Event held to reach out to male students
TAMUK Career En- gagement and Student Government Association teamed up to host Protect the Pack, an event held to combat low retention rates and encouraged male stu- dents and their supporters to attend.
One main goal of this event was to let male stu- dentsknowoftheresourc- es and support they have on campus. Ralph Leal, the director of Career Engage- ment and Corporate Rela- tions, said the event was to let students know they are supported.
William McKellips was one student tasked with
helping organize the event. “We wanted to figure out why the retention at TAMUK was so poor, and we wanted to show our male students that they are being represented and we do care about them,”
McKellips said.
Many students and some
faculty attended the event in order to show support for their peers and to enjoy the free dinner provided. Two students who at- tended, Quintan Alvarez and Eduardo Menchaca, shared their experiences as male students on campus.
“One of my buddies told me about males dropping out of colleges, and even one of my friends dropped out. So, I really feel like
this event is a good place to connect with other men on campus,” Alvarez said.
Menchaca also described his own personal experi- ence with his roommates.
“I’ve been here for two years, and I’ve seen three that dropped out and most of the time they only last about one semester; it’s pretty sad,” he said.
In the future, more events like this are planned tomakesuremorestudents know about the support system they have. Upcom- ing events are planned for the last Monday in March and April. For more infor- mation, students are en- couraged to contact Career Engagement or SGA.
