Nearly 150 students converged on University of Texas Permian Basin Tuesday for the first orientation session of the summer — getting the sight, sound, smell and taste of college life.
The event, which goes into Wednesday, includes students and parents. Students hear from many offices and departments across campus who provide them resources to be successful. They’ll also connect with other first-time students and have the opportunity to join student organizations. They also stay on campus to allow them to get the experience of housing and what college feels like.
President Sandra Woodley gave an overview of campus transformation plans for the quad and Mesa Building. Students also got to see the library with the eSports area.
“I’m just so happy to be the president here. I’ve been here six years. I love this university. I love the people of this university. We have the best students around and we hope that you’ll find your way here and we’ll take good care of you when you’re here,” Woodley said.
Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Becky Spurlock told students her job is to make the university work for them.
“When you hit bumps in the road — there will be bumps. It’s just the nature of the college experience. We want you to know that you’ve chosen a place that’s big enough to have the resources to help you, but small enough that people will know your name. They’ll be ready to help you. The people in this room. The people in the cafeteria or the Mesa Market, your faculty. You’ll make friends with all sorts of people across campus. Everybody is ready to help you, so I have just one piece of advice that I’m going to give you … don’t suffer in silence,” Spurlock said. “When things go wrong, tell somebody.”
She added that students need to tell a resident assistant, a faculty member, a staff member, or her.
“You don’t have to remember my name or my title. My hair is always some amount of pink. … You’ll see me running around campus. Just stop me … and say, hey, can I tell you something,” or email her, Spurlock said.
Ashley Castillo, who will be a junior studying child and family studies, was one of the orientation leaders. She wanted that job because she loves the school so much.
“I wanted to be a part of something that made other people love the school as much as I do,” Castillo said.
A student in the early college program, Castillo, who is from Slaton, was a distance student at UTPB so she learned a lot through that. She decided to come back to school later in her life. She’s 21 now.
“This campus loves you as much as you will love it. Even if you don’t love it, it will still love you. My biggest thing is this campus will help you through (whatever you are going through). I have been to many places for school and I’ve never had a school love me back as much as I love it. I’ve never had a school help me through so much as a student,” Castillo said.
Program Coordinator for Student Life Joshua Lujan is a graduate of UTPB. Being involved in orientation is his favorite thing to do. He added that he loves being part of UTPB.
“It’s a wonderful experience. I really enjoy it. It’s fulfilling for me. I wanted to be a teacher and then I knew that wasn’t the route for me. I knew I wanted to work with students, so this is the wonderful capacity that I get to mentor students with my orientation staff and also get to reach new students that come into our programs every single year,” Lujan said.
Students go through the welcome. They learn about financial aid and how to pay for college, among other things.
“Alongside all the academic offices that they get to talk to, they get to meet student organizations and other departments and … get connected to the university. Our little motto and phrase that we are using this year is one connection changes everything,” Lujan said. “That is something that we truly believe in because meeting one person can truly change everything.”
He added that his message to students is take chances.
“This is your time to invest in the next four or five years of your life, so the experience truly is what you make it. Do things that make you happy. Do things that encourage you to explore and push your boundaries because right now is the time to do it,” Lujan said.
