U of A Student Graduates Early, Already Working a Full Time Job

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Tevin Wooten.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – People in Northwest Arkansas often recognize University of Arkansas senior Tevin Wooten as a reporter for local television station KNWA. They may be surprised to see him in a cap and gown this Saturday, during U of A fall commencement, graduating with a journalism degree after only three and a half years at the university. 

Wooten credits the Richard Greene family scholarship and the U of A’s Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education for contributing to his academic success. The Greene scholarship is an academically competitive award given to underrepresented students at the university. He says the scholarship alleviated the stress of paying for school, and the support of the Multicultural Center’s Academic Enrichment Program helped him graduate early.

“Brande Flack, associate director of the center, would check on me weekly, making sure I was okay, and that I was doing well in my classes. She was always there, making sure I was sane.” 

Wooten is originally from Camden and attended Camden Fairview High School, where he was part of NASA’s EV 30 engineering program. He was one of only six high school students in a program with 200 college level students.

With that background it’s no surprise Wooten came to the University of Arkansas in 2011 as an engineering student.  But when he got a part-time job as a video assistant with RazorVision, the athletic department’s video service, he discovered his passion and changed to broadcast journalism.

It also helped him connect with his mentor.

The Multicultural Center’s mentoring program connects incoming students with upperclassman, faculty or staff mentors.

“I'll never forget my mentor, Eric Wood, associate director of athletics,” Wooten said. “He was like that "favorite Uncle" that you could call when you didn't want to tell your dad something. Eric and I both worked in athletics, so our schedules were pretty similar. We'd see each other around at football practices and games. He understood the hustle and bustle of working at the university. At the time, the Multicultural Center had hours of operation that didn't fit my schedule, and I couldn't make standard tutoring appointments. Mr. Wood understood working weird hours of the day and was able to help me get tutoring when I needed it, to make sure that my grades didn't suffer.”

While in the journalism department, Wooten became a weather anchor for UATV nightly news and was named station manager, filmed several sporting events and was honored with the Broadcast Journalist of the Year award. 

His hard work paid off when he was hired full time as a reporter for at KNWA this past spring. 

“I’m really blessed to have a job coming out of college,” Wooten said. He intends to remain at KNWA for the next few years, then hopes to branch out into the eastern, or northern United States.