Alumni News

Marla Strecker transferred to Henderson State as an undergraduate in 1997 after marrying her fiancé who chose Henderson for its aviation program.

After completing her B.A. in English, Strecker enrolled in Henderson’s Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program and completed her thesis defense in 2001.

Strecker, a Batesville native, has taught and worked in higher education since earning her MLA.

“From teaching at a community college to directing graduate programs at a university, my MLA enabled me to work in higher education and also to pursue my terminal degree,” she said.

Strecker is currently the senior associate for Academic Affairs at the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. She was recently named the new provost for University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in Little Rock and will begin that role in September.

Strecker credits her MLA degree for her continued success in higher education.

“I would not have my career without my MLA nor the skills gleaned from an authentic liberal arts curriculum,” she said. “From developing my first lesson plan to drafting state academic policy, all facets of an education in liberal arts apply to the growth of my professional skills set, especially the ability to learn from my mistakes and move forward shaping spaces with positive change in a collaborative manner.

“Also, my value of shared-governance and the core functions of higher education are founded in that educational experience.” [Read more…] about Strecker credits MLA for her success

As a preschool teacher at Arkadelphia Head Start, Samantha Crow is now fulfilling what may be her destiny.

“Growing up, my mom had a daycare in our house, so I was always around younger children,” she said. “My mom also became a teacher with the Head Start while I was younger, so I guess you could say that child care was in my blood.”

Crow attended Ouachita High School in Donaldson where she took a class called Occupational Child Care.

“We were able to prepare activities and projects for the preschoolers and go to their class and interact with them a few days of the week,” she said. “I believe that’s the class that set me up with my future career decision.”

Crow said she knew she wanted to pursue a child care degree. She thought about P-4 education, but didn’t really want to work with older children.

“When I found out about the Child Care Management Program at Henderson State, I automatically knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she said.

Crow transferred to Henderson in 2010 after completing her general studies at Ouachita Technical College, and graduated in 2013 with a degree in Child Care Management.

“The child care program Henderson offered made my decision even easier when it came to transferring,” she said. “I had family members who graduated from Henderson, and at the time, my mother was a student at Henderson. It’s not every day you get to take college classes with your mom.”

Crow began volunteering at the Arkadelphia Head Start before she enrolled at Henderson. She became a substitute teacher in 2010. She was hired as an assistant teacher when she graduated, and was promoted to lead teacher the next year.

Crow works with students ages 3-5. She has 17 “bright and spunky” children in her classroom.

“I have an amazing co-teacher that works with me every day. We work to provide the best educational experience we can for our kids, and we also prepare them for their next step, kindergarten,” she said. “I am so much more than a teacher to my kids. I am a supporter, a friend, a leader, a counselor, a caregiver and an encourager. I am Ms. Sam.”

Every day is a new day with the children, Crow said.

“You learn something new all the time. From the moment I walk into my classroom to all of the “Hi Ms. Sam” and all of the hugs and works of art I get, that just makes me love my job even more,” she said. “To know that I am making a difference in my students’ lives and starting their educational foundation strong makes me really pleased with the career I chose.”

Crow said she is a single mother with a three-year-old daughter that “is my world.”

“Everything I do is for her,” she said. “I’ve always been a down-home southern girl who hunts and doesn’t mind getting my hands dirty. Most people don’t know that my family and friends call me Ellie Mae because of my extreme love of animals. I have dogs, cats, horses, turtles, snakes, a bearded dragon, a squirrel and a raccoon.”

If she hadn’t majored in childcare management, Crow said she may have become a veterinarian.

“I’ve always had this strong passion for animals. Ever since I was young, animals have been my thing,” she said. “I regularly rescue orphaned babies that have lost their parents and nurse them back to health. I’ve worked with rabbits, squirrels, raccoons and opossums.

“I rescued an orphaned squirrel on campus by Proctor Hall one year. I took him to class in my pocket and even named him Henderson. My professors were always expecting to hear about my pets or see me bring them in for ‘show and tell.’”

Crow thanked her professors who “really made my college experience amazing.”

“Dr. Connie Phelps, Dana Horn and Dr. Patti Miley, being in your classes really molded me into the person and teacher I am today,” she said.

• This alumni feature is part of an ongoing project featuring Henderson’s outstanding undergraduate and graduate academic programs.

Jamika Williams said she always enjoyed her family and consumer sciences courses in high school.

“I developed a passion for cooking early on,” she said. “I enrolled at Henderson State in 2012, and I knew after my first family and consumer science course that Proctor Hall was my home.”

Williams now works for a developmental preschool as the food program coordinator.

“My primary focus is to make sure the children are fed, and I handle any special diets such as, but not limited to allergies,” she said. “I am responsible for administering the USDA food program for the preschool which includes planning and preparation of daily meals and snacks.”

Williams plans to start working on her master’s degree so she can teach family and consumer sciences at a secondary level.

Her courses at Henderson prepared Williams well for her role at the preschool, she said.

“Most of the courses for my hospitality food services degree have tied in directly to the work I’ve been doing at my current job,” she said. “I completed a child development course that has prepared me for work with the preschool. [Read more…] about Alumni Profile: Jamika Williams

Kelly Thomas admits that doing digital design work for clients can be a challenge, but she appreciates the opportunity to be creative every day.

