RANGER RECONNECT: Ben and Regina Garvie ,’96
By Jana Garvie Lindley
We recently caught up with 1996 Northwestern graduates Ben and Regina Garvie when they were in Alva to attend Ranger Homecoming. The Garvies live in Tuttle, Okla., and have three children: Lenora, Bennett and Belinda.
Regina (Pace) Garvie obtained a Mass Communications degree and is a writer. She stays busy homeschooling her children, volunteering with the Tuttle community theater, serving as an office manager at the local dance studio and volunteering with children’s ministry at her church.
After she graduated from Northwestern, she worked at KATT, KYIS and KTNT radio in Oklahoma City. She served as the editor of the Tuttle Times for ten years and worked at the Minco Minstrel, Chickasha Star and Chickasha Express-Star.
Regina has received multiple awards from the Oklahoma Press Association for her newspaper, writing, photography, editorial, and design work. She has been published in Reader’s Digest and Oklahoma Today and has written numerous works.
Regina was employed at KALV, KNSU and the Division of Nursing at Northwestern during her college years.
She participated in Castle Players, Alpha Psi Omega, marching band, concert band, jazz band, choir and Soundsations show choir.
She wrote for the Northwestern News, had a segment on NWTV, and was a DJ at KNSU.
Additionally, she was a music secretary, music director, and station manager at KNSU. A unique program called “Moments in Northwestern History” was done during her senior year. It ran as part of the Ranger Review broadcast that played both on KNSU and on a station in Enid. That program went on to win first place at the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association awards.
Regina was recruited to attend Northwestern by Howdy White, where she obtained a full-ride scholarship. Later, when she was a student, Howdy told her he had never recruited in Tuttle since it was a small school far away. But he was in the area and decided to go to the Tuttle event that night since it wasn’t far out of his way.
Regina shared, “His choosing to go to Tuttle changed my life and helped make me who I am today. I am so grateful. I was the only student from Tuttle to go to Northwestern all four years I was there.”
Her favorite memory of Northwestern was enjoying KNSU (when KNSU and NWTV were the only things in Vinson Hall).
“I liked hanging out with my friends in that quiet, little musty corner of the college. I also greatly enjoyed sneaking into the storage areas of Vinson Hall and exploring.”
A favorite class was Children’s Theatre with instructor Cindy Spradling, where Regina directed her own children’s play. She enjoyed Phonetics with John Barton, Modern Western Civilization with Walter Johnson and Roger Hardaway’s history lectures. She especially enjoyed instructor Bob Martin, who started KNSU at Northwestern from scratch.
“And it was wonderful when Cheryl Evans came on to run the radio station my senior year. You could tell that Mr. Martin was so proud of his former student for becoming a college professor herself! He was proud of all of us. We all knew that,” shared Regina.
Northwestern was special to Regina because it was possible to participate in almost every activity.
“My first semester of college, I was on the air and writing newspaper articles,” she said.
Her former advisor, Terry Winn, helped her get hired at the Tuttle Times.
“A big college couldn’t get you that kind of individualized attention,” said Regina.
“Northwestern became home. I cannot imagine a time that I would ever visit the college now and not feel joy at being back at a place that was so welcoming, kind and perfect for me. My curiosity and enthusiasm were welcomed and nourished at Northwestern. My teachers were my friends, but they were also like parents who genuinely wanted to guide and raise me to my fullest potential.
“I met my husband Ben on the first day of class, August 19, 1992. We had both turned 18 earlier that month. He was in my third class of the day, Elementary Dramatics, in Fine Arts 200 with Dr. Linda Stewart. I thought he was cute. Two hours later, he appeared in the marching band, one row away from me on the trumpet. We married during spring break our sophomore year. It is unfathomable to think about how different my life would have been if I had not attended Northwestern. It was where I was supposed to be.”
Ben Garvie is the son of Pete, ’74, and Joyce, ’95, Garvie of Alva. He chose Northwestern because he grew up attending all Ranger football and basketball games with his parents and participated in Northwestern computer programming and speech competitions as a high school student. As a young child, he took a week-long summer class with Dr. Linda Stewart called “clown school,” where participants learned clown techniques like forming a character, applying makeup, juggling and performing slapstick comedy.
Ben said, “All these experiences growing up made this campus community a second home. Winning a full-ride scholarship sealed the deal.”
Ben was a Presidential Leadership Scholar and participated in Alpha Psi Omega, Castle Players Drama Club, Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, BSU and KNSU Ranger Radio. He was also a student assistant for the Computer Department.
He loved all his classes but shared, “There is a special place in my heart for band… the camaraderie there is unique. Playing in the band makes you feel part of something special. I return for Homecoming every year and re-experience that feeling with the Alumni Band.”
Ben felt the professors at Northwestern were genuinely impressive.
“Chinnarajan Shanmugamani (Mr. Mani to many) had the most influence on my future. His classes were foundational for my present-day career. He had excellent communication skills, could make complicated concepts easy to understand, had a great sense of humor and was very patient and kind. I worked as a student assistant for the department, so I spent much time in his office grading labs and tests. He was also my student advisor, kept me on track to graduate in four years and gave me good job advice. I will be forever grateful for his influence in my life.
“Dr. Linda Stewart was very special to me as well. She made you feel like you were part of the family. Hanging out with Doc was magical. We spent time backstage working on sets and at play rehearsals.
“Dr. Mike Knedler was just so cool. He was very witty and adored by all his students. He made band class a lot of fun.”
What makes Northwestern special to Ben?
“Familiarity, nostalgia, friends and small class sizes provide closer relationships with professors. Quality education at an affordable price makes higher education available to everyone. I love the old buildings on campus; it’s so beautiful… it will always feel like home.”