Freshmen the focus this week

news@dailylobo.com
@JamillahSW

For the fourth consecutive year, UNM will center its attention on freshmen for one week.

ASUNM Emerging Lobo Leaders will host the annual UNM Freshmen Week starting today.

ELL is a leadership program that teaches incoming students how to get involved on and off campus. ELL is collaborating with the Dean of Students Office and UNM’s Student Activities Center.

Advanced Lobo Leaders Assistant Director Richard Jojola said this year’s event will be different from previous years because the organization will focus on marketing and student outreach throughout the week. He said the organization aims to get more students involved on campus through the event.

“We’re really focusing on a heavy social media presence to get freshmen aware of UNMFW,” Jojola said. “We have many students from all backgrounds and ages that are helping plan and execute Freshmen Week in ways that they themselves would want to see.”

Jojola said Freshmen Week has seen a low turnout in the past. He said having an event planned by students for students will encourage more freshman awareness on how UNMFW can improve their academic year.

“It’s important that all students participate on campus because it builds a sense of kinship and unity on campus,” he said. “They feel as if this is their school compared to feeling as if they are just a dollar sign at UNM.”

Students can look forward to receiving free prizes, such as class T-shirts and water bottles, throughout the week. There will be an interactive photo contest in which students can participate by posting photos of the events online using the hashtag #UNMFW.

Alexandra Cervantes, a sophomore, said she was looking for ways to get involved and learned about the event on the Facebook page of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico.

Cervantes said she believes her involvement in the event would enhance her college experience.

“I didn’t just want college to be a step toward my career or future,” Cervantes said. “I wanted it to be an experience. College is a time where students are able to be experimental, inquisitive and truly find themselves.”

Lluvia Trevizo, a freshman, said there is a new generation of students that can learn how they can get involved in other agencies by attending the event.

“Being a freshman in college is not easy because we usually do not know what is going on,” Trevizo said. ”But Freshmen Week will definitely help with that.”