Brittany Allen

At 8 am on Saturday, April 11, approximately a 1,000 admitted and potential Wildcats walked on to Centrals campus with their guests to experience the events of Wildcat Day.

Every year, Central provides students the opportunity to get a glimpse of the endless possibilities on campus, by inviting them for a day of activities.

These include activities such as club and organization fairs, academic department fairs, housing and dining information, and residence hall tours.

Associate Dean of Student Living, Richard DeShields, said Wildcat Day is about guiding the transition for students into the next chapter of their lives.

“Wildcat Day was originally created to help students to commit to CWU,” DeShields said. “As we looked at the event, it really started being more about that transition of helping students to that next phase in their life, which is college.”

As part of the first-year experience for new students, DeShields said there were four major goals that are a part of Wildcat Day.

“Connecting to the university, so obviously Wildcat Day helps with that, it’s making the transitions, it’s the academic component; we can help make students see some of the academic pieces, the learning experiences at the university, and it’s the responsible citizenship so that they can see themselves, know what they are expecting and what the university expects of them. Wildcat helps with all of those pieces,” DeShields said.

Sierra Larberg, junior elementary and special education major, is an undergrad intern for new student programs.

Larberg said Wildcat Day is different from summer orientation because the students really get a glimpse of what it’s like to be here during the school year.

“It’s an adrenaline rush having all the students here at once.It’s rewarding hearing the conversations and compliments that they have,” Larberg said.

There is a large amount of preparation that goes into Wildcat Day, especially since the whole University becomes involved.

“It’s a lot of work, and it’s not just from one office, it’s the entire campus that is a part of this,” DeShields said. “It really takes a lot of time and people’s energy so we like to use the term ‘all hands on deck.’ It’s because it is everybody’s event. We have the privilege of coordinating it.”

Josh Ingebretson, junior interdisciplinary studies major, is an RA at Central, and also an undergrad intern for new student programs.

Ingebretson said it’s a great opportunity for students to make connections.

“Students get to know resources that are hard to find even after being here for four years. It helps students to be academically and socially successful,” Ingebretson said.

Incoming transfer student, Michelle Plemmons, from Highline Community College, said her experience at Wildcat Day definitely improved as the day went on.

“It was kind of hectic at first,” Plemmons said. “But once you got in the groove of things it was really interesting to see everything. They sort of had everything in one building so that was good.”

Ultimately, Wildcat Day is a chance for students to connect to the university, and for the Central to show students what it’s like to be a Wildcat. This can be particularly important for incoming student’s success.

 “Wildcat Day is really the idea of rolling out the red carpet, or the crimson carpet, and letting students see Central so that they can ultimately choose Central, so it is phase one of orientation and our new student programs,”DeShields said.