Our BG Falcon Lands for a Visit!
Parents, sometimes its hard to know whether or not the college of choice will be a great fit for your son or daughter. Last week we celebrated Labor Day with a three day weekend which allowed our new BG Falcon (Malik) to come home for an extended weekend visit. He arrived home on Friday evening went to his HS football game with friends, Saturday he slept in late and hung out with friends until wee hours of the morning, and Sunday he said “I think I will go back to school today since there is nothing for me to do here!” OMG, that was a bitter sweet moment. To realize that he is so excited to be in his own space – in his new surroundings – with new friends and new adventures is just what we hoped for…right? Our BG Falcon has left the nest and spreading his wings to soar onto new heights.
As a parent, one of the things that I worried about most was if he would connect with a good group of young people with similar values and goals. I had one trick up my sleeve that Malik was not too excited about initially. I was able to work my plan by enrolling Malik into a summer bridge program for students of color called the BGSU Multicultural Summer Link. This program was designed to give multicultural students a jump start to their BGSU Falcon experience. The program provided Malik with the opportunity to move in early, connect with other first year students, build supportive faculty relationships, learn about college life, have fun, engage, and develop a plan for academic and personal success earlier than most other BGSU freshmen. YES, it worked! Malik had a great time being involved in the BG Link program. He became comfortable with the campus before classes began and he created an awesome network of new friends with similar backgrounds who will join him on his new journey.
As a student affairs professional with over twenty-five years of experience, I know first hand that one of the best ways to ensure college student success is to encourage your student to get involved on campus. If your student wants to be at home more than he/she wants to be on campus…that may be a problem. In order for your student not to feel home sick, we often encourage students to stay on campus for several weekends before they travel back home. Join a student club or organization of interest and try their best to connect with students with similar interest. For some students this maybe a challenge, but getting involved is usually the best remedy to cure a case of homesickness. Trust me, getting involved works!
As for Malik, he has found his fit at BGSU and we are so happy for him; not because both of his parents are alumni of BGSU, but because he genuinely is excited to be a FACLCON.
Spread your wings – create your own path – enjoy the wonderful journey. SOAR ON!