Pea Ridge native Jarez Howell was not always certain about what he wanted to do with his life and was not initially keen on pursuing higher education.

He says that after graduating from Creswell High School in 2009, he remained home for a year before moving to Newport, Virginia, where he would eventually meet his wife Letreze. However, he eventually moved back to his familiar North Carolina.

Eventually, he got a job with Mediacom and worked for a year to support himself. However, throughout this time, he still yearned to do something more with his life.

“After a year I just got tired of it,” Howell recounts. “I was just tired of living that way. I was making $9 an hour, I was married, I had kids, I had child support, and I was like, I just can’t do this, I can’t live the way I need to.”

It was at this point that Howell decided to make another big leap forward in his life and relocate to the state capital for more opportunities...

For full story, check out this week’s paper.