NACCAP Board Spotlight: Dr. Scott Van Loo, Cedarville University
In this episode of the Higher Education, Higher Purpose podcast hosts Phil Cook and Heidi Sturm speak with Dr. Scott Van Loo, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Cedarville University. Dr. Van Loo shares his insights on the unique qualities that have contributed to Cedarville's recent success in Christian higher education. With a steadfast commitment to its mission and a vibrant campus community, Cedarville attracts students nationwide who seek a Christ-centered education. Phil, Heidi, and Dr. Van Loo discuss the significance of fostering a supportive environment for students to grow in their faith.
What You Will Learn:
- Cedarville University emphasizes a clear mission aligning academic excellence with biblical authority for student transformation.
- Dr. Van Loo’s unique journey illustrates how faith profoundly influences career paths in higher education.
- The NACCAP community fosters collaboration among institutions, enhancing recruiting strategies and sharing best practices.
- Coaching experiences in sports provide valuable lessons on teamwork and leadership applicable to enrollment management.
- Cedarville’s growth is attributed to its commitment to faith, community, and a high-quality education.
Resources:
Visit our website: https://www.naccap.org
Email us: Office@naccap.org
Visit The NACCAP Annual Conference: https://naccapconference.org
Transcript
Welcome to the Higher Ed Higher Purpose Podcast, a podcast designed for NatCap members, prospective students and their families.
Phil Cook:My name is Phil Cook and it's my pleasure to serve as the president of NatCap.
Heidi Sturm:And I'm Heidi Sturm, and I'm the director of Marketing and communications here at NatCap.
Phil Cook:Heidi, we've been, as our listeners know, we've been talking to various members and leaders within the NatCap community.
Phil Cook:We're so pleased that we are continuing our series of interviewing our board members.
Phil Cook:So we're so thrilled to have Dr.
Phil Cook:Scott Van Loo with us today.
Phil Cook:Scott, thanks for being on the podcast with us today.
Scott Van Loo:Thank you for the invitation.
Scott Van Loo:Glad to be here.
Phil Cook:Well, I want to read the formal introduction just because it's what we do, but Dr.
Phil Cook: r enrollment management since: Phil Cook:He holds a PhD in educational leadership from the University of Dayton, a master's degree in Student affairs in Higher Education from Wright State University, and a BA in Comprehensive Social Science.
Phil Cook:Let me ask you about that, Scott from Cedarville University.
Phil Cook:He has two decades of higher education.
Phil Cook:His experience spans roles in admission, student life, and cabinet level position at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Ashland University.
Phil Cook:He presents at regional national enrollment management conferences.
Phil Cook:He's contributed written publications including the Chronicle of Higher Ed and Business Offer Magazine.
Phil Cook:And he's a husband and father.
Phil Cook:Scott, thanks again for being with us.
Phil Cook:We're glad that you're here.
Scott Van Loo:Yeah, thank you again.
Phil Cook:Well, tell me.
Phil Cook:So I am curious about that.
Phil Cook:I don't know of all the interviews we've been doing in my interaction in higher ed.
Phil Cook:Tell me what the comprehensive social science degree from Cedarville is and do they still offer that degree there?
Scott Van Loo:They do.
Scott Van Loo:So when I was in high school, going into college, one of the favorite shows that I liked on TV at the time was called Law and Order.
Scott Van Loo:And so Law and Order.
Scott Van Loo:Then of course, as I was just watching it and loved it, I was like, I want to be a lawyer.
Scott Van Loo:And so went to college.
Scott Van Loo:And when I started at Cedarville, I was pre law, you know, very ambitious.
Scott Van Loo:And then I got about a year in and I thought this is a really long path that I would be on.
Scott Van Loo:And now in hindsight, I realized I ended up going on a long path for education anyway.
Scott Van Loo:But at the time I was like, well, I really enjoy social sciences.
Scott Van Loo:I enjoy things around history, government, and I really want to be a coach too.
Scott Van Loo:And so maybe God's calling me to go work in a high school environment, be a coach.
Scott Van Loo:And also Be a high school teacher.
Scott Van Loo:So comprehensive social sciences.
Scott Van Loo:They certified me as a 7 through 12 teacher, teaching history, government, econ.
Scott Van Loo:And the reason why it's labeled comprehensive is that it doesn't limit you to just one of those subject areas.
