Like everything else this semester, Inside Perkins has gone online – with an excellent response.
Normally, Inside Perkins is the daylong program that brings prospective students to campus to attend classes and meet with faculty, staff and students. Since late March, however, three Inside Perkins events have been held via Zoom. Nine students attended on March 26; 12 attended on April 16; and a third meeting took place on April 30.
“I’ve talked to my counterparts at seminaries across the country, and no others have been able to get this kind of traction for Zoom sessions,” said Margot Perez-Greene, Associate Dean of Enrollment Management. “We’ve been extremely pleased with the response.”
A bonus: the online format made Inside Perkins more accessible to prospective students outside of the United States. The April 16 session included attendees from Zimbabwe, Angola and Mexico, as well as Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
The events have been formatted to give students many of the same experiences they’d get with a campus visit. Following a welcome and introductions, attendees listened to Perkins students who shared about their experience with the academic program and community life. Another student talked about the Baptist House of Studies. Dean Craig Hill then presented a 30-minute presentation on “Your Vocation in a Time of Uncertainty.” Finally, students heard talks from Perkins staff on financial aid opportunities and the Perkins Financial Literacy program funded by the Lilly Foundation.
“I’m so grateful that we were able to provide this delivery format to engage prospective students and to provide a new venue for them to ‘visit’ Perkins virtually, to meet staff and hear from students,” said Perez-Greene.
The next virtual Inside Perkins event takes place on May 7 and will focus on the Houston-Galveston Extension program. To register, click here.