Last Saturday marked IWU’s annual Admitted Students Day and all the chaos that comes with a campus-wide event.
Roger Alcock, who has been helping with these events for thirty years, said that the hardest part of pulling off the event is the amount of moving parts. IWU faculty across multiple offices have been working for months to pull off the day-long itinerary for nearly a thousand people, some of whom signed up just the day before.
Despite the stress, student worker Allie praised the administration for its focus on coordination and community.
“We have a really good team – our Ambassadors are basically like family.”
Allie said the work culture is special since they make a point of meeting monthly, praying for each other, and supporting each other through the stress of events like Admitted Students Day.
While IWU holds dozens of general visit days in a school year, Admitted Students Day is the Super Bowl of visit days.
Alcock said the purpose of this massive event is identity formation. Nowadays, it is “harder for students to feel like they belong.” Admitted Students Day should help visitors start thinking, “I’m an IWU student.”
Alcock also said there is a beauty of choosing to focus on Christ before anything else. Directly after morning registration, students and parents gather in the chapel for a special worship service before going on to the next activities.
“First thing we’re gonna do is focus on Christ,” Alcock said. “[it] sets the tone for the next four years.”
Faith-based community was also at the forefront for admitted students.
Claire Jones, a future elementary education major, said the “tight community” and “faith orientation” were two of the main reasons IWU appealed to her.
Another student, looking to enter the women’s volleyball program, said that she was “looking for a Christian community.”
Parents were also drawn to the strong faith tradition.
One mother said she hoped IWU would provide a “foundation of faith” on which her daughter could grow.
Another said the “biblical worldview” was a compelling part of campus life.
Students also said the layout and landscaping as strong selling points for the campus.
Another common thread was the draw of dorm life, with several students saying that they hoped to meet “like-minded friends” and one girl said that she was excited to see what a future could look like here.
Alcock said since the struggles of the COVID years, visit days have looked very different. It has become more of a struggle to get students to attend, and there is more competition for students’ time.
Thanks to the tireless work of IWU faculty, however, this event has had a huge turnout.
“I hope that they have fun and are excited to come to school here,” Amanda Knauer, who was responsible for overseeing the event, said.