Scott Van Loo:And so graduated with that and then went and taught high school for a few years, coached for a few years before moving into higher education.
Phil Cook:Well, that's helpful.
Phil Cook:That's good to know.
Phil Cook:It sets us up perfectly for what we're talking about in terms of a little bit of your personal story.
Phil Cook:We're not delving into any kind of really intimate personal matters, but before we got on, we were talking some sports.
Phil Cook:I'm a frustrated athlete.
Phil Cook:You're a real athlete.
Phil Cook:You have children that are real athletes.
Phil Cook:But tell me, you mentioned coaching a couple times.
Phil Cook:Athletics have an important part in your background.
Phil Cook:How does it impact what you do?
Phil Cook:Tell us a little bit about your sports affection and sports connections, if you will.
Scott Van Loo:Yeah, so it's always interesting for me to think about what I do now and then also the things that I have that are other interests and how they kind of feed into, you know, overseeing the enrollment efforts at Cedarville, overseeing other institutions in the past.
Scott Van Loo:And when I go back to my high school days, one of the things that I just valued so highly was just being able to compete in sports.
Scott Van Loo:And, you know, I was talking to my son, who's a junior in high school.
Scott Van Loo:I have a daughter who's a freshman in high school.
Scott Van Loo:And so they're both in this window of time where they have this great opportunity to play competitive sports, where fans show up and they get to do everything that they get to do out on the field or the court.
Scott Van Loo:And I was talking to my son, and I said, you know, the one thing about life is there's so many things that you do that have longevity.
Scott Van Loo:You know, where you pursue education, you can do that your whole life, and you'll do all these different things.
Scott Van Loo:I said, but playing competitive sports, where it's actually scheduled for you to go play another team, I said, that is a limited window in life.
Scott Van Loo:And very few people then get to have the LeBron type career where you go to the NBA and then have a sustained career, most people, I think it's like 3% go on and actually go from high school sports to college sports.
Scott Van Loo:And then from there, it's just minuscule, those that go on to play professional sports.
Scott Van Loo:So when I think about my own experience of being a senior in high school, it really formed my decision of where I went to college, university Because Cedarville was one of the best opportunities.
Scott Van Loo:And so I came here, played basketball.
Scott Van Loo:And one of the things that, you know, in all honesty and candor, I learned right away that God has gifted a lot of other people more than me in the sport of basketball.
Scott Van Loo:And I loved it.
Scott Van Loo:I loved the environment, I loved the competition.
Scott Van Loo:But I only played my freshman year.
Scott Van Loo:And a lot of it was just because of this realization that there was so much more that the university had to offer.
Scott Van Loo:Sports was great, I loved it.
Scott Van Loo:But my athletic ability was being, was being pushed to the max.
Scott Van Loo:And I just realized I didn't think I could probably compete at that high level for another three years.
Scott Van Loo:Well, that translates then into coaching.
Scott Van Loo:And so when I graduated college and then even now help coach an AAU team, I just realized that it's such a platform to build into others lives and to really just see them excel at a high level.
Scott Van Loo:It teaches things around selflessness, teamwork, being about something bigger than yourself.
Scott Van Loo:And you know, when I think about those aspects of coaching, it's then, do I lead my team in enrollment management that way?
Scott Van Loo:Do we selflessly serve?
Scott Van Loo:Do we think of others before ourselves?
Scott Van Loo:Do we, do we seek to just, you know, in everything that we do, it's bigger than us.
Scott Van Loo:The mission of Cedarville University, the vision of Cedarville University is bigger than us.
Scott Van Loo:And how are we able to, in our role, steward that?
Scott Van Loo:Well, and so that's kind of how coaching blends into my professional career.
Phil Cook:I love it.
Phil Cook:The fact is, it is a natural connection, it's a natural transition to the work that we do in enrollment, the work that we do in admissions.
Phil Cook:It's a natural transition.
Phil Cook:You mentioned the classroom a little bit.
Phil Cook:Did you miss the classroom?
Phil Cook:Do you get to teach at Cedarville a little bit or what subject did you teach?
Phil Cook:And what about the classroom?
Phil Cook:You've been a lifelong student, obviously, but do you miss the classroom or is the coaching kind of scratch that itch for you?
