Summer 2010
Departments
Experienced Students
by Rosemary Link, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
When we examine the early student histories more closely we realize that their story is the story of Simpson College – a place where, as the mission says, we “serve students of all ages" and embrace the idea of lifelong learning. From the earliest editions of the Zenith we see students of varying ages.
It seems as though economic depression and the two world wars were the periods when the student populations and age ranges fluctuated the most. In 1946, the efforts to understand the impact of war on the student population were noted in an essay in the Zenith: “A lot of our friends were called into active service. I don’t think we fully realized just what was to happen … such a change was abrupt and hard to take. When the fall of 1946 came, we began to see a lot more familiar faces, but we couldn’t get used to the fact that they were usually two classes behind." Since that time the college literary journal, the Sequel, has charted the waters of experienced students.
While the Evening, Weekend & Graduate Programs has only been officially established since 1980, we celebrate 150 years of offering our welcome to younger students, experienc ed students and students who look to Simpson to inspire, renew and build their careers and communities.