“Your Community, Your University” Tour – Panhandle
In 2017, President Wendler embarked on the "Your Community, Your University" tour, visiting virtually every public and private high school in the top 26 counties of Texas and speaking with students about their aspirations for the future. In total, President Wendler spoke to approximately 8,440 students in 66 schools and traveled nearly 6,890 miles.
In 2019, he took the tour to Region 17, visiting 66 schools in the South Plains. On this leg, President Wendler spoke to approximately 15,900 students and traveled nearly 6,995 miles.
In 2021, he hit the road again with Region 16 Tour 2.0. In total, he visited 67 schools, spoke to a total of 11,080 students and traveled 3,865.2 miles.
As before, residents of the counties in Region 16 were given time and advice from a university president, who came to their hometowns to shake their hands and advocate for affordable college options.
Paul Engler College of Agriculture & Natural Sciences
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Paul & Virginia Engler College of Business
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College of Education and Social Sciences
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College of Engineering
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Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities
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College of Nursing and Health Sciences
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The connections made on the first tour changed WT for the better. Over time, these connections led to several initiatives at WT including the WT Principal’s Scholars (WTPS) program, which invites high school principals in Region 16 to recommend five deserving students for automatic admission to WT yearly; a housing incentive plan, which offers up to a year of free housing for students who elect to live on campus; and automatic transfer scholarships, which guarantees thousands of dollars in scholarship to transfer students who meet the academic requirements.
President Wendler wrote an eBook reflecting on the "Your Community, Your University" tours, detailing what students should look for in a college. "Considering College," featuring a foreword by The Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, was shared with more than 43,000 people and is available online. To commemorate the two tours, a short video was created.