This year’s freshmen have been told over and over how important it is to get involved on campus. That it helps students stay in school, it helps them have higher grades, and that they will have a much better over-all college experience. However, upper classmen may not have had this same lecture. So for them (and freshmen too) iWeek has been created.

Don Albrecht, Vice President of Student Affairs, first approached Skip Chisum, Director of the Jack B. Kelley Student Center, and Amber Black, Manager of Student Success Center, during the spring, asking them to put together a week of organizations and offices that would help students feel more comfortable at WTAMU. Out of this came Involvement Week, or iWeek.

“It’s important that students realize that every day is different,” Black said.

The purpose of Monday’s fair, iSucceed, was to inform students about the academic and health services WT provides.

The second day, iBelong, is a way for students to connect with social groups on campus.

iCare, on Wednesday, is a volunteer fair. Students led organizations from the WT campus, as well as Amarillo and Canyon groups will inform students of the many ways they can help others in the area.

Then, closing out the week is the iBelieve fair on Thursday. This fair will have faith based organizations that are run from the campus.

Each day, the fair will begin at 9 a.m. and end sometime around 1 p.m. Three fairs (iSucceed, iCare, and iBelieve) will be held inside the JBK. iBelong, however, will be too large to fit in the JBK, and will be moved to the Pedestrian Mall just outside of the JBK.

At the entrance of each fair, there will be a main booth set up that will be worked by CORE office employees.  This booth will have a place for students to swipe in with their Buffalo Gold Cards and enter themselves in a drawing for Apple products.

“If you bring your Buff Gold Card and swipe it every day, you’ll be in the drawing for an iPad, an iTouch, and a couple of iPods,” Chisum said. “But, if you come all four days, then your name is in the drawing four times.”

In addition to the iWeek fair, different departments will have booths set up outside of their main offices on Monday. This was added for students, such as nursing or engineering majors, whose departmental building is not located close to the JBK so that they can still see what organizations their own department sponsors.

“We’re trying to get those organizations that are specifics to departments,” Black said. “We want them to participate and have a table set up to try to say, ‘Hey, biology majors. We’re right here outside of your class and we have a club that we’d like you to get involved in. So, we’re hoping that it will be a different way to reach some students who may not be walking through the JBK during the fair.”

Students are highly encouraged to actively participate in this fair, exchanging information with groups that interest them and to just ask questions.

For more information about iWeek, students can visit the University’s website, or ask anyone wearing a white iWeek shirt.