- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/baptist-campus-ministry/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Thu, 06 Dec 2018 23:32:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Boy next door leads to new campus family at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/2018/12/06/lucee-lugo/ Thu, 06 Dec 2018 23:32:39 +0000 /news/?p=72905 ... Boy next door leads to new campus family at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock]]> A tip from the boy next door led Lucee Lugo, a senior interdisciplinary studies major, to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where she gets the intimacy of a small, family campus that appeals to this small-town girl from De Queen, Arkansas. 鈥淲hile I never pictured myself at this university, the moment I set foot on campus, I knew it was the school for me,” she said. “My next-door neighbor, James Sellers, who is a year ahead of me mentioned that I should apply. I remember being so afraid to move from a small, rural town to the big capital city of Little Rock. This university has a family type feeling that appealed to me.鈥 Lugo started college with a full scholarship through the Chancellor鈥檚 Leadership Corps (CLC), a competitive scholarship based on leadership, service, and high school performance. She is doing well in CLC and is now a student peer mentor and event coordinator for the academic year. 鈥淚 received the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps Scholarship Program and so that was where I began to make my first friends,鈥 Lugo said. 鈥淲e all lived together on the third floor of West Hall. As I began to make friends and meet people on campus, I became involved in Greek life, the Baptist Campus Ministry, intramural sports, admissions, and an orientation leader. I really began to find my place at the university the more I put myself into various activities and organizations. I am now going into my senior year and can’t wait to spend my last year at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock actively involved.鈥 She is thankful to CLC Coordinator Amber Wolf for making a positive impact on her college experience. 鈥淭he Chancellor’s Leadership Corps has blessed me in a plethora of ways that range from scholarships to lifelong connections to providing me with knowledge and skills that I will be able to use in the real world,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he coordinator, Amber Wolf, has always been an advocate for CLC scholars and it’s comforting to know her door is always open. In addition to this, I have worked for the program as a peer mentor for a year and half, and it’s very inspiring to be able to give back to the program that gave so much to me.鈥 While at campus, Lugo has also been active in West Hall Council, Maroon Mob, and Pre-Health Club. This past spring, she had the opportunity to complete an internship as a research assistant in the emergency room at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. 鈥淢y favorite part of being on campus and the thing I will miss the most when I leave is the community,鈥 she said. 鈥淣o matter what you are involved in, I feel like we are all tied together. Being able to be in a class and know some of my classmates, or being in Greek life and CLC, I know that all these people have my back, I have some great teachers, and I like the small student-to-teacher ratio. I like how we still have a close-knit feeling. There are a lot of faculty and staff who want us to grow not only in the classroom, but in our lives as well. That is something you don鈥檛 always find in larger campuses.鈥 Lugo started off as a biology major, but she recently switched to interdisciplinary studies so she can make the most of her education. The interdisciplinary studies degree allows Lugo to combine three areas of study 鈥 biology, Spanish, and health and exercise science 鈥 into one unique degree that fits her academic and professional interests. She is especially looking forward to improving her language skills to connect with her own heritage. She also thinks knowing more Spanish will be of help in her work as a patient care technician at Baptist Health.
Lucee Lugo studies in Ottenheimer LIbrary. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

Lucee Lugo studies in Ottenheimer LIbrary. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

