“Transfer students are Cougs, too – they just have different needs,” said Rodney Prioleau, the president of a WSU club dedicated to serving the university’s transfer students.

Team Transfer helps connect transfer students and provides them with information about WSU resources. The club was formed about two years ago but laid dormant for a while before its adviser saw a need for extra guidance among transfer students.

Prioleau said much of the information that is provided to new students pertains mostly to freshmen, and so transfer students need other avenues to get acquainted with WSU.

That is the purpose of Team Transfer.

“It can be difficult to form bonds with other students like you do in the dorms as a freshman,” marketing coordinator Laurel Pauling said.

The club plans to host several events during the school year to help transfer students meet graduation requirements, like the junior writing portfolio.

Pauling said Nugent said many incoming transfer students don’t receive enough information about the portfolio and are often rushed to complete it.

The club’s events will offer “a way to meet other people that are in a similar situation,” Pauling said.

Other events will include an ice cream social and Speed Friendship, which will work in a similar way to speed dating.

The club is planning a program in which returning transfer students will mentor new ones for a year. Prioleau said he hopes the program will help transfer students build trust and friendship.

“It’s a small club right now, but the more people we have, the more we can help,” Prioleau said.

More information about Team Transfer can be found on CougSync, Facebook and Twitter. Members can be contacted at [email protected].