UPIKE Newsroom

The University of Pikeville’s Coleman College of Business (CCOB) and Patton College of Education (PCOE) have partnered to bring creativity and collaboration to life through a unique project that blends storytelling, education and entrepreneurship.

The project centers around Ollie the Courageous Octopus, a comforting and brave character designed by the business school to symbolize protection and care. Paired with PCOE’s long-standing children’s book assignment, the joint venture invited students to create original stories featuring Ollie, with the winning entry to be published and distributed to local schools.

After a campus-wide contest, Carly Sparks, a junior elementary education major, was named the winning author for her rhyming story, Ollie the Octopus and the Frightened Frizzle. Sparks illustrated the book herself, capturing Ollie’s mission of helping children overcome nighttime fears. 

To extend the impact, Pike County and Pikeville Independent Elementary Schools have partnered with the university to welcome Sparks into second-grade classrooms, where she will read her story. To make the experience even more engaging, CCOB has commissioned an Ollie mascot costume to accompany Sparks on her visits.

In addition, PCOE is creating a reading guide aligned with Kentucky Academic Standards in reading, science, social studies and math. This resource will allow teachers to integrate the story into their lessons in meaningful and creative ways.

At the beginning of the school tour project, Sparks will be honored at a special recognition event where she will receive a published copy of her book, along with a stuffed Ollie created by Amanda Osborne, a second-grade teacher at Betsy Layne Elementary. Most importantly, her work will be shared with children throughout Pike County and Pikeville Independent Schools, offering them a memorable story and the reassurance of Ollie the Courageous Octopus.