Each semester, the faculty, staff, and students at The Baptist College of Florida (BCF) in Graceville, welcome with excitement prospective students to the bi-annual Preview Day/Open House event. The Spring Preview Day was held on March 7, as inquisitive students and their families gathered on the campus to see if BCF was the place where they should continue their education.
Registration began in the BCF Wellness Center at 9:00 a.m. where prospective students received bags filled with information regarding campus life and degree opportunities. During registration, guests were able to visit exhibit booths dedicated to providing additional information on specific degree programs, mission opportunities, collegiate disaster relief, financial aid, student life activities, intramural sports, and other resources available to students such as the library, writing center, and computer lab. In addition to registration and visiting the exhibit booths, there was a virtual photo booth where visitors could take photos with friends and family members creating memories of visiting the campus.
After registration, guests were welcomed by BCF President Thomas A. Kinchen and Director of Student Life and Marketing Sandra Richards. Kinchen presented a $500 scholarship to one prospective student, Madeline McCalla, that had attended Preview Day multiple times and already admitted for the fall. He also presented $500 scholarships to several students that traveled a great distance to attend. Guests were then invited to the R. G. Lee Chapel for a time of praise and worship that showcased the talented BCF musical groups and inspirational message from Kinchen. In an unprecedented turn of events, before Kinchen brought the chapel message, he asked all of the prospective students to stand up and offered them a scholarship, “If this is where the Lord is leading you!”
Immediately following chapel, guests enjoyed the classroom visits available in music, education, psychology, business, missions and theology, dual enrolled, and financial aid. The meetings were designed specifically to provide detailed information relating to academic interest or career choice and explore possibilities for financial assistance.
BCF provided lunch for prospective students in the campus dining facility, the Deese Center. During lunch, attendees not only experienced a nutritional meal, but enjoyed a time of fun and fellowship interacting with current students and listening to the upbeat sound of the BCF Jazz Band. Following the meal, visitors were given the opportunity to tour married student housing or dorms with the BCF Residential Assistants (RA’s), or take a tour of the campus with one of the BCF Admissions Counselors.
The day concluded with a fun game of students vs. faculty/staff basketball game and a delightful impromptu musical performance during halftime by prospective student Hannah Loy. She did an incredible job and the Music and Worship Division look forward to seeing her in the fall. Several additional scholarships were presented and many prospective students took advantage of the waived application fee by applying on Preview Day. As prospective students and their families prepared to leave, the day closed with a word of prayer.
For more information on the college that is “Changing the World Through the Unchanging Word®” or to learn about the next Preview Day coming up in October, please call 800.328.2660 or visit the website at www.baptistcollege.edu.