Decisions, decisions and more decisions. This past month, our daughter, who is a junior in high school, created her class schedule for her senior year. She has always been motivated. We have challenged her to take course work that would engage her and prepare her for a college track. She has had the opportunity to take several concurrent college courses while in high school. I believe these will help her prepare for the post high school work ahead.
She has indicated she would like to pursue a business degree. With her ambitious schedule, she only needs one more credit to complete her graduation requirements next year. Instead of filling her schedule with classes that may or may not prepare her for college and career, we challenged her to consider a business internship at a local business to round out the experience of her senior year. She currently works for a local BBQ restaurant inside the Razorback stadiums during football, basketball and baseball season. She has developed strong time management and work skills over the past couple of years.
I reached out to our school district’s work-based learning coordinator to understand how an internship would work for her to gain business experience as well as the high school credit required for her to be an athlete and full-time student next year. At her scheduling conference, we explained to her advisor that she would like to have some customization to her learning schedule for the following year. She desires to be challenged.
Our daughter has an opportunity to go on a week-long biology adventure with her concurrent biology class at the end of the school year. She also plans to work at an Oklahoma church camp for a large part of the summer break. Knowing this wasn’t going to leave us much time for college and university visits, we started early.
This month, we explored the campus at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith (affectionately known as UAFS or You-Fus). I was not sure what to expect. The downtown Fort Smith campus was larger than I imagined. Most of the facilities are new buildings with modern amenities. There are several 4-year degree tracks including business, nursing and dental hygiene. These programs and many more offer students an I was impressed with the number of merit-based scholarships and financial aid available to students. The on-campus housing was modern and affordable. Parking did not appear to be congested. There are several sports teams that compete and represent the school with a nice venue for hosting events. It was small but not too small.
We still have six more institutions to see on her whirlwind college tour. Each boasts pros and cons as she considers her options. It was fun to watch her ask questions and explore the first campus. My husband and I are looking forward to encouraging her through this process.
Will she pursue a degree in business or agribusiness? Will she attend a college in Arkansas or out-of-state? I have no idea. One of my greatest joys is watching our children become the young adults God created them to be. As we guide her through many big decisions over the next year, I am so thankful our farm kids have choices to discover, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
