human sciences

As a youth pastor for many years, Tim Gowin has always enjoyed working with teens and young adults.

When he and his family moved to Tulsa 12 years ago, his youth pastor experience landed him a position as Street Outreach Specialist with Youth Services of Tulsa. But he soon discovered that his associate’s degree in Biblical studies from a small private school wouldn’t help him reach a leadership role at a nonprofit organization.

In its second year of helping parents and children strengthen their relationships, Oklahoma’s University for Parents (OK-UP) is offering a full schedule of free parenting workshops and provider training events beginning Oct. 9.

OSU-Tulsa faculty established the statewide initiative last year to help Oklahomans strengthen parent-child relationships and build positive parenting skills.

OSU-Tulsa alumnus Steve Hahn has dedicated himself to dispelling the myth that bullying is just part of being a kid.

As community education manager at The Parent Child Center of Tulsa, Hahn said he saw the long-term consequences of bullying and felt the need to do something about it.

OSU-Tulsa student Patrick Grayshaw has been drawn to the idea of community engagement since high school and now he wants to make a career of it.

“My social studies class is where I learned about community engagement. I never left it really,” he said. “It’s almost like it’s just my default.”

Zach Giano, an OSU-Tulsa doctoral student in human development and family science, recently received a National Council on Family Relations Honors Student Recognition Award for spring 2018.