Purdue, West Lafayette to welcome students living off campus

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - For the 18th consecutive year, volunteers from Purdue University and the city of West Lafayette will go around the New Chauncey and Northwestern Heights neighborhoods on Tuesday (Aug. 22) evening to meet students living off campus and welcome them to West Lafayette and Purdue.

Frank Dooley, chair of the Purdue Community Partnership team, said the traditional event welcomes students living off campus and shows them that they are a valued part of both the Purdue and West Lafayette communities. He said the main goal is to meet students face-to-face and ease their transition into the community.

“A large number of students live off campus and many of them will be transitioning to living on their own from being in residence halls,” said Sam Eschker, Purdue Student Government president. “It is crucial that they feel that the Purdue community extends beyond just campus and into where they live. The “Meet and Greet” cultivates this welcoming environment at the beginning of every year.”

Marcela Martinez, president of Purdue Graduate Student Government, is eager for the outreach.

“This year, one of Purdue Graduate Student Government’s main goals is giving back to the Purdue and West Lafayette-Lafayette community with our outreach and service programs,” Martinez said. “Having the opportunity to welcome new graduate students and their families with an event like this is particularly important toward building those bridges between the students and the community. The involvement of city and university representatives really goes the extra mile to make them feel welcome here in West Lafayette and at Purdue.”

Volunteers will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Graduate Student Center on Northwestern Avenue.  Each volunteer will receive a gold Meet and Greet T-shirt, a street map of the near-campus neighborhoods showing student residences, and door hangers with information about Purdue and West Lafayette that they will leave at each residence they visit, Dooley said.

Volunteers will then divide into small teams and walk around the neighborhoods to make their visits.

Meet and Greet is arranged jointly by the Purdue University and West Lafayette Community Partnership teams. 

The main purpose of the teams is to work together to build on the strong relationship between Purdue and the city of West Lafayette, said Beverly Shaw, chair of the West Lafayette Community Partnership Team.

West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said, “Those of us already here know that West Lafayette and Purdue are great places to be. We want to share that sense of pride in our community with students who may be new to West Lafayette."

Meet and Greet is open to any West Lafayette resident and Purdue community member who wants to volunteer. 

Sources: Frank Dooley, dooleyf@purdue.edu 

Bev Shaw, 765-775-5161, bshaw@westlafayette.in.gov 

John Dennis, 765-775-5100, mayor@westlafayette.in.gov