This is our time. This is our promise.
This is our chance to fulfill the promise of this treasured place, and to renew our promise to those who follow us.
From its founding in 1908, and through every era, OCW, OCLA and USAO, has been a place for students of promise. For more than a century, that bold and daring confidence in individual potential has been realized with each graduating class.
Your gift ensures the University continues its forward momentum, directly impacting the lives of future alumni. There are many ways to give, from making a one-time donation to establishing an endowed scholarship. Whatever you choose, your gift will help the University continue to educate intellectually rigorous, creative thinkers and doers who go on to change the world.
Thank you for believing in USAO. Thank you for investing in our students. The generous support of our alumni and friends make a USAO education possible for hundreds of students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.
We are forever grateful.
Forever Green and Gold.
Dear Alumni and Former Students of OCW/OCLA/USAO!
This is Eugene Earsom, Class of 1970. I have the honor of serving as president of YOUR Alumni Association! I shall always be grateful for the splendid education I received at our alma mater and I continue to look for ways to “pay it forward” using the time, talents, and treasure with which I have been blessed.
The purpose of this message is to remind you of friendships you made while a student at OCW/OCLA/USAO, the amazing professors and instructors with whom you studied, and the doors of opportunity that opened because of the experiences you had and the degrees you earned at our alma mater.
Like many of you, I was able to go to college because of scholarships funded by generous donors, some perhaps designated and endowed through the Alumni Association. I was the recipient of a scholarship that paid my tuition for all three years I attended OCLA. Through savings and work-study, I graduated debt-free, something of a rarity these days.
During the 2022-2023 school year, the Alumni Association was able to award over $114,494.00 to 81 individual students (our future alumni) from 106 named scholarships. A significant portion of this funding came from individual donations made during Giving Day. Many thanks to those of you who have contributed!
In addition to providing scholarships, the Alumni Association covers the cost of photographs of graduates in their caps and gowns, the Freshman Orientation cookout each August, and a booth with freebie-giveaways at “Street and Greet” in downtown Chickasha during orientation weekend as well. Donating to the Alumni General Fund makes a huge impact as well.
Daniel Webster is believed to have spoken of his alma mater Dartmouth College: “It
is, sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it.” I
believe this applies equally to USAO. If you do also, please become active in the
Alumni Association and consider donating during Giving Day or throughout the year.
Forever Green & Gold,
Eugene Earsom
USAO Alumni Association President