For the second year in a row, more than 500 students from the Catholic Diocese of Wichita visited Newman University. Students were on campus both Feb. 19 and March 11.
Last year, the Diocese reached out to the Newman University admissions team to schedule a visit for its eighth-grade students. With their goal of introducing students to a college atmosphere, Newman’s Catholic heritage made it the perfect choice.
Students were presented with a college-readiness curriculum and lots of fun. The goal of the admissions team was to educate the students about the affordability of private education.
Upon arrival, students were served lunch and entertained by the cheer and dance team who brought free T-shirts. The admissions team talked about Newman University to the entire group before splitting them into three smaller groups. Each group was given a tour of campus, played Newman and college trivia and had a paper “Jet” contest.
Director of Admissions Cammie Kennedy was excited to have the opportunity to host the students on campus.
“Community involvement provides a sense of belonging and social connectedness,” she said. “When our Catholic eighth-graders and their chaperones come to our campus, not only can we show them that a Catholic college education will offer them extra meaning and purpose to their everyday life and studies, but also that Newman will offer them those student life activities that can help them increase their sense of belonging while developing their whole person.”
Kennedy mentioned that her favorite part of the day was visibly seeing those light bulb moments. “During our interactions at any given time, there are often moments where you can visibly see the light bulbs going on. In these moments, we know that we have had a meaningful impact,” she said.
Newman University also played host to the Diocesan Vocations Rally for sixth-graders on Feb. 28.