Scott Van Loo:I think coaching does scratch that itch.
Scott Van Loo:And so, you know, in all candor, 22 years old to 25 years old, I'm teaching high school history and government.
Scott Van Loo:And I would say that what I learned is I really enjoyed the content and I enjoyed teaching.
Scott Van Loo:I enjoyed the relationships with students.
Scott Van Loo:But I wasn't a person who my life was absorbed with the content.
Scott Van Loo:And so I found that the best master teachers really love the content.
Scott Van Loo:They love the subject area.
Scott Van Loo:They will continue to grow and expand in it.
Scott Van Loo:But what I found myself gravitating towards is I was really excited for 3, 30 in the afternoon where I could go and I could.
Scott Van Loo:I could do and I could.
Scott Van Loo:I could live that out.
Scott Van Loo:And so in my free time, then it was thinking through, you know, strategies to motivate team members or to, you know, put this play in motion.
Scott Van Loo:And so I thought, okay, I'm tracking more that way than I am towards, you know, the history and government genre.
Scott Van Loo:And just saying I want to pursue everything there, still love it, still get totally involved.
Scott Van Loo:Last week was great.
Scott Van Loo:I loved just watching everything unfold and just seeing how all that happened.
Scott Van Loo:But at the same.
Scott Van Loo:Same time, I would say that that's the balance that I've tried to have in my life.
Phil Cook:Excellent.
Phil Cook:Well, and your reference.
Phil Cook:I've been out of the country.
Phil Cook:We're recording this on a Monday morning.
Phil Cook:And what happened last week, Scott?
Phil Cook:I was out of the country.
Phil Cook:I have no idea what you're talking about.
Phil Cook:The presidential election that happened here in the United States.
Phil Cook:And so we're talking about that.
Phil Cook:It was fascinating.
Phil Cook:And that'd be a whole podcast in and of itself.
Phil Cook:Is there a better term of endearment maybe than coach, you know, or.
Phil Cook:I remember growing.
Phil Cook:My dad was a pastor, so it's a term of endearment that shows respect.
Phil Cook:Who is a coach or a pastor or someone in your life, Scott, that had an impact on your life, that invested in your life?
Phil Cook:Is there someone that comes to mind when you say this person invested in my life and I'm grateful today and.
Phil Cook:And contribute to what you're doing in your work now?
Scott Van Loo:Yeah, there's multiple people I can think of, but the one that I'll really bring out is when I came back to Cedarville.
Scott Van Loo: for a few years, came back in: Scott Van Loo:And for seven years, I did that, and by the time I got to probably the fourth or fifth year, really started to think through, okay, what does my career look like from here?
Scott Van Loo:I'm in my late 20s, early 30s, and really starting to get a better idea and better understanding of my gifts and how God has wired me.
Scott Van Loo:And had a vice president for enrollment come alongside me.
Scott Van Loo:His name is John Grady.
Scott Van Loo:He was the former vice president for enrollment at Indiana Westland, came to Cedarville and then was.
Scott Van Loo:Eventually became the provost here.
Scott Van Loo:But he was someone who spoke into my life and just said, you know what, Scott, Like, I'm watching you in the student affairs role.
Scott Van Loo:You're doing an excellent job.
Scott Van Loo:I'M also getting to know you interpersonally, kind of seeing how you're bent your wiring.
Scott Van Loo:And I really want to encourage you to consider enrollment.
Scott Van Loo:And I just thought, wait a second.
Scott Van Loo:Those admissions people, they work pretty hard, you know, not that student affairs, you don't work hard.
Scott Van Loo:I'm having fun here with students, and now you're telling me I would be responsible for recruiting students.
Scott Van Loo: ral move within Cedarville in: Scott Van Loo:Didn't even move into the graduate admissions role.
Scott Van Loo:And so one of the things that I struggled with in that, and this is for any young professional out there, is I always thought that life should be the stepping stone of career paths.
Scott Van Loo:And in my prayer and in my reflection time at that, I thought, no, really, my life should be about using my gifting for his glory.
Scott Van Loo:And so what I realized in that is that my gifts were becoming.
Scott Van Loo:I was coming to a better understanding of those.
Scott Van Loo:Others were validating that and just saying, hey, this is where we really think that you're gifted.
