The purpose of my visit to Denver was to visit Denver Seminary in Littleton, CO. I am still waiting to hear on financial aid to see if I will try to go in the fall or spring. (As a side note, as I was typing that sentence, I AM capitalized itself. Hi, God! Yes, I am trying to remember to have faith that the money will work out.) I have been trying to discern if this is truly the next step in my journey, so I signed up for their Adventure Preview to get a better feel for the school. There is only so much you can learn online. I need to meet some of the people, ask a few questions, and get a feel for their theology.

I started out the morning very early with my bus ride back to the airport to pick up my rental car. I found all the bus drivers to be very helpful and friendly. I asked for a transfer from the first bus, and he let me ride for free and wait to pay until I got on my second bus. There are a lot of beautiful parks in Denver.

At the school we were greeted by the admissions staff and the Vice President of Student Life, Robert Jones. At my table were Maggie from Lincoln, NE, Tom from Cape Cod, MA, and Casie from Austin, TX. The devotion was lead by the director of my program, Dr. Larry Lindquist. It was excellent and exactly what I needed to hear. We took a campus tour, which didn't take long since the campus is compact. The campus was relocated in 2005 so the buildings are all pretty new.

During lunch we were paired with a professor from our program. I learned that the Outdoor Leadership program just graduated its first class this year. They also took some funny photos of us which we later learned will be posted in the hall of the admissions wing. I will post mine once I get it. After lunch we sat in on a class with Dr. Lindquist which was EXCELLENT. Throughout the day we also heard more about financial aid, housing, and talked to current students. It was really helpful to hear how they juggle work and school and their suggestions for balance.

The best part of the day was hearing about their training and mentoring program. Each student works on two contracts a semester with a mentor. These contracts are kind of like independant studies that are individually designed to help develop a skill that is lacking or character issue that needs to be worked out. You work on your plan with a mentor to guide you. They have found this to really help develop better leaders and decrease burnout. This school is on the forefront of this type of mentoring. I have always wanted to go to a school that developed both the academic and the spiritual, and I was really impressed by their approach.

After our day was through I spent some time driving around the area. I first headed toward the mountains and found a beautiful area with their own private red rocks (don't tell them I snooped around, okay?). I found some more beautiful parks and an area of Denver that looked a lot like 12 South neighborhood in Nashville. I did grab some dinner at Gunther Toody's since I was exhausted by the time I made it back to my hotel. Don't order the cheese fries unless you think cheese gravy is a good idea!