College Hosts Admissions Conference

Westmont hosted 450 attendees for the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals (NACAAP) Conference June 3-5.

With the theme “Mi Casa, Su Casa,” the Montecito college led by Ceili Norling, admissions and marketing coordinator, rolled out the welcome mat, offering keynote talks and worship sessions with alumnus Dean Wilson (’97), Turner Foundation president and CEO; Marcus “Goodie” Goodloe, college trustee and Martin Luther King Jr. scholar; and President Gayle D. Beebe. DegreeSight sponsored the conference, which included more than 65 professional development sessions on various topics. 

A team from Taylor University of Indiana won the Santa Barbara scavenger hunt, posing for pictures at city landmarks and answering trivia questions about the city’s history. The representatives of Trinity Western of British Columbia came in second place.

The following morning, Caleb De Jong, a graduate enrollment adviser at Trinity Western and former cross country and track-and-field standout, breezed to an easy win in the NACAAP conference’s Westmonster 5K race. About 100 brave souls challenged the hilly, fog-shrouded racecourse that climbs 284 feet, weaves through the wooded campus and ends in cheers on Thorrington Field. 

Admissions counselors Drew Cummins and Steven Herrera of Calvary Baptist University in Riverside beat Lily Castor and Cat Spach of Concordia University Irvine 15-5, 15-5 in the $1,000 championship pickleball match, sponsored by Halda. “It was so much fun. We had great competitors, which helped us put up a good fight in beautiful Santa Barbara,” Herrera said.