Scott Van Loo:So position didn't matter at that point.
Scott Van Loo:You know, compensation changes didn't matter at that point.
Scott Van Loo:At that point, it was step into what God is opening up and then see what he has in store for you.
Scott Van Loo:So John Brady is one of those people who really spoke in my life in that way.
Heidi Sturm:You're listening to the Higher Ed Higher Purpose podcast.
Phil Cook:We're talking to Dr.
Phil Cook:Scott Van Loo, the vice president for enrollment management at Cedarville University.
Phil Cook:And Scott, we're going to come in a second talk about Cedarville.
Phil Cook:I want to give you a chance to talk about the.
Phil Cook:And we've talked about this a few times as I've been on campus with you, about Cedarville's remarkable journey and the story that you've been on, the success that you.
Phil Cook:And the critical role that you play in Cedarville success.
Phil Cook:But it's interesting.
Phil Cook:There are many parallels.
Phil Cook:Student affairs, a mentoring, encouraging you to be a part of admissions, then having success.
Phil Cook:It's.
Phil Cook:I mean, I have a similar story, and it's great to hear that.
Phil Cook:Before Heidi jumps in with a couple questions, let me ask you a little bit about your faith.
Phil Cook:Did you grow up in a.
Phil Cook:Were you from a Christian home?
Phil Cook:Is your story one that you came to know the Lord later in life?
Phil Cook:Tell us a little bit about your faith journey that obviously informs everything that you do every day.
Phil Cook:As coach, mentor, and leader at Cedarville.
Scott Van Loo:Yeah, thank you for asking that.
Scott Van Loo:So going back to high school again, one of the things I was blessed with is that I was raised in a Christian family, but both of my parents came to faith a little bit later in life.
Scott Van Loo:And the same would be true of the grand grandparents that I had on one side.
Scott Van Loo:So I was blessed to grow up in what was essentially a family farm of some sorts.
Scott Van Loo:My father was, or my grandfather harvested topsoil, so he sold several hundred acres, lived next door to them.
Scott Van Loo:And my grandfather played such a role and just really pouring into my face sometimes.
Scott Van Loo:We felt he was really preachy, but he was saved from owning a bar and having a different life in his late 30s.
Scott Van Loo:And Christ redeemed him.
Scott Van Loo:And, you know, he just wanted to live that out.
Scott Van Loo:And so he poured it in my life.
Scott Van Loo:My parents poured in my life, so I was blessed with that.
Scott Van Loo:And then, you know, being raised in a Christian home, one of the things that you come to know is what it means to be born again.
Scott Van Loo:And so it made the profession of faith at a very young age.
Scott Van Loo:But then as I moved from my junior to senior year of high school, there really was a moment where I felt that the Spirit gripped me in a deeper way and in a deeper sense.
Scott Van Loo:And it was.
Scott Van Loo:It was that it was just coming to a point of realizing, like, this life is not my own.
Scott Van Loo:It's to be lived on mission for him.
Scott Van Loo:It's to be lived on purpose for him.
Scott Van Loo:So as I head into my senior year of high school, what will that look like?
Scott Van Loo:And so what it looked like is it changed my friend network, it changed my priorities, and it really did impact the way that I viewed where I would go to college or university.
Scott Van Loo:And so as I headed into my senior year with my arms open and just saying, God, where will you take me?
Scott Van Loo:I thought there was a path before me that I was stepping through.
Scott Van Loo:But he made it apparent in February, March of my senior year that Cedarville was the school that I was supposed to go to.
Scott Van Loo:And I always laugh because in our role, we're always telling juniors, be really serious.
Scott Van Loo:Know your schools by this point in August, start that application so that you're well.
Scott Van Loo:I was a late applicant to Cedarville.
Scott Van Loo:I was a late admit, I was a late commit.
Scott Van Loo:And so much of that was just because the work that the Spirit was doing in my life was still being completed to get me to the point of really making the decision that Cedarville was the right fit and really sensing that that was where God wanted Me.
Scott Van Loo:And so then fast forward, you know, Cedarville, wonderful school to just help you grow and build in your faith.
Scott Van Loo:Prepared me then for what God had next.
Scott Van Loo:And, you know, life has been a journey.
Scott Van Loo:I was blessed to be my wife here.
