Every third week of October, Eastern Michigan University celebrates National Transfer Student week, which is an opportunity to recognize the portion of the student body who are coming to EMU from another school.
This year, the Holman Success Center celebrated transfer students throughout the week of Oct. 21-25, encouraging transfer students to recognize their achievements and learn about the different resources available to them.
National Transfer Student Week is facilitated by the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students, or NISTS. This year, they focused on the theme “Unlocking Potential: Keys to the Transfers Journey” in order to emphasize the different skills and areas of knowledge that transfer students bring to their schools.
They encouraged campuses to both celebrate the transfer student experience, and enhance institutional support. For EMU, this meant providing educational and relaxing opportunities for transfer students to attend, along with emphasizing the myriad of ways they can be supported through different school programs.
“National Transfer Student Week is an opportunity for us as a community to celebrate transfer students, recognize all their hard work, help them continue to build community, and then also recognize those that are supporting transfer students,” said Jenna Royale, Michigan College and University Partnership (MICUP) Program graduate assistant and success coach.
First, the week began with posters of encouragement being placed in front of Halle Library. These posters featured photos and remarks by current transfer students and supportive faculty. On Tuesday Oct. 22, transfer students could enjoy a relaxing night of coloring, popcorn, and a double feature of Addams Family.
The next day, transfer students headed to the Student Center for a trick-or-treat style event. Different entities around campus, like the Honors College, Academic Advising Center, MICUP-BEAT, and more handed out candy to students who attended, as they learned about the different resources available to them on campus. Then, on Thursday Oct. 24, a Study Table Takeover happened in the evening at Halle Library. The final event was a Paint Your Own Pottery night, happening at Glaze Pottery on Friday night.
“It has been awesome seeing the turnout at events this year,” Royale said. “Seeing transfer students that are mostly commuters or are mostly taking online classes meet at these events and create a community… it’s been very rewarding.”
Royale hoped that transfer students could unwind and feel a sense of community during National Transfer Student Week. Royale herself was a transfer student during her undergrad, and knows firsthand the excitement, and stress, that transferring brings.
“Going to one school and learning all the rules is really hard, and then picking up and moving, establishing a new community, making new friends, learning a new campus, learning a new school system. It's really, really, really, really hard,” Royale said.
Royale hopes that transfer students continue to build a community and utilize campus resources even after National Transfer Student Week concludes. People like herself and Jackson are consistently working to ensure transfer students' success, both on and off campus.
“[Jackson] genuinely cares so much about students and engagement and improving engagement, so that's been really awesome. She's working really hard to build a robust network between all the organizations on campus so we can find the best ways to support transfer students,” Royale said.
For more information on transfer student resources, please reach out to the Holman Success Center.
