This past week the TU alumni association held a reception for local alumni and new and current TU students! What a fantastic opportunity to get to know our TU family!

TU’s chapter of AIChE partnered with the Tulsa SPCA and 20 Park, a local coffee shop, to bring our students some fuzzy friends. Between 10 AM and 2 PM, students could join AIChE in the Allen Chapman Activity Center to play with some cute (and adoptable) dogs.

Later, the Fisher South Hall Government partnered with Sooner Golden Retriever Rescue for a Golden Hurricanes and Golden Retrievers event on the Chapman Commons. Students were also invited to bring their own Golden Retrievers from home. Students and dogs had a great time cooling down in the King Rogers Fountain.

Today’s Tuesday with Tulsa blog post comes to us from Patty H., a TU junior who came in undeclared and wants to share the story about how she figured out her major….

               My name is Patty. I am a junior at TU and I am majoring in mathematics and have minors in economics and deaf education.  I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.  I like singing and the color yellow, and I am a VERY indecisive person.  So making a college decision was a big deal for me.  When I was looking at schools, it seemed that everyone was asking one question: What do you want to do? 

While this question may seem simple enough, when I was picking a college it seemed to be the hardest decision I would ever make.  When I was finishing high school, it seemed like everyone else knew exactly what he or she wanted from life.  He was going to be a lawyer; she was going to be a doctor; and me?  I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do.  I was interested in a little bit of everything.  I started looking at colleges and I became even more confused.  Some schools insisted that I select a major before I even applied.  I was only 18 and they expected me to choose what I was going to do for the rest of my life, or at least the next four years?  But things were different at TU.  When I talked to admissions counselors and current students, all of them said the same thing: “Take your time to choose; explore your options and try out new things to find out what you really want.”  And that’s exactly what I did.

            I began my freshman year completely undeclared.  I was looking into engineering, but I was also interested in sign language. And math.  And education.  And just about every other major available on campus.  When I came to visit, my advisor told me to look at the course list and choose any that interested me.  I picked one of the most random schedules imaginable, with classes ranging from calculus II and chemistry to American Sign Language and ballet.  All of the classes I took helped me to explore my options.  I took one math class and wanted to take another one.  And another one after that.  Now I have a major in mathematics and minors in both economics and deaf education.  I waited almost a year and a half before declaring my major, and now I’m set to graduate on time with two minors and plenty of room to keep trying new things. 

         Looking back now, that is the greatest opportunity I received at TU. There was no pressure for me to declare a major as soon as I decided to attend.  Instead, teachers, counselors and advisers all encouraged me to keep trying things that interested me, eventually I would find what I really wanted to do.  And they were right.  I have many friends that came to school knowing exactly what they wanted to study and where they wanted to be when they graduated.  I also have a lot of friends who came in thinking they wanted to do one thing and ended up changing their minds.  TU is perfect for students who still have some decisions to make. College is your chance to try new things and explore your options, and TU has given me plenty of opportunities to do both.  I still have some questions to answer about my future, but TU has prepared me for all of them.

With the sun out and a high of Awesome, there is no better place to spend the weekend than outside!

Check out more pictures on my page! DK photography 

Frozen yogurt from Yolotti is always a good idea. Peanut butter yogurt with cocoa pebbles comes highly recommended from…well, me. After treating ourselves to dessert, my friends and I headed to Woodward Park, one of Tulsa’s most popular outdoor hang-outs. We even saw a group of dolled up high schoolers posing for Prom pictures. Pretty fun!

 Now I’m not sure why the Weinermobile was on campus this week, but clearly it was. Between classes we stopped for a quick photo-opp.

This photo was taken after a big intramural basketball win this semester! Good news, folks. The season isn’t over quite yet. My team plays in the championship game tonight! I’m hoping we win big tonight so I can sport my Tulsa Intramural Champion shirt to class tomorrow.

