草榴社区

aerial view of Western's campus at night, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

Western's annual Compass 2 Campus Tour Day set for Oct. 15

BELLINGHAM, WASH. - Compass 2 Campus (C2C), a mentoring program at Western Washington University (草榴社区), will host its annual Tour Day on Oct. 15; more than 800 5th graders from 11 Whatcom and Skagit County elementary schools will visit 草榴社区 and enjoy a day full of workshops, activities, and bonding with their C2C college student mentors. 

Tour Day is the annual kickoff event for 5th graders in the C2C mentoring program. Each year, more than 400 college students from 草榴社区 and WCC mentor 5th-12th grade students at 38 sites across Whatcom and Skagit Counties. 

Tour Day鈥檚 goals for the 5th grade visitors include fostering a sense of belonging on a college campus and providing a variety of fun, interactive activities. In partnership with Western Libraries, Tour Day always includes a 鈥淐ommon Reads鈥 event with a children鈥檚 book author. This year, Common Reads spotlights "In Praise of Mystery" from author Ada Lim贸n and illustrator Peter S铆s. Workshops include presentations from the Chemistry Club, opportunities to learn new languages, and a touch tank experience from Western's Shannon Point Marine Center.  

On Tour Day, 40 school buses will arrive between 9-10 a.m. and unload students in the 9G parking lot in front of the SMATE building. In addition to traffic disruptions and limited parking, the Western community should anticipate more congested walkways and hallways and increased noise volume from our young visitors.  

C2C was founded in 2009 with the mission of increasing access to higher education for students who have been historically excluded from higher education by providing 5th-12th grade students with trained college student mentors. Tour Day would not be possible without the contributions of hundreds of presenters and volunteers from across Western and the broader community. 

Compass 2 Campus Tour Day is generously supported by WECU, Whole Foods, Walton Beverages, and Charlie鈥檚 Produce together with in-kind donations from Enrollment and Student Services.  

For more information, please contact Bridget Galati at bridget.galati@wwu.edu.