Posted: 12/02/05
Wayland offers international
students home away from home
By Teresa Young
Wayland Baptist University
PLAINVIEW–Wayland Baptist Uni-versity became temporary home this year to two freshmen from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates–probably the first representatives from that country to attend the Texas Baptist school.
The incoming freshmen responded to a recruiting trip just a few months earlier by Debra Sherley, Wayland's international student adviser.
Sherley sees the two students as the first fruits of what likely is to be a positive endeavor for Wayland as the university explores recruiting possibilities overseas.
“In 2004, the Mar Thoma church in Lubbock approached Wayland about a partnership,” she explained. Mar Thoma is a Christian church with roots in India and the Middle East.
| Adjusting to a different climate–particularly one that is much cooler than their homeland–is a common theme for international students at Wayland Baptist University, such as Vincent Tanui and Nimrod Lelei, both runners from Kenya. Here, the pair compete in a cross-country meet. |
“A doctor there knew of families who wanted to send their kids to a Christian school, and he thought we should visit the United Arab Emirates,” she continued.
Wayland representatives met with the Lubbock physician, John Lincoln, to talk about the possibilities of an overseas visit, discussing the similarities in the culture there and in the United States.
Wayland President Paul Armes then handed Sherley information about an upcoming American education conference scheduled in Dubai.
“We saw this as a call from God to walk through the doors he had opened for us during the meetings with Dr. Lincoln,” Sherley recalled, adding that plans immediately began for travel to the conference and visits with churches there.
A few weeks before Sherley left for Dubai, the second-highest-ranking official in the Mar Thoma church, Joseph Mar Irenaeus Suffragan Metropolitan, visited the Wayland campus in Plainview at Lincoln's urging.
The visit with Wayland officials provided additional information on the Mar Thoma church and its theology, and Metropolitan learned more about Wayland's commitment to academic excellence in a Christian atmosphere.
The partnership thrived as Wayland and the Lubbock church made connections with pastors in Mar Thoma churches across the United Arab Emirates.
The two-week trip took shape, with plans not only to attend the conference, but also to speak in churches in several cities and visit with families about Wayland.
While in the United Arab Emirates, Sherley contacted pastors at Indian, Syrian and Orthodox churches, as well as a Baptist church whose pastor was a Texas native, and the Indian Cultural Center in Doha, Qatar.
“The pastors were excited that a Christian school was reaching out to their students. None ever had,” she said. “In one church, they even let me speak to the congregation from the pulpit, and I later learned that they rarely ever allow a layperson to speak to the church. The response was overwhelming, and we were inundated with questions, words of appreciation for our visit and requests for business cards and brochures. … God's hand was in everything we did there.”
Although the country claims a population that is 96 percent Muslim, Sherley met many Christians who were interested in the university.
Although there are several universities in Dubai's Knowledge Village–a large state-of-the-art campus set aside by the government for universities to offer programs–none are American or Christian. While students there often travel out of the country for an education, most go to the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia, all of whom heavily recruit in the United Arab Emirates.
Sherley discovered many parents want their students in a safe environment where they can grow spiritually as well as intellectually, and they are not aware of many options.
Students typically leave the United Arab Emirates for their education. So, the country is experiencing a “brain drain,” Sherley said, since those students often do not return. Non-nationals must leave the country at the age of 18 unless their parents are paying for their education in the country.
Because of turmoil in the Middle East, U.S. visas have been difficult to obtain. However, Sherley said the embassy in the United Arab Emirates has promised to be more accommodating for students wishing to study at Wayland.
Wayland's international student population has, in large part, traditionally been athletes. But in order to be a truly international university, Wayland must recruit both academically driven and athletic students in order to grow in diversity and retain these international students, Sherley said.
She dreams about creating an international programs office that would recruit international students and promote exchange study programs for American students, as well as provide services and immigration referrals for local resident aliens.
Sherley plans another recruiting trip to the area in the spring of 2006. She also is considering visits to India to make contacts with Mar Thoma churches there.
“Was this a call from God to take an international step of faith or just an interesting experience for me?” she asks hypothetically.
“Wayland has always been known as a trailblazer. Look at the bold move the school made in the early 1950s when it opened its doors to black students. Did that move cause it to lose status or money? Not in the long run … and that's what we're about–the long run to eternity.”
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