wilburton, Oklahoma

Have you ever held a human heart in your own two hands? Unless you’re an cardiac surgeon or a student in the health fields at OU, the answer is probably no. The University of Oklahoma’s health programs give students the opportunity to lean about the human body in incredible depth as we are able to study human cadavers in Human Anatomy lab. This course gives students a hands on experience in dealing with human bodies that we will eventually be working with in our future careers. OU has one of the most impressive and extensive cadaver labs in the country and as a current student in the Human Anatomy lab, I am so grateful to be able to learn this much even before applying to graduate programs.

Starting a future in the health fields can be a very rewarding choice for students but it can also be a very intimidating one. That first step towards becoming a nurse, physicians assistant, occupational therapist, or any other healthcare professional is made so much easier with the help of OU’s incredible faculty, staff, and department heads who offer incredible support and advice throughout this journey. Students are guided through course advising but are given incredible independence in choosing elective courses and in which semesters specific classes will be taken. With the help and guidance of individual course professors and advisors, students are set on the right path towards achieving their goals.

In my experience as a pre-health student, I have certainly had my doubts and worries about the course load that I was getting myself into. Over the past four semesters I have passed the bulk of my course work including all of my general education credits, letting me be able to take more profession-focused courses. Thanks to the variety of labs, depth of educational resources, and highly skilled professors and teaching assistants that the University of Oklahoma has to offer, my successes in the health sciences are setting me well on my way to my future career as a health professional.

Monica Strauch

Junior

Health and Exercise Science Major, Pre-Occupational Therapy

Spanish Minor

Oak Park, California

How cool is it that a student in the Price College of Business can receive college credit for donating to charity? This semester, I have the opportunity to take part in the 20^th Anniversary of the Integrated Business Core program within the Price College of Business. This program allows groups of 20 students to develop their professional skills, as well as the ability to fulfill social responsibilities to the community. With the creation of my company’s one-of-a-kind, Oklahoma-inspired sweatshirts, all proceeds of our product go to our charity of choice, Hearts for Hearing. This non-profit organization works to help the children and adults of Oklahoma with varying degrees of hearing impairments by providing speech therapy classes, hearing aids, cochlear implants, and much more. In addition to our monetary donation, my company also has the opportunity to donate our time to LoveWorks Leadership in Norman. LoveWorks Leadership is an after-school program, designed to aid middle schoolers in the discovery of their passions and the potential to live into their dreams through tutoring, life skills training, and leadership development.

Though I am only halfway through the semester, I’ve already sensed a change in my own passions and dreams. Through the mentorship of LoveWorks and the monetary donations to Hearts for Hearing, I have a new sense of appreciation and vision for my own life. I’m thankful for Price College and its dedication to teaching and providing real world experiences, while allowing students to contribute to our surrounding communities.

Overall, our company goal is to raise $11,500 to Hearts for Hearing, and donate over 1,200 hours of service to LoveWorks over the course of the semester. Through a charitable donation of $35, you can help my company reach its goal and help children all over Oklahoma! For more information about our cause and to view our products, feel free to visit OklahomApparel.wordpress.com !
Bailey E. Brougher

I just went to my last advising appointment at the University of Oklahoma. I experienced my last Camp Crimson about 2 months ago. I have been to my last first football game of a season. I had my last first day of school… after 17 years! I am living in a world of “lasts” and it isn’t stopping.

Coming from someone who is graduating on time, in 4 years, I wish I could stay longer. I bet you never picture yourself saying that about school, huh? OU does that to you, though.

At Camp Crimson this past year I was a small group leader for my last time. Sitting in our last session of camp the emcee went on stage, also a senior, and began talking about college life in retrospect. She encouraged the new Sooners by telling them how they have a huge blank white canvas sitting in front of them, waiting for them to paint a picture on it. You have hundreds of paint brushes and colors sitting in front of you also; everything from clubs and organizations to academics to football season to friends you have yet to make. How you use those paint brushes and colors is completely up to you. You can paint WHATEVER picture you want. This college experience is completely up to you, and what are you going to do with it?

Looking back on my college career, the opportunities I have been given, and what I have done with the hundreds of resources at my fingertips, my canvas is almost completely painted. I just have some finishing touches left, like walking across the stage. I can truly say I have fully embraced every opportunity I have been given and I am so thankful I did. My canvas looks amazing.

As she gave this talk, I can reassure you every single senior leader sitting in that room, including her, was crying. We were all wondering how we had done; had we painted the picture we wanted?

