Academy Students Visit for University Days

Visiting academy students visited the green screen at KGSW Channel 31 during their scavenger hunt on Friday afternoon.

Old faces met new as academy seniors visited Southwestern Adventist University for “University Days” Oct. 20-24. It was a time for academy students to discover what life is like as a student at Southwestern.

Visiting seniors had the opportunity to stay in a dorm room, eat meals at the café, attend college classes, including choir or gymnastics, worship God at vespers and church, listen to a student recital, hear the wind symphony and university singers perform and play games at a student association social event.

The visitors received celebrity treatment as their bus rolled into the library parking lot.  Southwestern students cheered for the arriving schools, and were armed with a poster for each school.  The Southwestern students helped unload luggage, then directed the academy seniors to a red carpet outside of the library, where the seniors could register.

Once the academy seniors had settled in and eaten supper, a “University Days” orientation was presented.  Visitors were then sent to the gymnasium where they could pick up their “passports.”  A department fair had been set up to display the different options Southwestern has to offer.  Students were given paper passports that each department had to stamp as a student visited their booth. Those who completed their entire passport were entered into a drawing for various prizes.

Following departmental fair, the music department presented a student recital, which featured a wide variety of music.  Many different instruments, along with voice, were showcased.  Opera music, spiritual music, love songs, jazz, and a combination of several varieties filled the night.

The next day, students were broken into groups according to their interests. Lead by Southwestern students, and taught by staff in each department, the visiting seniors got to learn about different opportunities for learning and hands on experience.

They were also presented a financial aid seminar.  The seminar taught the visitors about FAFSA, working on campus, and various types of scholarships available.

After a short break, in which academy students had the option to attend choir or gymnastics, a scavenger hunt tour took place.  Students had to take a picture with their entire group at each location.  Pictures were judged on creativity, having the correct location, having the whole team in the picture, and extra points were given for each Southwestern student in the picture.   The winners of the scavenger hunt received scholarships for Southwestern.

Friday night and Saturday afternoon were spent in two very different forms of worship.  Held at the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church, vespers featured the Southwestern Wind Symphony and Southwestern Singers.   Saturday afternoon was spent in a worshipful music café.  Visiting students, along with Southwestern students, had the chance to perform their favorite praise and worship songs in special music.

The last night before the seniors left, student association took the University Experience guests, along with Southwestern students, to Main Event.  It was a fun filled way to end a busy week.

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