Arts and Sciences | Lion VoicesMay 06, 2025

Road to Ph.D.: Kaleb McLaughlin’s Risk and Resolve

Written By: Ian Silvester

College was always part of Kaleb McLaughlin’s plan, but the self-discovery that course of his life would bring was something he wouldn’t have imagined.

Kaleb’s undergraduate journey will come to a close on May 10, but it will only be the end of one chapter in his academic journey. He will walk across the stage at the Stubblefield Center that day to accept a bachelor’s degree in geoscience with a minor in geographic information systems and history. He’ll pack his bags soon after to move to Gainesville, Fla., where he will begin a master’s to Ph.D. program at the University of Florida.

Kaleb, a 2018 graduate of Southside High School, started at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith with aspirations to be the first in his family to graduate from a traditional four-year college. He planned to become a history teacher.

School was easy for him at Southside, and he felt he didn’t need to work very hard to get his degree from UAFS.

“I was a C student, kind of just doing it,” he said. “C’s get degrees, that’s what they say, right?”

After Kaleb’s first year at UAFS, his mom returned to her home state of Ohio. Kaleb followed her after the spring 2019 semester and planned to take a year off to establish residency. Kaleb was nearing the required time for residency to be established, just as the world was thrown into the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While he lost his job due to the pandemic, there was a silver lining on his horizon.

Kaleb had planned to start a college program at a school in Ohio, but wasn’t certain that was the move he wanted to make. Then, a phone call changed everything.

“My friends [from UAFS] were like, ‘Hey, we are moving into a house. Do you want to you move back?’ So, it kind of just worked out,” he said.

He returned to Fort Smith, found a job, and re-enrolled in online classes at UAFS in the fall of 2020. Four semesters later, a general education requirement in physical geology would change his path again.

“I’m still surprised I [changed majors], honestly,” he laughed. “But you know, what’s another semester and a couple thousand [dollars] like relative to life? I took the risk, and it was literally the best decision I could have made.”

Kaleb found a rejuvenated energy for school with the change. He turned his Cs into As and Bs, and met the girl he plans to marry. The change also meant finding the exciting new path he embarks upon next. He gives all the credit for that to Dr. Maurice “Moe” Testa, associate professor of geoscience.

“It was the first time I talked with somebody who really got it,” Kaleb explained. “Without Moe’s guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

Kaleb’s rejuvenated energy and newfound focus opened many doors, including options to attend Kansas State University or Clemson University. But he chose the University of Florida, where he’ll pursue his Ph.D. in geosciences with an emphasis on caves and karsts.

He recounted the interview process with each graduate program, but highlighted the experience with Florida that sealed the deal.

Kaleb first met with Dr. Oana-Alexandra Dumitru, an assistant professor of geological sciences at the University of Florida, over Zoom. During his later on-campus visit, she told him that he was the first candidate interviewed for his cohort and that she really hoped he would attend their program.

It was the affirmation he needed to know that Florida would be the best fit to continue his education.

He believes that his time at UAFS and the opportunities it has provided, like research projects with Testa, trips to evaluate data in the field, and presenting his findings at conferences, are what will benefit him most when his next chapter begins.

For Kaleb, the journey was worth being patient.

“Wouldn’t you want to take a risk if it turns out to be worth something?” he encouraged.

• Tags:
• Geosciences
• Graduating Seniors