OSU Institute of Technology will recognize Commuter Appreciation Week with free events for students Feb. 11- 13.
“Commuter students make up a rather large population of our student body,” said Kamie Rash, director of Student Life. “Nearly 60 percent of the students on campus commute and we felt the need to be able to extend the opportunity to them just as we extend to those who live on campus.”
Free breakfast will be offered beginning Monday, Feb. 11, with Breakfast-to-go from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Students can stop by the Student Union before class and grab breakfast on the go.
Students can also get waffles made-to-order on Waffle Wednesday, Feb. 13. From 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Student Union.
On Feb. 12 beginning at 7 a.m., tickets will be handed out in Covelle Hall to cover the cost of a car wash from Tidal Wave Car Wash in Okmulgee. Tickets will be handed out until they run out.
“Commuter students need events offered earlier in the day compared to traditional student programming,” said Rash. “The needs of commuter students are different and we really crafted Commuter Appreciation Week to help supplement car maintenance and food.”
A fairly new idea for OSUIT, Commuter Appreciation Week is a way to thank students for taking the time and energy to drive to campus for their education. This initiative really started when Student Life took a look into their ability to reach more students with different programming.
“The events that we have chosen for Commuter week are based on the opportunities we created for Commuter Appreciation Week in the fall semester,” said Rash. “After such a good response from our student body, we decided to extend this opportunity to the students that are here with us this spring.”
The Office of Student Life is in place to develop and facilitate programming for the student body and they are striving to develop programming to supplement the academic and extra-curricular success of all of our students, regardless of where they live, and how much time they spend on campus.
“We have students that commute from within Okmulgee count as well as outside of the county and includes many of our staff and faculty as well,” said Rash. “Many students hold full-time or part-time jobs outside of school and sometimes they are coming back to school and live with their families off campus.”
In addition to these special events, there are many discounts listed in the Student Life calendar for all students, including commuter students, year-round. These discounts include restaurants as well as automotive service discounts for parts and labor at select locations in Okmulgee.
“We hope that the word continues to spread and the commuter students do take advantage of the programming specifically offered for their benefit,” said Rash.