When Tom Steves received his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1961, he looked around to see where the next chapter of his life would take him. Little did he know that his decision to enroll in night classes at what would become UALR would spark an association that would mark not only his life, but the lives of his wife and children.

That decision to take night classes started Steves off on a 40-year banking and marketing career. By 1970 when he received his degree in advertising and marketing from UALR, he had worked his way up from the mailroom to senior vice president at First National Bank – now Bank of America.

“I’m just glad UALR was there,” Steves said. “I probably wouldn’t have gone to college otherwise. It offered a night-time venue, and it was affordable.”

In the early 1980s, he joined the advertising business first as vice president and director of client services for Mangan Rains Ginnaven Holcomb and then as chief operating officer for Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods in 1989. Ten years later Steves established a consulting firm before going to Thoma Thoma Creative as senior vice president in 2001.

An invitation from former UALR classmate Bob Birch to join the new Twin City Bank persuaded him to return to banking the following year. He served as executive vice president and director of marketing before transitioning to director of public relations this year.

While Steves built his career in two fields, his wife, Robin Helton Steves, earned a UALR degree in graphic design, operating Studio B.

Their son, Tom Steves Jr. followed his father’s footsteps at UALR’s College of Business at night, obtaining degrees in finance and accounting. Tom Jr. is a marketer for TransAmerica Financial in Little Rock.

The Steves’ daughter, Hope, is a public school teacher pursuing a master’s degree in education at UALR.

Throughout his career, Steves, a UALR Alumni Association board member, served the community actively by participating in numerous civic initiatives, including membership on the University District Partnership Steering Committee working to develop the neighborhood surrounding the UALR campus.

“I think that Dr. Anderson and the Board of Visitors have such a great vision for our school; they need our support so UALR can be a catalyst of revitalization in the University District area,” he said. “I get fired up thinking about it.”

His advice for college students today is to “work hard, pay attention and give back to your community. The velocity of change is so great, you can’t let up or you will be left behind.”