鈥淢y father is Puerto Rican and is the pastor of a Hispanic church in De Queen,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y dad is fluent, but I did not grow up speaking Spanish, and it gives me a chance to learn about my own culture.鈥 Faith has always been a strong part of Lugo鈥檚 identity, whether it is being active in the Baptist Campus Ministry at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock or the annual trip to Ethiopia that her hometown church, First Baptist Church, takes. 鈥淭here are about 175 students in Ethiopia who are orphans or have lost one parent,鈥 she said. 鈥淎 bunch of people from our church sponsor them for $38 dollars a month because the students cannot go to school without uniforms and supplies. We bring toys, do crafts, play soccer, and do Bible camp. It鈥檚 so neat to just give back. It鈥檚 one of the best feelings ever.鈥 After she graduates in 2019, Lugo plans to earn a master鈥檚 degree and is considering working in student affairs or public health. 鈥淲hile I am still not 100 percent sure of what my future plans are, I would like to pursue a master’s degree,鈥 Lugo said. 鈥淲hatever path I choose, I am confident I will succeed because this university has done a phenomenal job of preparing me for whatever lies ahead.鈥 Lugo鈥檚 advice for new students is to take advantage of all the resources that are available on campus. Whenever she needed advice or someone to talk to, there was always someone available for Lugo. 鈥淚 think something we all have in common, whether we realize it or not, is that we all need help from time to time,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hether that be a need for counseling services, health services, financial aid, or even tutoring assistance, it’s important to remember that we are all struggling in one way or another. The transition from high school to college and from college into adulthood is difficult and utilizing the resources that have been made so readily available to students here at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock can make all the difference in terms of one’s college experience.鈥 In the upper right photo,聽Lucee Lugo plays soccer on the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Intramural league. Photo by Benjamin Krain.]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock student to participate in Transplant Games of America after kidney transplant /news-archive/2018/07/27/anthony-freeman/ Fri, 27 Jul 2018 16:36:13 +0000 /news/?p=71225 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock student to participate in Transplant Games of America after kidney transplant]]> Anthony Freeman sprints around the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock track and field and appears the epitome of health.聽Few would know that he spent seven years on dialysis after losing both kidneys. A kidney transplant in 2015 gave him a new lease on life – one that he鈥檚 determined to not take for granted. On Aug. 1, the 26-year-old 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock student leaves for Salt Lake City, Utah – on his first airplane trip – where he will participate in the 2018 taking place Aug. 2-7. He will compete in several competitions, including the 100 meter, 200 meter, 5K, and 1800 meter races as well as a basketball tournament.聽 Once a high school football stand-out, Freeman has always enjoyed competition. He ran track and played football and basketball at North Pulaski High School. Freeman got used to playing through the pain of sport injuries. But by 16, he was suffering pain that couldn鈥檛 be ignored. He was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure and both kidneys had to be removed. 鈥淭he year I was looking forward to being scouted was my junior year, I had to start dialysis,鈥 he recalled. Faced with the reality of his health and the fact that sports were over, depression set in.聽He dropped out of high school and starting working. He left home, sleeping on the floors of friends, and at times, found himself homeless. 鈥淚 was heavy-hearted at the time, and I realized I was just being defiant,鈥 he said in retrospect. 鈥淚 realized I was gonna die.鈥 In 2014, he decided to get back in the game. He returned home and completed a GED through . He enrolled at in 2015, where he was selected to be a student ambassador, was named an Academic All-Star, and received the Rotary Club 99 Scholarship. He was three days into College Algebra and Composition II classes, when a transplant became available. 鈥淭hey told me it would take three to six months to recover,鈥 he said. Friends and family urged Freeman to quit school, but he didn鈥檛 want to lose the momentum he鈥檇 built up. He stayed in school, finishing the semester with a 4.0 GPA. 鈥淎ll it took was discipline,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 shut out everything. I knew that if I could do this, I could complete this degree with a 4.0.鈥 After earning an associate degree in 2017, Freeman transferred to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, where he is working toward a Bachelor of Science in Architectural and Construction Engineering. However, his college work and an internship at Woods Group Architects in Little Rock have helped him find his true passion: architecture. He hopes to eventually get a master鈥檚 degree in urban planning. For now, Freeman is working at the , assisting with programming and events, and he is also a youth ministry leader at Runyan First Baptist Church in North Little Rock.
糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock student Anthony Freeman strength trains as part of his preparation for the 2018 Transplant Games of America in Salt Lake City, where he will compete in several track events.

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock student Anthony Freeman strength trains for the Transplant Games of America, where he will compete in several track events.

Between working part-time and taking summer classes, Freeman manages to keep up a disciplined athletic training schedule for what will be his second Transplant Games.聽He completed in the 2016 games in Cleveland, not quite a year after his transplant. 鈥淚 underestimated the competition then. I didn鈥檛 know how intense it would be,鈥 he said. 鈥淭his year, I鈥檓 not taking it so lightly.鈥 The Vitamin Shoppe in North Little Rock, where Freeman works, provides him with a trainer and a sport nutritionist to help him stay on track. He keeps two food journals and uses the Yazio app to track his dietary intake. While training, he sticks to a high-protein, carb-rich, low-fat diet, consuming 3,000-5,000 calories daily. A typically training breakfast includes three whole grain waffles, six slices of turkey bacon, turkey sausage, a banana, mixed fruit, a protein shake, a multivitamin and a fish oil supplement. Lunch is typically three salmon filets, mixed rice, asparagus, protein chips, bread and butter, half a protein shake, and another vitamin. For dinner, he has two chicken breasts with a baked potato, corn, greens, asparagus, and mixed fruit. He exercises six days a week, alternating workouts of power strength training 聽– with bench presses, deadlifts, squats, and leg presses – and speed training, such as bleacher runs, bear crawls, and 80 meter runs. He also does stretching and core work on alternate days, with Sundays set aside for rest. His health is the best it鈥檚 been in years. 鈥淚 know so many people who die because of complications with their transplant,聽and here I am a healthy young person who doesn鈥檛 look like they鈥檝e ever suffered from dialysis,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe the hurdles I鈥檝e overcome to get to this place.鈥 In Salt Lake City, Freeman will be running in celebration of his life – and in honor of the young donor who gave him a new lease on life. Freeman knows little about his donor – only that the donor was 22 years old. The (ARORA)聽 protects the privacy of donors鈥 families and contacts families only when they are ready to connect with donor recipients. Freeman recently wrote a letter to his donor鈥檚 parents and hopes to one day meet them. 鈥淚 want them to know how I鈥檝e evolved from being a kid to being an adult and an athlete and being in a college program I never dreamed of,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 want them to know that I am able to embrace living because of their son or daughter and that their spirit lives on.” Photos by Benjamin Krain聽]]>