I came to ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾ from a very small school, Scranton, Arkansas. There were 24 in my graduating class, so as you can imagine, the thought of being on a large college campus was overwhelming. I did have the advantage of knowing my roommate before I came to Hughes Residential College, but honestly, I was scared. From day one, I was involved. On the first night after move-in there were activities for all of us to engage in and learn about each other. I signed up for intermural flag football, and a camping trip at the Buffalo River. The transition from high school to college was made simple because of Hughes. As a student worker on campus, I worked first hand in the Learning Communities office placing students in Residential Colleges and I am still a firm believer that Residential Colleges life attracts students to ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾, helps them achieve higher academics, and helps them graduate.
My education didn’t end at ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾. After graduating with my Bachelors in Family and Consumer Sciences, I accepted a County Extension Agent’s position with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. After working with them for 6 months, I began working on my Master’s Degree from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. I took the long road on my Graduate work! While in graduate school, I got married, worked (more than) full-time and proceeded to have 2 children. In August of 2007 I completed my Masters in Education. I worked for the U of A Division of Agriculture for 11 years before leaving to work for Farm Bureau Insurance.
My husband Heath and I were married in October 2002. We have two children, Meredith (11), and Eli (9) and live in Ozark, Arkansas where I am the on the Ozark City Council and Secretary of our Ozark Rotary Club. When I am not working, I spend time volunteering at church and in the community. Hughes helped me get off on the right start in college and in my professional career. I made so many lifelong friends in Hughes and a learned quickly how to network. Being from a small school, there is not much networking. I learned how to create bonds and friendship beyond my core friend group. I am amazed at how that network still comes in to play with my business today.