One day at a time: How through-hiking the Appalachian Trail taught me to navigate the unpredictable

During my senior fall semester at Ouachita, I took a backpacking class with Shane Seaton, director of Ouachita RecLife. I also liked to hike quite a bit at Iron Mountain out by Lake DeGray, which is not far from Ouachita’s campus.

Behind the names: Rachel Fuller & Ouachita Singers Memorial Amphitheater

Pep rallies, classes, the freshman beanie ceremony – these are a few of the many Ouachita events held in the ampitheater outside of McClellan Hall. Often called “the amp” by current students, the Rachel Fuller and Ouachita Singers Memorial Ampitheater has great significance to Ouachita’s recent history.

Looking to reduce your waste?

When looking to go zero waste, dip your toe into waste reduction or be more eco-friendly, my first suggestion is always the Big Four! The Big Four are four simple, easy swaps popularized by Plastic Free July. These four items are easy to avoid and make up a huge portion of waste in landfills and the ocean. All of these swaps are convenience items that are easy to avoid, and I’ll show you how.

Ouachita's favorite mascots

Tripp and Talley are well-known faces around the Ouachita campus. They are Ouachita athletics’ most spirited fans and are loved by many. Have you ever wondered the history behind our furry friends?

TWIRP, Tunes, Dr. Jack? Decoding everyday Ouachita life #askingforafriend

We know you have questions about life in general at Ouachita. So, we’ve put together some common questions and answers to give it to you straight. You’ll start-off your freshman year with a few nuggets of knowledge to navigate this new world of Ouachita, complete with it’s own distinct culture and lingo – with no need to ask for your friends.

The guys behind the camera

If you’ve kept up with Ouachita lately, you’ve likely glimpsed at different Ouachita photos taken by graduates Tyler Rosenthal (’15), Andy Henderson (’18) and Alex Blankenship (’19). Among the three, they have captured 15 years of life at Ouachita.

Best apps to use during your summer road trip

Road trips are the peak of summer adventures with your friends and loved ones. Lucky for you, I consider myself to be an expert of the open road. My road trips have lasted anywhere from two days to three weeks, and I’ve traveled from the west coast to the east coast all while compacted in a vehicle.

Behind the names: Berry-Peeples Bible Building

For nearly 60 years, Berry Bible Building has been the academic home for countless Ouachita Christian studies students and professors, as well as the rest of the student body, who complete foundational Christian studies classes there.

Post-grad funk: It's a real thing

New graduates, I’m here to tell you about the “real world.” It’s a place I wouldn’t often recommend to others, but we all have to grow into it at some point. “Adulting” is a journey we have to take. I remember those last few weeks before graduation so well!

First job advice for anyone imperfect

Yes, it’s true, there is no other place in the world like Ouachita. In fact, your next adventure probably won’t feel familiar at all to anything you’ve experienced these past four (or more) years. The good news is that your cherished memories will stick with you forever, and the greatness ahead will all be worth it.

Game-changing community: How Ouachita offers student-athletes balance

“The Lord loves to surprise us.” I overheard these six words several years ago, and I don’t think a quote has ever resonated with my time at Ouachita as much as this one. I never could’ve dreamed up what all the Lord had in store for my four years as a student-athlete. I entered my freshman year as a student

Explore Ouachita! delivers a tight-knit campus experience

The summer of my senior year of high school, I attended Explore Ouachita! (what used to be called GROW, or Getting Ready for Ouachita’s World) for the first time. I didn’t know much about Explore – or Ouachita for that matter – but my dad urged me to attend. He said he just knew that Ouachita would be the perfect fit for me and that I would fall in love with it. Little did I know at that point in time that he was exactly right.

4 tips for starting a zero waste lifestyle

Most beginner guides for going zero waste are full of simple swaps, but there’s so much more to zero waste living than replacing your household items. Don’t get me wrong, I love swaps, too, but I think the tips below are the four most important tips I can give you for going zero waste. They’re essentially the building block of zero waste, minimalism and eco-friendly living.

Confronting ableism

I have grown up in a society that condemns racism. Within the past few years, I have even seen more and more men and women condemn sexism. And yet, there is still one “inferior” group that is often discriminated against, having to fight an “-ism” that few people have heard of. Ableism is a real prejudice issue in our society. In short, ableism is discrimination in favor of able-bodied people.

Getting to know Frances Crawford

As I walked through the doors to the lobby on my freshman move-in day, I knew something was different about Frances Crawford Hall. When you live in Frances Crawford Hall, often referred to as “Francie,” you learn the phrase, “It’s not about where you live, it’s about who you live with.” I began to understand what that meant on the first day. The Residence Life staff were welcoming and warm, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to the story.

12 apps to keep your mind sharp over the summer

The moment I turn in my last assignment of the semester, my brain officially shuts off from learning anything new. Summer is all about soaking up the sun while forgetting about the stresses of school. But when the three blissful summer months have passed, turning the switch back on in your brain seems to be way more challenging than it needs to be.

7 tips for networking the Ouachita way

Working the Ouachita network, it’s a real need. But it’s overwhelming and daunting and provides the potential for lots of awkward moments. You know, the ones like you have with crazy Uncle Ted across the Thanksgiving table, where you have enough in common to strike up a conversation (thank you liberal arts education!) but not enough to have many over assumptions playing out with every word you state.

Behind the names: Berry Chapel

With its large, symmetrical windows and white steeple stretching high, Berry Chapel has served as a campus landmark since 1962. It is a favorite sketch subject for Ouachita’s aspiring artists, but it is also a place – more than a building – etched in the memories of countless Ouachita students.

Alumni profile: Bonita Watts, creator of the famous McDonald's apple pie

Surely, at one time or another, you’ve walked into a McDonald’s restaurant and smelled the delicious aroma of apples and cinnamon, causing you to give in and order that tasty apple pie in a box. But did you know that without Ouachita alumna Bonita Watts (’62), you may have never tasted those tasty pies?

Remembering Bill Downs

Bill Downs didn’t always tell the truth. I have proof of it. In 2004, Downs wrote a book called “The Fighting Tigers: The Untold Stories Behind the Names on the Ouachita Baptist University World War II Memorial." I asked him to autograph the book for me in December of that year, and this is what he wrote: “To Rex Nelson, the only OBU student I have ever had who wrote so beautifully that I never found anything to correct.”