While choosing the college you want to attend, hopefully choosing OU, think about what you want to do, what you want your canvas to look like. Then look at OU, look at every paintbrush you are offered, every picture everyone else that attends this University has created, and how not a single person regrets the decisions they have made here. I fully believe you cannot go wrong in choosing to attend this University. I myself was also choosing between OU and 4 other colleges, and never once do I think I made the wrong decision. That was proven true the second I walked on this campus and picked up my first paintbrush.

Will the first colors on your canvas be Crimson and Cream?

Nikki Smith
Bixby, OK
Communication major with a minor Nonprofit Organizations
Class of 2013

Some thoughts from a current student about the OU family and tradition…

Finding a single yearbook page to represent the tradition of the University of Oklahoma is an intimidating task. Sitting in the floor of the Jacobson Hall Presentation Room, I delved into decades of historic picture after picture of the University, hoping to find something triumphant that stood out as the epitome of tradition. However, what I was intently searching for in a picture, I discovered in the heartfelt words of J.T. Conway, a 1906 student, in the Greeting of the 1905 yearbook which, at the time, was called “The Mistletoe”:  “Its aim is to picture life in the University as it is, to present its past in a general way and, if possible, to suggest what may be expected from it in the future. This modest volume hopes to find a warm spot in the heart of every true lover of the University.”  His hopes became a reality as the pictures and stories of The Mistletoe warmed my heart, making me feel even more connected to this extraordinary University. His hopeful words express a very unique and special tradition of our University – the tradition of family.

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Test Prep/taking the ACT and SAT

I’m going to level with you – there’s nothing fun about taking a 4+ hour test on a Saturday morning. Even if you score off the charts and earn a huge scholarship, you still probably won’t enjoy taking the ACT or SAT. But by employing a few simple strategies, you can make sure your standardized test experience is as productive as possible.

Answer the easy questions first. Every question is worth the same amount of points, so don’t waste your time on a hard question that you might not even get correct. Instead, clean up all the easy questions first and collect the points you know you can get. Then move on to the tougher questions if you have left over time.

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So, I went to my advising appointment for next semester and I cannot believe how fast time has passed! I feel so old and young at the same time. I say this because not many people know I am only 17 years old yet am considered a “sophomore” here at OU because of the amount of hours I had coming in. Everything has been so great, and it feels like I’ve been doing this “college” thing for a while, even though it’s only been 6 or so weeks. I am an International Business & Marketing major and am doing a language concentration in Spanish as well as a minor in French… How am I going to get through all that? I’m not quite sure yet, but with the support of my adviser, my parents, and my friends, I know I will… Read more

July has come and gone and school is just around the corner.  For you seniors, the most important year of your life is about to begin.   You’re going to have many important decisions to make; the most important of which is where you will be going to college.   Hopefully you have taken a few college visits by now; if you haven’t, you need to start.  College visits are a key factor when it comes to making your decision.  You should never decide on a college or university without actually seeing the school in person.

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I hope everyone is enjoying the summer – I know I sure am!  We just celebrated the 4^th of July which means summer is about halfway over.  Now, I’m telling you this not to stress you out, but I want you to begin to prepare yourself.  Next year you will be seniors in high school, the top dogs, the ones everyone looks up to.  But it also means you will be in college the year after that (yes, you are all going to college, the only question left to answer is which one you will be attending).   How many of you know what type of students colleges are looking for?  There are millions of high school seniors in this country, so how will schools separate the best from the rest?  I’ll let you know a little secret; we will do it using three simple letters – A C T.

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Spring semester ended in a whirlwind, but it was an enjoyable whirlwind at that.  So many things on campus were happening as May approached that made finding time to do anything outside of schoolwork and school-related activities difficult.  Highlights included The Big Event (OUs Official Day of Community Service), Sooner Scandals (Outstanding musical theatre-esque performances put on by groups from around campus), and, while I wouldn’t exactly call it a highlight, mountains of time spent writing end of the semester papers, completing assignments, and studying for tests. I also enjoyed being able to walk a little south of the dorms to watch OU Baseball or Basketball games when we found a little spare time. It was great fun participating in or going to watch things like this as the school year wound down.

My grades turned out very well making for happy parents and a great beginning of the summer. I’ve traveled a bit, taking a small trip to Colorado and some other minor trips around the state, but what’s been most astounding to me is all of the places studies and service are taking people I met this year at OU!  Thanks to Facebook, I’ve seen pictures from all around the world. South Africa, Russia, Spain, France, Germany, England, China, and Chile are just a few of the places OU can send you! To be able to travel at this time in life is such a great thing, and the opportunities that OU and the OU Education Abroad Office allow you to realize are just one of the reasons you should strongly consider OU as you make a college decision.

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