Student Testimonies

Caroline Cannon - 2024 and 2025 Graduate

Caroline Cannon graduated Mena high school in 2024 as well as graduated from UA Rich Mountain with her Associate of Arts degree. Caroline was interested in a career in healthcare but was uncertain if she would fit in this field. Because of this Caroline decided to apply for UA Rich Mountain’s LPN program to find out if the nursing field was right for her. She is currently in UARM’s LPN program and loving it. She plans to continue her education at UA Fayetteville to eventually become a Nurse Practitioner. 
When thinking about why she chose UARM, Caroline replied, “because of how welcome staff made me feel when I toured the college. All of the staff were personable and caring which really stuck out. All throughout high school staff made it super easy for me to be able to take college classes. Because of how flexible they were with my schedule, I was able to graduate high school with my Associates of Arts degree from UARM! I believe that UARM has given me opportunities that I could not get at other universities all while maintaining a local and community-based environment.”
Caroline’s best part of her time so far at UA Rich Mountain has been the compassionate and caring staff. She commented, “They have made it their priority to give back to the students to make our time as meaningful as possible. I love that this is a smaller school that offers large opportunities; between the sports, housing, meal plans, amenities, and many degree options!”

Lusanne Starr - 2024 Graduate

Meet 2024 University of Arkansas graduate Lusanne Starr. Lusanne graduated from UA Rich Mountain with an Associate of Arts degree and is now attending UALR to obtain a degree in Social Work.

When asked why she chose UA Rich Mountain, Lusanne replied, “I chose UARM because of how close the college was to me, and I had an exchange student coming back to attend college there. I was going to have to drive her so I thought it would be an awesome opportunity to get a degree which is something I have wanted to do for years. I felt more comfortable with how small the college is, and I feel it was the best decision I could have made.”

One part of UARM that Lusanne liked the most was interacting with the instructors who were incredibly helpful and patient. Lusanne states, “I have wanted to get a degree for a long time and having instructors that made me feel welcome even though I was not a typical student helped me to accomplish my goal.” Lusanne comments, “I really enjoyed my time at UARM and am thankful that I had the opportunity to go there. I am also thankful for the staff who helped me with everything I needed to succeed. Without them I could not have started my journey.”

Alexis Payne - 2022 Graduate

Alexis Payne graduated in the summer of 2022 with an Associate of Applied Science from UA Rich Mountain. Currently, Alexis is taking time off to decide how she wants to continue her educational journey. Alexis had planned to attend UA Fort Smith to pursue a degree in computer science where all her credits from UA Rich Mountain, but one, would transfer into her degree plan. Alexis states her advisors, Mrs. Terry Francis and Mrs. Kandy Page, did a wonderful job helping her decide the classes she needed and ones that would transfer to her degree at UA Fort Smith.

“The environment at UA Rich Mountain is amazing,” Alexis stated. She continues that some of her best memories are from working in the bookstore. She loved getting to know everyone, and talking to high school students about why UARM is a great choice. Alexis believes, “The staff is amazing, whether it is a teacher or the front desk, they are the kindest people. Everyone really cares about each and every student and worker.” Alexis would recommend UA Rich Mountain for any student knowing that she received the same education at UA Rich Mountain that she would going to a 4-year college her freshman year while also saving money.

 

Brianna Crowley - 2024 Graduate

Meet 2024 University of Arkansas graduate Brianna Crowley. Brianna graduated from UA Rich Mountain with an Associate of Arts Teaching degree and is now attending UA Fayetteville to obtain a degree in Elementary Education.

When asked why she chose UA Rich Mountain, Brianna replied, “I went to UARM to play softball, and I was honestly attracted to the smallness of it because it felt like a good community. It was also a good setup to transfer to the University of Arkansas. It was a very pretty campus too!”

Brianna loves how everyone including students, staff, and instructors knows everyone. Brianna states, “It was very easy to have a personal relationship with them [staff and instructors] because of the smallness of the campus, and the same goes for students. Because the class sizes were small, it was easy to know everyone in your class and be able to make friendships and easily ask people for help.”