Ouachita invites future tigers to the 2023 President’s Leadership Forum

BY ALFONSO GOMEZ Staff Writer

Ouachita hosted its sixth annual President’s Leadership Forum (PLF) last Sunday and Monday. The event is Ouachita’s way of bringing admitted high school students on campus and examining the traits that make good leaders in hopes of preparing them to take on such roles in the future.

“Based on Isaiah 55:8, the theme highlights how God’s plans for His people are often different than what we might expect,” Waters said. “Nevertheless, his plans are always for His glory and the good of His people.”

The leadership team is made up of a diverse group of alumni, faculty and staff that have been highly impactful at Ouachita. A five-star team made up of Chris Brune, Bryon Eubanks, Lewis Shepherd, Jeremy Greer, Scott Haynes, Shane Pruitt, Tyler and Anna Rosenthal, Hayden Walker, Cory and Stephanie Epps, Holly Woolbright and Mason Campbell.

“I’m most excited to see how God uses CFW to call and encourage people to follow Him,” Waters said. “Our team has been prayerfully seeking His guidance during the planning process, and I trust He will use this week to make a significant impact on the lives of students at Ouachita.”

James Taylor, director of campus ministries, is also instrumental in helping organize the week and recognizes the importance of the university’s complete support.

“I’m always thankful for Ouachita’s faculty and staff who help support the week by being involved in sessions and in how they adjust schedules so that students can attend,” Taylor said. “I think that’s a pretty significant thing that our university devotes a special week for us to do this.”

Christian Focus Week serves a great purpose. It seeks to foster spiritual growth for students and strengthen their daily walk with God and obedience to Him.

“We obviously care about our faith every day and week, but this week provides a special emphasis that we hope encourages students’ faith,” Taylor stated. “I think understanding God’s will and ways is always of interest to college students, so I hope the week helps them out in navigating their own calling during and after college.”

Along with attending events throughout the week, CFW also offers students the opportunity to grow in their faith through service as well. To be a volunteer, sign up on Ouachita’s website.

President Ben Sells selects the invitees based on their high school academic record as well as their involvement in extracurricular activities.

Participants of PLF began the occasion with dinner at the Walker Conference Center on Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m. From there, the attendees were split into breakout squads. Within smaller groups, the students were challenged with leadership exercises and got to develop stronger relationships with peers and staff members. Eventually, Saturday ended with everyone being brought back to Verser Theatre for a showing of the film “Everest.”

Although in previous years high schoolers spent the night at home and came back to Ouachita the next day, it has become an integral part of the PLF experience for guests to stay on campus overnight.

According to Lori Motl, director of admissions counseling and event organizer, “PLF has become a big reason as to why high school seniors choose Ouachita.”

Following their timely stay, students began their second day of PLF with breakfast and a leader- ship case study on the movie they had seen the night before. The study was led by President Sells and analyzed where the Everest expedition succeeded and failed. Through the study, the students were able to grasp the qualities of a positive leader as well as the traits of a poor leader. From there, the high schoolers were sent off into groups once again.

The latter half of the event was meant to prepare students for the Last Leader Standing competition. In this competition, each group chose a leader that represented them, and they had to answer questions set by Ouachita faculty. Motl noted that in the last few years, the winners of Last Leader Standing have all gone on to not only attend Ouachita but excel as leaders within our University. This year’s winner was Emma Hill from Greenbrier, Ark. She plans to attend Ouachita next fall and play volleyball for the Tigers.

PLF also serves as a platform for young alumni to return and give words of wisdom to students that are only getting started at OBU. These alumni interacted with the high schoolers by accompanying them throughout the breakout groups and on the leadership panel.

Finally, the high schoolers were treated to a group photo, lunch and optional campus tours. Ouachita continues PLF year after year because it has shown to positively impact prospective students, and President Sells seeks to give them an experience that will aid their success wherever they go.