Members find a variety of ways to strengthen their Oklahoma State bonds with the Alumni Association
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Becoming a member of the Cowboy family can happen well before a student steps foot
on the OSU campus in Stillwater. One of the
best traits about OSU is the connection the university can have across generations.
Dr. Charles Qualls
Dr. Charles Qualls has helped spread his love for OSU to his two grandchildren, Davis and Dane Villanueva. Qualls graduated from OSU in 1971 and 1973 with degrees in pre- veterinary sciences and veterinary medicine, respectively. He would eventually serve as a faculty member in the OSU School of Veterinary Medicine for 19 years. His membership in the Alumni Association allows his grandsons to participate in the Legacy program.
The OSU Alumni Association’s Legacy program is designed to educate future Cowboys and Cowgirls about OSU by providing age-specific gifts throughout their childhood. A legacy is classified as any child between the ages of birth and 18 with a parent or grandparent who is an active member of the OSU Alumni Association.
"There is just a different dynamic when it is just grandparents and their grandchildren."
The program also includes fun events for legacies to attend throughout the year. The headlining event each summer is Grandparent University (GPU). This unique, intergenerational learning experience, held twice every June, is a fun-filled experience that engages kids in majors available at OSU while creating memories for both generations.
Qualls, who now resides in California, has attended GPU for four years, saying he loves getting to spend time and make memories with his grandsons. The thing that appealed to most to him was the opportunity the program provides to bridge the gap between two generations.
“Not having the parental influence there is probably a good thing,” Qualls joked. “There is just a different dynamic when it is just grandparents and their grandchildren.”
Qualls and his grandsons have enjoyed their time at GPU and participated in several science-based majors. Their shared love for science also helped strengthen their bond.
“The boys really enjoyed the science programs and that type thing,” Qualls said. “They enjoyed the overall experience, and it was great to see how they really got into the classes and learning new things.”
Mady Hendryx
By name only, the OSU Alumni Association may seem like an organization focused on those who have already graduated from OSU, but there are many opportunities for current students to get involved before they receive their diploma.
One student who has taken advantage of those experiences is Mady Hendryx. She is a senior majoring in music from Edmond, Oklahoma. Her involvement with the Alumni Association started when she joined the Homecoming Steering Committee.
“I just love Homecoming,” Hendryx said. “I think it is a really great time to bring people together and to celebrate the university that has brought us all together in many different ways. I especially love the parade because it not only brings together students and faculty, but also the Stillwater community.”
After serving on the Homecoming Steering Committee, Hendryx was chosen to have an even greater impact on her favorite aspect of the tradition. In 2019, she served as one of the nine Homecoming directors, planning and executing last year’s Sea of Orange Parade.
In addition to her involvement in Homecoming, Hendryx is also a member of the Student Alumni Board, and she was named member of the year in 2019.
The Alumni Association recently made some exciting changes to its student membership and engagement programming. Now known as the Student Network and Alumni Ambassadors programs, these organizations provide students with new opportunities to get connected with the Alumni Association.
Those involved in the Student Network can take part in several different and unique events to help expand their experience at OSU. For Hendryx, it was an opportunity to learn more about what the university has to offer beyond her major.
"I think it is a really great time to bring people together and to celebrate the university that has brought us all together in so many different ways."
“We were able to tour the food plant that is under the Ferguson College of Agriculture,” she said. “We saw giant cuts of meat and learned more about the effects of agriculture. I had never seen anything like that before. It blew my mind.”
The Student Network’s programming is designed to enhance the experience of each student member and help them find their place on campus.
“It is a great home for people to express themselves and really get to know different people from unique walks of life,” Hendryx said.
Bianca Cole
A Cowboy or Cowgirl’s connection to OSU does not end when they graduate. No matter where an alumnus moves after graduation, chances are a local Alumni Association chapter is nearby.
Bianca Cole, a 2010 zoology graduate, learned this after she completed her collegiate career on the Stillwater campus. After a brief stop in Tulsa, she moved to Houston, where she works as a senior provider relations manager for United Health Care.
Cole is involved with the Houston OSU Alumni Chapter, which she credits for helping her find her place in Houston, a city where she only knew a handful of people.
“One of my first events was the OSU Night at the Houston Astros,” Cole said. “I will never forget it. That is when I knew that I wanted to get further involved with the chapter.”
Since then, Cole has stayed connected for more than five years and volunteers as a chapter leader, serving as an ambassador for the Alumni Association and helping connect alumni in the area.
One of Cole’s favorite aspects of chapter involvement is getting to have an impact on future Cowboys before they head to OSU. In Houston, students are surrounded by several different options for college, both in Texas and beyond. Cole loves to tell students about OSU and how great her entire experience was throughout her time in Stillwater. In addition, she helps make a difference in those students’ lives by raising money for the chapter’s scholarship fund.
“I’m always pushing forward for those kids who may not necessarily get the chance to go to OSU without a scholarship,” Cole said. “I know how it feels to go to college and not be financially stable. That is what keeps me going.”
"I will never forget it. That's when I know that I wanted to get further involved with the chapter."
In addition to scholarship fundraisers, Cole loves to get to know fellow OSU graduates and Alumni Association members at events throughout the city.
“Houston is such a big city,” Cole said. “It is crazy the number of different events that I get to go to and the different people that I get to meet.”
Whether alumni stay in Stillwater, find a home in another state or move abroad, staying involved with the Alumni Association through a local or regional chapter is a great way to keep a connection with the Cowboy family.
Julie and Don Saxton
The Alumni Association’s reach across the United States and beyond helps members of the Cowboy family in everyday life. Alumni also have numerous options to see the world through the Traveling Cowboys program.
Whether by land or by sea, traveling with the Alumni Association ensures Cowboys get to explore alongside fellow OSU alumni and friends. A couple of the 606 travelers who have chosen to take their journeys with the Traveling Cowboys program are Julie and Don Saxton.
Julie graduated from OSU in 1975 with a degree in elementary education, and her husband, Don, earned his degree from Kansas State University. Since taking their first trip in 2017, the Saxtons have gone on a total of four trips through the Traveling Cowboys program. A planned fifth trip to Egypt is now temporarily on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Initially, just receiving the brochures in the mail was intriguing to us,” Julie Saxton said. “The trips offered appealed to us, and we had heard good things from other people who had taken trips through the Traveling Cowboys.”
In addition to the exciting trips offered, the program offers a carefree experience as the Alumni Association staff and travel partners take care of all of the arrangements for the attendees on the trip. This simple process is part of the reason the Saxtons have returned to the program multiple times.
"You have a lot of good conversations. It is just enjoyable to have that camaraderie."
“I think it is the ease of booking everything through the Traveling Cowboys that keeps us coming back,” Julie Saxton said. “It’s a very reasonable price for the service.”
Another major reason alumni and friends travel with the Alumni Association is to connect with other members of the Cowboy Family. On many of the trips, there are welcome receptions and events to help traveling groups get to know each other a little better.
“It’s always fun to have a big group of people who you can go to happy hour or dinner with,” Don Saxton said. “You have a lot of good conversations. It is just enjoyable to have that camaraderie.”
In addition to the fellow OSU travelers, there are also guests from other Big 12 schools and universities from around the country on these trips.
“Everybody we have met on all of our trips have been super nice people,” Don Saxton said. “We have some school rivalry on the trips, but it is all good- natured fun.”