wednesday
October 10, 2012
Vol. 95 • No. 15
www.therambler.org
The Rambler The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Lady Rams take more than just athletics from Wesleyan.
Wesleyan theatre students’ dreams become a reality.
Sports 8
Arts & Entertainment, page 6
Wesleyan athletics join the SAC Emma Fradette ekfradette@txwes.edu
The Texas Wesleyan athletic program has announced a big move in which Wesleyan will now be a part of the Sooner Athletic Conference starting the 2013-2014 academic year. Steve Trachier, head athletic director, said the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees approved the move on Sept. 4. Wesleyan has been a part of the Red River Athletic Conferece for 10 years, but the SAC will bring different benefits for student -athletes. “There will be shorter distances for competition, which will mean less time lost for student-athletes and fewer overnight trips,” Trachier said. “Also, we will have a visible presence in Oklahoma’s largest city.” Trachier said the greater presence in Oklahoma City will bring recruiting benefits. “We are hoping to draw student athletes from that area,” Trachier said. Kevin Millikan, assistant athletic director and head women’s golf coach, said the geographic location of the Sooner Conference schools is a big reason why Wesleyan moved conferences.
Mentorship supports new students Joshua Dunk
jkdunk@txwes.edu
Meisa Kelvani Najafabadi | Rambler Staff Texas Wesleyan men’s basketball played Louisiana State University-Shreveport in the Red River Athletic Conference tournament at Southwestern Assemblies of God University. SAGU willl also move to the Sooner Conference with Wesleyan.
“Geographically, Sooner Conference teams are closer than most of those in the Red River,” Millikan said. “Student athletes had to miss a lot of class.” Wesleyan is not the only school moving from the
RRAC to the SAC. Northwood University and Southwestern Assemblies of God University are also making the transition to the more competitive conference. According to www.soon-
erathletic.org, the SAC is one of the top conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and was founded in 1978. The SAC has 10 teams in the conference, and Wesleyan athletics welcomed
the invitation to join. Millikan said the Sooner Conference is a great league with great teams. “Almost every Sooner Conference participant has
athletics, page 3
Walking through the halls of Texas Wesleyan can be a bit intimidating even for seniors, but especially for first-time freshmen. Through the mentorship program, students are offered a chance to work with other students, faculty and staff by giving them support and guidance. Ashley Newkirk, coordinator of New Students Programs, believes the mentorship program is a valuable resource for new students. “When students have problems or just need someone to talk to, they can turn to their mentor for direction,” Newkirk said.“The program aims to help students transition to Texas Wesleyan University.” Newkirk said the Mentorship Program matches new freshmen and transfer students with a faculty, staff or upperclassman mentor. Mentors provide the support, encouragement and guidance new students often need for a successful college experience. Julia Paige, freshman psychology major, was nervous her first couple of days at Texas Wesleyan. “I was just fresh from high school, and the summer was not enough time to be prepared for all that college had
mentors, page 3
Go Centers help students prepare for college
Rachel Peel
rlpeel@txwes.edu
Students at North Crowley High School wander around the halls aimlessly as they move from class to class. They peek in the door of a nearby classroom and see a bowl full of candy sitting on the table. One young man sneaks into the room to grab a piece of candy and is greeted with a warm “Hello” by a G-Force mentor who is a member of the Go Center project. Denelle Rodriguez, assistant director of operations with the office of undergraduate admissions at Texas Wesleyan, said the Go Center project was designed to bring college access and financial information to kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Wesleyan is a part of that project. The project’s primary goal is to create and maintain permanent Go Centers within public schools. Rodriguez said Wesleyan has partnered with this program since 2006. The initial partnership was with Polytechnic High School but now has spread to five other high schools in the Fort Worth Independent School District. Rodriguez said the Go Center’s mentors are known as G-Force mentors. The mentors are hired work-study students who are trained on
site on giving resources to help high school students get into college. “We are mentoring them on all aspects of going to college,” Rodriquez said. “To get them to think past high school.” Rodriguez said the G-force mentors also help them prepare for their SAT’s and ACT tests as well. Mentors help students sign up for the test and help them do college research and applications as well. Jetti Matthews, junior math with secondary certification major, is a G-force mentor who said she loves her job assisting students. “The reason why I want to [work at the Go Center] is to help them,” Matthews said, “to start to close the gap and to let my students know there is higher education.” Matthews said Go Centers is a perfect job for her, since she wants to teach high school math. “Pretty much any obstacle they have, we help them overcome it,” Matthews said. Trent Sandles, junior business management major, said he decided to work at the Go Centers because his high school did not have anyone to point him in the right direction when he got close to graduation. “Really just making sure the students have every opportunity that they can to get
Rachel Peel | Rambler Staff Yvette Rodriguez, senior education major, helps Jaylon Williams,11th grader at Polytechnic High School search online for various colleges to apply for in the spring. The Go Center also helps students sign up to take the SAT and ACT tests.
in contact with the universities,” Sandles said. Sandles said when he was a senior in high school, having a Go Center in his school, it would have helped him understand the college process better. “There were a lot of ques-
tions that I had as a high school junior and senior, that I didn’t have the ability to have answered,” Sandles said. “Because at a 5A high school with 600 seniors, the counselors couldn’t possibly get to everybody and sit down and speak with them.”
Sandles said there were a lot of things he did not know about college, and his counselors were not available to get back and answer some of the questions he had. Rodriguez said currently the program is funded through the Texas Higher
Education Board. The grant Wesleyan has is a two-year grant, and this is the final year. “You don’t have to stop after high school, “Matthews said. “You don’t have to stay in the same place. You actually can go on and do higher and better things.”