Starting a new organization on campus has the potential to be a trying experience.  So much time and effort is put into establishing the most basic of framework, then it could all be wiped away at the very first meeting when student turnout can be seen as a gauge regarding future organizational success.  For West Texas A&M’s newest organization, Buff Outreach Leadership Team (BOLT), they exceeded their expectations and had 42 students attend the first meeting.

“I’m excited to see the consultants take on a mentor role,” said Sami Landers, Assistant Director, Office of Student Engagement and Leadership. “I think we have some great student leaders working in our office and to give them the time and space…is a unique experience for them.”

What sets BOLT apart from many other groups on campus is how it is internally organized in such a way that it promotes student leadership from the freshman level on up, giving students a sense of ownership about what happens on a daily basis.

“It is an activities board,” said Landers. “When these BOLT members, when they join, will get to work with, and put on events with our student consultants, in an effort for them to get experience…and having a voice as to what happens on their campus.”

An initiative  from the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership is what inspired the creation of BOLT.  They sought to not only foster student involvement on campus by reaching out to everyone, but they did so with the understanding that typical college-aged students do not necessarily have the time to commit to grand endeavors on a weekly basis.  By creating an organization that allows students to commit as much time as they see fit, while still being involved, it allows each of the students to gain skills in the fields of leadership, event planning and communications.

“I am looking forward to seeing a lot of freshman and sophomore involvement,” said Blake Kelly, student consultant and senior business management major.  “That is our target group for the organization and it is going to be great to see them in these leadership roles.  Normally they would join an organization and simply be a member. Here they will have a lot of empowerment in how things are run.”

With a desire to not only create an organization that succeeds in all aspects of the word, they also hope to establish a culture that allows each of them to feel as if they were truly be a part of the office they will represent as a member of BOLT at the heart of it all is a hope for student success that current student consultants already have.

“We want everyone to love our office,” said Isamar Villarreal, student consultant and senior health sciences major.  “I love our office. It is so much fun here and we like to do many things for our students and that’s why we want everyone to be involved, because that is what makes your college career fun.”