On Jan. 28, Biola Admissions for undergraduate students hosted an event called Coffee & Singspiration where prospective students were able to come with their questions to Heritage Café for a free coffee before heading over to Singspiration, one of Biola’s weekly chapels. Singspiration is an hour-long worship chapel led by a student band. This Sunday’s Singspiration was Biola’s annual Gospel Fest hosted by Student Enrichment and Intercultural Development (SEID) along with the Gospel Choir which is leading worship with special guests Cory Henry, Kourtney Kimbrough and Roman Collins. The whole event was free.
COFFEE CALLS!
The offer of a free drink certainly piques the interest of many prospective students who registered for the event according to Emily Sagherian, the associate director of Freshman Outreach, Recruitment and Campus Visits.
Sagherian said, “I think [the prospective students] might initially be interested in free coffee, but are truly drawn in by the community at Biola. There is surely a reason we have students attend every Coffee & Singspiration event we host in the academic year, and I have a feeling it’s not just the free coffee. Low commitment, yet authentic events are a big hit with future students, and I am grateful for the impact this little event is making.”
Billie Padilla, the recruitment coordinator and creator of the event agrees.
“I mean…don’t we all love free things? But in all seriousness, as I’ve witnessed these past events, it’s the community that has a strong influence on the students [who are] interested,” Padilla said. “Seeing the prospectives and current students engaging with one another, hearing them share each other’s stories, getting their questions answered. I’ve had students message me thanking me for inviting them, and how they enjoyed getting to know the current students and other prospective students. They also expressed how they definitely feel the Lord’s presence at chapel, and how it’s beautiful that Biola’s community come together in worship and prayer.”
MORE ABOUT COFFEE & SINGSPIRATION WITH ADMISSION
This event occurs monthly and was not the first. It originally began a couple of years ago.
Padilla said, “The first Coffee & Singspo was hosted in the spring of 2022, and we’ve been coordinating them once a month.”
She went on to explain how the event was born.
“When we first started this event back in April of 2022, we only had one student (junior in high school at the time) attend,” Padilla said. “Although the quantity was low, the quality was so genuine as the students and I were getting to know each other over coffee at Heritage Cafe. I shared about my experience being a Biola student, while she shared with me her questions about Biola along with her hopes and dreams. At the end of the event, the student expressed to me how much she loved Singspiration and our time together, and to let her know when we’ll be having Coffee & Singspo again.”
From this moment, the event became even more of a success.
Padilla said, “The more we hosted this event, the more attendance slowly increased as this student attended each one, inviting friends from her school. December of 2023 was when we had the biggest attendance with 40 prospective students.”
This month, the same number of prospective students were anticipated at Coffee and Singspiration on Jan. 28.
Sagherian said, “In January I am hopeful that we’ll see a similar attendance to December of around 40 students. This event is starting to draw the attention of local churches as well – we are thrilled to have Fullerton Free’s youth group upperclassmen attend January’s event.”
Singspiration is one of Biola’s most beloved chapels among students and Coffee and Singspiration invites prospective students to take a peek into the spiritual lifeblood of the community at Biola University with the treat of a free coffee.
