Olivia Talkington

October 18, 2023

Close your eyes and picture yourself sitting at home in unknown territory as the world as you know it shuts down.

*Trigger Warning for Readers: Mental Health, Resources, and Hotlines Included in Last 2 Paragraphs* 

Close your eyes and picture yourself sitting at home in unknown territory as the world as you know it shuts down. Think back to mid-March 2020 when you were sent home from work or school and told that you would potentially return in two weeks. Internalize the emotions you felt when the only form of contact you had with loved ones or friends was done over the phone by calls, FaceTime, or online video chat due to the spread of COVID-19. Just one phone call or text message to check in on the people you love leaves a lasting impact. Tell your close friends and family know you love them. 

In the early hours of Thursday, April 30, 2020, my grandfather passed away from COVID-19. I recall the morning I received a phone call from my mom, who was in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma sitting by my grandfather’s side in personal protective equipment as he peacefully began to slip away. With my two chocolate labs Maggie and Millie sitting on either side of me in bed, I vividly remember questioning why such heartbreak had to happen to my family during the initial stages of a worldwide pandemic.  

In a matter of weeks, I had lost the ability to interact with friends and family in-person because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Never did I think that the COVID-19 virus would take a close family member from me. According to the CDC’s website, my grandfather became a statistic for the U.S. COVID-19 death toll; he became one in over one million Americans to die from COVID-19.  

After experiencing the loss of my grandmother not even two years prior to losing my grandfather, I was distraught. The pure feeling of confusion and sadness coincided inside my mind, because I did not get to say goodbye to my grandfather due to the limited or ceased occupancy within the assisted living home.  

I grew angry at the world for being in a position for having to lose someone during a pandemic where I could not go seek comfort and distraction from friends and family. I said goodbye to my grandfather at a funeral service with a limit of ten people in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions for attendance.  

After experiencing such hardship and loss amidst a pandemic, I finally understand the significance of a simple phone call, text, or FaceTime to loved ones. You truly never know the last time you will get to say your goodbyes or hellos to those you hold near and dear to your heart. As a junior in college who experienced loss during a time of uncertainty, I value my cherished time with close family or friends.  

For the past three years as I have attended The University of Oklahoma, I challenged myself to make that phone call and check in on those I love. Some could compare the experience of living far from home to times during the COVID-19 pandemic where individuals quarantined at home to limit exposure to the virus. Call your loved ones; simply ask how their day was or how they are doing overall in life. 

At college, you adapt and establish routines to call relatives and friends and stay connected with their lives as you cheer them on from afar. Similar situations could be applied to the times where humans had to quarantine at home, utilize technology, and seize opportunities to talk to those I love. Whether you are living away from home, attending college far from home, or on vacation, call your loved ones. Let them know that you love them. You never know when the last time to talk to someone will be.  

If your or someone close to you struggles related to mental health (grief, anxiety, depression, etc.) are life-threatening, dial the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988, for immediate medical attention.  

If you or a loved one are struggling with mental health, there are resources available to help you find counseling or medical attention from professionals to aid or help you.  

Better Help- Professional Therapy with a Licensed Therapist 

Psychology Today- Mental Health and Behavioral Science Online Platform 

September 27, 2023

Students all over the United States face the daunting task of finding the right college to attend after they graduate high school.

Whether you know someone who has gone through the process of applying to colleges or not, high school peers may find it challenging as they navigate the starting point of researching the thousands of colleges. Gathering resources and information about the college application process during your sophomore year of high school is the ideal time to start preparing for college.  

Applying to a school does not necessarily need to be as tedious as it sounds to some people. With an organized plan in place to research and apply to universities, high school students are setting themselves up for success when taking the proactive approach to prioritize their futures.  

You may be wondering how you begin exploring the diverse range of education available for high school graduates? Rather than putting the idea of college on the back burner, establishing a plan of action early on is the best place to start or plan out the foreseeable future.  

