Thoughts from student Shai Wise

United has changed a lot over the time that I have been here. This isn’t to say that I have been at UTS for a long time (although at 5 years it seems that way). When I enrolled in the summer of 2004 there were no student e-mail accounts, the website was .org and at 26 I was one of the youngest students in my classes. The student body was primarily older, second career, individuals looking at pastoral ministry. It was an amazing space for learning from people with wide ranging experiences and for realizing that education can cross generations and that experience is the true teacher.




After being gone the campus I have returned to feels different.. Each incoming student has a campus e-mail address and the school’s website is no longer .org but .edu. The website has become a center of information for not only prospective students but current students. Online learning has become much more present and is a part of many of the courses offered. Most noticeable the student body is much younger. It is still primarily white, primarily midwestern but the age range has increased and the numebrs are starting to shift towards younger students just out of college.



It will be interesting to see over the next semester how the change in student population impacts courses and the campus community. Hopefully with the increased number of young students, but a remaining majority of second career and older students, the interaction of diverse age ranges will allow for ministerial development and create a chance for older students to learn from recent college graduates and younger students to connect with and learn from the mentorship, experience and knowledge present with second career and older students. It also is a hope that the shifting population will soon be reflected in a more diverse student body, not simply in regards to age but in areas of race, ethnicity and region. It is also a hope that United will maintain its gifts for second career ministry while looking for ways to broaden the insititutions appeal.