Raider Welcome events are set to help you experience what services and programs are here for you! Whether you're new or returning to campus, these events - which begin the Monday before the start of fall classes - will help you prepare for a successful year and experience what it means to be a Texas Tech student.

Raider Welcome is designed to complement your Orientation experience. By the end of the week you'll have all the tools you need to start your first semester and make Texas Tech University your own.

Raider Welcome events allow students to learn about and experience the services available to them as members of the Texas Tech community. Programming is designed to help students transition to Texas Tech University while at the same time offering fun, engaging activities that allow them to make personal connections with faculty, staff, current, and new students.

The Raider Welcome calendar of events will ease students' transition to and enhance persistence at Texas Tech by:

• Providing a place for students to meet other students and build a sense of community.
• Offering a variety of programs that meet the diverse interests and needs of the student body.
• Introducing students to the services and opportunities available to them at the University.
• Engaging students in the spirit and involvement that is Texas Tech University.

All Raider Welcome Events:

• Provide a place for students to meet other students and build a sense of community.
• Offer a variety of programs that meet the diverse interests/needs of the student body.
• Introduce students to the services and opportunities available to them at the University.
• Engage students in the spirit and involvement that is Texas Tech University.

All Raider Welcome events must fall under one of five event tracks: 

• Academic Success
• Social Connections
• Community Involvement
• Tech Traditions
• Wellness & Recreation

What was originally called Welcome Week, but changed to Raider Welcome, Raider Welcome is a series of fun and free events designed to welcome new and returning students to the Texas Tech campus. Sponsored by Transition & Engagement and University Student Housing, it consists of a few major events, some old-standing traditions, and some exciting new opportunities students just can't afford to miss. Traditionally this event begins when the residence halls open and ends after classes have begun. In 2014, the fall event was expanded to include both the week before and the first week of classes. Raider Welcome occurs in August and Winter Raider Welcome happens in January.

Activities include ice cream socials, luncheons/dinners, games/activities, t-shirt give-a-ways, comedian nights, back-to-school shopping opportunity, parent/family reception, AlcoholEdu sessions, blood drives, and community service projects.

A group of Texas Tech staff and students work to plan and implement welcoming, transition activities for students during the week before school begins in the fall semester and the first week of classes in the spring semester.

Committee members include representatives from Student Engagement, University Student Housing, Recreational Sports, Student Government Association, Parent & Family Relations, Hospitality Services, Student Disabilities Services, Career Services, Student Union & Activities, Student Health, as well as several student organizations that have had long lasting events associated with Raider Welcome.

When you come to Texas Tech, you join a community that includes both the campus and the city of Lubbock. Raider Welcome provides several opportunities to connect with your new community by improving it. You'll help others, make new friends, and maybe even be inspired to volunteer more.

Read more about the Raider Welcome Service Projects