For nursing major Houston Carrasco, stepping onto OU’s Health Campus was a turning point in her academic journey.
Coming from a small high school to OU, Carrasco was no stranger to big transitions, but she said the switch to the Health Campus in Oklahoma City felt different. It was more focused, fast-paced but still as inclusive and inviting as the Norman campus.
“The environment’s really welcoming and great,” said Carrasco, who will be graduating this spring.
That sense of connection and ease is exactly what OU Health hopes to create for the over 600 students from the Norman campus who will prepare to make the same transition this fall.
OU Health’s Student Affairs will host its second annual “Sooner to Sooner” event at 11:30 a.m. April 29. The event is in collaboration with Norman’s Student Affairs and the Office of Admission and Recruitment.
“‘Sooner to Sooner’ is a way for the Health Campus to start to connect with our incoming students,” said Michael Harrington, executive director of Student Affairs at OU Health Campus. “I hope students get that we care. There’s so many different programs here that sometimes they can feel like they’re having to start over, but there is still this vein of ‘we're one OU.’”
OU Health is the state’s leading comprehensive academic health system and one of the few programs in the nation that brings together seven health professional colleges: Allied Health, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and the Graduate College.
OU Health offers more than 70 degree programs. It calls itself comprehensive and integrated — students are able to study and have their clinical experiences in the same place. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching ranks OU Health in the top 2% of medical schools and centers nationally.
“There aren’t many places like this in the United States,” Harrington said. “It really is a unique opportunity to get to know students from all different academic backgrounds in health.”
Harrington encourages prospective and future students to reach out, take tours and meet with the academic advising on campus, which can be scheduled on the OU Health website. Students do not have to wait until orientation and can make arrangements at any time.
“We’re always adding to the fun,” Harrington said about the "Sooner to Sooner" event. “The success of last year was great, especially for a first-year event. We’re looking forward to growing it this year.”
