Mavericks connect with fellow students at UTA welcome events
As part of Maverick Stampede, UTA hosted Latin Maverick Welcome and Black Maverick Welcome to introduce new and current students to student groups, student organizations and resources on campus.
The events included sessions on navigating UTA, student success resources and networking opportunities for first-year and transfer students. Juan Piña, a junior majoring in architecture, said he always looks forward to events that help him find his place and connect to his heritage.
“Events like this definitely help us connect with others and help empower undergraduates,” Piña said. “It provides the opportunity to talk to others and show that people can really thrive here at UTA.”
UTA ranks fifth in the United States for the diversity of its undergraduate student population, according to U.S. News and World Report. Events like Latin Maverick Welcome and Black Maverick Welcome are just two of the various events throughout the school year UTA hosts to help students connect with their fellow Mavericks.
“I really look forward to events that culturally engage us and help us stay better connected to our culture,” said Anissa Velasco, a senior and events coordinator for Latinos in Architecture. “These events really help us home in on that sense of connection for incoming students.”
Jason Shelton, associate professor of sociology and director of the UTA Center for African American Studies, said students can make lifelong connections at these events.
“I know when some of the students look back on their college years, they’ll be able to say their lives turned when they got to UTA and recount stories on the people they met at Black Maverick Welcome who played an important role in their future,” Shelton said. “Ultimately, the faster students are able to build community and not feel like they’re on the fringes, the more likely they are to graduate because you bond them to the University.”