Opening Week Offers Glimpse of Life at North Park
CHICAGO (August 26, 2014) — More than 600 new undergraduate students began classes yesterday, and already they are starting to glimpse what life at North Park will be like.
It started when they pulled up in cars, packed to the brim with supplies to move into their dorm room. The prospect of unloading the car during Friday’s ninety-degree heat was daunting. But these new students and families were greeted outside of their new home by a crowd of North Park veterans, students who only a couple of years ago were making the same journey down Foster and Spaulding Avenues. These old North Parkers were waiting to unload the cars, showing the new North Parkers what life at this University is really like—a life of service.
Moments like this happened throughout the day Friday. Commuter and veteran students had their own welcome gathering to the University, students met their Crew Groups, took a break from the heat with ice-cream sandwiches, and eventually made their way to the Welcome Convocation in the Gymnasium.
“The secret to a great first year at North Park comes in the first week,” said North Park University President Dr. David Parkyn. It’s in the friends you meet and staff you come to know that will shape your journey. “Your faculty at North Park, along with all the other educators who are part of this community, are here to walk alongside you—to make sure you get from today to commencement day. This is more than a job for us, it’s our vocation, our calling,” Dr. Parkyn said. North Park faculty and staff offer a similar picture as the students who unloaded cars—a life of service.
Festivities continued throughout the weekend, as families said good-bye and students became further immersed in the culture of North Park. They explored Chicago and the campus they now called home, with a double decker tour of the city and a glow-in-the dark campus tour. They began to build relationships through North Park’s newest tradition of “speed friending.” The weekend was capped by the first Collegelife of the year, the weekly communal worship experience designed to help students learn and live out what it means to follow Jesus. It’s another glimpse of life at North Park—a life of significance.
Worship continued Monday morning, as North Park Theological Seminary welcomed its own set of new students with a Seminary Convocation service. The occasion was marked with a special message from long-time Seminary professor Dr. Klyne Snodgrass, entering his final year at North Park. “You change because you encounter truth,” said Dr. Snodgrass. “If you didn’t want to change, you shouldn’t have walked through the door.” Dr. Snodgrass’ life and message echoes that picture of North Park—a life of significance.
Celebrations also continued on Monday, as the doors of the new Johnson Center swung open ready to welcome students to their first class of the year. Students, faculty, and staff came from all over campus to gather together in the lobby for breakfast, offering the entire North Park community a much-anticipated glimpse of what the next chapter at North Park will bring.
Learn more about North Park University’s Threshold Welcome Week, which continues through Friday, August 29.
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