A - America's Greatest Homecoming Celebration

Probably one of the best events ever hosted by Oklahoma State, our Homecoming! Every year, there's always a huge turn-out with a strong attendance of at least 80,000 alumni, the 20,000+ current students, and the overall community of Stillwater that attend to various events during Homecoming week and weekend. The library fountain is dyed OkState bright-orange and Stillwater is jam-packed with Cowboys from all over the country.

Greek life hosts the Walkaround, which consists of colorful yard setups, themes, floats, making all of the late-night pomping worth it; Homecoming and Hoops in Gallagher-Iba introduces Cowboy Basketball, along with games with the football team, Greek Life, various student organizations, and we meet our Homecoming Royalty; The Sea of Orange Parade, held the morning of our Homecoming football game, brings together Cowboys and girls of all ages, from all over, to celebrate Oklahoma State University and America's Greatest Homecoming!

B - Boone Pickens Stadium

Oklahoma State's football stadium is one of the more iconic buildings on campus, aside from the Student Union and Old Central. Back in the early days of Oklahoma State, it was known as Lewis Field until the renovation in 2003 and the ultimate final product in 2009.

Oklahoma State benefactor, contributor, mentor, and alumni, as well as Texas oilman, entrepreneur, and Mesa Petroleum Co. founder T. Boone Pickens (1928-2019) donated the largest single donation of $165 million to the university to create an "athletic village" on campus. This donation is the largest in American history to contribute to the athletics spectrum of a higher education institution.

Now that T. Boone Pickens is no longer with us, there always lies that feeling that there's a piece of Oklahoma State missing; a part of our hearts that will always be empty. Regardless, Boone believed in Oklahoma State- students, faculty, and sports alike, and his legacy lives on.

C - Calf Fry

In Stillwater, OK, Tumbleweed hosts Calf Fry annually. It's a music festival celebrating red-dirt music with live performances that makes up a long and eventful 3-day party! This is a huge event for OSU students and has a massive turn-out every. single. year!

D - Diversity

Oklahoma State is big on diversity and inclusivity, and actively participates in study abroad programs to countless countries overseas. Whether it's gender, ethnic, cultural, or socioeconomic differences, it doesn't matter! Everyone is included, welcomed, loved, and appreciated.

E - Eskimo Joe's

Eskimo Joe's has been a trademark for Stillwater, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University almost since the campus was established. It was initially a bar but when the drinking age was increased to 21, it became a restaurant to maintain business. Apparently the desire behind the name was to express that Eskimo Joe's had the "coldest beer in town".. even though a "cup of Joe" is usually coffee, but oh well.

Often times, Joe's is compared to The Garage Burgers and Beer for quality burgers. Having worked at both restaurants and knowing how the patties are handled and burgers are made, trust me when I say "you want Joe's".

F - 'Friends in Low Places', Garth Brooks

If you've ever been to an Oklahoma State football game, you've probably encountered 99% of people singing this song with every fiber of their being. Personally, I've never learned this significance of using this particular song, aside from the fact that it's a game-day ritual in the 3rd or 4th quarter. Regardless, it's a tradition and would any of us be true OSU Cowboys if we didn't sing along at least once?

Additionally, Garth Brooks attended Oklahoma State to acquire his Bachelor's in Advertising and MBA through Spears School of Business. During his college career, he sang in bars and clubs around campus that helped jump-start his career in music. Maybe this song was the one that started it all!

G - Go Pokes!

When in doubt, 'Pokes' it out, and be sure to put your pistols up!

H - Hot 93.7, Stillwater's Hit Music Station

Overall, Stillwater Radio provides Stillwater and those within a 50 mile radius hits from today, rock and roll, country, and so on. One station that stands above the others at the studio is Hot 93.7, Stillwater's Hit Channel.

Anything from current news, sports, and music of course, are covered on this station and is the place to be for mornings with "Your Gal-Pal, Lucy"!

I - Involvement

When each new class of freshmen come in, it's like all student organizations come out of hibernation to entice them to join. If you're an incoming freshman and want to join an organization, trust me, it's worth the time and effort to do so! Not only do you get to expand your resume' but you get to build so many new relationships, build new skills, and have a family within the giant Cowboy family that we have!

With that being said, our Odyssey community (Oklahoma State) is a student organization on our campus, so if you want to get more involved, reach out to us on Instagram and let us know!

J - J.R. Murphy's

If you don't know what Murphy's is, or where, it's the one with the palm trees. Personally, I've never been because I prefer a relaxed and chill environment where I can enjoy my drink, play pool, and not worry about a drunk sorority girl spilling her drink on me.

But based on what I've heard, if you like a place where you can party and have a good time, while grinding up next to complete strangers, Murphy's is the place to go (there's also the Union, but still)! Murphy's also has pool tables, foosball, darts and even a stripper pole to entertain you (for a price.)

K - Kerr-Drummond Residence Hall

These have to be the some of the oldest residence halls on campus; not necessary with age but with how poorly they're maintained. For the four years that I've been a student at OSU, there has always been talk that they were going to get torn down because of the asbestos and perhaps new halls would be built. The main concern however, was always how the mezzanine and dining options would remain intact.

NOW, these halls are no longer housing students but they're still an eye-sore on campus. #DemolishKerr-Drummond

L - Les, OSU Game Day Host

If you've ever gone to any Oklahoma State sporting event within the past 2-3 years, you've heard the most upbeat voice at the mic, Les!

Les became the voice and Game Day Host at Oklahoma State after former host, Matt Fletcher, flipped to the next chapter in his life. Ever since he joined the Cowboy family, he's done nothing but spread joy, love, and laughter and has truly become an important part of any game-day experience.

