DR. JASON HIGGINS Dr. Jason Higgins has dedicated his career to studying the effects of war on military veterans. As the digital scholarship coordinator for Virginia Tech Publishing and an assistant professor at the university, Higgins is devoted to giving his students learning experiences through oral histories. Higgins is a first-generation college student who earned a master’s in English from OSU in 2016 before pursuing his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. During his time at OSU, Higgins worked with the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program to record 30 histories with veterans. Higgins credits that experience as the motivation to pursue his Ph.D. ON THE RISE ABBY O’DELL MIRANDA CHILDRESS Opening and operating a speech clinic was a dream turned reality for Abby O’Dell. She observed a need within the Stillwater community, and in 2017, she and her husband, Blake, opened Advanced Therapy Solutions. O’Dell graduated from Oklahoma State University with her Bachelor of Science in communication sciences and disorders in 2013 and continued in the program to earn her Master of Science in speech-language pathology in 2015. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and has received multiple awards for continuing education. What started as a single-person team has since expanded to a staff of 14, with offerings in occupational therapy and lymphedema services. Dr. Jim Puckette’s Introduction to Geology course set Miranda Childress up for her future in oil and gas. In the class, Childress drilled down a passion for geology that inspired her to pursue interests in the industry. In 2012, Childress graduated from OSU with a Bachelor of Science in geology and added a master’s degree in 2015. Childress worked as a geologist for Devon Energy for seven years before transitioning to her current role as an asset supervisor in Devons’ Delaware Basin Business Unit. Childress has taken her skills nationwide, working in basins that have included the Anadarko, Midland and Permian. She is an active member of The American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Oklahoma City Geological Society. COMPILATIONS ERIN WEAVER | PHOTOS PROVIDED CAS honors alumni who have made outstanding career and community contributions in their first 10 years since graduation COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES RISING STARS OSU COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 37
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