Scott Van Loo:We got married a year after college and then just continued to be as involved and committed to the local church as we can be.
Scott Van Loo:And so, you know, every day is just growing in my faith, learning more from the Word, and just continue to humbly submit and do the best that I can for his glory.
Phil Cook:The story is almost like right out of Central Casting, Scott, of talking about the growth and development.
Phil Cook:But those of us who know Scott that listen to the language, the words that you're using, Scott, are real and you've lived it.
Phil Cook:And you've been a wonderful influence among.
Phil Cook:I know it's Cedarville, but even among across the campus, people are living out this faith in a very real way.
Phil Cook:So thanks for doing that, Heidi.
Heidi Sturm:And I just love hearing the stories of how people ended up at the school that they chose and how God will use different circumstances or people to put you where he wants you to be.
Heidi Sturm:So in saying all of that, now that you've been at Cedarville for many years, how did you first become familiar with nacap?
Heidi Sturm:What was your knowledge of it?
Heidi Sturm:I guess I'm sure not as a student, you wouldn't have known what NATCAP was.
Heidi Sturm:But as you started in your role working at Cedarville, how did you learn about NatCap?
Scott Van Loo: ting story because so fall of: Scott Van Loo:Man.
Scott Van Loo:Phil, we're getting older.
Phil Cook:I'm older than you, so I'm old, man.
Scott Van Loo: I wanted to say: Scott Van Loo:I can't remember what it was called, but it was a counselor training thing with NatCap, where Chant oversaw that.
Scott Van Loo:And then you go and you're there with other admissions counselors who are doing this for the first time from other schools.
Scott Van Loo:And so there's probably 20, 25 of us.
Scott Van Loo:And I believe it was in Indiana somewhere.
Scott Van Loo:Most of what you guys do is in Indiana, but no, it was in Indiana somewhere.
Scott Van Loo:And so that was my first introduction.
Scott Van Loo:And then I just thought, Chant is such a fascinating individual.
Scott Van Loo:And why is he having us sit in a group of four people at a restaurant and we all have to tell the waiter or waitress about our school while we're sitting there?
Scott Van Loo:That was one of the tasks that was before Us.
Scott Van Loo:And so, but, you know, that's cold sales or that's, you know, just that mindset of, you know, getting to a point where you can share something about your casual university with complete stranger.
Scott Van Loo:And so that was my introduction.
Scott Van Loo:And then the irony of all of it is I think that next summer we hosted the NatCap conference.
Scott Van Loo:So that was already in the works, already in the planning.
Scott Van Loo:So then it was, you know, all in right away with knowing what NatCap was, what the mission.
Scott Van Loo:And that was in the time where the recession was hitting really hard, if you remember the housing crisis.
Scott Van Loo:And so when we hosted, unfortunately, the tenants wasn't as strong as it had been before prior years because a lot of schools were trying to figure some things out with budget and some of the challenges that were there.
Scott Van Loo:But it was just a blessed time to get to meet others that were doing what I was doing.
Scott Van Loo:And, you know, and I'd only been doing it a year at that point, but just to have them come and experience our campus.
Scott Van Loo:But then also then moving forward, get to know more as I go to college fairs and learn all the various things that NatCap has to offer.
Heidi Sturm:Well, I think that program was called back back in the day, becoming an admissions professional, because I did that same thing a few years prior to you doing that.
Phil Cook:And you guys can both do.
Phil Cook:Because you were close to Indiana, down in Tennessee, we didn't have money to send us to Tennessee, so I didn't do any of that stuff.
Heidi Sturm:Now in Pennsylvania, back in the day.
Phil Cook:We call them Snack sessions for new admissions.
Phil Cook:We went from BAP to snack.
Phil Cook:It sounds like one of those old Batman movies where they have the, you know, the awards.
Phil Cook:So now we do it virtually, too, and we've had some growth there.
Phil Cook:But it's, it's a, it's a great point that you started there.
Scott Van Loo:Yeah.
Heidi Sturm:And so, Scott, what do you see as some of the benefits of a NatCap membership?
Scott Van Loo:Yeah, so I, you know, multiple benefits.
Scott Van Loo:But one of the things that comes to mind and that I share with our admissions leadership team and others is that whenever you can go into an environment and you're at a college fair and at that college fair, you know that there's similar and like institutions and that families are there for the express purpose of learning more about Christian colleges and universities in this world where there's millions of students that we could focus recruiting on.
