A Sneak Peek...

There are many special days at Shepherds College – Opening weekend, the first day of classes, Special Olympic tournaments, baccalaureate, the graduation celebration, commencement - but I have a personal favorite. I absolutely love Preview Days.

Most Preview Days, I have a designated spot I wouldn’t trade for the world – the front desk in the lobby. 

From the desk, I have a perfect view of our prospective students and their parents as they’re opening the doors to Shepherds College, many for the first time.  I see faces filled with excitement and uncertainty, caution and exuberance, fear and curiosity, and always - at least a little bit of hope.

Then years later, I watch these scared, tentative, hopeful young people walk across the stage to get their certificate of completion. Only they’re not scared and tentative anymore. They’re confident, poised, hopeful people who can’t wait to take their first step into the world as appropriately independent adults.

And it all started with Preview Day.

Since we have the next Preview Day coming up soon on October 12^th, I want to tell you about the experience, and hopefully convince you to join us!

You’ll start the day in the Findley Center, the big building at the front of the campus. As soon as you enter, you’ll be greeted, given a name tag, some documents to reference throughout the day, and a bunch of free stuff like a bag, a pen and a Shepherds College t-shirt. Since registration begins at 8:00 AM and the preview starts at 9:00 AM, there is plenty of time to linger in the lobby, watch the video of our current students, and eat kringle – a Racine favorite and the star of our continental breakfast. The earlier you arrive, the more kringle you’re guaranteed to get and the more time you’ll have to chat with the other parents and prospective students.

At 9:00 AM, the preview begins with Welcome to Shepherds College. At this time, you’ll see our promotional video and hear Chris Wright, our Director of Admissions, and Tracy Terrill, the Executive Director of Shepherds College, give an overview of our unique program.

At 10:00 AM, you’ll be introduced to Angela Houk, the Dean of Shepherds College and Leslie Leith, the Horticulture Instructor. Leslie brings several of her students with her to give a presentation of what they’ve learned and what they’ve done throughout the year.  This is when you’ll get a real glimpse of just how powerfully our post-secondary program can change a life. These students stand in front of your group and speak with such assurance and knowledge that you would have no qualms about hiring them to do your landscaping right at that moment. It’s quite the difference from when they walked in the doors for their Preview Day…

Then it’s time to get some exercise! At 11:00 AM, Chris will take you on a tour of campus. You’ll visit the classrooms, the lunchroom, the gym and the different housing arrangements for the students. You’ll meet teachers and other staff along the way.

Now, unless you ate an entire kringle by yourself – which could very well happen since they’re so good – you’ll probably be getting hungry by this time. At noon, Chef McCarthy and his Culinary Arts students serve lunch in the Wood Center. In the past, they’ve made chicken salad, pumpkin bisque, pasta dishes, chef’s salad and a variety of desserts. 

While you’re eating, take a look at the centerpieces. They were made by the Horticulture students just for your visit.  

After the meal, the Culinary Arts students will give you a presentation of what they’ve learned and accomplished throughout the year.

The next part of the visit sometimes causes a little bit of anxiety in the prospective students, but they always return excited and ready to start school. At 1:10 PM, we ask the students to separate from their parents to hang out with the first year students. The students participate in group activities, goof around in the gym, play games and spend time getting to know each other. If the prospective student is interested in attending college the following fall, we may invite them to sit down with an Academic Advisor for a few minutes to start building their relationship.

At this time, the parents go back to the Findley Center for a Q&A session with Chris Wright about the admissions process. The nurses join him to discuss medical issues, and we finish the Q&A after a session on financial aid. Some of the questions covered in the past have included:

How are medical needs addressed?
What do we need to submit from the doctor?
How is student housing staffed?
How do families pay for school?
What documentation do we need to submit to apply?
How do we schedule an overnight visit for our son/daughter?
Does it matter if the student enrolls after their senior year or after their transition program?

At this point, it’s time to say goodbye for the day. We hope we gave you a lot to talk about on your trip home!

Whether you’re a student, a parent, a teacher or just a friend who is curious about our school, we invite you to call Chris at 262-878-6351 and sign up for the next Preview Day.

The Shepherds College program changes lives. Come take a peek at what it’s all about!

For a list of Preview Days, please visit our website.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.