Throughout February, representatives of the Agricultural Sciences Department traveled to stock shows and contests to recruit students for WTAMU. Over the course of a year, the department will also travel on approximately 18 trips to recruit.

“Recruiting is beneficial to the University,” Dr. Lance Keith, professor of Agricultural Education and Faculty Director of LEAD WT, said. “Recruiting means a relationship. It means selling, and it means being proud of WT.”

Recruiting, for some, is more about the students than about the school.

“When recruiting students, let the conversation be about them and what they’re good at,” Hayden Alexander, senior Plant and Soil Science major, said. “It’s not all about how the school can help them but rather how they can help the school.”

When departments recruit students, they not only talk to the students but also teachers, parents and county extension agents.

“Next to parents, teachers and agents have a strong influence on where their students will attend college,” Kieth said.

Responsibility of recruting normally falls into the hands of faculty and the administration of the University in order to maintain an effective relationship between the potential student and the school.

“University faculty are the most powerful recruiters on campus,” Kieth said. “To maintain an effective recruiting program, there must be an importance placed on the effort by the university administration.”

Alongside with university faculty, students also play a big role in recruiting. They are able to obtain real world experiences, learn to network and learn how to communicate to strangers.

“Recruiting is very personable,” Taylor Eurich, senior Agriculture major, said. “It makes people feel wanted. Not only was I being recruited by faculty, but also through students that were currently at WT.”