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North Park Reaching Out to Potential Students
CHICAGO, IL (June 11, 2003) - In an effort to introduce more young people to
the educational opportunities available at North Park University in
Chicago, two part-time admissions representatives have been positioned
in California and Minnesota to work primarily with graduating high
school seniors and college transfer candidates.
The two women connect with prospective North Park students by attending
college fairs and numerous events sponsored by the Evangelical Covenant
Church and its conferences, as well as visiting high school campuses and
local Covenant churches in the two regions.
"I hope to talk with students and counselors about the benefits of a
North Park education," says Tami Treder, the North Park admissions
representative for Minnesota (top photo). "Many counselors tend to
recommend Minnesota schools to their students first," she observed.
"Unless we go to them with our information, they don't know about us.
School counselors help guide and direct kids to certain schools - having
them know about North Park is a huge benefit."
For Karah Brown in California (lower photo), the geographical distance
from the North Park campus in Chicago and an unfamiliarity on the part
of many with what the school offers present a significant challenge.
Another challenge is overcoming the concerns of some over sending their
child to a diverse big-city urban environment.
"There is a strong Christian influence on campus," Brown said in
reference to campus ministries and small group activities. "I got very
involved with on-campus ministries - it was the time in my life that I
was formulating my values," she said. Brown also finds great value in
the diversity represented on campus - what she calls preparing students
for real life.
"North Park allows non-Christians and other religions, and some more
conservative churches are not as comfortable with that," she explained.
"They do not force you into anything; rather, on-campus people come
alongside students to nurture them and to encourage them to make good
choices of their own volition. You need to make good decisions on your
own. No one holds your hand, though many more conservative schools do.
That's not real life."
And what about the young people who fear being so far away from home?
Brown emphasizes the importance of a small Christian university where no
one is a number - each is valued and nurtured along the way. "North Park
is a Christian university that has a Christian community on campus,
located in a city that offers the world - no school in California offers
exactly that."
Both representatives are aware of the keen competition for students
these days - there are more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the
United States alone, Treder notes. "Because of the number of excellent
private schools in Minnesota, it has been a challenge to compete with
them," Treder noted. "However, North Park is unlike any other school I
have come across and it is fun to share this with others."
The many youth pastors in local Covenant churches are a key audience.
"There are a number of youth pastors who did not attend North Park
University," Treder observes. "It is especially good to meet with them
and their youth groups and to talk about North Park and give them an
idea of what we're all about. Her primary targets are high school
juniors and seniors. "I hope through phone calls, visits to their high
schools and their churches we can give them all the information they
need about North Park to make a well-informed decision about their
college choice. If we inform guidance counselors and youth pastors about
North Park along the way, that is all the better."
Both representatives invite telephone calls and email requests for
information or to extend invitations for them to visit churches and
schools. Brown can be reached by telephone at 888-252-0099 or by email
at kbrown@northpark.edu. Treder can be reached by telephone at
888-216-2385 or by email at ttreder@northpark.edu. Another valuable tool
for prospective students is the North Park University website at
www.northpark.edu.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
