Jaden Harrell (Carl Albert High School ‘21) has led a college career most up-and-coming basketball stars dream of. Four years after guiding the Carl Albert Titans to a 5A state championship, Harrell is an exemplary student and the starting point guard at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. While juggling college athletics, rigorous coursework and a robust social life can be like walking a tight rope for most, this senior business finance major makes it look like an uncontested layup. “It’s really just, like, finding the balance,” said Harrell, who is expected to graduate this spring. “You want to do good in your sport.
That’s really the main thing in most athletes’ minds, but that’s really not the main thing. The main thing is graduating and finishing school.” Where Harrell has demonstrated his commitment to his coursework, the
university has met him halfway, minding the struggles of a student-athlete. “At the beginning of the season, whenever we pick up and we’re traveling a lot, if you just let [professors] know in advance, it’s easy. They’re really understanding,” Harrell said. “Even if you miss a class, you just email them and they’ll be like, ‘Come to class the next day and we’ll catch you up.’” It’s too common for a teenager to leave their hometown in pursuit of an education only to feel lost in a sea of faces at a large university.
Among USAO’s undergraduate population of roughly 1,000 students, Harrell’s smile radiates. He has not only forged friendships with teammates but a variety of classmates outside of the basketball team. “You create relationships with everyone. You see the same people on a weekly basis, so it’s pretty cool,” Harrell said. “The soccer boys are from Serbia and other places. We have people from all over the world. We have flags in the
cafeteria, and people are like, ‘Yeah that’s my country, that’s where I’m from.’ Just hearing how they’re speaking in their language is cool.”
USAO has been recognized as one of the region’s best budget-friendly universities since opening as the Oklahoma College for Women in 1908. Visit www.usao.edu to become a Drover today.
