Whitney (Black) Hall of Texarkana earned her college degree from Southern Arkansas University, and she was so blown away by the experience that she now shares her story in promoting SAU to high schools around her hometown.
Hall is a 2005 graduate of Redwater High School and earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from SAU in 2008. After SAU, she moved up from intern with the AAA Nashville Sounds Baseball organization to being named co-manager of the Merchandise Department. In 2010, she found her way back home, started working with SAU and has since gotten promoted to director of outreach for the Texarkana area.
“Being from the Texarkana area, I know how many college opportunities are available in the Ark-La-Tex region, but SAU has continued to gain momentum and Muleriders from this area because of its close proximity, incredible value and cutting-edge degree programs,” said Hall.
She said that in visiting with high school students and administrators and area businesses, some of SAU’s new programs really get their attention. She noted such attention-getting programs as Engineering, Computer Game and Animation Design, the BFA in Musical Theatre, Business Entrepreneurship and Nursing.
SAU’s Computer Game and Animation Design programs are of the many new and unique programs that are helping draw more and more students to the beautiful campus in Magnolia.
Hall has witnessed outstanding enrollment growth at SAU from the four counties surrounding Texarkana over the past few years. Bowie and Cass counties have particularly experienced progress because SAU continues to waive their out-of-state tuition costs. She also credits the new degree programs, but hears many other reasons from prospective Muleriders.
“It pleases me to hear Texarkana-area students share their ‘must haves’ when it comes to deciding on their perfect college choice because almost all of them say things like ‘close to home,’ ‘affordable’ and ‘small classrooms,’” said Hall. “SAU has earned a reputation for these qualities and so many more! For those Ark-La-Tex students who have yet to visit SAU’s beautiful campus, I guarantee you they feel right at home.”
Time after time, it is the warm homelike feeling that students say helped clinch their decision to choose SAU. Once on campus, students have even more opportunities to make SAU a home away from home with more than 110 student organizations and an active campus life. SAU’s residence halls have also experienced record numbers as more students recognize the value of living in proximity with friends and classmates who share similar interests.
“In the end, SAU is becoming the choice for more and more students from my hometown area because, just as I was, they are confident SAU will give them the complete college experience both in and out of the classroom without having to travel too far away or pay too much,” said Hall.
The accomplishments of current students help to spread the word about what it is like being a Mulerider. In fact, the current Mulerider mascot Payton Baird is from Fouke, Arkansas, and has helped promote SAU around Texarkana and beyond. Born to be the Mulerider, Baird grew up riding mules with her family and quickly acclimated with SAU’s main mule, Molly Ann. Baird was recently accepted into SAU’s renowned BSN nursing program, but will continue to ride for SAU and be the face of the Mulerider family.
SAU has limited marketing funds, so it is through the work of passionate Muleriders like Hall that SAU continues to grow and break enrollment records even after more than 100 years of success in this region. Hall said that being a part of the SAU family means more than she could ever describe, and that each day is a blessing.
To find out more about transitioning from the Texarkana area to becoming a Mulerider at SAU, contact Hall at WhitneyHall@SAUmag.edu or call her at (870)904-7669. SAU also has a modern website at www.SAUmag.edu and popular social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/SouthernArkansasUniversity, @MuleriderPics on Instagram and @Muleriders on Twitter.
