New year means new board members for UALR Alumni

October 10-16, 2016

By Jay Edwards

Becky Blass

Born and raised in Little Rock, new UALR Alumni Board member Becky Blass began classes at Little Rock University in the fall of 1969, after graduating from Central High.

Those were tumultuous times in the country and when Blass was a junior at Central, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. She remembers they closed school for a day.

During her sophomore year of college, LRU became UALR. “There were some changes, and one was that tuition went down,” she recalls. “I was working while attending college, putting myself through school, so it helped.”

There were scholarship opportunities offered to her from outside the state, but Blass says it was fortunate she stayed at home because her mother passed away.

“I can tell you this,” she says, “I got a great education here.”

Five years after graduation Blass decided to pursue a law degree, starting classes at UALR Law School, when it was in the building on Markham, between the Old State House and what was then the Camelot Hotel.

“It was 1979, and there were 75 of us taking the day classes,” she says. “It was also the first class that had more women than men. I think we had one more female than there were males.”

It was a typical three-year program, but Blass says she wasn’t that happy being back in school, so she finished in two and a half. During that time she also worked for an accounting firm.

“My undergrad major was business and secondary education. In those days we were all very focused on getting an education, and working at a job to pay for it. But we had a lot of fun too.”

“I certainly got what I needed from going to school here.

And I am happy to come back and serve on the board, to help out anyway I can.”

“I have always loved education and was even invited to come back and teach here years ago. But I was raising my son, and wanted to be a stay at home mother.”

Blass says that as much as the university and times have changed, there are many things still the same, like students still struggling to pay tuition. “Most have jobs,” she says.

“I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve on the board. These opportunities for young people can be so important to how they turn out. And UALR offers something for them that no one else can in Little Rock.”

Blass says she is still involved with her sorority, Chi Omega, chairing their fundraiser a few years ago, for the first endowed scholarship. “I’ve never been happier than giving that young woman the money,” she says. “It was very special.”

James Bobo

As a life long resident of Little Rock, James Bobo has a passion for his alma mater and views being on the UALR Alumni Board of Directors as a way for those passions to benefit the school, which will benefit his hometown.

“I’m looking forward to being on the board and getting involved,” Bobo says. “When I was attending college here, the program I went through was the Executive MBA, and I worked while I was earning that degree.

I went to school on Fridays and Saturdays, right over there in the college of business. I started in the morning and finished in the evening. And we had the same curriculum as the other students. It was challenging.”

That’s why Bobo, a Senior Staff Analyst at Entergy Corporation, says it is so important to give the students a chance, and not let money be an obstacle.

“I know how challenging it is to work your way through college,” he says.

After graduating from Little Rock Central in 1973, he came directly to UALR.

“I got married, then I dropped out, then I came back and finished up my undergrad studies and then came back again and got my MBA.”

“Even if you don’t end up in the career you set out for, to get a degree through a four year program, and then perhaps a graduate degree as well, it is such a feeling of accomplishment and an invaluable boost to confidence and self-esteem. You can always tell yourself, ‘Hey, I did it.’”

For those trying to go a similar route today, Bobo said that they have to know going in that it will be a challenge and they just have to be persistent and stick to it.

“Earning your college degree really does make you feel like you can do anything,” he says. “And I’m really hoping the alumni association will continue to grow the donations to get these students the help they need. The money that comes in goes to scholarships and gives opportunities to students. Our community will only continue to benefit and improve from educating our citizens.”

Bobo is married to Rose. For fun he loves hanging out with his 14 grandkids and tries to get in as much golf as he can.  “The grandkids keep us busy,” he says with a smile. “We are very blessed.” 

 

  • Becky Blass and James Bobo
    Becky Blass and James Bobo