Take a seat; here is a high schooler’s guide to picking a college. 

SPRING SEMESTER OF SOPHOMORE YEAR 

• Begin researching different universities based on these factors to consider… 

1. Location 

2. Size 

3. Private v. Public Institution 

4. Tuition Cost 

5. Major or Degree Path 

6. Standardized Test Score(s) needed for admission- ACT or SAT. 

• Utilize the Fisk Guide to Colleges book to begin looking at the top 320 colleges available with information regarding the factors listed above. 

FALL SEMESTER OF JUNIOR YEAR 

• Craft a list of 10 colleges you are interested in visiting.  
• Establishing a list of diverse colleges sets a student up for success because it allows one to explore what they may or may not prefer in a college.  
• Begin contact with your school’s college advising office or college advising counselor to collect information on the list of schools you are interested in touring.  

• Research potential college fairs in your local area; meet with college advisors to hear about the campus and degree programs. 

SPRING SEMESTER OF JUNIOR YEAR 

• Make a list of your top 5 schools to consider touring virtually or in-person.  
• Remain in contact with your college advising counselor or office for specific information about the admission process for each of your top 5 schools and what GPA, standardized test scores, etc. is needed for acceptance.  
• Establish an objective plan to meet with a college advisor to see what your top degree path would look like. Find out more about what you would be studying and what a career with a specific degree would look like in the future. 

FALL SEMESTER OF SENIOR YEAR 

• Begin touring your list of top 5 schools virtually or in-person.  
• Mark the opening of admission applications to your calendar for each school. 
• Research local and national scholarship opportunities to apply for. 
• If a school offers a scholarship application and supplemental essays are required or recommended, ask a fellow student or teacher to guide you in the direction of success when writing.  
• Finish taking your lasts of standardized tests if necessary. Reference the official ACT and SAT websites for registration of testing dates and designated testing locations. 
• Know when early admission applications are open and when they are due.  
• Begin to create a financial plan for college expenses: 

• Tuition 
• Textbooks 
• Fees 
• Living & Food 

• Begin applying to schools and for scholarships.  
• Utilize the Common App, an online college admissions portal that allows students to apply for various colleges on one site. 
• APPLY, APPLY, APPLY to your choice of schools. 

SPRING SEMESTER OF SENIOR YEAR 

• Narrow down your list of top schools to potentially attend from five to 1-3.  
• Once you hear back on whether you were accepted, declined or waitlisted from the colleges you applied to, begin to narrow down your list once again. Picture yourself where you would best fit in and what college makes the most sense for you.  
• Take any last-minute virtual or in-person tours of different schools if needed.  
• Accept an offer of acceptance from a school and decide which college you will be attending after graduation in the upcoming fall semester.  
• Complete any room and board assignment request forms and roommate assignment portals needed from your college you will attend.  

Most importantly, be kind to yourself through the process of finding the right college for you. Everyone’s path to picking a college looks different. Remember to take care of your mental health as you navigate this new chapter of life. Listen to your gut as you take on the task of researching, visiting and choosing the college that best suits you and your desires and needs.  

September 20, 2023

With students flowing in and out of the classroom, learning what it takes to be a media writer and storyteller, Jeremy Cowen leaves a lasting impact each semester on his writing students.

As a new set of eager students have entered his classroom each semester since 2006, Cowen said his time spent teaching a journalism course at Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication allows him to keep his writing skills intact.

In his full time job with the Oklahoma Bankers Association, Cowen serves as the senior vice president of communications. O.B.A. is a non-profit organization located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He joined the O.B.A. team in January 2002. Alongside his day job in at O.B.A., Cowen teaches a section of the Media Writing and Storytelling course twice a week at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications. While Cowen takes on the role as an instructor at OU, writing is ultimately crucial in his main job.

In the spring semester of 2006, Cowen embarked on his now 17-year journey to teach young students journalism and media lessons as an adjunct or part-time professor at Gaylord.

