Samuel Huskey, 2011

Student Comments:

Dr. Huskey was an excellent who was very personable and easy to approach. He not only was concerned for how we were adjusting to our new college life, but was also interested in our individual interests, goals, etc. He provided unique opportunities and insights that I otherwise wouldn't have known. Overall, I learned a great deal from Dr. Huskey and was glad I was able to have, and will continue to have, him as a mentor.

Suzette Grillot, 2010

Student Comments:

My mentor was Dr. Grillot in SIAS. While I'm from Tulsa and knew some people on campus, I went to a small school and was worried about making the transition to life at a major state university. The "faculty mentoring ability" of Dr. Grillot aided me a great deal while I was making that transition. She made me and the rest of her mentor group feel connected to campus, even to the extent of inviting us over to her house for a foreign movie night and exposing us to all kinds of delicious foreign foods. She also made herself an email away if I had questions about programs or activities on campus. She even invited me to be in one of her upper division classes as a freshman because she knew how interested I would be in the subject. She is not just a great IAS professor I will have multiple times in my career, but a familiar face that I trust, respect, and am eager to learn from. 

Kelly Damphousse, 2009

Student Comments:
Dr. Kelly Damphousse definitely deserves the award of outstanding mentor because he was so welcoming. When I first met him he made me feel welcome to the University. He was always available for contact no matter what and he planned fun activities to get the group together. I actually made friends in my group and it was something I looked forward to going to. The group met for dinner at Hideaways, went to the play Chicago, watched a football game at his house, and ate lunch several times in the union. It was an overall fun and awesome way to get to know other students and a professor. I know that I will stay in contact with Dr. D.

Ben Holt, 2008

Student Comments:
During the time that I knew Ben Holt he was more than just someone who wanted to know how my day was going. He was the kind of person who wanted to make my tomorrow easier and better. As a freshmen is easy to go into the year thinking "well I have 3 more years... why not take it easy." It's this kind of mentality that sets any student up for failure. Ben adamantly stressed the ideal of seeking success. I can remember him saying. "You have to seek everything you get in college. No one is here to give you anything." His personal stories about his hardships in college were calming, because I realize that generations ago students were still struggling to make their way through their freshman year in college. He was always there to point his mentees in the right direction.

Fred Carr, 2007

Student Comments:
Dr. Carr arranged more than 15 activities through out the semester for us to participate in. We went hiking all day on a Saturday in September. We visited the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City and appeared on television. We had numerous tours of the new National Weather Center. We even had a farewell dinner at Coach's. Most impressive, I thought, was the fact that Dr. Carr arranged individual meetings with us at the end of the semester to offer advice and just chat.

Loretta Bass, 2006

Student Comments:
Dr. Loretta Bass was my faculty mentor, and I think she was wonderful! She did a tremendous job offering herself as a resource for us both as someone knowledgeable about the logistics of OU, and as someone who wanted us to experience all that OU has to offer. I was able to attend La Traviata with her, and because of that, I now feel comfortable (and excited about!) attending other fine arts events. She made herself available for us all the time, was easy to contact, and always responded promptly to any questions or concerns that we had. Because of her, transitioning into life as an OU student was a little easier.

Robert Con-Davis, 2005

Student Comments:
My mentor was Robert Con-Davis Undiano of World Literature Today and Dean of the Honors College. RC was an awesome mentor who was always easily accessible and knowledgeable about anything I asked. He was willing to help me find information or contacts on campus, and truly wanted to get to know me and the others in our mentoring group. I thought he was a unique mentor because he not only met with us individually, but often as a group as well. This helped me to realize that there are other Chicanostudents on campus who are dealing with the same situations as I am, while juxtaposing two different cultural mentalities. Other things I appreciated about RC is that he took us out to lunch, invited us to his home for special WLT events, and he even replied to my email in Spanish once! RC Davis should be commended for his excellent work and attitude towards students at OU.

Fred Carr, 2004

Student Comments:
Dr. Carr is a very caring person and shows it every chance he gets. He is always willing to talk with a student (mentee or not) and discuss college or personal problems. He is very helpful in his advice and is very understanding. During our mentoring program Dr. Carr was always willing to go with the group opinion on activities and provided a rewarding experience with his personal insight into each outing. More than just a teacher, Dr. Carr soon became our friend whom we meet with randomly just for lunch.

Hugh Benson, 2003

Student Comments:
He is an approachable mentor who also understands that students have busy lives to live and not impose. He is very supportive and I would recommend students to this program because of my experience with Hugh Benson as my mentor.

Shad Satterthwaite, 2003

Student Comments:
My mentor was Shad Satterthwaite. He was very engaging at the reception in August, making me feel welcome and much less apprehensive about "the whole college thing." Throughout the semester, we met a few more times, both as a group and as individuals with out mentor. One day he took us to lunch at the University Club, which opened my eyes to the job I now hold: waitperson at the University Club. He also helped me get a seat in President Boren's section of Political Science 1113. Having Shad Satterthwaite as a mentor helped me feel more connected to the University of Oklahoma from Day One.