Scott Van Loo:But to know that there's a niche that NatCap is helping to bring together an opportunity in a specific region that is of such value to the institution and Then I would say professionally also just to rub shoulders, elbows now in the role that I'm at with others that are experienced, experiencing some of the things that we're experiencing and also just to kind of comfort each other, but then also get challenges.
Scott Van Loo:And I would say that I'm not a person who necessarily always has original ideas, but I really like to borrow my colleagues ideas.
Scott Van Loo:And so, you know, just hearing the things that they're doing and just kind of starting to think, okay, could we do that or do it maybe.
Scott Van Loo:Maybe we are doing it at some level.
Scott Van Loo:But maybe what they said, avoid the way that they focus on their leadership effort there is really helpful.
Scott Van Loo:So I think professionally it's really helped to be able to build that network and have some people I can call on if I'm ever up against some challenges and really need to bounce off someone who's doing exactly what I'm doing.
Scott Van Loo:That's great.
Heidi Sturm:And I was going to say too, you also hosted a fly in drive in recently.
Heidi Sturm:So maybe just tell us a little bit about what the fly in drive in is.
Heidi Sturm:Why do you host it and why would you tell other schools like, this is a great opportunity, you should consider this.
Scott Van Loo:Yeah.
Scott Van Loo:So this is where like going back to the coaching, going back to my competitive nature.
Scott Van Loo:And so when you're asking questions about NatCap, I always think about if we're not doing NatCap, are we not being competitive?
Scott Van Loo:So one of the things to lean into is to say yes, mission fidelity also, you know, all the recruitment opportunities, professional opportunities.
Scott Van Loo:But then when you have the chance to host a fly in, dry in drive in again, it's that opportunity to bring 20, 30, maybe 40 counselors to your institution to give them a firsthand experience a lot of times of an institution they've never seen.
Scott Van Loo:And so we had counselors here from Texas, from Florida, from Missouri and other locations.
Scott Van Loo:And when they come, it's then unpacking for them.
Scott Van Loo:This is Cedarville University and this is what's happening here and this is how God is working.
Scott Van Loo:And then to know that they then go back and that's where the competitive part comes in.
Scott Van Loo:But they go back to their high school students.
Scott Van Loo:And when their students considering things, you're hopeful and prayerful that Cedarville is on the radar.
Scott Van Loo:You know, not that they have to be biased in what they're doing or how they're communicating, but they now know your institution is one that is doing it well and that it can be with confidence.
Scott Van Loo:They can recommend your institution for that to that student if it's the right fit.
Phil Cook:Well, what you've just shared, Scott, both in terms of the professional development, you know, I've heard said no idea is really a new idea.
Phil Cook:So everyone's stealing ideas and modifying them.
Phil Cook:But the idea, the collegial work that we do, but also the competitive work, because this is competitive and in our world, in Christian higher education, I use the NACAP frame to describe it all the time.
Phil Cook:Some talk about CCCU or IACE or other kind of acronyms that will mean something to the folks in industry.
Phil Cook:Cedarville has distinguished itself as a leading institution among all Christian higher education and is having wonderful success.
Phil Cook:I've been on the campus a few times in my three years with NatCap, and there is an energy and there is an inertia that's palpable.
Phil Cook:So talk a little bit about Cedarville as we wrap up here today, about the momentum that's going on now.
Phil Cook:Why is it going so well?
Phil Cook:What's the secret?
Phil Cook:Sauce, Scott, what's going on at Cedarville?
Phil Cook:Even maybe a decade ago?
Phil Cook:Some of those kind of stories, the Mission fidelity that you talked about, what is the secret, or is there a secret and why Cedarville been so successful in the last few years?
Phil Cook:Yeah.
Scott Van Loo:And so for the listeners, I'll just give a little bit of the elevator speech about who Cedarville is.
Scott Van Loo:But we're located in southwest Ohio.
Scott Van Loo: We're an institution of: Scott Van Loo: Now, that would be: Scott Van Loo:And so you can see that there's definitely a diversity of enrollment here.
Scott Van Loo:But some of the things that make Cedarville unique is that we are a school that requires students to have a profession of faith to attend.