 My roommate Jessica (right) and I (left) at the concert:

 Also for the encore they all came out wearing TU t-shirts and they said they wanted a piece of TU and Oklahoma to take back with them, which was incredibly cool!:

 At the end of the concert they gave the set list to Jennifer, who lives in my suite, which as crazy! Just in case you’re wondering what they played here it is!:

I know when I was in high school, the idea of choosing to do extra schoolwork over the summer sounded absolutely crazy to me!  However, in the spring semester of my freshman year, I knew that I didn’t want to leave my amazing friends or the TU campus, even for just 3 months, so I chose to stay through a program called the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC).  With TURC, you work with a faculty member and usually a team of students to do some sort of research.  You also are required to do some community service with any organization of your choice.  If you’re accepted to the TURC program, TU provides housing, a food stipend, and a small cash stipend.  Doing TURC is really good hands on experience, and it also looks great on resumes.  While I did enjoy my TURC research, I also wanted to tell you about how much fun I had on the TU campus over the sun. Here is my list of the TOP 5 THINGS TO DO OVER THE SUMMER:

1) Start a (FRIENDLY!) Prank War

My roommate, Anne, and I were at a garage sale one day, and we found a box of streamers.  It was $0.25 for a roll of streamers, or else $2.00 for the entire box.  Naturally, we decided to buy the entire box.  We had two other friends, Kevin and David, who we knew would enjoy the fun, and so the prank war began.

Here are pictures of some of the pranks we did.

2) Go to a Drive-In Movie

In 2010 the Admiral Twin Drive-In Theater in Tulsa burned down after being struck by lightning. Last summer, the Drive-In reopened and is better than ever! Every weekend, you can enjoy a double feature for only $7!

3) Explore Downtown

Downtown Tulsa has underground tunnels that were built in the 1920’s and 1930’s. One day, my friends Grace, Anne and I decided to go explore them, and spend the day in downtown.

There are many other things downtown has to offer.  There is great food like burgers from McNellie’s, or gelato and crepes from Mod’s.

There are many churches worth taking a peak in to look at the beautiful architecture and fixtures.  There is also the center of the universe and ONEOK Field, home of the Tulsa Drillers.

4) Enjoy the Lakes and Rivers

The Arkansas River flows (at least when it has water) through Tulsa. Along the river there are many different trails and parks, which provide great places to have a picnic, go for a run, or just hang out. Also, on the 4th of July, the fireworks are launched over the river. There also are many lakes in OK! The closest lake to hang out at is Keystone Lake, which is about a 30 minute drive from TU. At Keystone Lake you can go for a swim, have a bonfire, or simply enjoy a day in the sun.

 Just make sure to bring lots of water…

 and wear lots of sunscreen.

5) Enjoy the TU campus

Since you typically have more time during the summer than during the school year, summer is a great time to enjoy all that the campus has to offer. You can play a game of sand volleyball, or anything from football to croquet on the “new U” (Chapman Commons). On a hot day you can cool off in the fountains across from Collins Hall or in the pool at the Student Activity Center (SAC). In the evening and at night, it’s nice to walk around the “old U” (Dietler Commons), sit on the steps of McFarlin Library and watch the firework shows that happen over downtown multiple times a week, or just talk and enjoy the beautiful weather.

For those of you who are considering attending TU or have already made the (fantastic!) decision to do so, here are some fun facts about the Tulsa athletic program.

1. The University of Tulsa is the smallest Division 1 school.

2. This season, the Women’s Basketball team received its first NCAA tournament bid, where their first game was against 1-seed Stanford. Tulsa played well and kept Stanford on their toes despite a resulting loss of 72-56.

3. Chris O’Hare brought home gold for the Golden Hurricane last spring in the NCAA Indoor Mile Run, and just this spring broke the NCAA mile record with a 3:52.98 mile time.

4. Tulsa is currently ranked at least top 25 in Men’s Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, and Women’s Golf, and Softball.

5. Football ended their season by winning the C-USA championship over UCF.

6. Students get free admission to all sporting events!

Every spring semester, TU’s student association puts on a week full of fun and free things (awesome, right?) called Springfest. For one of the events this year, SA went above and beyond by hosting Imagine Dragons in concert on our campus…and then gave each student a free ticket!

The following pictures only give a glimpse of how fantastic the concert was…

waiting for Imagine Dragons!

so many people

such great energy

such great music!