Position Paper #3

Personally, I believe colleges and universities are an important part of American culture and the growth of our society. They help further educate citizens and prepare young adults for the rest of their lives. In college, for the most part, students develop social and research skills that are essential in navigating our world. This is why choosing which school you attend is a huge decision. When deciding where I would go, I ultimately chose Southern Arkansas University because it was familiar and at my high school SAU always made dual-credit students feel important and heard. Regardless if we were, we all felt like the main priority of SAU's even though we were still high school students. 

Another college that does a great job at making students feel prioritized is the University of Central Missouri. A friend of mine who goes there and I have both concluded that each of our schools does a great job at making students feel heard. UCM's motto is "Education for Service," and has provided incomparable support for their students. They have noteworthy academic programs and worthwhile learning opportunities to help students accomplish their career and life goals.

University of Central Missouri is located in Warrensburg, Missouri. It is about the same size as SAU, with a 1, 561- acre campus, but has about double the students. One thing I though was strange was that both mascots were similar. Of course, ours is the mule rider, but what are the odds that your friend goes to a school that has the mascot of a mule and jennies. Tuition for UCM is also very similar to SAU's. UCM describes itself as "an innovative school that offers a high-quality education while remaining one of the most affordable universities in the country. Below is a message from the University of Central Missouri.

Just from the mascot, prospective students can see that UCM is an inclusive school. They offer a program called CMI, Center for Multiculturalism and Inclusivity, to make everyone feel present and involved. It was created by the students in 2016 and for the past 5 years has "helped connect underrepresented students to resources, organizations, and student support services..." The CMI concentrates on services for students of color, LGBTQIA, Military-Veteran, first-generation, historically underrepresented minority students, and students with disabilities. This program is a great way to 

One thing I noticed while doing research is that UCM has a quality social media presence. Starting with their Instagram, they have nearly 10,000 followers and they post daily about student life. As of writing this, their most recent post is attached below. Their Facebook also posts about student life and campus announcements, such as plays and awards students have won recently. Their Twitter page has 14.7 thousand followers and, also, is used to showcase the achievements of students. I think their greatest social media presence is their TikTok accounts. They have multiple; their main one is @ucentralmo. They also have one for their Mulekickers Dance team, School Merchandise, and then another for their STEM program. Their content is cute and relatable for college students. 

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According to a report by U.S. News & World, the University of Central Missouri is ranked #16 in Midwest's Top Public Schools (2022) and #31 for Best Colleges for Veterans (2022). Forbes has also named UCM as one of 2021 America's Top Colleges. UCM has been recognized by a number of references and has them listed on their website.

Recently, the University of Central Missouri was featured on a local news channel, ABC17 News, for the student's attempt to break the Guinness World Record title for the largest ridden parade of mules. They now have to wait for official confirmation after an attempt was made. The current record is 22 single-rider mules. The UCM Senior Director of Events and Alumni Engagement, Tiffany Cochran, said "When we were thinking about what we could do to make this event special, we wanted to do something that got the entire community involved and also spread our word to alumni across the nation." Cochran, also, said lots of people came out to see them attempt to break the record. 

Last year, 'Big Bang Theory' actor Brian Thomas Smith partnered with the school and hosted the school's "annual global day of philanthropic giving" held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Smith held a zoom meeting and thanked and paid gratitude to UCM  and the role it played in his life. Those who gave were gifted an exclusive 150th - anniversary UCM branded socks. The director of the Annual Giving UCM Alumni Foundation, Tyler Habiger, is optimistic about the opportunity for students to interact with Smith via Zoom. In the lecture, Smith had this to say about UCM, "I would like to give UCM a lot of credit for where my career started. I have tons of stories of the ups and downs of the journey starting back in Warrensburg all the way out to where I am now."