On Tuesday, Feb. 26, a group of students interested in graduate education took a trip to the Harding School of Theology (HST) in Memphis, Tenn.
In general, the students described a positive experience at HST. They were all visiting for slightly different reasons, but all seemed to generally enjoy their time there.
“I absolutely would encourage students to visit the school of theology, to visit the campus and meet with the professors and the admissions counselors; they’re very helpful and I got the feeling that they really wanted you to be there,” senior Zach Decker said.
Freshmen Lauren Webb was among the visiting students as well, and said her experience was also positive although not what she expected. She first thought the atmosphere of the campus would be more social, but found there to be a small community at HST. She also described the campus to be of an older style and somewhat Victorian.
“Something I would have to get used to is that there’s not people everywhere,” Webb said.
As the visiting students arrived, they spent some time getting to know the local students and professors who were able to join them. For 30 minutes they all just talked and got to know each other. After the conversation time, HST facilitated a series of activities.
Students visited the library, classrooms, chapel auditorium, teacher’s offices, dean’s office and on-campus housing. The visiting students said they felt that they received a warm reception from the professors and students who led the tour.
After the tour, the visiting students were led to the hospitality room where a meal was served.
“We came by the hospitality room and we had a dinner, hosted by HST, free of charge, and it wasn’t caf food,” senior Addison Keele said.
During the meal, the visiting students were placed at specific tables. When signing up for the trip they were required to indicate specifically what area they wished to study if they were considering attending HST. During the meal, they were seated at a table with a professor who specialized in the student’s specific area of interest. The professors were able to answer any questions the students had about their specific field of interest.
The students who visited said they benefited overall from the trip. They felt that they were given some valuable information about HST to help them in their considerations, and that they were prepared as well as anyone could be for the upcoming prospect of attending graduate school.
“Yes, they did a great job and they did everything they could, but you really never know how it’s actually going to feel or be in grad school until you actually do it,” Keele said.
