RSU President Dr. Larry Rice welcomed guests and thanked all who contributed to the annual RSU Foundation’s Bartlesville Scholarship Fundraising Breakfast, including ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Diversified Systems Resources, Cherokee Nation and others.
Rogers State University students and their supporters converged on the Bartlesville Community Center Thursday, June 22, for the RSU Foundation’s Bartlesville Scholarship Fundraising Breakfast.
The annual fundraiser provides scholarships to students attending RSU Bartlesville and those who have transitioned from RSU Bartlesville to the Claremore campus to complete their degree. This year’s breakfast raised more than $23,000.
Serving as moderator for the event was RSU Vice President for Development Steve Valencia.
“For 35 years, RSU has had a presence in Bartlesville, and for the past 15 years, RSU’s commitment in Bartlesville has been led by (RSU) President Larry Rice,” Valencia said. “There has been no stronger advocate for Rogers State University’s multi-campus mission than President Rice.”
Valencia then welcomed Dr. Rice, who took the podium and recognized several sponsors and groups of student supporters in attendance, including Diversified Systems Resources, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Oklahoma legislators, the Cherokee Nation, RSU Bartlesville campus director Ronda Riden-Wilson, and RSU Bartlesville students of note Logan Burke, Sage Elzo and Alma Henning.
“We all know why we’re here. This money is raised, and it stays here in this (Bartlesville) community towards scholarships,” Rice began. “Every year, the RSU Foundation collectively gives about a million dollars in private support. It has nothing to do with PELL grants, nothing to do with Oklahoma Promise, nothing to do with state or federal grants. It’s just purely money that’s put into the Foundation that goes to the students. Every dollar that’s raised here stays here in the form of scholarships.”
Dr. Rice noted that because of the generosity of donors, there was “really no need” for RSU Bartlesville students to have school debt.
“Last month, we graduated 600 students from Bartlesville, Claremore and Pryor, some of those included micro-credentials. We were the first in the state to have students graduate with micro-credentials as drone pilots,” he said. “I did want to thank ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 for helping us get our chemical engineering program, which gets underway this fall and is a major milestone in RSU history.
“RSU is consistently ranked as a ‘best buy’ in U.S. News and World Report – we’re very happy about that – as we’re happy with our partnerships with Dewey Public Schools, Bartlesville Public Schools and Wesleyan Christian School,” he said. “We love our partnerships with all these schools and are happy to have the highest concurrent enrollment of any university our size.”
Following the recognition of sponsors, RSU student speaker Ashley Golden addressed the crowd.
“I’m not the typical college student. I had a 10-year break between high school and college and right now, I’m actually working with my tribe as a dental assistant,” Golden said. “I’m the mother of three wonderful children, and this fall will be my second year towards my degree in molecular biology.
“Between high school and college, I wanted to dedicate time to my kids and eventually, I realized I wanted more than just a ‘job,’ I wanted a career,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to do that without help from my community, specifically, ConocoPhillips and Cherokee Nation. I want to take advantage of the opportunity that’s been given to me to study, to come back – hopefully as a dentist – and to support my community the way they’ve supported me.”
Valencia then thanked Golden and reiterated that the work of the Foundation, made possible through the generosity of its donors, is always to help RSU impact the lives of its students.
“You know, Ashley and students like her have big dreams, and those dreams become reality when you choose to invest in them,” he said. “For many, the scholarships you help provide are literally the difference between a student being able to persist towards a degree and having to drop out.”
At Rogers State University’s Bartlesville campus, students can complete the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in business administration with options in management, accounting, and finance, as well as associate degree options in business administration, accounting, elementary education, secondary education, social science – psychology, and liberal arts – general, and more.
For more information about program and scholarship options at RSU’s Bartlesville campus, visit www.rsu.edu/bartlesville.
For more information about the RSU Foundation, visit www.rsu.edu/foundation.