WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For the ninth consecutive year, volunteers from Purdue University and the city of West Lafayette will go around the New Chauncey neighborhood Tuesday (Aug. 25) evening to greet students living off campus and welcome them to West Lafayette and Purdue.
The main purpose of the Meet and Greet program is to foster a strong relationship between Purdue and the West Lafayette community.
“We want students to feel genuinely welcome,” said Thomas Robinson, vice president for student services. “Over the years, the response has been very, very positive from the students. They are really pleased when we knock on their doors and greet them.”
Adam Kline, president of Purdue Student Government, said “Meet and Greet” embodies Purdue’s friendly environment.
“I participated in this event last year,” Kline said. “When you first knock on someone’s door, they might be a bit hesitant, but when you greet them back to Purdue, they really appreciate it.”
Volunteers will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Purdue Visitors’ Information Center on Northwestern Avenue, Robinson said. Each volunteer will get a gold Meet and Greet T-shirt, a street map of the New Chauncey neighborhood showing student residences, and door hangers with information about Purdue and West Lafayette that they will leave at each residence they visit, Robinson said.
Volunteers will then divide into teams of two or three people and walk around New Chauncey making their visits.
Meet and Greet is arranged jointly by the Purdue University and West Lafayette Community Partnership teams. Robinson is the chair of the Purdue team and Kline is a member of the group.
The main purpose of the teams is to come together and foster a strong relationship between Purdue and the West Lafayette, said Chandler Poole, chair of the West Lafayette team and director of development for West Lafayette. “It also gives us a chance for us to make West Lafayette a great community for everyone.”
Meet and Greet is open to any West Lafayette resident and Purdue community member who wants to volunteer.
