{"id":51313,"date":"2024-07-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=51313"},"modified":"2024-08-15T17:10:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T22:10:04","slug":"tarleton-state-commencement-speaker-driven-by-his-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/tarleton-state-commencement-speaker-driven-by-his-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarleton State Commencement Speaker Driven by His \u2018Why\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Samuel Arthur came to Stephenville all the way from his home in Ghana in pursuit of his personal \u201cwhy.\u201d The master\u2019s candidate in applied psychology will share his story as the student speaker at Tarleton State\u2019s summer commencement exercises at 9 a.m. Friday, July 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"commencement
Samuel Arthur will deliver the commencement address at Tarleton State\u2019s summer graduation ceremonies at 9 a.m. Friday, July 26.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arthur\u2019s \u201cwhy\u201d \u2014 the motivation that drives him \u2014 is about making a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe I have a role to play in making the world a better place,\u201d said the father of two.  \u201cThere are people looking up to me and I can\u2019t give up on them. That drives me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that he wanted to make a difference, he earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in natural resources management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana along with a master\u2019s degree from Dallas Baptist University in business management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce I got finished with my bachelor\u2019s, I needed a break from the sciences,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, in 2011, I enrolled at Dallas Baptist. Once I was done there, I went back to my home country where I had the opportunity to work with one of the private hospitals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile there, I saw the effect of ill mental health. It was a growing concern, so it actually brought back a passion to pursue clinical psychology. That\u2019s what actually inspired my decision after almost 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur came to Tarleton State in 2022 after hearing about the university from his brother, who had relocated to Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has a number of friends who came here,\u201d Arthur said. \u201cHe knew about my interest and he mentioned that Tarleton State had a great program in psychology. I went online to research the program and I applied for it. I was excited when I was able to gain admission.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just prior to beginning his studies here, he became a graduate assistant in the athletics department, serving for the next two years as a mentor to Texan football players where he helped them balance the demands of the game and the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that most the most important aspect was preparing the student-athletes for life after school and outside of football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Megan O\u2019Quin and Brandon North provided the graduate assistant opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also credits his research mentor, Dr. Jonali Baruah for her help, especially in work that would become his thesis, as well as opportunities to present at various conferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been able to give three conference presentations based on research work I\u2019ve been doing. These have shaped my thinking in terms of knowing how to question in order to find answers I\u2019m looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a career goal of becoming a clinical psychologist, Arthur is already planning enrollment into a PhD program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at a few institutions,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for Tarleton to start its program. I know there are plans to start a program next year, so I\u2019m looking forward to applying here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His mother, wife, two sons and siblings, all based in the U.S., will be in the audience Friday when he shares his story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI intend to share how important it is for the graduates to find their \u201cwhy\u201d as they\u2019re going out into the world. I\u2019ll share the challenges I have faced to help them understand we all face challenges, but we are not defined by them. I hope to give them hope to encourage them.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Samuel Arthur came to Stephenville all the way from his home in Ghana in pursuit of his personal \u201cwhy.\u201d The master\u2019s candidate in applied psychology will share …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":51315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,423,425,427],"tags":[430,431,432,436,438,440,441,439,446,447,452,453],"class_list":["post-51313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-academics-research","category-campus-community","category-science-health","tag-academic-affairs","tag-administration","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-agriculture-natural-resources","tag-college-of-graduate-studies","tag-college-of-liberal-fine-arts","tag-college-of-science-mathematics","tag-division-of-health-sciences","tag-division-of-student-engagement-success","tag-dr-sam-pack-college-of-business","tag-mayfield-college-of-engineering","tag-performing-fine-arts"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/07\/Arthur_2024-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Academics & Research<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>","Science & Health<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Academics & Research<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>","Science & Health<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Academic Affairs<\/a>","Administration<\/a>","Alumni<\/a>","College of Agriculture & Natural Resources<\/a>","College of Graduate Studies<\/a>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/a>","College of Science & Mathematics<\/a>","Division of Health Sciences<\/a>","Division of Student Engagement & Success<\/a>","Dr. Sam Pack College of Business<\/a>","Mayfield College of Engineering<\/a>","Performing & Fine Arts<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Academic Affairs<\/span>","Administration<\/span>","Alumni<\/span>","College of Agriculture & Natural Resources<\/span>","College of Graduate Studies<\/span>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/span>","College of Science & Mathematics<\/span>","Division of Health Sciences<\/span>","Division of Student Engagement & Success<\/span>","Dr. Sam Pack College of Business<\/span>","Mayfield College of Engineering<\/span>","Performing & Fine Arts<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on July 24, 2024","modified":"Updated on August 15, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on July 24, 2024 8:00 am","modified":"Updated on August 15, 2024 5:10 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Man in a suit leaning on a concrete railing outdoors.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}