Parent Newsletter - February, 2021

From the President

Dear Parents,

Public health authorities in the State of Illinois have allowed us to return fully to Phase 4—just in time for your student’s return to Wheaton’s campus last weekend for in-person classes. 

We are focusing on creative ways to enhance your student’s well-being, removing some Plexiglas shields in the dining area, and creating new social environments in Pierce Chapel and Fischer Hall for students to connect indoors over the winter months. We are hopeful that soon we can offer students opportunities to meet for Chapel in Edman with a reduced capacity. 

Next Monday, the annual “President’s Ball” has been reconfigured as a “MASK-querade,” featuring formal dress for classes all day, live music and festive decorations in Beamer for dinner, and a “Best Mask” contest. 

For the next few weeks, we will brave the worst of winter together, and pray for brighter, warmer days ahead. Weekly testing and campus-wide observance of social distancing and masking protocols will continue to help protect the health of our living and learning community. Please let us know if you have questions and thank you for keeping your student and us in your prayers.

In Christ’s service,

Philip Ryken
President 

A Note from Student Health Services 

The majority of the student body re-entered campus by coming to the Chrouser Sports Complex last weekend for their entry COVID test and to pick up the supplies for the saliva test to be taken each week based on the student’s living location. We are so thankful the numbers of positive COVID cases and close contacts remain low as seen in our daily Dashboard.

The week of March 8 - 12, the Student Wellness Team will be sponsoring a De-Stress week across campus with various activities to encourage physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual wellness. Tournaments of kickball or ping-pong, visiting dogs, and potting a plant are some of the activities that will happen throughout the week planned in COVID-safe ways. This week will focus on encouraging students to find balance in the midst of rigorous studies and the stresses of living through COVID.

Collegiate Day of Prayer 

The most important way to support your student and Wheaton College this spring is to pray. As you pray, you are literally battling alongside your student and the College for God’s continued goodness to prevail on Wheaton’s campus during these challenging times. Zoom Parent Prayer Gatherings will occur on Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 7 p.m. in all U.S. time zones. This date coincides with the Collegiate Day of Prayer, a day set apart to pray for college campuses across the country. Let’s go to battle for the Wheaton campus! 

Registration is required and will close on Tuesday, February 23 at midnight. Register Now.

Stay Up-to-Date

Check out the new Parent Announcement webpage where parents can access College announcements of interest to Wheaton parents. Messages are posted by date and can be sorted by topic.

Congratulations to the parents of soon-to-be alumni from the class of 2021! As we shared in January, we are planning to celebrate the graduation of your student from Wheaton College in May. Now we can announce that the undergraduate ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Central on Sunday, May 9. For these morning graduation exercises we will incorporate certain worship elements from our traditional Baccalaureate service. A morning ceremony will also give students more time to move out of their residence halls, apartments, and houses on Sunday afternoon or evening.

Unfortunately, given State of Illinois public health guidelines and the current trajectory of COVID-19, we are unable to promise that family and friends will be able to join our graduates on campus, even with vaccinations in progress around the country and in our community. Thus, we ask you to prepare for the possibility that you may have to participate remotely, even as we join you in praying that you can participate in person and waiting patiently to see what God will do.

If we find we cannot invite you to campus in person, we will provide a livestream so that you can follow the proceedings online. Further, we plan to have a professional photographer take a picture of each graduate as he or she receives a diploma, with prints available for purchase.

The Commencement team at commencement@wheaton.edu will provide further information as soon as it becomes available.  

A Word With the Chaplain

Recently, coaches, Student Wellness staff, Student Government leaders, select faculty members, and the Chaplain’s office staff met to discuss the spiritual vitality of the student body and were encouraged to learn that the spiritual fervor and commitments of students, faculty, and staff are alive and well, in spite of the enormous and negative effects of Covid-restrictions. Faculty, coaches, residence life staff, and student leaders are engaged in mentoring, small group ministries, and ministries of prayer. The Spirit of God is doing a fresh work in our campus community. As evidence of this: 

