Emily Bouyea and Rosa Gorham are beyond excited to serve as the Freshman Student Council Coordinators this year. Both Bouyea and Gorham were very involved in high school and they continued that involvement by joining the College of Arts and Sciences Freshman Student Council.
“I was excited to apply for coordinator and see what happened,” Bouyea said. “After getting it, I am really excited to work with both councils. I am just so excited.”
Allie Williams faces all the usual challenges of life as a college student, plus the challenges that come with spinal muscular atrophy, “a disease that robs people of physical strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, taking away the ability to walk, eat, or breathe,” according to Cure SMA.
Her wheelchair is empowering but not limitless.
1 is 2 Many, a White House initiative in response to the increased attention around sexual violence on college campuses, is one of Seraiah Coe’s philanthropic passions.
"I worked on a presentation on what a healthy relationship is and what consent is," Coe said. "I don't see that taught in high schools and that’s a really big issue because a lot of the girls I mentor either were or are in an abusive relationship. There are not really resources taught or mentioned about that in most sex ed."
Carly Bender calls “rEcess” — a monthly event for children with disabilities so their parents can have a free evening — her biggest hobby and favorite part of the month.
“It’s genuinely so much fun because it gets kind of crazy,” said Bender, an actuarial and financial mathematics senior. “They all run around, scream and just have fun. I know it’s a huge relief for the families. I miss them when I don’t see them because I have grown to love them so much. I get really attached, and they just have genuine joy about everything. They have a love for life that a lot of people don’t.”
Caroline Graham decided she wanted to be a researcher as a young girl. She was inspired by a National Geographic article about the study of microbes in the ice of Antarctica.
“I thought that’d be so cool, so I came to OSU because I wanted to do microbiology,” Graham said. “I figured out that wasn’t for me when I got into a research lab. After thinking about my skills and what I want to do, I decided that I want to go to dental school instead.”
It was natural for Emily Fry to become a scholar at Oklahoma State University, where her parents are both leaders. Her mother, Pamela, is OSU-Stillwater’s vice provost, and OSU-Tulsa’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. Her father, Don, is director of technology for the College of Education, Health and Aviation.
Fry recently completed her biological science/pre-health degree, earning significant honors for her accomplishments, including recognition as one of the OSU Alumni Association’s 15 Outstanding Seniors and as a College of Arts and Sciences Top 10 Senior.
As an aspiring film director, Amairani Perez Chamu made a deliberate choice to enroll in the American studies program at Oklahoma State University — Tulsa.
“It is really about society, culture, politics; the backbone of America,” said Perez, an immigrant from Mexico who was recently named one of 15 Outstanding Seniors by the OSU Alumni Association. “I thought it would be a good degree option in learning about what makes America, America.”
Alma Rios was a Sooner fan until her brother came to Oklahoma State University.
“I visited my brother here when he was awarded the Top 10 Freshmen,” Rios said. “That was my first time on campus, and everybody was just so kind and inviting.”
That’s when Rios met Lee Bird, the now-retired vice president of student affairs who inspired her to apply to OSU.
Colton Flynn, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography, got the amazing opportunity to go to Ethiopia for nine months to pursue his research thanks to the Fulbright Scholar Program. His research focused on an Ethiopian crop called tef.
“My research works on finding the health of the plant in agricultural fields using satellites. Then using a spectroradiometer we can predict the nutrient content of the plant and the seed in the field. Just by scanning the sun’s reflectance I am able to determine how much nutrient is in the crop or grain,” Flynn said.
