Gabriel Barnes

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Gabriel Barnes, Class of 2023

Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Degree: Bachelor of History
Minor: Anthropology

There’s a little irony in the fact that Gabriel Barnes and his family started a particular summer trip in “The Show Me State” of Missouri.

Why?

They were headed to Texas. However, it was in Shawnee, Oklahoma, that the Kansas City, Missouri, family stopped in at Oklahoma Baptist University and basically said, “Show me the campus.”

“Growing up I wasn’t familiar with OBU,” Gabriel said. “It wasn’t until the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school that I found out about the University. While on a road trip through Oklahoma and Texas, my dad remembered that his father had once attended OBU, and we visited the campus and were given a tour.”

Specifically, what brought Barnes to Bison Hill was the desire to attend a Christian university.

“While looking for colleges during my senior year of high school, what always drew me back to OBU was the university’s kindness and how welcoming they were to me,” he said. “Every time I had visited, people here always made me feel at home. One instance in particular occurred after my first visit. About a month after visiting campus, the school sent me a personal video saying that they were praying for me to attend OBU.”

That too was a “Show Me” moment as leaders showed Gabriel how much they cared about his future. It wasn’t the last. Another great example came when he was inducted into the Bison Glee Club his freshman year.

“During the weekend retreat, we rehearsed songs, went bowling, were given unique club nicknames, and had time set aside to fellowship and worship God,” Gabriel said. “Being part of the choir and experiencing fellowship and brotherhood has been a blessing.”

Gabriel has excelled academically at OBU and for this he credits “professors that integrate faith with education.”

“I have made lifelong friends who encourage me and have helped me grow in my walk with God,” he said. “The Lord also blessed me with an opportunity to go on a GO Trip to Mexico, where my group ministered to children and the elderly. At the same time, I have grown in my skills as a scholar to write and think critically about all things, but particularly in the area of history. These skills will undoubtedly serve me well in graduate school, which I plan to attend next year, with the goal of becoming a history professor.”