College is a great place to be social and make lasting friendships, but for transfer students the experience of leaving one school for another can be quite stressful.

The Transfer Student Association (TSA) is a new student organization that seeks to be a resource for transfer students who are looking to meet new people or get involved with the St. Edward’s University community.

Remy Boswell, a junior who transferred from Houston Baptist University, and Candace Howell, a sophomore who transferred from Bentley University, founded TSA.

The idea for the organization came from a conversation at a luncheon for transfer students held by the School of Business.

“The dean and the faculty were present, and we talked about ways we can get transfer students more involved in the Business school, which was how it started,” Howell said.

Since then, Boswell and Howell decided to expand the organization to include students from all majors, regardless of whether they are transfer or traditional undergraduate students.

The goals of the organization include attempting to make changes to the current transfer student orientation system and to create a network for students to intermingle and connect.

“Transfer Student Association is primarily for students to build relationships with one another, but it’s also meant to make students more aware of resources they might not know of,” Boswell said. “Many students hear about the writing or tutoring centers through orientation, but they don’t really know how [they work] or where [they are].”

Another goal of TSA is to work with Residence Life in reserving housing for students who transfer to St. Edward’s.

“On-campus housing is so important for transfer students because it’s a great way for them to naturally meet people and get involved,” Boswell said.

The organization had its first meeting March 2 and hopes to meet at least once a month. TSA is planning to participate in The Big Event service project, and an on-campus Easter egg hunt is in the works. TSA is also looking to create a mentorship program between traditional undergraduate and transfer students.

Students interested in getting involved with TSA should contact Boswell ([email protected]) or Howell ([email protected]).