UAPB Golden Lions show pride in Trojan territory
Students and staff from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff led a program on Wednesday at Hot Springs World Class High School to invite the school’s juniors and seniors to attend the university.
Recruiters, students, faculty and other staff members traveled to Trojan Fieldhouse Wednesday to inform students about the campus in Pine Bluff and the opportunities offered by the university. Robert Carr joined UAPB as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in the summer and said he wanted to tour the state to meet high school students. Carr talked to students in attendance about what they want from a university.
Angelica Perkins, a 2015 graduate of Hot Springs, discussed her experiences as director of public relations for UAPB’s Student Government Association. She advised students to consider the costs of their college attendance.
“Many of us now are going on to grad school and you have to pay for that,” Perkins said. “It is going to be very expensive. You want your undergrad to be free or as close to free as possible.”
Perkins said she meets many people in her role with the SGA and encounters a number of opportunities at UAPB. She studied abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico, this summer.
“Coming from this school, I did not think that was an opportunity I would have because I did not see it really broadcast, but I knew it was something I wanted to do,” Perkins said. “And this goes for any school, but especially at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, your college career is what you make it.
“If you go to a college or a university and you sit and you wait for someone to
bring you opportunities, you are not going to find it. You have to go out and search for it, because your future depends on you.”
Cecilia Kolesar, recruitment specialist, presented two scholarships to Hot Springs seniors. She said the deadline for the university’s scholarship applications is March 1.
Ganell Jones was presented with a University Scholarship, which awards $11,880 per year for four years. Jameeshia Ference received a UAPB Leadership Scholarship for
$1,000 per year for four years. Kolesar said the minimum requirements for a scholarship to UAPB are a grade-point average of
2.75 and a score of 18 on the ACT. Full-tuition scholarships begin at a
3.75 GPA and a 28 on the ACT. Members of UAPB’s marching band, known as the Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South, performed Wednesday for Hot Springs students. John Graham, UAPB director of bands, introduced the band and sought to attract students from the Trojan Marching Band, under the direction of Lauren Russell.
“I pledge — you’re hearing it here first — to offer band scholarships today before I leave,” Graham said. “I pledge to put a band tuition scholarship down that can be used with your academic scholarship.”
Graham boasted of the national representation in the band. Students in UAPB’s marching band on Wednesday hailed from cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Las Vegas, as well as California, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas, but none from Hot Springs.
“I also pledge, once we get more students, we are going to bring the entire marching band over here,” Graham said. “I think we need to get them over here to see if we can come over and perform here.”
Another recent Hot Springs graduate, Autumn Sykes, encouraged students to attend UAPB, where she now majors in sociology. She said the Lion Fever Day event on campus in Pine Bluff played a major role in convincing her of the family atmosphere at the university.
Representatives from various departments and offices from UAPB set up stations in the gym on Wednesday to meet with the school’s seniors. Participating programs included the Army ROTC, Admissions, Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Office of Recruitment, School of Business and Management, School of Education and the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences.