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GREEN LOCATIONS ON CAMPUS ADDED TO NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION TOURS
Prospective students and visitors now learn that the University
of Houston cares about going green during their first visit to
campus. The New Student Orientation (NSO) tours have
incorporated green areas on campus that showcase and inform
potential students about our mission to create a more
sustainable campus.
Starting this spring semester, Green UH has provided yard signs
for the orientation tours that give quick facts about several
areas on campus including 1) Lynn Eusan Park, 2) Campus
Community Garden, 3) Air Quality Tower at Moody Towers, 4) Solar
Panels, and 5) Center for Advanced Materials.
Tara Boyle, Director of New Student Conferences and Programs,
and her staff decided the NSO tours could be more educational
and interactive if the Orientation team leaders (O-Team)
provided talking points and conversation starters throughout the
tour.
�We started by identifying some finger tip facts; selling points
which students might not consider but which greatly impact the
positive experience they have by being a UH student,� Boyle
said.
The team was approached by their partners at Green UH to discuss
ideas for communicating information about the program and
decided to add facts about sustainable areas on campus to the
tours. By incorporating green areas on campus, the tours could
potentially capture the interest of eco-conscious visitors and
provide an extra incentive to choose the University of Houston.
�When students attend their New Student Conference they have not
necessarily decided to attend UH. New Student Conferences are
perhaps our most important recruiting event on campus and are
our final opportunity to show students how they fit into the
social, cultural and academic community at UH. By seeing pieces
like the green signs along tours, students are able to identify
with issues they personally care about and can see that the
institution shares in those personal values,� Boyle said.
The campus tours are optional and provided multiple times
throughout the day. During the tours, Leah Wolfthal, Program
Coordinator for Sustainability, hopes potential students will
get inspired during the tours and decide to get involved in the
green mission both on and off campus.
�It is important to cue students into the growing green movement
on campus and let them know others also share their concerns.
Also it will let new students know how to get involved and
inform them of multiple ways sustainability could play out in
their research or career interests,� said Leah Wolfthal, Program
Coordinator for Sustainability.
New Student Conferences for the Spring 2012 semester will resume
on January 5, 6 and 9, 2012. For more information on green
initiatives on campus, visit
www.uh.edu/green.
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