More Than 300 Graduate Students Attend First Two-Day Residency at Wayland Baptist's Irving Location

IRVING, Texas - More than 300 master's and doctoral students from across the United States gathered at Wayland Baptist University's new Irving location Sept. 25-26 for the facility's first two-day graduate residency.

The Fall 1 residency marked another milestone for the Irving location, which opened Aug. 8 to serve graduate students in Dallas-Fort Worth and participants in Wayland's growing International Program.

The residency brought students together for in-person instruction and an opportunity to meet faculty, administrators and fellow graduate students while pursuing programs that otherwise draw participants from around the country.

Sowmya Shankar, an international student from Little Rock, Arkansas, described the first day of classes as engaging and praised the accessibility of faculty and staff.

"It went so well, and everybody was so good," Shankar said. "Everyone was so friendly. Everybody was available here for whatever your question was. I'm excited about tomorrow."

Dr. Joshua Switzer, Wayland's vice president of strategic initiatives and innovations and chief of staff, was among the university administrators and educators who welcomed students during the residency.

"Seeing students from across the country come together for our first Irving residency was exciting," Switzer said. "The turnout reflects the reach of these programs across the nation and the importance of giving students a place to connect with Wayland and one another as they pursue their degrees."

Wayland opened the Irving location ahead of the fall semester to establish an instructional and student-support presence for graduate students in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The university's next two-day residency in Irving is scheduled for Oct. 23-24.