Written by Jeanine Horio, Transfer Jacks Peer Mentor
National Transfer Student Week, organized by the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS), is a week dedicated to celebrating transfer students and the professionals who have supported them throughout their journey. It is an annual event that takes place during the third week of October. This year the celebration took place from October 17-October 21. Nationally, the theme was “Plugged In,” with the idea of connecting students to resources and support available to them on campus. Here is the NISTS webpage to read more information about National Transfer Student Week across the nation: https://bit.ly/NITSTransferWeek
This year, our team decided to go with the theme of “Portraits of Success.” Transfer Jacks Graduate Assistant Giselle shares, “Many people talk about success as an end goal or final destination. Personally, I believe that the journey we take to reach our goals is success in and of itself. So, when we think about what success looks like, I think of the special and unique journeys that transfer students’ experience; hence – Portraits of Success.” Our team’s theme was created by Transfer Jacks GA, Giselle, and Transfer Mentor, Cora. Like the week itself, our team always wants to highlight and celebrate the successes of our transfer students that have already taken place and are still to come.
We had a week full of fun events for our transfer students and their friends to attend.
Monday was our Make-It-Monday event, where students had the opportunity to destress from midterms and get crafty. Our attendees were able to paint many different things like a craft pumpkin, some canvases, wood cookie ornaments, and more. Transfer Mentor, Leah, shares some of her thoughts about the event: “Make-it-Monday was a 
great experience for me and for all the mentees that attended. We had a variety of items for students and friends to paint! It was so cool seeing everyone’s creative juices flowing and watching everyone destress from midterms. This event was super fun to participate in and watch students make friends with each other.” We had a total of 26 people attend, both transfer students and non-transfer students. Everyone in attendance is so artistic and talented and we enjoyed bringing out everyone’s creative side.
Tuesday was our Hybrid Bingo event, where we were able to include our Jacks Online and NAU Statewide students in a few, fun rounds of Bingo. Our prizes consisted of a plethora of NAU merchandise and as our “grand prizes,” two squishmallows were given out. Transfer
Mentor, Jennifer, expresses that the event was a great night. “It was amazing to see how excited and competitive individuals could get. Students had a great time bonding with others, and I loved connecting with other transfer students virtually and in person.” We had a total of 25 people attend, transfer students, non-transfer students, and online students. It was most certainly a fun night being able to play some Bingo with student.
Wednesday was our Pictures on the Pedway tabling event. We had some cookies and hot
beverages to hand out that was sponsored by our Tau Sigma National Honor Society chapter, Delta Kappa. Students were able to stop by our table for a cookie and a hot beverage on the windy day. We were also able to capture some photos of our transfer students to add to our photo wall in the Transfer Lounge. We had a total of 123 people stop by our table, both transfer students and non-transfer students. Transfer Mentor,
Kalie, shares some thoughts on how the event went: “It was so exciting to see our transfer students’ willingness to get involved. I love seeing the polaroid photos we took of everyone on the wall in the lounge.” Our team was more than happy to provide students with a sweet treat and a hot beverage on a windy day, while being able to spread more awareness on who we are and what we do.
Friday, both our Transfer Jacks team and our Jacks Online team released a video in honor of National Transfer Student Week. We would like to recognize Transfer Mentor, Jeanine, and Jacks Online Coordinator, Taylor, for taking the time to put together the videos of our Flagstaff-Mountain campus and Online campus transfer students, as they shared their stories. We would like to thank and recognize the students for taking the time to be a part of our video. We are appreciative and thankful for their contributions and hope that their stories will allow people to better understand the transfer student experience.
Transfer Jacks Video: https://bit.ly/TransferJacksVideo
Jacks Online Video: https://youtu.be/E1InCLOwDVs
To end the week, our team took a group of students to Sedona on Saturday. We made our way down to Sedona bright and early to hike Margs Draw trail and visit Tlaquepaque. We had 11 students in attendance and 6 people from our team on our Sedona trip. “Our Sedona hike was the perfect way to relax and take a step away from school. The drive and the hike were beautiful, and it always feels a little magical being around the Red Rocks,” according to Transfer Mentor, Kelsei. “I also loved getting to know all the different types of transfer students and was lucky enough to enjoy lunch with a few of them.” We most certainly enjoyed our trip out to Sedona and can’t wait for the next one!
“Being a transfer student is never lonely here at NAU, especially during National Transfer Student Week,” according to transfer student, Hannah Paluch. “Our wonderful transfer program hosted many events such as a craft night, a hybrid bingo night, Pictures on the Pedway, and so much more! Attending all of these events really helped me break out of my shell and meet other transfer students here on campus.” Hannah also shares some advice with current and future transfer students: “If you are a current transfer student here at NAU, or are thinking about transferring to this fantastic university, never worry about experiencing college-life on your own, because our amazing peer mentors and staff will always be there if you need anything!”
We would like to thank everyone who continues to advocate for and support our transfer students. We would also like to thank those who participated in our events this year and hoped everyone had a fun time. National Transfer Student Week is something we wish to continue celebrating for many years to come to continue recognizing, honoring, and celebrating our transfer students at the Flagstaff campus, the online campus, and the statewide campuses.