Thomas, a 2015 graduate of Henderson State University with a degree in digital art and design, is a graphic designer for Ascend Marketing in Austin, Texas.

“I primarily do pharma work for a client in New York that specializes in neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and M.S.,” she said. “I moved back to Austin immediately after I graduated. It took me a few months, but I got a job at an agency doing social media work for clients. I switched to Ascend with a pharma focus about nine months ago.

“I plan to continue developing my design skills and eventually become an art director.”

Thomas is originally from Austin, but moved to Hot Springs and graduated from Hot Springs High School. She discovered her creativity in middle and high school and was drawn to theater and music (guitar), but began leaning towards visual arts when she was a sophomore.

“I wanted a creative career, but I knew I should go a practical route,” Thomas said. “When I was 15, I took a digital art class and was introduced to the Adobe design programs. After that, I was taking as many digital classes as I could.

“Towards the end of high school, I knew I wanted to study graphic design. The choice was pretty easy for me.”

When it came time to choose a college, Thomas wanted to stay close to home.

“I met the art faculty at Henderson and got some great scholarships,” she said. “I knew Henderson would be a great place for learning and creative growth.”

Thomas was involved in the Art Club and wrote comics for the campus newspaper, The Oracle.

Her degree was “pivotal,” Thomas said.

“While it is possible to get into graphic design with a portfolio alone, it’s more difficult,” she said. “Getting that formal training is critical. Having professors mold and guide you is critical.

“I’ve had great success in creative agencies since graduation. I would say it’s 50 percent diligence and exploring as many things as you can, and 50 percent your professors guiding you in a productive exploration.”

Thomas said there were times when she thought about transferring to a “sexier” art school.

“Every time I entertained that thought, I found that something kept me at Henderson,” she said. “With the crazy cost of an education these days, you really can’t argue against choosing Henderson’s art program.

“Cost aside, you can’t find another university that provides the one-on-one communication and help you get from your professors. At Henderson, the professors are all friends and they all care deeply about the students and getting them on the best path possible.”

Thomas said Henderson “allows students to build the confidence in themselves to go out and make it as an artist.”

• This alumni feature is part of an ongoing project featuring Henderson’s outstanding undergraduate and graduate academic programs.

Camden York said she has wanted to work in the mental health field since she was 15.

“My parents had divorced when I was younger, and as what typically happens in that case, my sister and I attended counseling to assist in the custody decision,” she said. “While there are many upstanding counselors in Arkansas, the counselors my family met with left much to be desired.

“One day before court, one of the counselors couldn’t remember who I had been consistently saying I wanted to live with. It was at that moment that I realized other kids weren’t being heard either and I wanted to do whatever I could to change that.”

York said she considered other ways to help, but realized that becoming a therapist would allow her to “help many lives over time and help voices be heard when there might not be anyone else listening.”

York is now a licensed therapist working with school-age children (K-12) to help them process emotional events, work through trauma, and develop coping skills.

“I teach them to calm themselves down when they get too angry, anxious, depressed or upset, and provide a safe place to express themselves and talk about their thoughts and feelings,” she said. “I also help them develop decision making skills.”

York, who grew up in Glenwood and attended Kirby High School, enrolled at Henderson State in 2009.

“I chose Henderson after touring several colleges across the state while I was in high school,” she said. “I just loved Henderson right away. The campus and the people made me feel so at ease, it felt like I had found my fit.

“Henderson’s psychology program also interested me more than those of other universities, and it ended up serving me well.”

After graduating with her B.A. in psychology, York took a semester off before returning to work on her master’s degree in counseling.

“That very month, I found out I was carrying our first child and my daughter was born during the midterm week of my second semester of graduate school,” she said. “I managed to maintain my 4.0 GPA and graduated in 2016.”

York began working as a mental health paraprofessional with Arkansas Counseling and Psychodiagnostics (ACaP) in 2015. After she acquired licensure, York was granted employment through ACaP as a mental health professional.

“I love my job,” said York. “I enjoy everything from building the client-counselor relationship to watching them go into the world better prepared for challenges they might encounter out there.

“I enjoy being a counselor to sensitive children who need to be heard, to the unruly teenagers who need to be accepted, to middle schoolers struggling to find and understand who they are. I never know what these children are dealing with at home or what they might be struggling with under the surface.”

York said it is her job to create a safe place and help her clients express their thoughts and feelings about situations they don’t have anyone else to talk to.

“I think the best part of my job is when a parent or teacher comes to me and tells me how much change and progress they have seen in a child that I have worked with,” she said. “When other people see this kid utilizing coping skills and processing emotions rather than exploding or withdrawing, I know I’m making a difference.”

York said she researched several graduate school programs before choosing Henderson.

“I definitely made the right choice,” she said. “Henderson’s program provides an affordable high quality education that prepares you for jobs in the mental health field,” she said. “All of my professors were knowledgeable about their area of specialization and were kind, personable professionals with a lot of wisdom and experience to share with students.

“Without my degree, I could not have reached this level in my field. My bachelor’s degree prepared me for the entry level jobs in the mental health field, but I would not be eligible for licensure without my master’s degree from an accredited university like Henderson.”

• This alumni feature is part of an ongoing project featuring Henderson’s outstanding undergraduate and graduate academic programs.