Stringtown GEAR UP Students tour Oklahoma State University
Twenty–six GEAR UP students from Stringtown recently traveled to Stillwater to tour Oklahoma State University. No trip to Stillwater is complete without having lunch at Eskimo Joe’s, Stillwater’s famous restaurant. Students enjoyed the atmosphere, food and shopping at Eskimo Joe’s.
“The food was awesome, and there was a lot of it!” said Stringtown senior Erik Magby.
Students then took a short walk to the Student Union. Students were led to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and greeted by two current OSU students, Manny Rubio and Brooke Wayman. Stringtown students completed information cards and received bags with information about the University.
Students began the walking tour with a stop in front of the Spears School of Business. Students were told about the Watson Trading Floor (Department of Finance), which gives students real–world experience in analyzing data and making real–time decisions. The students also passed the Donald W. Reynolds Architecture. The next stop was an exciting one for the students—a tour of Boone Pickens Stadium, Heritage Hall, and Gallagher–Iba Arena.
Students walked into the stadium and saw the huge area where the Cowboys play football. Students were amazed at the size and beauty of the field. Students posed for a picture before leaving the stadium to tour Heritage Hall. Heritage Hall was built to focus on the story of OSU through its athletic accomplishments, its talented students and coaches, storied history and successful growth with the University. Students enjoyed seeing the very first Pistol Pete that was created by the Walt Disney Company and the additional sports memorabilia from all OSU sports.
Gallagher–Iba Arena was the next stop and students were able to walk onto the arena floor and stand under the scoreboard and the basketball goals. Students ran up and down the court and pretended to take basketball shots—just like the college athletes do. Next on the tour, the library.
The Edmon Low Library offers a wide variety of services for the students. OSU students receive free copies, get assistance on research papers and writing help, as well as a wide variety of other services. The GEAR UP students were amazed at all the help available to Cowboy students to help make their college years successful. The remainder of the tour was a walking tour of the campus with stops in front of Agricultural Hall and The Noble Research Center. No tour is complete without a stop at Theta Pond on the way back to the Student Union. The pond was used at the turn of the century to water college work animals. Today, the beautiful pond offers the perfect setting for relaxing under a shady tree, talking with a friend, that perfect picture or watching the ducks.
The tour concluded with another stop in the Student Union. Students were informed of all the services available at the Union. Banks, barbers, pharmacies, bookstores, writing help, information, restaurants, the cafeteria and tutoring services are some of the services offered at the Union.
“My students were able to see what life was like on the campus and how they could be successful college students even on a larger campus such as OSU,” said GEAR UP Education Coordinator Natalie Kennedy. “Our tour guides were awesome and answered questions and told the students the history of OSU. More importantly, they shared the tools necessary to become a successful college student.
The students returned to Stringtown High School after a brief stop at McDonald’s for a small dinner.
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Participating schools take two field trips each academic year—one to tour a college or university and one that is cultural/educational in nature.
Captions:
Stringtown GEAR UP students touring OSU are Wesley Givens, Zequiel Sherrard, Harley Scarberry, Travis Carroll, Jared Wyrick, Coben Humphrey, Tanner O’Bannion, Perry Scroggins, Rylee Dunlap, Jaden Parsons, Ha’ley Rung, Jacob Smith, Jessica Gabbart, Destiny Cook, Rider Couch, Maeley Couch, Amy Wages, Tyson Clinton, Makenzie Brutchin, Mahkia Harrison, Erik Magby, Josey Allen, Ariel Smith, Gracie Jackson, Harley Stevens and Jade Allen.
Stringtown GEAR UP students Jared Wyrick, Erik Magby, and Harley Scarberry complete information cards for the OSU recruiting office.
Destiny Cook—Stringtown junior Destiny Cook shows off her Pistol Pete mustache.
MaKenzie Brutchin—Stringtown senior Makenzie Brutchin shows her Cowboy spirit posing with the Pistol Pete Cutout