On Wednesday, Nov. 4, Southwestern College held “Diversity Day.” 

According to Lai-L Clemons, Southwestern College admission counselor, the goal of “Diversity Day” is to enhance the future diversity on the SC campus and community.  Currently Southwestern College has a 24 percent minority population. 

“The purpose of ‘Diversity Day’ was to give local minority students a better understanding of all the great programs and activities that SC has to offer them,” Clemons says.  “‘Diversity Day’ gives students of color a chance to see the institution through the experiences of students like themselves. There were several sessions throughout the day that allowed prospective students a chance to interact with current SC minority students.”

The prospective students took a campus tour, attended chapel, learned about financial aid, and were able to interact with a SC student panel.
A total of 35 students, many from the Wichita and Kansas City area, visited the college.

“‘Diversity Day’ came about when I talked to Marla Sexson (director of admissions) about wanting to do a special day as a way to introduce a different group of students to the SC campus,” Clemons says. “I saw there was a need to recruit high-academic minority students to SC and quickly began coming up with a plan to fulfill this need. It has always been a dream of mine to work with minority and underprivileged students and I believe this is one way of achieving this goal.”

Both Clemons and Sexson say the day was a huge success and will plan on another Diversity Day in 2010.