• Over 800 students are faithfully participating in Discipleship Small Groups through the Chaplain’s office and many more as a part of Athletics teams, music groups and other student organizations;
• Over 500 students are involved in the Wednesday Chapel-time Life Together Groups, often led by faculty members and staff and our Senior Administrative Cabinet (SAC);
• Collaborative student-led prayer initiatives in which the Chaplain’s office worked together with groups like World Christian Fellowship, Student Government, and the Student Activities office;
• Through the Student Chaplains’ leadership, numerous service actions providing support and care for those in our community having to be quarantined during the fall semester;

With those things in mind, we dare not minimize the spiritual challenges students are facing in this very unusual year. Students express feelings of disconnectedness due to social distancing, the spiritual impact of not being able to worship together in-person, and the exhausting nature of having so many Zoom meetings. Bottom line: On one side, God is very much at work in and through the lives of the people at Wheaton College. On the other, all of us at Wheaton College need your prayer and ongoing encouragement. 

Grad School News

Graduate Applications Due in March

Is your student seeking a graduate school that integrates humble leadership, exceptional scholarship, and an ambitious vision—all for Christ and His kingdom? At the Wheaton College Graduate School, discover 19 degree programs ranging from the fields of psychology to Bible and theology, from ministry and leadership to the social sciences.

Whether your student enrolls as an accelerated master’s student or in a traditional graduate program track, they will be mentored by expert faculty, enjoy fellowship with like-minded students, and be prepared to lead, serve, and practice with faithful excellence. Applications for most master’s programs are due in March. Learn more and sign up for online information sessions here.

Center for Vocation and Career

Internships, research experiences, and student teaching are all critical to post-graduate outcomes. And for many students, internship hiring season starts now! Is your student looking? Is he or she ready to apply? We can help!

• Canvas: Internship Exploration - One of our signature CVC events is back with a twist! This year, on Thursday, February 25, sophomore and first-year students will have the opportunity to talk with juniors and seniors, in a virtual setting, about their own internship experiences! Conversations will be guided by one of our peer advisors, who will help facilitate the interaction. This event is perfect for students who are exploring opportunities and want an inside look. Information on how to sign up on Handshake will be coming to your student’s inbox soon!
• Internship Expo - Following our Canvas Exploration event, we’ll host our Internship Expo on Thursday, March 4 with a variety of employers looking to hire Wheaton interns from every major for an internship during Summer 2021! Students can sign-up for this event under “Career Fairs” on Handshake. As always, students should visit Virtual Drop-Ins Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. to meet with our team and get ready to give their pitch to these prospective employers.
• Internship Scholarships - Last, but certainly not least, some great internship opportunities come at a cost! If an internship in unpaid or underpaid, students may apply for a scholarship to cover the costs associated with doing the internship. Wheaton is committed to every student having an internship experience, and we don’t want finances to keep that from happening. If your son or daughter is hoping to intern away from home, they can apply for funding to cover the costs of housing, transportation, and other expenses. The Internship Common Application, including personal materials and outside references, is open now through Friday, March 19. 

Learn Together

Learn alongside your Wheaton community by participating in A Time for Everything, a special speaking series that will uplift and encourage your heart and mind. Join us in March and April to hear messages of hope from current Wheaton faculty. More information coming in March. 

How can you pray for Wheaton this month?

• Pray for the students who are studying remotely during the spring semester. Pray for renewed passion, and interest in learning, and eyes to see revelations from the Lord in their academic pursuits. Pray that they will be people who rest in the Lord in the midst of countless opportunities and responsibilities. 

• Pray for faculty, staff, and administrators as they find new rhythms with students on campus. Pray for wisdom and discernment as they plan, teach, and work behind the scenes. Pray that the Lord will give them insight and understanding into the lives of students that He may use them and their important roles mightily. Pray that the Lord will impress upon their hearts the magnitude of the difference they are making and the eternal impact they are having in the lives of students.

• Pray for Wheaton's campus as a whole, that it will be a place flooded with the presence of God. That students, faculty and staff, and administrators will be known by their love for one another, love of word and action as described in 1 Corinthians 12, and that they seek first the kingdom of God, pursuing righteousness and the ways of the Lord. 

With thanks for your involvement and prayers, 

The Wheaton College Parent Engagement team