According to a recent statistic provided by Institutional Analysis at the University of Nevada, Reno, nearly 84 percent of undergraduates commute to campus. For many of those students, commuting can make involvement in events and opportunities offered by the University difficult. Introducing the Wolves on Wheels program (WOW), helping commuter students connect to campus.

"Wolves on Wheels is the campus extension of an outreach that began two years ago in the community," said Cairn Lindloff, director of New Student Initiatives. "The goal is to help commuters become more social and more aware of what opportunities are available."

The kick-off event to introduce the program to the campus community was held Thursday, April 14 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Joe Crowley Student Union Plaza.

"We had trivia questions and prizes, and plenty of information and ways for students to stay engaged in campus events," Lindloff said.

In addition to the kick-off, WOW is providing other means of informing and connecting the students, including a Facebook page, newsletters, other events and the "Buddy Pass."

"Some students don't come to the activities because they don't want to go by themselves," said Jamie Brown, the student coordinator for WOW. "The Buddy Pass will allow them to bring somebody who's not a student at the University to an event, so they can enjoy the event without being alone in a crowd of strangers."

Malou Broder, a junior who commutes from the University Highlands student apartments just northeast of the University, liked the idea.

"I come back for Sigma Omega Nu and ASUN Flipside activities," Broder said. "I would definitely be willing to use WOW."

Senior Shawn Finn commutes from Reno Avenue in downtown Reno mostly just to attend class and to socialize with friends.

"I'm not really social," he said, "but sometimes I return to campus to play ball with my friends and just to hang out. I do always check out the events posted around campus, though, and WOW would at least help me know what all was going on."

"Studies have suggested that the more connected a student is to campus, they increase their chances of success with persistence and timely graduation," Lindloff said.  "With WOW, we hope to help the commuting students get more involved and connected."

For more information, contact Jamie Brown at (775) 784-4306 or jamiebrown@unr.edu or search for Wolves on Wheels on Facebook.