02/15/08

Laughter and talking filled Mabee Hall Saturday.

Sitting in circles, prospective students of Baker University worked on posters for their group activity presentations.

Ninety-one students visited Baker for the first scholarship day of the semester, the second of the academic year.

It all started at 8:30 a.m. Families were able to eat breakfast while talking with Baker University Admissions Assistants, and many families said they arrived early to campus in order to get their bearings.

“I just wanted to see the campus,” Erin Rarig, a high school senior from Minneapolis, Kan., said. “We had to get up really early. It was a 3-hour drive.”

The students were drawn to Baker for many different reasons.

“I like the nursing program,” Rarig said. “I’ve thought about dance, but I haven’t heard a lot about it.”

From the cafeteria, everyone was directed to Rice Auditorium where Louise Cummings-Simmons, vice president of enrollment management, welcomed the students and families to Baker. After an introduction to Baker by University President Pat Long, Director of Admissions Daniel McKinney directed the students toward their UAAs who guided them to the interviews and essays portion of the day.

The group led by UAA Clayton Alexander was one of the smaller groups for the day with only four students. The group’s first activity was the essay; some students were nervous and others weren’t.

“It went really well,” Tyler Keal, a high school senior from Parsons said. “I was really well-prepared.”

Some students in the group enjoyed writing the essay.

“I chose (to write about) the Internet and the effects it’s had on people,” Betsy Siess, from Shawnee Heights High School, said. “I was really happy that we didn’t have to write about ourselves.”

Once everyone was finished writing their essays the group headed over to Parmenter Hall to wait for their faculty interviews. Many students felt nervous as they waited for their turn to be interviewed.

“So far everything has been really good,” Seiss said. “I’m a little nervous I think because we’re all here for scholarship money.”

Some students were nervous because of the professors who were interviewing them.

“I’m with (Professor of Art) Inge Balch, and I used to be really, really shy,” Seiss said. “That’s always the most awkward (experience).”

After coming out of the interview, the students’ nerves were subsiding for the day.

“It was all a little easier than I thought it would be,” Keal said. “I was really nervous when I started doing things, but I calmed down.”

After the interviews, the group members headed over to Mabee 100 where they were divided up into five groups to work on the activity. As the session began to close, the four other groups from Mabee 400 came down and joined the other students. Each group then had representatives present their ideas to the rest of the groups.