Ouachita Stories

It is move-in week your freshman year of college. You are surrounded by a sea of new faces. Left and right you are bombarded with the three same questions: “What’s your name?” “What’s your major?” and “Where are you from?” Although you know you will not remember most of their responses, you continue to ask. Occasionally, an answer sparks your interest and you dig deeper.

At a school in Arkansas, when you hear a response like “California,” you might ask, “How did you even hear about OBU?” Well in my case, I would smile and say, “The Chewbacca Mom.” Yes, the viral internet sensation is how I came to hear of this school I now call my second home.

Before her video went truly viral, my mom came across it on Facebook. After laughing hysterically for several minutes, she became intrigued and wanted to learn more about this Candace Payne. My mom learned through Candace’s Facebook profile that she had attended Ouachita Baptist University. In the midst of my college search, we felt the Lord calling us to look further into Ouachita. After a lot of prayer and a campus visit with my mom, we decided that this was the school for me.

In October, Candace was Ouachita’s featured guest speaker in the weekly chapel service. You can imagine how excited I was to hear that the guest speaker for homecoming chapel was Chewbacca Mom herself. I was able to meet her in person, and I am thrilled to report that she is just as funny in real life as she is in her video. The Lord has blessed me with many opportunities since coming to Ouachita, and meeting Miss Candace has been one of my favorites.

I never thought that I would end up in Arkansas, of all places, but God has a funny way of placing you right where you need to be. After all, “it’s the simple joys,” as Candace would say, that make life so sweet.

By Laura Sparks, a freshman mass communications major from Lemoore, California

 

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