Junior Cole Heykoop, who transferred to UCA from Arkansas Tech University, is majoring in finance and serves as an active member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Student Mobilization ministry, all while striving for success.
Heykoop attended Arkansas Tech University after graduating from Vilonia High School and transferred to UCA after his freshman year.
“I thought that UCA offered better educational opportunities, and I wasn’t really happy with the challenge of the classes at Tech. It wasn’t really hard, and I wasn’t really getting much from it,” Heykoop said.
He said he decided to study finance because he is good with numbers and enjoys taking business classes.
Heykoop said Kappa Sigma’s networking opportunities and philanthropy are what led him to join the fraternity.
“I wanted to surround myself with people who had the same goal of being successful, but going about it different ways with different majors,” Heykoop said. “Another reason why I joined is the philanthropy: the Military Heroes
Campaign. My dad served in the Air Force for 21 years, and he’s a disabled vet, so it goes right along with something that is personal.”
Heykoop said he joined Student Mobilization, a campus ministry typically geared toward Greek students, because he got along with the members so well.
Heykoop said he has always been involved in church.
Heykoop said he thinks his defining moments in college have been how he has responded to the challenges and
responsibilities he has taken on.
“I put a lot on my plate, as far as doing stuff in college, and that includes work … it’s hard to divide that over 24 hours a day and make time to like eat and stuff,” Heykoop said.
Heykoop works with children at the Brain Balance Center of Little Rock.
He said putting more on his plate than people think he can handle motivates him.
“People from Vilonia aren’t successful,” Heykoop said. “And people who put a lot on their plate usually end up giving up on some stuff. So some people not believing in me makes me want to prove them wrong.”
Heykoop said his mom is one of his biggest inspirations because she has successfully maintained her own
embroidery clothing line while also battling breast cancer.
“The stuff that I’m dealing with is nothing compared to breast cancer,” Heykoop said.
Heykoop enjoys taking photos of the outdoors in the free time he has.
“I’ve always liked taking pictures since as far back as I can remember,” Heykoop said, “but I really liked it when I saw other people use a camera to create art … because I can’t draw at all, but I just kind of have the skill and the eye for it, is what people would say, and so it was really cool to recreate some of the images I’ve seen professionals do.”
Heykoop said his two main goals are to be successful enough to “pay his parents bills and to win souls over to the kingdom of God.”
He said he plans to “win souls” by constantly working on his relationship with God, sharing the love and grace he has received with other people and trying to be a servant to others.
After college Heykoop said he plans to move to St. Louis to pursue Edward Jones’ nine-month financial advising program before ultimately starting his own financial advising office in Franklin, Tennessee.
Photo by Cassidy Kendall.
