Buffalo Valley 11th and 12th-grade GEAR UP students recently toured Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU), “The Campus of a Thousand Magnolias.” Students were welcomed by University Admissions Counselor/Recruiters Baily Hendrickson and Shantell Boone. Students began their tour at the Glen D. Johnson Student Union. The tour began with Hendrickson and Boone speaking about the different majors offered at SOSU and the application and admission process.
Students were given a walking tour of the horseshoe-shaped campus, where most buildings stand. Students walked past Morrison Hall, the first building built on campus in 1910. Located in the middle of what was then a peach orchard.
Students walked along the Magnolia–lined walkways where they visited the Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library, Math Building, Fine Arts Building and Russell Building which houses the John Massey School of Business. Students were given a brief overview of classes in each building and degrees offered at SOSU.
Students viewed Shearer Hall dorms, where they toured a dorm SOSU students live in during their first year. The building houses more than 300 residents in apartment-style suites, with an adjacent outdoor volleyball court and a half-sized basketball sport-court. Most suites have four separate bedrooms surrounding a living room space and kitchenette, equipped with a full-sized refrigerator and built-in microwave. The tour concluded at the Glen D. Johnson Student Union, with lunch in the cafeteria.
“Students enjoyed the tour of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The tour guides showed our GEAR UP students the facilities and answered the many questions our students asked,” LaDonna Baldwin, Education Coordinator.
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Eastern received a
$17 million federal GEAR UP grant in 2017 and will serve more than 3,000 students in 39 area
schools for seven years.
