Steinbach Bible College welcomed students this weekend during Discovery Days.

Admissions Counsellor Kaylene Buhler explains Discovery Days is for students Grade 11 and up and it allows them to experience what college life is like and what SBC has to offer.

"Discovery Days is a chance for students to get the heartbeat of who we are and for us the heartbeat is community life," notes Buhler. "So it's very intentional, inclusive, it's fun, it's a vibrant place to live and learn."

Buhler says there are usually between 15 and 25 students who come to Discovery Days and while most are from the local area, they do come from all over Canada.

Teya Derksen and Tyler Peterson attended Discovery Days last year and are now students at SBC. Derksen traveled from Winkler and says it was a great to experience the college while still deciding where she was going to spend the next year of school.

"I arrived and I was really nervous," notes Derksen. "I had a girl named Ashley [in my dorm] who right away friended us on Facebook and said, 'if you need anything just text me.' Then there was getting to know people and going to classes and bowling. On the last day we attended a class, which, I'm in that class right now and that's a class that I said I was going to be in. It's so good, it's a spiritual formation class."

Derksen notes it was important for her to attend a Christian post-secondary school and also to have an accepting and understanding community, "because I was going to be coming when I was very sick and I was not sure if I was going to make it. Luckily I did get well before that, but that was one thing, how nice everyone was about everything and already starting to make exceptions about stuff."

Peterson traveled from British Columbia and says, as an outgoing people person, he found the community life friendly and inviting.

"So I flew in from BC and the Dean of Men picked me up from Winnipeg. We had a good talk on the way out," recalls Peterson. "So I got here on Sunday and met the guys I was rooming with and one of them was actually from Belize, so that was pretty cool. Then we went and watched some sports games that evening. There was bowling and I wasn't very good. Then we went back and had some pizza and got to know all the guys. The next day we attended one class and just got a feel for that. Then we had a talk with the professors about what we were interested in and where we were hoping to go."

Peterson says he knew he wanted to attend a Bible school and was deciding between two. He notes he decided to attend SBC because the community was open and friendly and that was an important aspect for him.

It's been three months since school started and Derksen says she was very focused on her studies at first and was not socializing or involvement in community life. At one point she says she decided to get more involved and has been making new friends, attending sports games and enjoying her time. Peterson says he's been having a lot of fun getting to know other students. Living farther away from home Peterson notes he hasn't been able to go home at all this year but the college community has been able to keep him busy and during fall break there were a few professors who invited him over to their house.

Buhler adds they see many students who attend Discovery Days attend the college later on.