Throwback: Arkansas Education Leaders Johnny Key & Dr. Brett Powell
By Arkansas NEXT Staff on Thursday, September 3, 2015
Meet the men behind the Arkansas’ Departments of Education and Higher Education—and learn what college life and entry level job market was like for them back in the day!
| Johnny Key Commissioner, Arkansas Department of Education Mr. Key is a former Mountain Home state Senator, who worked on the Senate Education Committee for several years and championed for education across the state. |
Dr. Brett Powell Director, Arkansas Department of Higher Education Dr. Powell has worked in higher ed for more than 14 years, including leadership roles at Ouachita Baptist University and University of Arkansas at Little Rock. |
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| Hometown: | Gurdon | Gillett |
| Alma mater: | University of Arkansas–Fayetteville | University of Louisiana-Monroe |
| Major: | Chemical Engineering | Accounting |
| If you got the chance to re-do college, would you change your major? | No. | I changed my major DURING college, from Pharmacy to Accounting. |
| Favorite thing about college: | ”Football game weekends. The atmosphere around Razorback game day was incredible.” | ”I attended a university with an enrollment 10 times the population of my hometown, so the opportunity to meet so many people with different backgrounds from mine was one of my favorite things about the experience.” |
| What class do you wish you’d paid more attention to in high school? | Biology | I was a good student in high school (OK, a nerd) so I don’t remember not paying attention in class!” |
| What class do you wish you’d paid more attention to in college? | State & Local Government (given the career path I followed) | ”I had a Money & Banking class where I had a hard time understanding the professor, so I didn’t get much out of the course.” |
| One piece of advice you wish you’d been told/or listened to in high school? | Save money, and when you think you have enough, keep saving!” | Explore different courses to discover your true interests and talents. Money is fine, but it’s more important to have passion for what you are doing. |
| One piece of advice you wish you’d been told/or listened to in college? | Expand your network of friends, colleagues and mentors, and maintain those relationships. | Network as much as you can. |
