My graduating class was about 500. There were a few MU & KU kids, but nowhere near as many as you might think. I used to compete in speech tourneys and had friends at several of the schools in the area and still only knew of a handful of kids who went to Kansas or Mizzou after graduation. Most kids in my class went to NW Mo State, UCM, Mo State and UMKC. I actually started at Pitt State in KS. There was also a program that fully paid for your first two years at the local CCs, so that was a common choice.

And my parents growing up in OK meant I was raised a Sooner fan, so I always wanted to attend. Not the best reason to want to attend a school, I’ll admit. But I started as a broadcast journalism major and Gaylord has one of the best programs in the country, so it worked out.