Student population hits 1000

by Jessie Harris

It’s hard to find room to sit in chapel these days. Covenant is now home to over 1000 undergraduates. Of 351 new students–the largest group of incoming students yet–62 are considered diversity, according to recent enrollment numbers.But for two of last year’s admission representatives, responsible for recruiting diversity students, numbers aren’t everything.

“I’m still connected to the students – I just saw a few of them in the Great Hall – you do develop relationships, and we’re here to help bridge the gap,” said Laura Ward, visiting her old office last Monday. Ward has left the admissions office to attend the Psychological Studies Institute in Chattanooga.Ward (’05) and Kara Cadwell have brought in missionary kids, international students and minority students. Not including missionary kids, Covenant has 34 new diversity students, the same number as last year, which is up from 30 diversity students in 2005 and 14 in 2004. “The Lord continues to bless us with unique students,” said Cadwell, who is now responsible for recruiting all diversity students since Ward left.She considers relationships with churches to be the primary source of diversity students. Much of her job she does over the phone, building and using those long-distance church connections. “I always begin by talking about my experience,” said Cadwell, who lived in England before she entered Covenant, finishing an hour shy of graduation in 2006. She emphasizes Christ-centered academics. “The idea of transforming and redeeming culture – I begin there,” she said.Cadwell says she feels like a nervous mother on her child’s first day of kindergarten when she sees the students that she recruited arrive on campus. She says she’s comforted knowing that students attracted to Covenant are willing to work through the kinks of living in a mostly white, American population.“Laura and Kara have done a good job of being honest about what it looks like to come to a white campus,” said Janet Hulsey, of Student Development, who shouldered much of the school’s diversity outreach program in its first year without the experienced leadership of Dr. Daphne Haddad.Hulsey and Cadwell are encouraged about the diversity program this year partly because of Julie Moore, the new Director of Student Life, a position created to head the diversity program.“This is my passion,” said Moore, a 2001 alumna, “I’m excited. I have questions and things that I am constantly learning, but I’m not alone. This is a team.”She has a group of professors, four work study students and 15 to 20 upperclassman dedicated to diversity student mentorship.“Diversity enriches the campus and enriches our lives,” Moore said, seated in her new office in Career Development. “We’re looking to grow from the past and learn from our mistakes.”Moore credits Cadwell and Ward for their hard work on the front end to recruit diversity students.“They’re the ones that have gone out and built relationships.”Cadwell, whose office is on the bottom floor of the Probasco Center, says she available to diversity students, whether they need help filling out W-2 or social security forms, or just need someone to talk to.