With its small class sizes and low student-to-faculty ratio, The University of Tulsa community often feels like one big family whereas students at other universities can get lost in the crowd.
For Pete and Jennifer Johnson, UTulsa is – in fact – a family affair. Their children are Grace (B.S. ’14), Peter (B.S.B.A. ’17), Julia (B.S.B.A. ’19), Anna (B.S. ’22), Daniel (B.S.B.A. ’24), UTulsa nursing junior Lily, and high school senior Ruthie.
The Johnsons hail from St. Louis, Missouri. Before 2010, they had no connection to The University of Tulsa. “When Grace was looking at colleges, we had our sights really set on the Ivy League. She was super academically gifted, a National Merit scholar, and valedictorian,” Jennifer Johnson said.
The family did the Ivy League tour before a chance conversation at a soccer game with a fellow mom brought UTulsa to their attention. “She said, ‘Oh, Jennifer, you should look at Tulsa.’ Her daughter had gone there, and she told me all the things they loved about it. The school waived the application fee, so Grace applied to Tulsa,” Jennifer said.
That’s when they met Teresa Erker Bont, then-senior regional director of admission for UTulsa in St. Louis. Bont, who now serves as director of parent and family giving, encouraged the family to visit campus. Pete and Grace did just that and found themselves very impressed with Tulsa – much more than they expected to be.
There were several things that stood out about UTulsa – including the lucrative Presidential Scholarship – but what made the biggest impact was Tulsa Time, a visit program for high school seniors that provides a broad overview of what it is like to be a UTulsa student.
“To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t excited about it at first, but then I attended Tulsa Time, and it was like, ‘Oh wow! Now I see it. This place is amazing,’” Pete said. “I walked out of one of the sessions on the tour and thought, ‘Man, I hope she wants to go here.’ And then Grace walks out and says, ‘Dad, I want to go here.’”
The six oldest Johnson kids all found their way to Tulsa – even Peter, who attended Belmont University before transferring to UTulsa to study finance and accounting. Julia majored in accounting and computer information systems, Anna in math and computer science, Daniel in finance, and Lily in nursing.
A big part of their campus experiences have revolved around Greek life, with all the sisters joining Chi Omega, Peter joining Pi Kappa Alpha, and Daniel in Kappa Alpha.
Grace majored in biochemistry and chemistry and discovered another unexpected surprise in Tulsa: meeting her husband, Brady Pierce (B.S. ’14), a mechanical engineering major, during freshman orientation.
“It is not just going to a school, it’s joining a community,” Pete said. “You walk across campus, and you know everyone you see and all your professors. It is a type of community you don’t really find at a big school. It is hard to exist in a community of 40,000 to 60,000 people.”
The youngest Johnson is Ruthie, who will graduate high school this spring. Just 4 years old when her sister Grace arrived in Tulsa, Ruthie hoped to join her siblings in the UTulsa family. She received her acceptance letter in December.
“She and her sister, Lily, are best friends. She wants to join the nursing program and also participate in Greek life,” said Jennifer. “The University of Tulsa has been part of Ruthie’s life as long as she can remember.
“Hearing stories about UTulsa and visiting campus often, Tulsa is where she wants to be. And we are thrilled for all of our kids to have this same great education and shared experience.”
