Prospective students learn Southwestern’s past, look to the future during Preview Day

Prospective students from around the globe met on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College (TBC) on Oct. 20 for fall Preview Day. The total number of attendees exceeded the previous fall Preview Day, including setting record numbers for TBC prospective students, said Chandler Snyder, vice president for enrollment and student services.

“We have prayed for you and have looked forward to this day,” President David S. Dockery told prospective students and their families. “We are trusting that the Spirit of God will guide you and lead you each step of the way.”

Dockery welcomed the crowd of prospective students after an opening worship time led by the Cowden Hall Band. He explained the history of Southwestern as well as the benefits of living in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

“For 115 years, God has used this place in influential, strategic ways to prepare men and women for service in His Kingdom,” Dockery said. “We have faculty ready to pour into your life and staff members who are ready to care for you – ready to help you live your calling knowing that you get to do that here in Fort Worth, Texas.”

Dockery also noted that Southwestern stands apart from other seminaries because of the number of students sent from the institution to serve other nations. Dockery added that 20 percent of the current student body comes from international settings to study at Southwestern.

Torri Ward, an admissions counselor in the Admissions Office at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, tours a group of prospective students around Seminary Hill during the Oct. 20 fall Preview Day. Admissions counselors, students, faculty, and staff were on hand to teach prospective students and their families about the degree offerings and programs offered at Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College, the seminary’s undergraduate college.

Snyder said that he was thrilled about the turnout for Preview Day.

“We are very excited because the number of Preview Day attendees this fall exceeds the number of attendees from Preview Day last fall,” Snyder said. “We’re particularly excited because TBC has the most recorded attendees that we’ve had in recent history. So, it’s great news.”

Many students traveled from around the country and the world to take part in Preview Day.

John and Wyatt Sullivan, from Richmond, Virginia, visited campus for the first time. Wyatt, a senior in high school, visited TBC and hopes to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in worship. “I want to be a worship pastor,” Wyatt said. “I think the degree program here works very well to prepare me for that.”

For Prem Kumarahas, a prospective Southwestern Seminary student from India, who now lives in Houston, the journey to arriving at Preview Day took a long road, but he is grateful for what happened. “I know that there is something that God has chosen me for, that He wants to use me for, and I hope He will open the door for admission here or whatever He wants me to do,” Kumarahas explained.

Alaina Travis, a prospective student who was raised in Argentina as the child of a missionary church planter, said she hopes to enroll in the accelerated program for TBC and Southwestern Seminary in the School of Church Music and Worship. Travis said she knows about the institution because of members of her church in the Denton, Texas, area who are part of a Hispanic fellowship.

Phuong Mai from Arlington, Texas, is a prospective TBC student who is looking for a way to “be surrounded by other Christians” and to “show people that God can truly change anyone.” He said that Jesus changed his life, and he wants to be a light to show people what the love of Christ can do.

Cody Cummings and Benjamin Fahl are current students at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas, and both intend on enrolling in Southwestern’s Master of Divinity program.

Fahl said that the main reason he is looking at Southwestern is that his brother, Jonathan, is a current student at the seminary. He also said that he has several professors who earned their Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at Southwestern.

Cummings said he enjoys the fact that many of his professors went to Southwestern and they talk highly of their time at the school. He also said that it was enjoyable to sit down at the dinner with Southwestern professors to “get to know them on a personal level” since this is what he is used to at his current school.

Throughout Preview Day prospective students shadowed current students, ate with professors, toured the campus, and heard from students and staff about opportunities that are offered for the Southwestern community. Attendees were also able to listen to a panel of current students during lunch together.

During the student panels, attendees were split into TBC and Southwestern prospective students to hear more about what each school has to offer. From the panel, current students shared why they chose the institution, the professors who have been influential during their time of study, and what students can expect from the community on campus.