Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University welcomes prospective students and their families to campus for Preview Day and Upward Bound Saturday on Nov. 7.

Preview Day is an opportunity for any junior or senior high school student interested in learning more about Ouachita to experience campus. The admissions office is expecting 150 students to be on campus that day.

“It’s a time for them to be on campus and meet with administrators and deans,” explained Lori Motl, director of OBU’s office of admissions counseling. “It’s not very often that you have the chance to have one-on-one time with that many of the key players at a university at one time.”

Preview Day begins at 8 a.m. with registration and an opening program in the lobby of Jones Performing Arts Center. At 9 a.m., students will be taken on campus tours and then attend two academic sessions of their choice to learn more about Ouachita’s academic programs.

At 12 noon, students and their families are invited to enjoy lunch at the tailgate party and then at 1:30 p.m. attend the Battle of the Ravine football game against Henderson State University at A.U. Williams Field.

Upward Bound is a program that serves 12 school districts in surrounding counties. The program chooses high school students selectively through an application process.  It focuses on students who will be first-generation college students or come from financially disadvantaged families.

One Saturday a month, Ouachita hosts a program for the students. All of the students are invited to campus to participate in a workshop that pertains to education and other life skills.  After the workshop, the students will divide into groups and participate in a team activity pertaining to the workshop.

Terrence Carter, director of the Upward Bound Program said, “We are here to teach our students to be role models for their communities and schools.”

Teaching high school students that the best way to change their circumstances is through the pursuit of an education, Upward Bound gives them the opportunity to learn to love education, campus life and be better equipped as leaders after their high school graduation.

For more information about Preview Day, contact the office of admissions counseling at (870) 245-5110, and for information about Upward Bound Saturday, contact Terrence Carter at [email protected] or (870) 245-5158.

By Molly Magee