CANYON, Texas — Students and potential students at West Texas A&M University will get a direct line into one of the University’s most important services with the launch of a new podcast.
“Advisers Ask,” produced by WT Advising Services and hosted by Candice Copelin and Hershel Neal, will launch May 19 and will be available via Buzz Sprout, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
“We want to reach students in a new way so that valuable information is available to them at all times,” said Frank Navarrete, senior academic adviser. “This podcast will cover a variety of topics, from finding your fit on campus, to financial literacy, to the differences between online and in-person classes, to how to bounce back from setbacks.”
The podcast will help advisers “meet students where they are in order to help them succeed,” said Copelin, assistant director of Advising Services and transfer coordinator.
“We want to help students understand that advisers aren’t only there to help them make their schedules,” Copelin said. “We want to help each and every student be successful and reach their goals.”
Special episodes will target faculty members to answer their questions about advising students, as well.
Copelin, who joined Advising Services in 2018, is a Spur native who earned her bachelor’s in social sciences and her master’s in communication at WT.
Neal, an Amarillo native, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at WT and has worked in Advising Services as an adviser since 2001.
Several episodes are planned for the summer, and episodes will drop biweekly during the academic year.
WT Advising Services offers 12 staff advisers and a team of faculty members who help students map out a plan for academic success.
“Advisers Ask” joins a lineup of WT-related podcasts, including the student-run “I Am WT,” President Walter V. Wendler’s “Reflections from WT” and others.
The new podcast is an example of how WT recruits, retains and rewards students and puts people first, a key principle of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021— has raised more than $125 million and will continue through 2025.
