Chapel today

Many, if not most of our students don't really "get" the idea of a college. They ended up at PIBC because their families thought it would be good for them -- or they didn't have any other ideas -- or they're looking for a way off their island for awhile -- or... They don't really understand the purpose of higher education or the doors it can open.

In chapel today Melody Plaxton and I attempted to do a College 101 session. And it worked well. I talked about the fact that an important part of discipleship is the development of the mind (not the only part -- but an important part). Then I explained that college is a tool that can be used toward that end. It is not the only way that we develop our minds but it is one way that we can subject ourselves to rigorous training.

I then explained what a college degree is -- how many years it takes to get a bachelors degree, a masters, a doctorate -- and what you can do with those degrees -- why you might concentrate studies in this area or that.

Melody followed it all up with a fun presentation on how having a minor concentration in the BA might be beneficial -- and about the classes involved in the seven minors we have at PIBC. She did a great job -- especially since I think I squeezed her on time.

Academic structure is not the most inspiring topic but by watching the faces I could see that there were students having an ah-ha experience. And afterward Melody and I each ended up having good conversations with students.

I talked with three students who said they wanted to get a master's degree and were trying to determine the best course to getting there. One of the students was trying to figure out which master's degree would be appropriate for doctoral preparation. That was the first time in my association with PIBC that I've had a Micronesian student talk about the possibility of earning a PhD. If we're eventually going to turn this operation over to them we need more like him -- more who are willing to step up for advanced mind training.

It was a fruitful chapel.