Ouachita Stories

Previously published in the 2019 Ouachitonian yearbook

For many students entering college, they often cannot wait to choose their own direction and explore their own options. As a senior in high school, Erica Dixon, a freshman graphic design major from Arkadelphia, decided she did not have to. Dixon chose to take two gap years between her time at Arkadelphia High School and Ouachita and instead moved to Branson, Mo., while most of her graduating class went on to college.

Originally from Merrillville, Ind., Dixon lived in Arkadelphia during her senior year of high school and graduated from Arkadelphia High School in 2016. She questioned whether college would be the next step in her life after getting her diploma.

“I had no idea where I should go to college,” said Dixon. “I had also contemplated taking a gap year after high school instead of starting college. I knew that if I was going to take a year off before school, I needed to do something very worthwhile, educational and that would give me direction.”

Dixon looked into the different options she had before her, feeling unclear about whether school would be the best choice for her. Once she was introduced to Kanakuk’s Link Year program, she knew it was the best next step for her future. The Link Year program was designed to give young adults a strong Biblical foundation to work with before entering college.

“I lived in Branson, Mo., with about 50 other guys and girls,” Dixon said. “Each week we hosted a different speaker who would teach on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Fridays, we all did a fun event together, like a scavenger hunt, bowling or trampoline park.”

On the weekends, Dixon had the opportunity to travel with friends that she had made through the program. She also had a flexible schedule during the week, which allowed her to get a job in Branson during that year. Dixon’s favorite memories of her time in the Link Year program revolved around her time spent studying abroad.

“I had the opportunity to live in Ireland for a month,” she said. “Experiencing different cultures has been key to expanding my worldview, and the fact that I got to do it with some of my best friends made it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

After completing a full year of the program, Dixon was offered the chance to be the media intern for the next year’s Link Year class. Dixon accepted the offer and helped move in new students in the fall of 2017.

“Those students were about to embark on the same journey I had just a year before,” Dixon said. “I spent the next year traveling with them and documenting their time in Branson, and I even got to go back to Ireland. After my second year, though, I knew that I really wanted to go to college and further my education.”

Though it was a hard decision to delay going to school for so long, Dixon was thankful for her two years with Kanakuk.

“I get a lot of jokes about being such an old freshman,” Dixon said. “I know, though, without a doubt that spending so much time focusing on my relationship with God and being poured into by amazing mentors shaped and matured me in ways that going to college never would have. I am thankful for my two years before Ouachita because I am a lot more confident in who God has called me to be and the purpose He has given my life.”

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