inside
THIS ISSUE
WWR
HEALTHCARE
BURG
page 4
3rd
in
the
By Bryan Leong
page 6
Phoebe Chua (left), Bryan Leong (middle), and Joel Ngui (right) enjoy their welcome to Messiah (and the cold!) STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES
Three Malaysian students provide insight on how they found Messiah College By Nicholas Tay FEATURE EDITOR
I
n the late winter of 2011, President Kim Phipps, vice president of enrollment John Chopka, and assistant director of admissions for international student recruitment Cindy Blount, traded the cold of Grantham for the sunny climate of Asia as they arranged a recruitment trip to the region. One of their stops was a pre-university institution in Malaysia, Methodist College Kuala Lumpur (MCKL).
Leong remembers the college presentation by President Phipps. “President Phipps came with Ms. Cindy to the preuniversity meetings, which are held every Tuesday. I had never heard of Messiah College before their presentation as
Advisor and Counselor for MCKL.
While President Phipps’ presentation focused mainly on the positives of American higher education, Leong still recalls the president’s mention of Cemetery Hill. “She mentioned how when it snows in the winter, students would take trays from Lottie and go sledding. That was what I remembered Messiah College to be.”
“I was drawn to the States because they focus more on the holistic growth of the individual. My parents also encouraged me to go to a Christian college to explore the whole integration of learning and faith, and the impressive engineering program was just another salient quality about Messiah College which attracted me.”
Chua and Ngui were not present at President Phipps’ talk yet their decision to apply was largely influenced by Blount’s continual trips to the region and Veronica Yap, the USA Universities Placement
Chua received direction from both Yap and Blount.
For Ngui, Blount’s recruitment drives at MCKL connected him with an idea of the American pedagogical style, the Christian aspect of higher education, and Messiah’s engineering program.
//see RECRUITMENT on page 3
page 11
rimsha masih page 9
As a result, three students from MCKL enrolled at Messiah for the 2012-2013 academic year. While the college’s recruitment trip impacted their application, other individuals and factors influenced Bryan Leong, Joel Ngui, and Phoebe Chua’s final decision.
it was not as famous as the Ivy League schools. The main point presented by President Phipps was how higher education in the United States was different from other countries, especially since there’s a bigger focus on the liberal arts here.”
page 6
golf
They arrived at a campus where most students’ higher education plans focus on studies in Singapore, Australia, or the United Kingdom. On their trip, they presented the benefits of studying in the United States, especially identifying the strengths of Christian perspective integral to Messiah’s mission.
difficult conversations page 2
b-sides
RECRUITMENT OVERSEAS