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PAGE 4 | WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM Tiger Serve Day provides outreach opportunity

BY ELIZABETH WIMBERLY

Staff Writer

The Elrod Center hosted this semester’s Tiger Serve Day on Saturday. More than 600 students got involved to serve the Arkadelphia community, keeping the campus-wide tradition going strong.

Tiger Serve Day is an opportunity that empowers students and faculty to clean up throughout the Arkadelphia area and to help individuals in the community who need assistance with more strenuous tasks, such as yardwork or cleaning.

Taylor Fielder, senior Christian Studies major, has helped plan Tiger Serve Day for three years as a member of the Tiger Serve Day leadership team. Fielder’s job includes looking for future projects and putting all of the routes together.

“We plan throughout the semester and stay up the Friday before to put together the tools and items needed for each project,” Fielder said.

Students who serve on the Tiger Serve Day leadership have shown great leadership qualities that caused them to be hand-picked to lead and plan service projects.

“It was kind of a God thing that got me involved with Tiger Serve Day,” Fielder said. “The teams pick their members to put together a perfect team.”

Other students on the leadership team set aside a couple of hours each week to plan the event for each semester.

Associate Director of the Elrod Center Judy Duvall serves with Director of the Elrod Center Ian Cosh to coordinate Tiger Serve Day.

Tiger Serve Day is not only an event for students to enjoy. Elderly or disabled individuals, non-profits, schools and nursing homes all look forward to seeing young people that care about them.

Duvall has done Tiger Serve Day for 16 years. She has seen countless ways that service brings joy.

“We have many senior adults, nonprofits, schools and nursing homes that look forward to Tiger Serve Day each semester,” Duvall said. “They greatly appreciate the help and the interaction with volunteers.”

One of the main purposes of Tiger Serve Day is to help students put their faith into action. “In many ways, Tiger Serve Day serves as an entry into service for our volunteers,” Duvall said. “This day gives our campus an opportunity to see the value of volunteering , and many will go on to be involved in other forms of service throughout the year. This day serves as an excellent opportunity for our campus to put faith into action by serving our community.”

Tiger Serve Day takes months of preparation, good leadership and love for service. Tiger Serve Day is an important tradition that continues to positively impact the Arkadelphia community and the campus culture at Ouachita.

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WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM | PAGE 5 “See you later”: Hays retires after 29 years

BY MACKENZIE HALL

2021-2022 News Editor

Dr. Danny Hays, dean of the Pruet School of Christian Studies, came to Ouachita in the fall of 1992. He was contracted to teach Old and New Testament survey. Twenty-nine years later, Hays bids farewell to Ouachita as he enters retirement.

Hays graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering. After that, Hays attended seminary and earned a Master of Theology.

Shortly after graduation, he married his wife Donna. The newlyweds went to Ethiopia where they would serve as missionaries for five years. When they returned to the United States, Hays began his doctorate studies.

With a Ph.D. in hand, Hays started his new job teaching core Bible classes at Ouachita.

Students now take Bible survey and Bible interpretation as their core Bible classes. When Hays’ began teaching, students took Old Testament survey and New Testament survey. “My first semester here, they gave me a nice load. I taught four classes of Old Testament survey, the same class four times, to kind of get my feet on the ground. Pretty quickly they let me teach Hebrew, Old Testament classes and Bible interpretation,” Hays said.

Looking back, Hays remembers several moments that shaped him in his career.

While serving in Ethiopia, Hays found his love for teaching.

“In Ethiopia, I was working as an engineer doing water treatment stuff,” Hays said. “On the side, I was teaching night classes to Ethiopian church leaders. I found in Ethiopia that I really loved to teach. I didn’t know that and never had it on my radar. Teaching the pastors, I found it very fun and it seemed like something God gave me to do.”

At Ouachita, Hays has been able to use his gift of teaching to influence generations of students.

“As far as teaching goes, it is just really cool to see students graduate, go out into the world, serve the Lord and do incredible things,” Hays said. “We’re now teaching this next generation. Every class, I have children of students that I taught. A highlight has been being a part of the Ouachita education and watching students grow up and mature.”

Along with teaching, writing “Grasping God’s Word” also proved to be a pivotal moment in Hays’ career.

“One of the big things is, after coming here [to Ouachita], Scott Duvall said, ‘Let’s write an interpretation book.’ And so, once we wrote ‘Grasping God’s Word’, it changed a lot of things,” Hays said. “It opened all kinds of doors for me in the area of writing.”

The book has been translated in several languages and is even used for teaching in China. The success of “Grasping God’s Word” is beyond anything Hays could have imagined.

From his studies in seminary to his work as an engineer, missionary and professor, Hays has acquired wisdom and a strong support system along the way.

“You don’t want to lose your passion. Passion for the right thing is good,” Hays said. “The key is to maintain your passion and focus it on the right areas. Don’t get too bent out of shape on the other stuff.”

Hays credits his friends and wife for shaping, influencing and supporting him throughout his career.

“When I was in seminary, in the master’s program, I think the most influential people on me were my

Dr. Danny Hays stands outside of the Berry-Peeples Bible Building, his home at Ouachita for the last 29 years. Hays is looking forward to the adventures that retirement will bring him, including spending more time with his grandkids. (photo by Levi Dade)

friends, the other students. They were my very best friends. They were very influential in my thinking and approach,” Hays said. “My wife has also had a big influence on me. Anyone who doesn’t admit that is probably lying. She has smoothed off the rough edges on me.”

Although some want a relaxing retirement, Hays plans to stay busy teaching adjunct classes at Ouachita and, most importantly, spending time with his grandkids.

“Retirement will be a big change. I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited about it. I’m still going to teach a little bit. It’s not a total shift in what I’ve been doing. I will still be involved in teaching and have more time to write and see the grandkids,” Hays said. “Like any new phase of life, you can be excited about it but also a little nervous, too. By and large, I think it’s going to be good; I’m looking forward to it. I’m not one to get bored.”

As his chapter at Ouachita closes, a new one opens. Hays is not saying “goodbye,” but “see you later.”

“It has been a wonderful experience.” Hays said. “I cannot imagine any place being more fulfilling and fun to work. Everyone here in Christian Studies has gotten other offers from different schools while at Ouachita. Everybody says ‘no.’ Ouachita is a special place to be. I have great colleagues and wonderful students. It has been a fantastic time.”