Texan Reps are current students representing the Tarleton State University community who show prospective students what life is like at Tarleton. Texan Reps promote diversity and respect as global citizens who welcome all prospective students into Tarleton.
“These students provide campus tours, group tours to grade school aged students, and interact with guests at prospective student events like Texan Tour and Campus Preview Days. Every Texan Rep is 100% volunteering their time and effort to the university. At the end of the fall 2020 semester, the Texan Reps collectively completed 829 service hours by providing socially distanced campus tour experiences,” Texan Reps Coordinator, Savannah Trantham said.
The Texan Reps, like many other groups on campus, have been greatly affected by COVID-19. This can be a scary thought since a Texan Tour can be very critical in the decision to come to Tarleton.
“Pre COVID-19 we would see around 100 to 150 people a day for a standard campus tour [Monday through Friday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.]. When COVID-19 first hit we shifted to fully online virtual tours. I was incredibly proud of the flexibility our student staff showed at that time. We were providing a full walking tour videoed with a hotspot and tablet through Zoom. Through this portal we were seeing anywhere from 5 to 35 prospective students joining each day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” Trantham said.
After campus reopened to allow tours the Texan Rep team re-evaluated their procedures and made changes to keep prospective students and their families safe.
“We limited our tours to 10 total people per tour guide and only allowed each student two guests. To keep up with availability to prospective students wanting to visit we began offering tours at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.. This allowed for cleaning to occur in the socially distanced presentation room after each tour was released. After the holiday break, we began housing tour offerings capped at 10 people as well,” Trantham said.
Despite the changes, Tarleton’s Texan Reps did not let the new guidelines slow them down.
“While we have had to adjust to adhere to guidelines, I can proudly say we have not slowed down on providing prospective students and their guest every opportunity possible to experience everything Tarleton has to offer whether it be virtually or on-campus and as safely as possible,” Trantham said.
With the advancements in the medical field and the addition of the vaccine, COVID-19 regulations are slowly lifting.
“We are currently awaiting new COVID-19 guidelines from the Texas A&M University System, as our current guidelines are for the remaining Spring 2021 semester. Of course, we hope for a normal campus environment and event experience, but it’s hard to tell what changes will come. A normal Texan Tour event would allow more visitors to attend, fair style sessions to come back into the agenda, and TSU student organizations an opportunity to interact with prospective students,” Trantham said.
A new aspect of the Texan Reps and their tours is the “Game Day Tours.” These tours are very similar to the ones that our students know and love but they have an additional fun factor. These tourists get to go through a normal Texan Rep tour along with seeing a Division 1 Tarleton Texan game.
“On those days students and their guest will have the opportunity to hear from [Tarleton’s sixteenth President, Dr. James Hurley], and other key staff members of the Tarleton family. They will also be provided a campus tour by one of the Texan Reps and then given free time to either attend and experience the tailgate or go have dinner around town before they attend the game. These events were very well attended and look forward to the possible potential to host more events like this in the Fall,” Trantham said.
“The Texan Rep organization is growing and is always looking to add more individuals who want to share their story with other prospective students. At the beginning of each semester we do a large push for new members through Texan Sync. However, we are always bringing in new members who would like to join us throughout the semester if they miss the application deadline. It is important to me as the Advisor and a Tarleton Alumna to provide opportunities for every person on campus to share their ‘why’ if they would like to do so. Anyone that is interested in sharing their love for Tarleton through campus tours and prospective student events can email myself directly at, [email protected],” Trantham said.
If you are looking for some important events for those graduating seniors in terms of tours the Texan Reps do not have a schedule but they do have plans to host a campus preview day in the summer of 2021 and an additional day in fall 2021.
Always pay close attention to the Tarleton website, as it holds upcoming events in the calendar. In order to view these events, as well as many others, you can visit: calendar.tarleton.edu/. Stay up to date with upcoming events and stay safe, Texans