YLOK Class XIII Day 4: We're Just Here For A Good Time

If you aren't impressed with Oklahoma yet, you haven't been reading this blog or looking out your window when you drive around. If that still hasn't convinced you, read on. 

Day 4: Our first stop was Williams Companies, Inc., housed in Tulsa's tallest building, the BOk Tower. Our hotel was conveniently connected to it by a skybridge, so we walked across and met our guide, Carmela. Breakfast was prepared and waiting for us to devour along with a couple of gallons of coffee, of which I probably consumed half. 

Leadership Oklahoma Class XXIII graduate and Williams Director of Diversity & Community Relations Alison Anthony opened up our morning session with an enthusiastic and motivational speech about goals, the future, and the responsibility we have as citizens of Oklahoma for our state. After gracefully and brilliantly answering the first question thrown at her ("Do you support fracking?"), she then handed the microphone over to a panel of Williams employees who covered several pertinent issues: resumé tips, interviewing tips, follow-up skills, and networking skills. Then we were given a tour of Williams from several of the summer college interns. Due to security purposes, we were only able to see the first three floors, but the interns did an excellent job answering our questions and explaining what Williams does as a company. 

Looking at this in person hurt my brain.

From Williams, we migrated on foot to Hardesty Arts Center, stopping for a split second at the Center of the Universe, a spot in the road (literally) that is built in such a way that when you speak or make a sound, you are amplified and echoed, but only you can hear it that way. 

Hardesty Arts Center was downright impressive. It's an ultra-modern space with an art gallery at the bottom, a number of laboratories on the second floor (3D art modeling, photography labs, etc), an awesome patio for events and an educational space on the third floor, and rentable "inspiration" rooms on the fourth floor for artists to use at their disposal, as well as a smaller outdoor patio that can be rented for the same purposes. I personally loved this whole place, and if I get married around Tulsa someday, I'm totally having my reception on the third floor event patio (let's be honest, it probably won't be my decision, right?). 

Our  good-looking group!

Ladies

And gentlemen. The Wolfpack.

From Hardesty, we walked to Cain's Ballroom. We didn't stay long, but it was really fun to see it. A few people jumped on stage and gave mini performances, then LeeAnne gave us a brief history of the hall's rich history, and finally we tried to test the rumored "spring-loaded" floor. It didn't quite work, but trust me, I've been there for several concerts, and that floor is definitely a trampoline. 

From Cain's we walked a solid half mile to Dust Bowl in the Blue Dome District. Along the way, we were able to witness the awesomeness that is the revived Brady District, the OneOK Field, and the all-new Guthrie On The Green outdoor events park. Tulsa, where did you come from?? All of that stuff is seriously transforming downtown into a desirable place! It was almost hard to believe. It was a Wednesday afternoon and the park was packed with people. There were musicians playing on one of the decks, and the whole place was surrounded by food trucks, Big Truck Taco style. We arrived at the all-new Dust Bowl bowling alley and were greeted by Elliott Nelson, the owner, who is also majorly involved in Tulsa's urban redevelopment and owner of McNellie's Bar & Restaurant. He spoke to us about entrepreneurship, business, and urban planning. I kind of really want to be him when I grow up. Lunch was a super delicious taco bar, and then we bowled for a couple of hours. It was a great break for everyone! I actually ended up falling asleep on one of the benches for a solid 20 minutes, and I don't really know how that happened. I woke up with my shoes tied together and about 10 photos of me in the fetal position on Instagram. 

After we were done bowling, we departed for Stillwater, but we had to stop for just a moment to fix a nasty rattle on the front of the bus.

Johnny, our wonderful driver, got the rattle fixed and we were on our way. We drove around OSU and Stillwater to kill some time (Us? Early? No idea how it happened.). Once the time was killed, we met the owner & CEO of Eskimo Joes at the Eskimo Joe's T-Shirt Company. Stan Clark... what a guy. He met us on the bus and gave us a history of Eskimo Joe's. You haven't met anyone as welcoming and friendly as Stan. Then we toured the actual t-shirt screen-printing facility where every Eskimo Joe's t-shirt is made. We saw every single step of what goes into making one of the iconic shirts. Fun fact: Eskimo Joe's t-shirts are the second most collected t-shirt in the world, behind Hard Rock Cafe, with over 5,000,000 of them produced since the (single!) restaurant's opening in the 70s. And that's right here in Oklahoma! 

Then we went to Eskimo Joe's itself. We had the whole second floor to ourselves, with free cheese fries for all. What a great time it was... 

If you remember, I've been bragging about these kids (I hate calling them that, because they are definitely above and beyond their age). Well, they blew us away again. A couple of the girls went downstairs and bought our bus driver, Johnny, his own Eskimo Joe's shirt and everyone signed a piece of paper with notes of appreciation for him. None of these nice, spontaneous things that these guys are doing is the idea of a chaperone. They just do it on their own. When we were ready to leave, everyone lined up outside the bus and we asked Johnny to walk through our "spirit tunnel" so he could be presented with his gift. I think he felt the love. He was very thankful, and it made me even more thankful for the students' kind hearts. Me, LeeAnne, and Katie really are basically speechless at this point. 

Johnny being presented with his token of our appreciation.

We arrived at our Hampton Inn and the students gathered for a while to work on some small skits they will be performing at YLOK graduation on Friday. Then we passed out some free special edition Eskimo Joe's t-shirts that were made specifically for this YLOK class and free water bottles! We had a very fun evening outside at the pool and hot tub because we had more free time than usual. I got to be part of a spontaneous 4-part harmony production of the Star-Spangled Banner in the hot tub, as well as many other sing-along songs. These guys can dance, sing, do stand-up comedy, calculate, cross their eyes, bust out rhymes, anything. You name it. They are SO talented. Finally, it was time to say goodnight, and I was out like a light. 

I loved Day 4. It was my favorite day so far, but it's mainly because of these students. They're just good. They are going to be valuable assets for each other for years to come. That's all I can say. Day 5 will be jam packed: We'll be in Enid, Norman, and OKC meeting a large number of people and seeing just as many important places. Get ready for a fun ride! 

-Bryce Rowland

P.S. I'm finishing this post on the bus in Enid while everyone else is inside Integris Bass Baptist hospital doing a tour. Johnny just fell asleep in his seat and is snoring loudly. It's cracking me up.