Scott Van Loo:We also have a very clear and concise doctrinal statement that all of our faculty and staff have to yearly affirm.
Scott Van Loo:And then what that does, Phil, is it just lends itself to a really unique community.
Scott Van Loo:And I know that Cedarville is not for everyone, but what we find within the evangelical world is that when students and families step on our campus, they'll say, we can see that this school really is committed to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Scott Van Loo: at was true when I visited in: Scott Van Loo:And so how many places can say that over 30 years the fidelity to the gospel and the mission of Jesus Christ are still the same?
Scott Van Loo:Now a lot has changed.
Scott Van Loo:Like Cedarville was known historically as having rules and all these standards of dress code and things like that.
Scott Van Loo:And those things have definitely modified and changed.
Scott Van Loo:We're a different campus than we were in that respect from where we were 30 years ago.
Scott Van Loo:But the heart of the institution has remained.
Scott Van Loo:And so last Friday we had over 800 guests here for one of our visit days and go through the whole program, see 40 minutes of just, you know, this is Cedarville.
Scott Van Loo:This is what makes us unique and distinct.
Scott Van Loo:And then I get up at the end and I'm able to just kind of capitalize on that opportunity.
Scott Van Loo:And the thing that always strikes me as I watch the student video is those students are saying the same things I heard students saying 30 years ago.
Scott Van Loo:And we frame it in this thousand days.
Scott Van Loo:You're here for a thousand days as students.
Scott Van Loo:And our goal is to not just see you grow in your education, but then to see you, Lord willing, grow in your faith in a deeper way.
Scott Van Loo:So we're very intentional with that.
Scott Van Loo:Every student graduates with a Bible minor.
Scott Van Loo:We offer chapel every day, which is very unique.
Scott Van Loo:But we have students who generally, when they come here, that's what they want.
Scott Van Loo:That's their passion to grow in their faith, grow in their knowledge, and then be ready to transform the world for Jesus Christ.
Scott Van Loo:And so all that to say that, you know, how do you explain Cedarville University, a school in southwest Ohio in the cornfields that's growing and seeing this?
Scott Van Loo:You know, only 35% of our students come from Ohio.
Scott Van Loo:So students are coming from all over the country and all over the world.
Scott Van Loo:And you can only explain that, but by God, right?
Scott Van Loo:I mean, it's a God thing.
Scott Van Loo:And so when you step here, I really sense that you would.
Scott Van Loo:And you mentioned this, but you really do sense that there's a different spirit and that the spirit is one.
Scott Van Loo:That it is really, I think Christ followers seeking to honor and glorify God in all they do.
Scott Van Loo:And at the same time looking.
Scott Van Loo:And this is where I'm blessed.
Scott Van Loo:The faculty and staff areas that it's really people are here for the mission, not here for any personal accolades or personal growth, but it's here for the mission.
Scott Van Loo:And that is to see our students, their lives transformed.
Scott Van Loo:This is our mission statement.
Scott Van Loo:Their lives transformed by excellent education in submission to biblical authority, and also to see them intentionally discipled while they're here.
Scott Van Loo:So those are, those are things that we just, that's our heart.
Scott Van Loo:It's a God thing.
Scott Van Loo:And it's just awesome to be a part of and privilege to be a part of it.
Phil Cook:Well, as you said, we have been a first hand witness the testimony to it with the chapel every day when you have thousands of students in chapel, it Scott, I said, Scott, you put me in the section where all the kids are out with their Bibles taking notes.
Phil Cook:He said no, Phil, it's all over the place.
Phil Cook:And he's right.
Phil Cook:So, so to you, Scott van Loo and Dr.
Phil Cook:Thomas White, the president, all the people at Cedarville, we're so thrilled that you're a part of NatCap.
Phil Cook:We are especially proud, Scott, that you're a part of what we do, that you're on our board and we thank you for taking time to learn a little bit more about you but also for folks to hear the Cedarville story.
Phil Cook:Thanks so much and we'll see you again soon.
Scott Van Loo:Thank you.
Scott Van Loo:Appreciate that the opportunity and looking forward to seeing you here in a few weeks.
Phil Cook:Yes, sir.
Phil Cook:Thanks Scott.
Heidi Sturm:Be sure to join us next time for the Higher Ed Higher Purpose podcast.