He's been asked time and time again what his favorite part is about being the Game Day Host, and his response is always a genuine reflection of who he is as a person:

"Honestly, it's not about the mic, camera, or being on the big screen as one might think. It's having the opportunity to create memories for others, meaningful conversations off-camera, and the relationships I've built with my Cowboy family. My position gives me the opportunity to display the love of God on a larger scale. I may never say 'Jesus' in the mic, but everytime I open my mouth He gets the Glory because it is HE who gave me this gift and opportunity. Dream job? Maybe... more like purpose. Purpose brings fulfillment like no other."

M - Mike "The Mullet" Gundy

Coach Gundy is the definition of Oklahoma born and bred. After he graduated at Midwest City High School, he was the quarterback at Oklahoma State from '86-'89. Eventually, he decided to come back home to coach in 2005!

This photo, the event in particular, was a contest between Coach Gundy and former Cowboy quarterback, Mason Rudolph, and though Mason isn't pictured, both were a treat to witness in person. And ironically, at that time, Mike was in better shape than the quarterback.

N - #NoRestForTheStressed

College students are always stressed because we're overwhelmed the classes, their workloads, regular work, bills, and so forth. While we're making sure we don't fall behind or on a Netflix/Hulu binge, we tend to lose sleep piece-by-piece until it eventually spirals out of control. You may start college getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night but I assure you, it won't last long.

I don't know if this is a hashtag thread that already exists and is popular among college students but if it's not, let's get it started! #norestforthestressed!!

O - Old Central

Now the Honors College, Old Central is the oldest building on campus. It was originally built in 1894, as the first permanent building on the Oklahoma A&M campus!

P - Pistol Pete and the Paddle People

Pistol Pete is the iconic mascot for Oklahoma State University and has been since 1923. He was originally based off of the historical Frank Eaton, who the head of the Pistol Pete costume is supposed to resemble. Pistol Pete attends all major events for OSU, like all sporting events, as well as extracurricular events in the community.

The Paddle People are the premier student spirit group at football games that can be seen and/or heard via any media outlets that may have coverage. Traditionally, they set up camp outside Boone Pickens Stadium and spend the night before the day of a football game, dress up, paint their bodies, and get the student section pumped before, during, and after the game. They also make their paddles every year before the season starts, and postseason, members get to take paddles home that represent the respective year(s) that they have been involved based on the various colors of their collection; orange, black, grey, and white.

Q - Qdoba

In all honesty, Q is a hard one but I feel like every college campus, college town, and/or major city has a Qdoba that all Millenials and Gen Zers congregate to when they want generic and overpriced mexican food.

R - Ride 'Em Cowboys

One of our esteemed fight songs and catchy sayings for any sporting event. Aside from "Go Pokes", you can hear students at games yelling this, sober and intoxicated alike, and it just brings life and spirit to the party.

S - Student Union

Fun fact: Oklahoma State's Student Union is considered the largest student union in the world at 543,411 square feet!!

The Union is also home to the luxurious Ranchers Club restaurant, a 550-seat theater, art exhibits, lounges, meeting rooms, an extensive food court, bookstores, the OSU Student Store, a recreation center, post office, travel agency, athletic ticket office, and multiple university offices. Many student organizations, including the Student Union Activities Board and our Odyssey community, are also housed at the Union!

T - The Strip

The ultimate bar scene of Stillwater and Oklahoma State University! Chances are, if you live in Stillwater, you've visited The Strip. But just in case you're new to Stillwater because you're a freshman (please wait until you're legal) or just haven't ventured to Washington Street yet, The Strip is home to most of Stillwater's bars: J.R. Murphy's, College Bar, Willie's Saloon, The Copper Penny, The Union Beverage Company, Shots, Outlaws and Wells!

And don't worry! If you get hungry while you're drunk, you can choose from Fuzzy's Taco Shop, Coney Island, Jimmy Johns, Insomnia, and the new Pickleman's!

U - Uber

Are you even a college student if you haven't used Uber (or Lyft) to grab a ride to and from a house party or bar? Or to get Uber Eats because walking is just too much effort?

V - Villages Residence Halls

V was honestly a hard one, but this letter also allows me to talk about the overpriced, yet quite homey feel of the Villages suites on campus. Out of all the residence halls, they're the nicest (which still isn't saying much but personal opinions, right?).

W - Walking (from the North Classroom Building to the Journalism Building)

Are you even a college student if you don't walk two miles per day- at the bare minimum?

Every campus has their buildings that are on opposite sides of the campus and the farthest away from each other, and these are those buildings for Oklahoma State. If you have back-to-back classes that happen to go from one of these buildings to another...good luck.

X - Xanax

I personally haven't taken Xanax (or any other illegal drugs) but in my first year of college, I guess you could say I ran with a "bad crowd" or the burnouts, though they were more mellow than others that I had experienced in my high school days. Considering that Xanax is referred to as a part drug, you can imagine that people popped these like TicTacs. However, being the sober one, I was able to make the big decisions at the important times, or just have the common sense to walk away from a bad situation.

That "bad crowd" I hung out with during my freshman year? They either have kids that were a result of high adult activities or they're in jail. Don't do drugs, kids. Don't be stupid, be sober.

Y - Yee-haw/Yee-yee!

Are we even Cowboys if these phrases don't exit our mouths from time to time, drunk or not?

Z - ZzzzZZzzzzzz

As college students, all we want are to catch some Zs but honestly, Z is another hard one and what even is sleep?