To students, the spring semester means a variety of things – the end of a torturous winter, spring break and interviews for internships every other week. For the university, however, it means additional recruiting of future students.

In the College of Engineering, minority students from all over the nation had a chance to tour Iowa State last Friday and Saturday as part of the Evening With Engineering program.

Formerly known as Preview Day, the evening was hosted by Enrollment Services and Precollegiate Programs and was sponsored by the College of Engineering and the Leadership Through Engineering Academic Diversity program.

The recruiting program is used to draw more interest from minority students who have applied or have been accepted to Iowa State.

Statistics show that in the College of Engineering, there is an enrollment gap between white and minority students. The Evening with Engineering program is just one tactic Iowa State University is using to rectify the situation.

Currently, the Board of Regents has a goal of 10 percent of Iowa State’s students belonging to minority groups.

“The meaning behind EWE is to recruit minority students into the College of Engineering,” said Jimmy Morris, graduate student in political science and program coordinator for EWE. “I believe we need this program to recruit those students.”

One of the reasons Iowa State has a low proportion of minority students is simply its geographic location. With this in mind, Evening with Engineering has expanded its recruiting efforts to include areas outside of the bordering Midwest states, including states such as Virginia and Maryland.

Morris said the experience of coming into an unfamiliar environment, learning how to adapt to it and succeeding can only play a positive role in a student’s academic and social progress, no matter what his or her ethnic background is.

“We talk about diversity, or a diverse way of thinking. I believe you sell yourself short when things are just one way – in just one dimension.

I think this group of minority students will bring a different perspective to the table,” Morris said.

During the event, 26 students had the opportunity to get an in-depth view of what life is like as a student at Iowa State. One of the sessions Friday night included a dinner in the Union Drive Community Center, where recruits were split into the majors they were interested in studying. They then had the opportunity to talk to upperclassmen about their experiences.

EWE recruits also had a chance to visit their respective departments to ask about class structure, coursework, four-year graduation plans and overall acclimation to the college level of work.

Nuku Doamekpor, junior in aerospace engineering, was one of the student leaders for EWE.

Although he had not participated in Preview Day as a high school senior, Doamekpor felt the level of interaction sold Iowa State on a more personal level to the students than what was offered by the Office of Admissions.

“It provided a more comfortable situation, and it allowed us to answer many of their questions and concerns about life at ISU,” he said.