“Balancing both positions at Gaylord and O.B.A. can be challenging from time to time,” Cowen said. “Sometimes I get too busy with work at the O.B.A. and do not have a chance to look over a lesson plan for my 2033 course at Gaylord, or vice versa. But because I have been lucky enough to teach 2033 for so long, I am able to do an adequate job teaching students and guide them to become better writers.”

In addition to a 22-year position at O.B.A., Cowen is the longest-teaching adjunct professor for Media Writing and Storytelling at Gaylord. In the JMC 2033 writing course, the concept of journalistic writing is introduced to freshmen and sophomore students who are learning to write for print, broadcast, online, visual or other creative media.

Each semester, Cowen examines how he too can learn new ways to improve his journalism skills to use in his other job with O.B.A. in the communications department. He reiterates how teaching this course helps him stay on top of his skills as a writer.

“I truly enjoy teaching the students each semester,” Cowen said. “By teaching 2033, it helps keep my own basic writing skills fresh and sharpened. I cannot understate what a strength that is for me to stay up to date with my professional writing skills.”

Kayden Anderson, a Gaylord student, was a former student of Cowen’s section of Media Writing and Storytelling in the spring of 2023. Anderson joined the O.B.A. staff in August 2023 and is currently a communications intern for the organization.

Anderson details how Cowen is from Hartshorne, Oklahoma, a small town similar to the rural town of Vian, Oklahoma she grew up in.

“It was impactful to see someone from a small town to be successful in a career that I aspire to have,” Anderson said. He’s also my boss now at OBA, which is super cool and put me on a path for my career that I would not have if it weren’t for him being my professor.”

With Cowen by her side, Anderson has assisted with the O.B.A. website, social media platforms, and written press releases and feature stories for the newspaper, Oklahoma Banker.

“I learned more about copy editing and interviewing, which is something that I will do daily in my career,” Anderson said. “Most importantly, I gained confidence in my abilities.”

As time goes on, Cowen described how foundational writing skills as a journalist get moved to the subconscious part the mind.

“Rather than consciously use and store those writing skills, I tend to not necessarily remember some of the basic journalism skills I once was taught,” Cowen said. “Teaching 2033 at Gaylord has only strengthened my skill set to use in all areas of my professional life. It is rare I don’t have a semester where I’m not learning where to tune up areas of my writing from students.”

The ability to form one’s thoughts and effectively communicate through writing is a basic skill that individuals use every day. Cowen insists he portrays the importance of well-written journalism in his lessons at Gaylord.

“The basic skill for everything is learning to write,” Cowen said. “Everything starts as the written word. Writing is a lost art, especially in today’s trends of texting versus calling and social media.”

Through Cowen’s time at Gaylord, he emphasizes to his students the importance of being able to write well in today’s world. Despite being the adjunct professor to teach students Media Writing and Storytelling for the longest amount of time, Cowen does not like to have his job define who he is.

“A saying that I have adopted into my life is to be more interesting than my job,” Cowen said. “I have chosen not to find myself worth from my career as a writer or from working in the communications department of the Oklahoma Bankers Association. We should be able to have takeaways and skills from our profession versus focusing on superficial achievements or success from our jobs.”

March 5, 2023

Sam Noble Museum Hosts the 20^th Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair 

A Native American youth language festival will celebrate its 20^th anniversary in April. Originated in April 2003, the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair hosted at Sam Noble Museum aims to bring Native peoples together from around the United States to revitalize and display the languages and cultures of Native Tribes. Participants of the fair, primarily students, are given the space to use their understanding of a language and share among their peers.  

With fewer fluent Native American speakers present in America, the language fair hopes to give Native peoples the space to share their knowledge of a language and culture to revitalize and preserve those key elements of Native American tribes in America.  

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Language and Culture Director Gordon Yellowman details the realities of the American Indian boarding schools for Native peoples. 

