on campus
On Campus Students remember 9/11 with ‘walking memorial’ The Vanguard Veterans Resource Center helped the campus community commemorate the tenth year since the September 11 attacks with a “walking memorial.” Photographs depicting the sequence of events that morning were posted along the pathway leading to the Heath building. Three hundred flags flapped in the wind, symbolizing the approximately 3,000 people killed in the attack. “Our freshman students were just eight or nine years old when September 11 happened,” says Brent Theobald ’10, a Marine corps veteran and director of veteran affairs. “Events like this help them to
New student enrollment at a record high Vanguard’s new undergraduate enrollment
helped more potential students experience the
surged to its highest level ever, due to strong
campus community at Vanguard.
recruiting and Vanguard’s continuing academic strength and unique mentoring community.
people in the aftermath of the Twin Towers’ collapse. The last was an artistic rendering of the words, “We Nearby was a wall of remembrance where people
the faculty truly know their students and
increase over last year and a 50% increase
are helping them with their journey. Faculty
over fall 2009.
care about students beyond the classroom and coach them so they are empowered to serve and lead in the name of Christ and his kingdom. Potential students respond to that.”
to Vanguard’s academic offerings and close-
The admissions team has hosted many more
knit community which goes beyond what
on-campus events for potential students,
other institutions provide.”
allowing families to check out Vanguard on a
The SPS program is also experiencing a
pre-9/11 skyline of Manhattan, another a scene of
here,” she says. “The more you immerse
undergraduate students this fall, a 12%
management. “Students continue to be drawn
by a Vanguard faculty and alums. One showed the
will never forget.”
yourself into campus culture you see that
Johnson, interim vice president for enrollment
Inside the Heath rotunda were original paintings
“It’s really amazing, the sense of community
The campus welcomed 581 new
“It’s a huge increase in one year,” says Kim
remember and understand what happened that day.”
schedule that is convenient for them.
placed candles, flowers and written notes. Upstairs the memorial continued with video footage from that day, including footage of a Vanguard team which traveled to New York in December 2001. “It was very moving,” says Theobald. “Many people talked about the visual of the video. People walked through the memorial and took time to reflect.” A member of the Bush administration spoke in chapel about being in Washington, D.C., when the Pentagon was struck. “He was in the middle of a meeting, then went outside
surge due to national trends in workers
“Many more potential students are visiting
finishing their degrees, and to organizational
campus than ever before,” says Johnson.
changes and strategic growth within SPS.
“We’ve created pathways for them to
The event helped students to celebrate the heroes
The program went from 311 students in
come. Once we get students on campus
and to remember this important date in our country’s
2009 to more than 450 today.
and interacting with our current students and
history. Vanguard’s Veterans Resource Center offers
faculty, they want to be part of it.”
services and support for veterans, including career
Johnson says changes in recruiting have
to see the city looking like a war zone,” says Theobald.
counseling, academic support and assistance in finding veterans benefits.
2 vanguard magazine Fall/Winter 2011