Purdue, West Lafayette to welcome students living off campus
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - For the 10th consecutive year, volunteers from Purdue University and the city of West Lafayette will go around the New Chauncey neighborhood on Tuesday (Aug. 24) evening to meet students living off campus and welcome them to West Lafayette and Purdue.
"We want students living off campus to be welcomed back and to know that they are a vital part of the university and West Lafayette communities," said Melissa Exum, vice president for student affairs. "Anyone who has moved into a new neighborhood knows that it's a good feeling to answer a knock at your door and see a friendly face."
Brad Krites, president of Purdue Student Government, said "Meet and Greet" embodies the best characteristics of the university and the city.
"This is a positive experience for both the volunteers and the students," Krites said. "Meet and Greet is about building a sense of community and extending a hand of friendship. It's an important first step in kicking off the new academic year."
Volunteers will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Purdue Visitors' Information Center on Northwestern Avenue. Each volunteer will get a gold Meet and Greet T-shirt, a street map of the New Chauncey neighborhood showing student residences, and door hangers with information about Purdue and West Lafayette that they will leave at each residence they visit, Exum said.
Volunteers will then divide into small teams and walk around New Chauncey to make their visits.
Meet and Greet is arranged jointly by the Purdue University and West Lafayette Community Partnership teams. Exum is the chair of the Purdue team and Krites is a member of the group.
"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 team and marketing and grants administrator for West Lafayette.
"Those of us already here know that West Lafayette and Purdue are great places to be," Mayor John Dennis said. "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.
Writer: Brian Zink, 765-494-2080, bzink@purdue.edu
Sources: Melissa Exum, 765-494-5776, exum@purdue.edu
Brad Krites, 765-494-7201, bkrites@purdue.edu
Bev Shaw, 765-775-5161, bshaw@westlafayette.in.gov
John Dennis, 765-775-5100, mayor@westlafayette.in.gov