ETBU Tiger Day Allows Students, Parents To Tour campus

MARSHALL NEWS MESSENGER (3/3/13) - East Texas Baptist University’s campus was crawling with parents and prospective students on Saturday for ETBU’s biannual Tiger Day.

Tiger Day allows students interested in attending ETBU to learn about financial aid, student life, tour the campus and speak with faculty in their selected area of study.

ETBU president Samuel "Dub” Oliver said he takes the responsibility of educating someone else’s child seriously when addressing parents at Baker Auditorium.

"I want you to know that we consider it a sacred trust that we’ve been given to educate your sons and daughters,” Oliver said. "We want to care for them as you cared for them and we want to love them as you loved them and we want them to grow and develop into the men and women that you know God wants them to become.”

Director of Admissions Jason Soles and other students and faculty members helped guide groups of students and parents to the correct buildings on the sunny yet cold Saturday.

Soles said the one on one time that the potential students received from faculty members at Tiger Day could help shape their opinion on if ETBU was the right school for them.

"We have a lot of one on one personal ties going on today,” Soles said. "We’re not a large school so you get to meet people and we get to help guide our students and pray for them and that’s one of the most rewarding things.”

He also said having the students on campus to visualize what their experience would be like is an added bonus for them. Zack Rogers, of Elysian Fields, was one of the students considering making ETBU his home for the next four years.

"I’m liking it... it’s my top choice and I really liked the tour,” he said. "This seems like a good environment to learn and have a good religious experience.”

Oliver said he expects all incoming students to work hard, but enjoy themselves.

"We’re going to expect you to be prepared and we’re going to expect you to work hard and we’re going to expect you to do well,” he said. "You want to be in a place where you’re known, where people know you, love you, care about you and want you to be your very best.”

(Used by permission www.marshallnewsmessenger.com)