Cole Jester and Colton Sims Named 2018 Garrett Ham Scholars

Ouachita Baptist University named Colton Sims and Cole Jester the 2018 Garrett Ham Scholars. Both have since gone on to distinguished careers—a testament to the kind of students the Pruet School of Christian Studies produces.

Update (2026): Since this post was originally published, Cole Jester has been appointed the 35th Secretary of State of Arkansas by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Colton Sims went on to serve as a chaplain at the Mayo Clinic.

The 2018 Garrett Ham Scholars

The Carl Goodson Honors Program named both Colton Sims and Cole Jester as the 2018 Garrett Ham Scholars.

Usually, one student receives the scholarship each year. In 2018, both Colton Sims and Cole Jester were so deserving that the Honors Council awarded the scholarship to both, splitting the funds between them.

Colton Sims

Colton Sims was a senior Christian studies, philosophy, and biblical languages triple major from Fort Smith, Arkansas. He planned to use the scholarship to travel to Israel with the Pruet School of Christian Studies, retracing the biblical landscape that forms the foundation of serious scriptural scholarship. His honors thesis, “Does God Change His Mind? An Old Testament View,” explored the open theism debate from the perspective of the Hebrew Bible.

I used my own Ben Elrod Scholarship to help fund the same biblical studies trip during my time at Ouachita and found it extraordinarily enriching. I was glad to see Colton putting the Garrett Ham Scholarship to equally good use.

Cole Jester

Cole Jester was a junior Christian studies and political science double major from Benton, Arkansas. He used the funds to conduct research at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

All recipients of the Garrett Ham Scholarship must be Christian studies or biblical languages majors. It is uncommon for a student with a major outside the Pruet School to receive the award. Cole Jester was the first such student since Anthony Emerson, a Christian studies and history double major, who won in 2012.

Cole Jester succeeded Taylor Bascue, the 2017 Garrett Ham Scholar. He went on to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of The Journal of Law and Politics. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Lavenski Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, served as Deputy Chief Legal Counsel for Governor Sanders, and was ultimately appointed Secretary of State of Arkansas—at 29, the youngest ever to hold the office.

About the Garrett Ham Scholarship

The Garrett Ham Scholarship

Amount: $1,500/year · Eligibility: Christian Studies or Biblical Languages majors in the Carl Goodson Honors Program · Awarded by: Ouachita’s Honors Council with approval of the Dean, Pruet School of Christian Studies · Apply here

Ouachita Baptist University has been awarding the Garrett Ham Scholarship since 2008. I used my salary from my summer associate position at Husch Blackwell to establish the scholarship between my 1L and 2L year in law school. I funded it annually until I was able to endow the scholarship permanently, making it a lasting fixture at Ouachita.

I established the scholarship in response to my experience during my senior year. When I went through the honors program, participation among Christian Studies majors was severely lacking—I was the only theology student to write a senior thesis in 2007. I found this disappointing, particularly at a school that prides itself on the academic study of Scripture.

Good theology depends on sound scholarship. As I have come to appreciate even more deeply through my own journey into the Catholic Church—where the tradition of fides quaerens intellectum (faith seeking understanding) stretches from Augustine of Hippo through Anselm of Canterbury, who coined the phrase, to Aquinas and Newman—academic rigor is not a threat to faith but its natural companion. A pastor or minister without a developed theology built upon a robust scriptural and intellectual foundation risks offering little more than spiritual platitudes.

I wrote my own senior thesis on the open theism debate and found the experience transformative. I hope the Garrett Ham Scholarship gives students like Colton Sims and Cole Jester the same opportunity to pursue serious research.

Past Garrett Ham Scholars

The scholarship has produced an impressive roster of graduates. Chris Redmon, the 2013 Garrett Ham Scholar, went on to Duke Divinity School and the Ph.D. program in New Testament at Duke—one of the most competitive in the world. Philip Williamson (like Cole Jester) graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, one of the top law schools in the country.

Colton Sims and Cole Jester joined this tradition alongside Mattie Dodson, the 2019 scholar who conducted research in Italy, and Sara Patterson, the 2020 scholar. Each has used the funds to pursue research that strengthened both their scholarship and their faith.

The Carl Goodson Honors Program

I found participation in the Carl Goodson Honors Program to be one of the most enriching experiences of my undergraduate education. Beyond the inevitable boost it provides to your academic transcript and graduate school applications, it builds a foundation for serious future scholarship. I credit my involvement in the program with much of my success in law school and at Yale Divinity School.

The program has only improved since my time. Under the leadership of Dr. Barbara Pemberton, students now benefit from honors trips abroad, priority registration, and an honors lounge—advantages that were not available when I was a student. I am glad students like Colton Sims and Cole Jester had the opportunity to study under her direction.

Ouachita taught me how to explore ideas, engage with opposing positions, and build a faith that could withstand the pressures of the wider world. That intellectual formation proved invaluable during my years serving in the military and practicing law. It also, ultimately, set me on the path to the Catholic Church—an outcome that Ouachita’s commitment to honest inquiry made possible, even if unintended.

I am proud to count Colton Sims and Cole Jester among the Garrett Ham Scholars, and I look forward to seeing where their callings continue to lead. If you are a Christian Studies or Biblical Languages major at Ouachita considering the Honors Program, I would encourage you to apply for the scholarship—and to take the thesis experience seriously. It may shape the rest of your life.

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See Also

• Taylor Bascue—2017 Garrett Ham Scholar
• Libby Hilliard—2016 Garrett Ham Scholar
• Mattie Dodson—2019 Garrett Ham Scholar
• Sara Patterson—2020 Garrett Ham Scholar