All around West Texas A&M University’s campus, students are taking the initiative to make a positive impact within the campus community. From the College of Education and Social Sciences to the College of Business, students are leading the way in creating positive changes.
Zyna Juma, a double major in political science and computer science, founded The Dr. Eddie Henderson Acceleration, Connectivity, and Togetherness Mentorship Program (ACT) program with a few of her friends. Pairing experienced upperclassmen with in-person incoming and first-time students, the initiative strives to create a nurturing environment that promotes a sense of belonging. Under the program, student mentors offer insights on navigating campus life, academic challenges, and personal growth.
“ACT is a peer mentorship program that I founded last year alongside a few of my friends,” Juma said. “Statistics show that students have a harder time communicating with their educators. Connecting with someone who may be of a higher-class level helps them be more connected, understand and share those obstacles that they may have gone through, and be able to navigate through them together. ACT’s goal was to help build those bridges for those students.”
Brandy Carr serves as the Faculty Advisor for the Engler Business Ambassadors. The program has undergraduate students connect and engage with students to create a community within the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business.
“[Engler Business Ambassadors] are representatives of students here in the College of Business,’ Carr said. “They have been able to provide us a lot of feedback from a student perspective… They’re also a visible presence for our students.”
Finally, WT AmeriCorps or Buff Coaches are students who serve under-resourced and rural communities across the Texas Panhandle. Through the Rural Resilience and Opportunity on the High Plains program (R2OHP), students work to build a more inclusive environment where all people thrive in sustainable careers and communities.
“I feel like AmeriCorps is an organization that is very focused on helping their local community which is a very positive thing,” Reagan Riddle, an AmeriCorps mentor said. “They really care about what goes on here at WT with their students, and everyone across the Panhandle, with the variety of service they do through the organization.”
Within these initiatives, WT students are making a difference in their community. These students are not just learning; they are leading. The legacy they are building is not just for today but for generations to come.
“I mean, I think students are making positive changes all the time,” Carr said. “I also think just speaking up when you have the opportunity, or when [students] feel like something needs to be said.”
