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Today is Ouachita Baptist University Founder’s Day, and in honor of the day OBU grads were asked to blog about their Ouachita story.

It’s hard to sum up my time at OBU in a simple blog post.  The reality, though, is that my Ouachita story is not bound up in those four years.  It started when I was in elementary school and continues on today, twelve years after graduation.

For as long as I can remember, every mention of college revolved around Ouachita.  I was guaranteed a full scholarship to OBU as a missionary kid, and my parents kindly but firmly informed me that I would either go to Ouachita or pay my own way through school!  So, I knew years before August 1994 that my college destination would be Arkadelphia, AR.

While specific memories of my years at OBU sometimes seem distant and easy to forget, much stays with me:

I discovered my passion for women’s ministry and was given my first opportunity to speak to other women while at Ouachita.

I learned much about friendship during those four years as I was surrounded by friends who walked me through readapting to the American culture after years overseas.

As with many OBU students, I met my husband there.

Now, twelve years after graduation, Ouachita is a bit of a haven for me.  It is a peaceful place.  It is a dream of mine to someday be back there, pouring my life into students just as my life was poured into by wonderful mentors during my years there.

Not only that, but Ouachita also serves as a connection for me.  A connection with people who graduated fifty years ago and with those who are students there now.  A connection that brings excitement of every Ouachita Circle that comes in the mail, even though fewer and fewer names are familiar to me. A connection that enhances the thrill of visiting campus at least once a year at homecoming just to see the campus changes or to encounter a few familiar faces.  A connection that instills joy when moving to a new place of ministry and finding an immediate bond with other couples simply because they were at OBU when I was there.

I am so thankful that my Ouachita story is not bound up in four years of campus life.  I am excited that it is still being written.  And I look forward to seeing how it grows in the coming years.