“We [Native Americans] know the dark, deep past of what happened and the scars, mental and physical ones, that are still with us from the boarding school era. We [Natives] were not allowed to speak our language in these boarding schools. The boarding schools would punish those who spoke their native languages, which were the only language many knew, and forced to only speak English,” Yellowman said. 

The language fair provides a time for Native Americans to gather and share the passions of their culture and language to the public, further pushing out the multitude of Native languages to the public. Additionally, the museum is working to help the nation’s tribes preserve their language.  

Sam Noble Museum will host the language fair on April 3-4, 2023.  

Assistant Language Curator and Professor Raina Heaton discusses the impact that the language fair had on attendees.  

“I hope that the language fair serves as a good opportunity to build community for the Native tribes. Language work can be lonely. But then show up to the fair and see thousands of people who are interested in the same goals that you’re working towards and the similar struggles you face too,” Heaton said.   

Osage Nation Language Department Director Braxton Redeagle illustrates Osage’s pursuit to publicly publish forms of educational language resources.  

“Our children’s book, Coyote & the Bear, that has been published is free for download- for anyone and anywhere- in English and Osage language. We have published an online Osage dictionary, that continues to be updated and grow over time. The overall vision is to give out materials and language opportunities to the public at large, in their own time that are easy and accessible,” Redeagle said. 

May 3, 2023

Okla. City, OK- Supporters come to the annual marathon race to cheer on runners. 

Sunday marked the 23^rd anniversary of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. The Run to Remember marathon originated in 2001 to remember the innocent lives lost in the Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995. Today, hundreds of individuals line the streets to support runners, whether they know someone running or have a personal connection to the tragedy.  

Of the 168 lives lost in the bombing, a hole was left in the hearts of each family and friend killed back in 1995. Oklahomans have been left with a permanent stain from the bombing that took place at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in OKC.  

Now, countless Oklahomans can still recall the exact moment when they felt the ground shake or heard the breaking news regarding the bombing incident.  

Oklahoma City resident Randy Bray worked in a building right across the street from the Murrah building in 1995. He comes out every year to support the runners as they remember a tragedy so close to his heart.  

“I happened to know some of the children in the building that were killed [during the explosion],” Bray said. “They had a daycare there, and two weeks prior to my son getting into a different system, he was going to be there. It’s by the grace of God that he wasn’t.” 

Graphic by Olivia Talkington

Completing a marathon is no small task. Whether supporters come out to encourage the runners, remember those who died in the bombing, or some of both, it’s a huge part of the OKC Memorial Marathon.  

Oklahoma City resident Jennifer Pankhurst comes out to support the marathon runners at the corner of her street each year. Pankhurst enjoys cheering on the racers as she passes out water and blasts music through a speaker.  

“I know a lot of people had loved ones they lost in the bombing,” Pankhurst said. “I know everyone is just supporting runners and running the race in memory of those who were killed.”  

One local church came out to spread the word about joining their community. Thrive Community Church member Zac Owen gathered at the marathon to cheer on friends and runners in the race.  

“We want to reach the city of OKC with the good news of the gospel,” Owen said. “What better way to do just that than to come out here and support our neighbors as they take on these heavy feet of running this half or full marathon. We have a couple of church friends running the race as well.” 

Image captured by Olivia Talkington

Every year supporters line the streets of downtown OKC whether they have a friend, family member or personal connection to the bombing. Oklahoma resident Austin McCullough, alongside his dog Stardust, has run the race previously but came to cheer on friends. 

“Everyone out here is here to support you,” McCullough said. “Don’t be embarrassed if you have to walk some during the race, it happens. This is a race worth running at least once for everyone. It’s important to never forget what happened about the bombing.” 

Supporters continue to show up and encourage runners as they Run to Remember the victims. Everyone has a testimony as to why they show support for the OKC Memorial Marathon and remember the OKC bombing.