Collected posts from Blogs at the University of Central Oklahoma
Spring 2022
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA GRADUATE SANG REM WEEPS as she recounts her story. Rem recalls the moment she first imagined the future she is living today.
The year was 2007. Rem was 14 and her family had just taken the first steps in escaping an increasingly oppressive military regime in her home country of Burma, also referred to as Myanmar.
. . .
GREETINGS,
The passing of time, anniversaries and significant moments – these are all occasions, which call us to look back. Looking back may be our heart’s response to something we’re feeling today, or it may be the current of life sparking reflection before moving forward. As the torchbearers of transformative learning, we embrace . . .
“I WAS CHECKING MY EMAIL every single moment of the day.”
That’s how UCO junior Beyonce Hammond, a political science major from Moore, Oklahoma, described the excruciating wait to see if she would be named a Truman Scholar—one of the nation’s most prestigious and selective academic honors.
But the answer wasn’t in her email. . . .
During homecoming 1996, on the lawn to the west of the communications building, Central students performed their best stunting, jumping, cheering, tumbling and dancing skills all in the hopes of being declared cheer and dance champions. What originally started as a one-night, homecoming event has now morphed into a two-night, stand-alone event where . . .
HAS A KID EVER ASKED YOU why they had to learn something in school when they could just Google it? When information is available at the push of a button, what we learn and how we learn it should be reevaluated and reimagined. But as any seasoned educator could tell you, learning is more complicated than completing . . .
THE TRADITION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA was a deeply rooted one for Leroy Coffman. From his early days in Cement, Oklahoma, he was a strong believer in learning and sought to remove barriers to education. Those principles only strengthened during his lifetime.
Coffman came from a family that included several Central graduates, . . .
THE CROWD GATHERS, HUDDLED AROUND TABLES while the lights dim, and the performers take the stage. This scene has been repeating at the University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab now for two decades. It took a convergence of dreams that came together 20 years ago to make the UCO Jazz Lab a reality.
The foundations of these dreams were laid . . .
ON HIS FOURTH DAY OF WORKING as a DoorDash driver, UCO senior Ethan Williams had to choose between making deliveries in hazardous, icy conditions or miss out on extra income. Knowing many Edmond residents would be stuck indoors due to wintry weather, he opted to venture out to deliver food.
“I almost didn’t want to come out and do . . .
EVERY YEAR, GENEROUS DONORS AND ALUMNI CHOOSE to provide funding for a variety of scholarship opportunities at Central. These scholarships are awarded to students who have gone above and beyond in their education and involvement within UCO and the community – like Christian Coleman.
Recent UCO graduate Christian Coleman was a first-generation . . .
FIFTY-FOUR YEARS AGO, HOWARD CAPLINGER WAS LOOKING forward to his future. He was a new graduate of Central State College (CSC) and had recently married his middle school sweetheart. To celebrate his academic achievements, Howard purchased a class ring that he wore with collegial pride as he entered into the . . .