Posts Tagged ‘westminster slc’

Trippin’ with Griffin at Westminster College

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

How is your college of choice planning on getting you excited about becoming a student? If you are going to be a student at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, the answer lies in the Facebook College Class of 2015 and Griffin. Who is Griffin? Only the feathered mascot that is now seen in the hands of soon-to-be students far and wide! My College Guide got in touch with Dana Simmons, E-Marketing Director & Outreach Director, to hear all about it!

Trippin' with Griffin

Trippin' with Griffin

What is “Trippin’ with Griffin?”
Trippin’ with Griffin is an exciting way to connect the Class of 2015 to each other and to Westminster’s campus community before students arrive on campus with the help of our mascot, the Griffin. The primary social medium for this is Facebook but advertised through email, twitter, and direct mail marketing.

Why start this program? What do you hope new students get from this?
We want our students to get to know each other before they arrive on campus – and by doing so, they will start to build their friendships early and are more likely to be successful and happy. Almost half of our student population is from outside the state and it is important to Westminster College to help these students acclimate into college life. Trippin’ with Griffin is just one of the steps in that.

What’s the range for “Trippin’ with Griffin?” How far has Griffin traveled?
Griff has traveled all over the United States with sightings everywhere from the east coast in Maine and Pennsylvania to the west coast in Washington, Oregon and California. He’s also downloadable for our international students from countries, such as India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China. We hope to have a few sightings there soon.

Are there any fan favorites at this point?
We love all the photos that have been submitted. I think each one shows the unique personality of our students – and gives us a fun preview of our Class of 2015!

Tripping with Griffin

Trippin' with Griffin

What else would you like My College Guide to know?
Our focus has been to broaden our social media strategy for our students to increase interactivity through online venues, such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Tumblr. We feel like Trippin’ with Griffin was an innovative yield campaign that helped maximize our dollars through offline and online channels. Stay tuned for Griff to go on Fall travel–you just might see him at a college fair and follow him on Foursquare.

Images Courtesy of Westminster College.

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Winter at Westminster: A “Cool” Study Abroad Alternative

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Like the sound of “study abroad” but aren’t sure about the whole “abroad” part of it?  My College Guide presents to you Winter at Westminster at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.  This has to be one of the most unusual study abroad alternatives My College Guide has seen so far — for starters, it takes full advantage of the conveniently located Wasatch Mountain range.

Winter at Westminster: part of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah's alternative study abroad program.

Courtesy of Westminster College SLC

So maybe the last thing on your mind right now is cold, snow-filled Winter – but when that blazing sun and heat disappears — you’ll definitely want to turn back to this one!  Winter at Westminster sounds like a good fit for snow-loving, ski-wearing,snowboarding daredevils.

As with any typical study abroad program, it doesn’t matter what college you regularly attend (you can be from anywhere) – you simply have to apply as a full-time visiting student!  But it just wouldn’t be college if there wasn’t some work involved!  W@W students do have a full course load Monday through Thursday – but Friday and Saturday?  That’s reserved for fun!

Johanna Daley, the Associate Director of Communications at Westminster College, spells it out: “In addition to their academic schedule they participate in Winter at Westminster activities and events (back country skiing/snowboarding, yurt camping, avalanche training, guest lectures, bobsledding, and more) and are given passes to the Canyons and Snowbird or Alta [snow resorts].  Many also take advantage of the internship program and get internships in the winter sports industry.”

She says that, “The program is for any college student with a love of skiing and/or snowboarding. They don’t need to be advanced, but they need to have a reasonable amount of experience on the snow…and a novice would not be able to participate in all the activities (like back country days).”

Ever wanted to try yurt camping?  Winter at Westminster students have!

Courtesy of Westminster College SLC

Westminster College is also partnered with the US Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and is the official educator!  Daley elaborated, “About 37 of their (USSA) athletes are Westminster students and 14 of them competed in the 2010 Olympics.”

One Westminster College SLC freshman student, Bryon Wilson, even snagged a bronze medal in Men’s Freestyle Moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Want more?  Check out the Winter at Westminster online video contest entries, the W@W Blog, or the Winter at Westminster Facebook Page for an insider’s view.  While My College Guide may not understand all of the W@W jargon, like Gloobs, Noodlers, and SPORS, one thing is for sure – this might just be a college snow-lover’s dream come true!