Beatrice “Bea” Goulden Paul
Beatrice “Bea” Goulden Paul was raised in Kay County, where her family had a cattle operation. She was active in 4-H and church activities and graduated from Newkirk High School. Her 4-H involvement served as a catalyst for her to attend Oklahoma State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in the Home Economics College (now the College of Human Sciences).
After graduating from college she became an Oklahoma Cooperative Extension agent before accepting a home economics teaching position at Chisholm High School, where she was also FCCLA adviser, 4-H leader and Honor Society sponsor. She taught there 15 years before joining Autry Technology Center to develop and implement the Displaced Homemaker Program. She considered it a blessing to help participants become productive employees as a result of completing their skill training programs.
Paul earned a master’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she also served as an adjunct instructor. She was very close to completing her doctorate in education.
In 1992, she became the job developer at Autry Technology Center. She took pride in making certain every student had a high-quality resume upon skill training completion, and she continued to help students over the years with updates and file copies. She believes job readiness skills are as important as skill training, and she imparted that message to students daily.
She received the OSU Distinguished Human Sciences Alumni Award, the AVA Region IV Vocational Home Economics Teacher Award, the Oklahoma Home Economics Teacher of the Year Award, the FHA Oklahoma Honorary Membership Award and the FFA Honorary Chapter Farmer Award. She was also named National ACTE Educator of the Year, ACTE Region IV Educator of the Year, Oklahoma ACTE Educator of the Year, Chamber of Commerce Ambassador of the Year and YWCA Woman of the Year and was a Frances Tuttle Career Excellence Award finalist.
After 43 years as an educator, Paul remains active in her church and community. She is chairwoman of the OSU Wesley Foundation Board, serves as an Enid Chamber of Commerce Ambassador, enjoys attending OSU sporting events and finds time for travel.
Her family includes Rhonda and her husband, Gary Ashburn, of the Washington, D.C., area; Kristi Clift of the Dallas area; and Troy Paul of Tulsa. She has four delightful grandchildren: Tori, a senior at Purdue University in biomedical engineering; Grant, a senior at OSU in finance and accounting; Taylor, a sophomore in general studies at OSU; and Hadley Mae, a junior at Oklahoma Bible Academy. Bea’s sister and brother-in-law, Arlene and Lonnie Sellers, live in Florida.
Paul was inducted into the CareerTech Hall of Fame in 2015.
